Re-enacting

[Mad Reloader]

***THIS IS A MULTIPLE CHOICE POLL***


OK, mentioned about six, seven weeks back I had been bitten by the re-enacting bug, and that's DEFINITELY the case, folks.

Now, me being me--being both different/weird/mutant

AND having a love for 19th Century arms

Have gotten into...WORLD WAR ONE re-enacting.

Oh, and to make matters MORE interesting, I'm doing Central Powers to boot!

(as I said in the American History Weekend thread, there are several folks in Arid-Zona doing AEF...but no-one representing the Other Side. I am now rectifying this deficiency...)

There is now (recognized by ACWC and We Make History re-enactment groups)

* 12th Sturmbattalion, Infanterie-Regiment 100, Imperial Austro-Hungarian Army *

Now, by choosing THIS unit--which was in the battles of Vittorio-Veneto in 1918, and actually performed decently in the Eastfront campaign of the Brusilov Offensive of 1916, I've given up ANY chance of the unit being recognised by the Great War Association.

(All they do is Western Front. Understandably, they wish to only do battles involving the AEF. HOWEVER: The "Ohio" division and a number of USAAC were sent to the Italian Front to help stop the final Austrian asssault on Venice--and to confuse the Central Powers high command as to how many/where were the Americans. IMHO, there's been an oversight. Plus: A lot easier finding places in AZ that look like the South Tyrol/Northern Italy than Flanders, Belgium! )

So far, only one person has gotten ALMOST all their uniform together and has started on gear (That would be The Mad One himself) But I've gotten a nibble or 2 on add'l members.

Anyhoo, have resurrected the Poll thing to see where and whenever other folks are re-enacting (IMHO SASS counts as re-enacting! )

The floor's open to compare notes about re-enacting....

[AZZAFOX]

I was once in a reenactment of "The Eureka Stockade", Ididnt like dieing to those stinking Redcoats.

[Adam Helmer]

MR,

I am a longhunter and Bucktail here in PA; that covers the French & Indian War and the Civil War. I like your Central Powers theme. About half my gun collection would be correct for WWI re-enacting: Mk IIIs, P-14s, P-17s, 1903s, various Mausers, etc.

As a Central Powers avacado, you surely have a Steyr M95 straight-pull rifle as well as a M1912 Steyr-Hahn pistol. I have a pair of M1912s and like them for the era they represent.

Did your research indicate the Austro-Hungarians used Mosin-Nagants captured in WWI on the Eastern Front? If so, how were they used?

Adam

[DelDuck]

I did civil war for about 10 years, till burn out and faimily (mostly family issues) bacame factors. I did confederate and was on one of the Generals staff when I hung up the brogans.

[SeekHer]

You missed one heading in your poll--All of the Above--

I shoot matchlock, wheel lock & snaphance lock, dog lock, flintlock, percussion cap rifles and pistols from about the period of the 100 Years War to the settlement of Jamestown to F&I War to Rev War (BAR) to Napoleonic War & the War of 1812-14 to The Indian Wars to the American Civil War (N/SSA) to The Plains Indian Wars to the Zulu War and the Boer War to Custer's Demise and the Riel Rebellion...always on the side of the British (in some cases more than one unit) and always have the uniform of my opponent (in case I decide to desert to the other side)...went to one re-enactment and there was 150 or so Confederates and only 2 Union privates so me and about 40 others switched sides as we had the uniforms--so what if the accoutrements weren't exact--we and the audience (most important) had fun...I also have been involved in SCA with swords, pole weapons, archery and armour…

As the British supplied heavily, the Confederate States, I am either an officer advisor/reporter or a Reb (16th Miss) but do have Union clothing for the officer or the Rank & File...Of course the single most important and costly piece is your firearm, once you have that the rest is available in bits and pieces…leather goods, shirt, pants, shoes and coats can be purchased over time---avoids mistakes—and so long as you look good at 20 yds, the public will never know…whether your companions will allow you to play dress up is another matter entirely…

Being Caucasian, for the African Wars I can only portray the part of a British Soldier and as a scout/tracker for the Indian Wars and/or a Rifle brigade Sgt. Major. for the Riel Rebellion here in Canada...although I do have a complete Cavalry outfit of the ill fated 7th...and of course plains Indian regalia as I do Fur Trade (HBC or NWCo factor) and as a brigade or a free trapper… and I can dabble in Boer War with the straight pull Mauser rifles the Dutch Boers used…for every period I portray militarily, I have an opponent’s uniform(s) (sometimes their weaponry) and civilian attire for both rich and poor personas…it helps that both of us can sew, do leatherwork and are somewhat handy with the necessary period tools…I’m now including Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) of the Single Actions Shooting Society (SASS) and National Congress of Old West Shootists (NCOWS) including Blackpowder Cartridge Rifle (BCPR) to my repertoire…

I sort of draw the line there for re-enactments (advent of smokeless powder) but collect weaponry from then to the Vietnam War (especially sniper rifles) and have a great grandparent's 1st War uniform and rifle which I couldn't wear even if I wanted to as I'm 8" taller and 100 Lbs heavier then he was and of course of the historical significance, so I donated it to one of the local historical museums along with a number of firearms (40), swords (30), knives (30), bayonets (20) and personal items like clothing, shoes and hygiene items...from the time periods represented...and about the same number amongst the other three museums in the vicinity...

I come from a very large family of consummate collectors that sort of stopped with my generation--my children enjoy it but the majority of the others children and even grandchildren won't have anything to do with it...Icky, old fart stuff...so I and some cousins have been acquiring a lot of firearms, edged & other weaponry and unique items from the estates of relatives and we sort them out amongst ourselves, well before hand (usually with the owner there), as to who acquires what...

Whenever we travel by car, we will always stop at most of the museums, forts and historic sites along the route and having such a diverse interest in historical time lines from pre-historic to ancient civilizations to medieval and finally to semi modern times, it doesn’t leave out many places to see and in Europe it can be quite costly, monetarily as we have allowed the time into our touring…