View Full Version : Automatic weapon fire- Hawk Mt/AT
Last night, 1-31, there was quite a bit of Automatic weapons fire that I could hear while camped on Hawk Mt. Just after the sun went down so probably 7:30-8pm.
I know Camp Merrill is down off Cooper gap but sounded closer.
Any ideas?
Lone Wolf
02-01-2020, 18:19
they train all around that area all the time
Slo-go'en
02-01-2020, 20:23
There's a National Guard training camp near the Long Trail which at times sounds like a war going on near-by. A bit unnerving as one hikes along there...
I watched a training exercise ambush there in April 2005. Sat down to eat a snickers and watched a squad pop up in a classic L ambush. Pretty cool.
10 years ago, I took my then 8yo son on an overnighter down there. Hired up Springer, then down to Three Forks and set up camp. While sitting creekside, he found a 7.62 dummy round, unfired. And we saw several military choppers fly over a few times.
peakbagger
02-02-2020, 07:52
When we were slacking through the area years ago we were driving along the service road on the other side of the ridge and encountered a bunch of Army vehicles parked in pulll out. They had grilles set up and told us that the games were scheduled that evening. We ran into a hiker the next day on the Benton McKaye trail and he mentioned that he had just set up camp the night before and there was small war going on for an hour or so that evening.
A other year we were hiking just sotuh of Swatera Gap in PA and while hiking along one particular ridge line we would see shadows and an couple of A10s would come roaring by a couple of seconds later just over the treetops and then a few second like that a very distinct brap of what I think were gattling guns. Very impressive.
Good info- Thanks.
Looking at a map yesterday it looks like it could have easily been on base as well. The sound could easily travel right up the drainage basin where I was camped.
TexasBob
02-02-2020, 12:20
......A other year we were hiking just sotuh of Swatera Gap in PA and while hiking along one particular ridge line we would see shadows and an couple of A10s would come roaring by a couple of seconds later just over the treetops and then a few second like that a very distinct brap of what I think were gattling guns. Very impressive.
We were backpacking in Arkansas years ago and had a similar experience with A-10's. We were up on a ridge when we heard them coming but I was surprised that they were flying below us in the valley between ridges. They made a number of passes through the valley and over the ridge we were on just over the treetops very close to us. It was a Saturday so I wondered if they were National Guard. No gun fire though.
coach lou
02-03-2020, 11:24
I was TAD to Camp Merrill in 1976. It was not a National Guard place then, and I doubt it is now. It is a Ranger Mountain Training Center. In 76 our Marine helos would go there to ferry Rangers around the area for training. The second day there I was driving a mountain road and passed by white blazes....checked my Military map and sure enough the AT was on it and I was parked at the trailhead. I told my buddy I'll be right back.........my first hundred yards in Georgia!!!!!!
A other year we were hiking just sotuh of Swatera Gap in PA and while hiking along one particular ridge line we would see shadows and an couple of A10s would come roaring by a couple of seconds later just over the treetops and then a few second like that a very distinct brap of what I think were gattling guns. Very impressive.
A10 is the most bada$$ of all the f/a jets imo. You hear about the gun, but you don't appreciate it until you see how truly massive it is!:
https://www.businessinsider.com/size-a-10-warthog-gun-2016-7
peakbagger
02-03-2020, 12:15
I was on the Knife Edge at BSP heading to the summit once when we saw the shadows and thought we heard thunder, next thing we knew two A-10s one after another came into the Chimney Pond basin from the east and then headed up over the summit. That terrain hugging radar they use is truly impressive.
Old Hillwalker
02-03-2020, 12:20
Back in the 80s I talked to an A10 pilot who told me that for practice in using the aircraft FLIR systems they used to fly the trails in the White Mountains of NH to try and pick up the IR signatures of hikers for training practice. I remember that there was lots of low level flying back then in the Whites. Not so much anymore. Kind of cool to see Jets flying below you while on hikes. I love war planes.
One Half
02-03-2020, 20:52
10 years ago, I took my then 8yo son on an overnighter down there. Hired up Springer, then down to Three Forks and set up camp. While sitting creekside, he found a 7.62 dummy round, unfired. And we saw several military choppers fly over a few times.
Dummy rounds do NOT "fire". Possibly you found a "tracer round" used for night fire?
46110
I visited Camp Merrill before I started the trail in 2018.
Barracks in 1976 ( now museum )
46111
Barracks in 2018
46112
I’m the good looking kid with glasses, 4th row, 3rd in from right.
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SWODaddy
02-03-2020, 23:24
Last night, 1-31, there was quite a bit of Automatic weapons fire that I could hear while camped on Hawk Mt. Just after the sun went down so probably 7:30-8pm.
I know Camp Merrill is down off Cooper gap but sounded closer.
Any ideas?
Cool. Sounds neat.
coach lou
02-04-2020, 08:42
46110
I visited Camp Merrill before I started the trail in 2018.
Barracks in 1976 ( now museum )
46111
Barracks in 2018
46112
I’m the good looking kid with glasses, 4th row, 3rd in from right.
46113
This is from the door of our Huey coming back to Merrill.......ALSO IN 1976!!!!46114
Puddlefish
02-04-2020, 10:30
I was hiking with a guy who stated he was "hiking away his PTSD, and he didn't want to talk about it..." Then he proceeded to do nothing but talk about it, despite zero encouragement on my part. As we passed through this area, he asked if I heard gunfire, and I said "yeah, sounds like some shooting range thing." He immediately corrected me, and explained that it was Camp whatever... and I said, "well, that explains it, time to get some sleep."
Apparently, I'm not at all trained to be a PTSD therapist.
I was hiking with a guy who stated he was "hiking away his PTSD, and he didn't want to talk about it..." Then he proceeded to do nothing but talk about it, despite zero encouragement on my part. As we passed through this area, he asked if I heard gunfire, and I said "yeah, sounds like some shooting range thing." He immediately corrected me, and explained that it was Camp whatever... and I said, "well, that explains it, time to get some sleep."
Apparently, I'm not at all trained to be a PTSD therapist.
What did your gut tell you about the guy, was he for real? I ran across a guy once who was wearing the Ranger panties and didn't miss a single opportunity to talk about his Ranger experiences with myself and anybody else who happened to drop by the shelter. My experience with these types is that the more someone brags about their military experience, the higher the chance they're lying. My BS meter started to go off, but he had seemingly good answers to any questions people were testing/throwing at him. That is one I wasn't able to figure out.
Puddlefish
02-04-2020, 11:40
What did your gut tell you about the guy, was he for real? I ran across a guy once who was wearing the Ranger panties and didn't miss a single opportunity to talk about his Ranger experiences with myself and anybody else who happened to drop by the shelter. My experience with these types is that the more someone brags about their military experience, the higher the chance they're lying. My BS meter started to go off, but he had seemingly good answers to any questions people were testing/throwing at him. That is one I wasn't able to figure out.
Fortunately, it's not my job to judge his story. I didn't like the guy much, he was even slower than me, needy in that he wanted me to slow down and talk at me, he was my age, yet he was creeping on the young women on the trail, we'd outhike him, and think he was safely days behind, then he'd yellow blaze and catch a ride up the trail, and suddenly he was ahead of us. He didn't even have the courtesy to admit he was getting rides, he'd make up some lame excuse like "my knee hurt, so I took a mythical blue blaze that got me ahead of you I guess.
I'm an Air Force brat, but that doesn't remotely make me able to judge his military experience, and certainly not his mental condition. There's no rule that unlikable people can't get PTSD, despite what my gut was telling me.
Edit: changed talk to him, to him talking at me.
Brakelight
02-04-2020, 16:06
In 2004 the day my buddy kicked off his thru-hike, there was a full on air assault of Hightower Gap.
Teacher & Snacktime
02-06-2020, 17:59
We got to listen to an assault on Hightower Gap a couple of years ago. The following morning we found loads of stuff....knife, ammo clip, fabric pieces, .... all kinds of evidence of where they'd been maneuvering. That's only .5 from Hawk Mtn Shelter, so it sounded like they were invading us until about 10pm
One Half
02-06-2020, 19:44
Dummy rounds do NOT "fire". Possibly you found a "tracer round" used for night fire?
D'oh. Just remembering that the system that the .mil uses uses an "special" round, can't remember what it's called. But it does actually "fire" in that it will "work" the bolt causing the empty casing to eject and a new round to feed. There's a suppressor on the end of the rifle when they use it as some debris does leave the barrel. Also there is a device put on the rifle and the "combatants" wear a harness/vest with "receptors" kind of like "laser tag."
But a dummy round is not the same thing. No powder, no primary, and does not work the action, eject and feed a round.
It was probably a blank 7.62 round, either loose from a belt for an M-60 machine gun or ( unlikely ) from an M-14 rifle magazine. No bullet but a paper disk sealing the end. Both weapons are operated by the gases from the gunpowder to drive the bolt back and chamber another round. Since there is no bullet going down the barrel to contain the gases both weapons need a blank firing adapter on the muzzle to do that.
One Half
02-07-2020, 21:57
It was probably a blank 7.62 round, either loose from a belt for an M-60 machine gun or ( unlikely ) from an M-14 rifle magazine. No bullet but a paper disk sealing the end. Both weapons are operated by the gases from the gunpowder to drive the bolt back and chamber another round. Since there is no bullet going down the barrel to contain the gases both weapons need a blank firing adapter on the muzzle to do that.Yes thank you! I couldn't think of the word "blank." And the blank firing adapter.
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glenlawson
02-08-2020, 13:54
If you are at Camp Merrill and you cross the landing strip, there are a couple of trails that lead back to Cooper Gap rd. One of them likely still comes out in the area of Hightower Gap, very near Hawk Mountain. This is the Mountain Ranger School and the woods will get a lot of use when the camp is in session. It is also why the Army will park a couple of water trailers along Cooper Cap rd during the dry months.
If you want to find more fired and unfired 5.56mm cartridges, if you are on the trail at Justus Creek, go right (south) toward the old path of the AT. There is a fire trail that will take you to an area called Devil's Kitchen which is close to Cooper Gap rd/Blue Ridge Rd. The trail was re-routed a number of year ago in part to reduce over-use and to get away from an area where there was some significant overnight partying.
gpburdelljr
02-08-2020, 16:48
I was on the Knife Edge at BSP heading to the summit once when we saw the shadows and thought we heard thunder, next thing we knew two A-10s one after another came into the Chimney Pond basin from the east and then headed up over the summit. That terrain hugging radar they use is truly impressive.
I may be wrong, but I don’t think the A-10 has terrain following radar. I believe they use the Mark-1 eyeball.
peakbagger
02-08-2020, 18:35
I dont claim to be an A-10 expert, I have just seen them run really close to the tree tops and pull off some very impressive changes in altitude.