One of the Items in My Salvage Equipment Compliment

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by Seacowboys, Dec 3, 2010.


  1. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    Many of you know that I work in marine salvage. One of the items in my personal compliment of equipment is a Bridger Line Launcher. It uses a .45-70 blank to launch a spectre line attached to a brass rod for up to about 400 meters. If you detach the line spool, it immediately becomes an unregister NFA weapon. How's that for screwed up?
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  2. azprospector

    azprospector Happy Desert Rat

    My question is "how accurate can it be made to shoot?". From my understanding of them, which is very minimal, they are only accurate to about a foot or two.
     
  3. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    It is smooth-bore and short barreled so I wouldn't imagine accuracy would ever be on the agenda. It functions well for sending a messenger line across the deck of stranded ships so they can pull a tow line across. I did threaten some Trinidaddyo bandits off with one a few years back though.
     
  4. Hispeedal2

    Hispeedal2 Nay Sayer

    Regadless of accuracy, it wins in coolness ;)
     
  5. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Always wondered how those lines were launched, thanks. I keep a couple of Winchester hunting rifles handy. They are 7500/742s which take a removable mag. One can procure 10 rd mags most anywhere. Those and a bi-pod make a plain old hunting rifle into a very decent defense shooter.
     
  6. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    On my Navy frigate, we used an M14 with the cup launcher, shot a big black rubber 'bullet' with light line attatched. We were receiving the line once, and a buddy in my shop failed to "take cover!" It hit him in the chest, and decked him! He was alright - the Mae West took the brunt of it.
    We ETs and EWs were tasked with handling the Comm line up on the signal bridge, while the deck apes handled the actual UNREPS lines.

    Our arms locker had an old .45-70 trap door Springfield line gun - nobody knew where it came from, and we never had ammo for it. [dunno]
    My ship was launched in 1975, so it could NOT have been on the TOE.
     
  7. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    I have shot both the M-14 line gun and the 45-70 line guns before that. Both would get the job done with just a little practice, but the M-14 line gun with the can attachment and rubber bullet was much more effective and accurate. When I first went in in 67 we were using M-1 carbines and garrands, thompson 45acp submachine guns, BAR machine guns, ithaca 12 ga pump riot guns, browning 12 ga semi autos, 30 cal browning machine guns belt fed, and 50 cal ma dueces. oh and .45 acp 1911s.
     
  8. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Don't bet on it, the TOEs lagged good sense by a mile. We had spare butcher's knives. Commissioned in 67, with two rusty Tommy guns in the arms locker alongside a couple 03A3s. Not even as modern as a Garand. ('Course, repelling boarders at 300 feet would not be too difficult.)
     
  9. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++


    +1 For coolness...
     
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