Mail Call

Mail Call is a television show on the history channel in which retired Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey answers letters and E-mails asking military questions from the past to today. Gunny answers these questions in interesting ways, usually showing us the information hands on and testing it for the show. This page covers the weapons he has tested through out the series.

I have the best of Seasons 1 and 2 and the SNAFU DVD which has select episodes, so this is not a complete analysis of the series. Please wait until I have finished my work on the page before adding more information. - Gunmaster45

Season 1

Mail Call: The Best of Season 1

M1 Garand

The M1 Garand rifle has made several appearances on the show including an episode in which an M7 rifle grenade is fired from it and an episode in which 101st paratrooper re-enactors are seen armed with them. In almost every episode, an M1 is seen on Gunny's jeep saddle.

M1 Garand - .30-06.

An M1 Garand is seen in a saddle on Gunny's jeep.

M7 rifle grenade launcher.

Gunny picks up a dummy rifle grenade and the M7 launcher.

Gunny picks up a blank to fire the grenade.

Gunny explains to the camera about the M1 and the grenade.

Gunny loads a blank into the M1.

Gunny fires the dummy grenade which lands rather unimpressively.

A 101st re-enactor with an M1 Garand.

A re-enactor aims his M1, which is fitted with a muzzle blank adapter.

A re-enactor reloads his M1.

Browning M1919A4

In one episode R. Lee Ermey tests a Browning M1919A4 mounted on the pintle of his jeep. In most episodes, this pintle is fitted with a "dummy" .30 caliber with no bolt or action.

Browning M1919A4 M37 vehicle mount - .30-06.

Two soldiers in WWII footage reload a Browning M1919A4.

A soldier in WWII footage fires his Browning M1919A4 from the hip.

Gunny loads up the Browning M1919A4.

Close up on the trigger.

Gunny scores some trigger time with the .30 caliber.

Close up on the action.

The .30 caliber runs dry.

Browning M1917

When Introducing the M1919 machine gun, war footage shows soldiers firing the Browning M1917 water-cooled machine gun.

Browning M1917 - .30-06.

A soldier fires a Browning M1917.

Soldiers fire a Browning M1917.

In the episode on "Shooting through the propellers", M1917 machine guns are seen mounted on airplanes with perforated barrel shrouds, turning them into air-cooled guns instead of water-cooled.

An aircraft mounted Browning M1917 mounted behind the plane's propeller.

Craig Schmitman shows off the M1917 in his plane.

An M1917 mounted on a plane with a conical flash suppressor.

The muzzle of the M1917.

Schmitman mans the M1917.

FPS view of the M1917.

Lewis Gun

Aircraft mounted Lewis guns are mounted on airplanes in WWI footage during the "Shooting through the propellers" episode.

Lewis Gun Mk 2 M1913 - .303.

An aircraft mounted Lewis gun on a plane.

A Lewis gun mounted on a unique lever system to fire above the propeller.

Vickers Maxim

A Vickers Maxim machine gun is aircraft mounted on a R.A.F. airplane in WWI footage during the "Shooting through the propellers" episode.

Vickers Maxim - .303.

R.A.F. pilots load up a Vickers Maxim.

M1 Carbine

One of the re-enactors of the 101st paratroopers is seen armed with an M1 Carbine.

Korean war era M1 Carbine with adjustable sights and bayonet lug - .30 Carbine.

A re-enactor aims his M1 Carbine. Note the adjustable sights, which were not available during WWII.

M1A1 Carbine

One of the re-enactors of the 101st paratroopers is seen armed with a folding stock M1A1 Carbine.

M1A1 Carbine - 30 Carbine.

A re-enactor with an M1A1 Carbine.

M1A1 Thompson

One of 101st re-enactors uses an M1A1 Thompson submachine gun.

M1A1 Thompson - .45 ACP.

A re-enactor with his M1A1 Thompson at the ready.

A re-enactor aims his M1A1 Thompson.

A re-enactor reloads his M1A1 Thompson with a magazine loaded with blanks.

Colt New Service

One of the 101st re-enactors keeps a Colt New Service in a chest holster. While it would be more accurate for them to be giving M1917 revolvers with a lanyard loop, not many people notice this kind of mistake.

Colt New Service - .45 ACP.

Mike Phillips with a Colt New Service in his holster.

M16A2 + M203 grenade launcher

In one episode, Gunny is sent an E-mail asking how grenade launchers work. To show us, he went to Camp Pendleton, California to see how the Marine recruits test them, firing M203 grenade launchers from M16A2 rifles.

M16A2 fitted with an M203 grenade launcher - 5.56x45mm/40mm.

A Marine fires his M203 launcher from his M16A2. His finger is a little close to the trigger, maybe he should take another safety course.

A Marine fires his M203 down range.

A nice close up on the M16A2 rifle.

Close up of the M203 launcher.

A line up of M16A2/M203s.

A Marine reloads his M203.

This rifle gets its 15 minutes of fame.

The drill instructor teaches the recruits how to use the M203 launchers.

For the episode in which Gunny introduces the XM29 OICW, he first introduces the M16A2 fitted with an M203, as if the gun is now completely obsolete due to this gun.

Gunny shows off the M16A2/M203 before showing us the OICW.

M79 grenade launcher

For the episode on grenade launchers, Gunny takes his Blooper to the range at Camp Pendleton.

M79 grenade launcher - 40mm.

Gunny shows off his M79 grenade launcher.

Gunny with his M79 at Camp Pendleton.

The M79 gets its 15 minutes of fame.

Vietnam footage of a soldier teaching another to load and shoot an M79 launcher. He does rather poorly.

Vietnam footage of a soldier firing an M79.

Heckler & Koch XM29 Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW)

In one episode, Gunny shows us a new gun in development by Heckler & Koch, the XM29 Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW), basically a Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle fitted with a 20mm five shot semi-automatic grenade launcher with a heavy computer scope to calculate airburst. Since everyone has already seen the G36 fire, they only fire the 20mm launcher on this show. While weighing a hefty 18lbs in current form, they hope to shave down the weight to 11lbs in the future.

Heckler & Koch XM29 OICW - 5.56x45mm/20mm.

An operator aims down the H&K XM29 OICW (left) and a FPS view of the computer scope (right).

An operator fires the H&K XM29 OICW down range.

An operator loads the grenade launcher's 5 shot magazine with 20mm airburst rounds.

The operator loads the launcher.

Close up on the trigger group. Note the "Airburst" button to control airburst or simple impact detonation, as well as distance buttons to control location of airburst. Note the 5.56mm stamp.

An operator fires the XM29.

Panning close up on the XM29 future prototype rifle.

Muzzle shot of the prototype XM29 rifle..

Sideshot of the XM29 prototype rifle.

Mk 2 hand grenade

Gunny has been seen pulling out a Mk 2 hand grenade in several episodes, mainly the episodes on grenades and grenade launchers.

Mk 2 hand grenade.

"What does the old Gunny have in his bag of tricks today? A trusty old 'handgernade'."

Mk 2 grenades are seen in the 101st re-enactor's grenade pouch.

Gunny shows off a Mk 2 grenade.

Mk 2 grenades are seen on a soldier's belt in WWII footage.

Gunny picks up a Mk 2 grenade.

Gunny sums up the episode.

M67 hand grenade

In one episode, a viewer asks how a grenade works. Gunny heads out to Camp Pendleton california to see the Marines uses grenades. Throughout the training, M67 hand grenades are used by the Marine recruits and the instructors. Unfortunately, Gunny was not allowed to toss real grenades, so he settled for chucking some duds and editing in real ones blowing up.

M67 hand grenade.

An instructor shows how to arm a grenade, using a blue painted training grenade for safety.

The instructor shows off a live M67 grenade.

The instructor teaches grenade throwing.

The instructor shows how the spring loaded striker strikes the primer.

CGI shots showing how a grenade works.

Fragments from an M67 grenade. Looks painful.

Gunny inspects the M67 grenade.

M1 Bazooka

An M1 Bazooka is seen on several episodes on the show, mainly the show asking about "Bazookas" in general.

M1 Bazoooka - 60mm.

A picture is shown comparing the M1 Bazooka and the Bazooka slide instrument.

Gunny with an M1 Bazooka.

M1A1 Bazooka

When covering Bazookas, lots of WWII footage is shown of soldiers firing M1A1 Bazooka rocket launchers.

Gunny with an M1A1 Bazooka.

A soldier aims an M1A1 Bazooka.

The soldier shows off the M1A1 Bazooka.

A soldier loads an M1A1 Bazooka.

A soldier fires an M1A1 Bazooka.

M136 AT4

When discussing rocket launchers, Gunny goes to Camp Pendleton, California to watch Marines fire M136 AT4 anti-tank weapons during training.

M136 AT4 - 84mm.

Recruits test fire an M136 AT4 with 84mm rockets.

The recruit fires the AT4.

The instructor shows off the 9mm tracer rounds used in the training AT4s.

A recruit fires the 9mm training AT4.

Recruits firing AT4s.

Close up on the bolt action.

A soldier firing an AT4 in the field.

M72 LAW

Before introducing the AT4, footage shows the older M72 LAW rocket launcher.

M72A2 LAW - 66mm.

A soldier in Vietnam extends his M72A1 LAW.

A soldier fires the LAW.

M16A1

During the episode on night vision, soldiers in Vietnam are seen using very large experimental night vision scopes on M16A1 rifles, most likely AN/PVS-2 Starlight scopes.

M16A1 - 5.56x45mm.

A soldier aims through the bulky night vision scope of his M16A1.

A soldier aiming his M16A1.

M60 machine gun

Soldiers in Vietnam are seen using M60 machine guns. A current soldier is also seen firing an M60E1 while the camera films in night vision.

M60 machine gun - 7.62x51mm NATO.

A soldier in Vietnam lugs his M60 on his shoulder.

A soldier empties his M60E1 as the NV camera films.

M16A4

A soldier is seen in Night Vision mode armed with a flat rail M16, likely an M16A4 fitted with an EOTech 552 sight and an EOTech 3x magnifier.

M16A4 - 5.56x45mm.

A soldier armed with a decked out M16A4. The soldier behind him appears to have a CAR-15 variant, which isn't seen good enough for a positive I.D.

L85A2

A special forces soldier is seen armed with an L85A2 during the episode on Kukri knives.

LA85A2 - 5.56x45mm.

A special forces soldier armed with an L85A2 and a Kukri knife. It seems he wasn't trained very well, note finger on trigger.

Season 2

Mail Call: The Best of Season 2

M1 Garand

Like Season 1, Gunny keeps an M1 Garand rifle in a saddle on his jeep.

M1 Garand - .30-06.

An M1 Garand is seen in the saddle of Gunny's jeep.

M1 Carbine

An M1 Carbine is seen laying next to Gunny when he tries out a BAR during the episode on soldier's training.

M1 Carbine - .30 Carbine.

An M1 Carbine lays next to Gunny.

Browning Automatic Rifle

Gunny tests a Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR during the episode on soldier's training, claiming he is training down in the dirt, just the way they like it.

Browning Automatic Rifle - .30-06.

Gunny fires a BAR.

Lewis Gun

One viewer asked Gunny about the Lewis gun, so naturally, he tested it out for the show. While he uses the infantry model, the aircraft model with spade grips is seen used by soldiers in WWI footage.

Lewis Gun MK 1 Infantry - .303.

Lewis Gun MK 2 1913 Aircraft gun - .303.

Gunny shows off the Lewis Gun.

A soldier fires a spade grip Lewis Gun in WWI footage.

A soldier fires an infantry Lewis Gun in WWI footage.

A soldier holds a Lewis Aircraft gun.

Gunny fires the Lewis Gun. He first rests his thumb on the reciever before the bolt hits it, which he calmly ignores and repositions.

To Come Later

Gunny with an unknown Bazooka.

Gunny shows off an IMI Galil during the episode when he visits Knob Creek. While I could likely I.D. these guns myself, I'll let you guys have some fun. Keep it organized please. And don't worry, I'll be sure to do an in depth analysis of the Knob Creek episode later on.