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
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-C Garand Sniper
A U.S. Marine is seen firing an M1-C Garand rifle, a modified M1 rifle with a scope mounted for sniper roles. Based on the type of scope mount, it appears to be an M1-C and not an M1-D.
Browning Automatic Rifle
A U.S. Marine in the pacific theatre is seen firing a Browning Automatic Rifle or "BAR" in WWII footage.
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 M1917
When Introducing the M1919 machine gun, war footage shows soldiers firing the Browning M1917 water-cooled machine gun.
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.
Lewis Gun
Aircraft mounted Lewis guns are mounted on airplanes in WWI footage during the "Shooting through the propellers" episode.
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.
M1 Carbine
One of the re-enactors of the 101st paratroopers is seen armed with an M1 Carbine.
M1A1 Carbine
One of the re-enactors of the 101st paratroopers is seen armed with a folding stock M1A1 Carbine.
M1A1 Thompson
One of 101st re-enactors uses an M1A1 Thompson submachine gun.
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.
AKMS
During the episode on body armor, Gunny uses an AKMS with a bakelite magazine to shoot several types of body armor, since it is the most common enemy weapon.
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.
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.
M79 grenade launcher
For the episode on grenade launchers, Gunny takes his Blooper to the range at Camp Pendleton.
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.
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.
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.
M26 hand grenade
An M26 hand grenade (or M61 grenade) is seen hanging on the belt of the Vietnam re-enactor during the episode on body armor.
An M1 Bazooka is seen on several episodes on the show, mainly the show asking about "Bazookas" in general.
M1A1 Bazooka
When covering Bazookas, lots of WWII footage is shown of soldiers firing M1A1 Bazooka rocket launchers.
M136 AT4
When discussing rocket launchers, Gunny goes to Camp Pendleton, California to watch Marines fire M136 AT4 anti-tank weapons during training.
M72 LAW
Before introducing the AT4, footage shows the older M72 LAW rocket launcher.
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.
An M16A1 rifle is also seen in the hands of a Vietnam re-enactor during the episode on body armor.
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.
M60E3 machine gun
A U.S soldier in Iraq is seen with an M60E3 machine gun during the episode on body armor.
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.
L85A2
A special forces soldier is seen armed with an L85A2 during the episode on Kukri knives.
Beretta M9
U.S. soldiers are seen armed with Beretta M9 pistols as their sidearms during the episode on body armor.
Season 2
M1 Garand
Like Season 1, Gunny keeps an M1 Garand rifle in a saddle on his 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.
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 the Marines like it.
Luckily, Gunny's favorite gun makes another appearance when a viewer asks to learn more about it, which Gunny faithfully does and test fires it. Unfortunately, he refers to it as a Bar, not a B.A.R., as it should be pronounced.
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.
Springfield 1903 Mk 1
Springfield 1903 Mk 1 rifles are seen in the hands of American soldiers in WWI footage.
Hotchkiss M1914 Mk 1
British soldiers are seen maning a Hotchkiss M1914 Mk 1 machine gun in WWI footage.
Springfield 1861
In one episode, a viewer asks Gunny who had the better rifle during the Civil War. The two most generic rifles were selected, the Union rifle being a Springfield 1861 rifle. In the end, Gunny decides that the Springfield was the superior weapon. They did win the war after all.
Enfield 1853
In the same episode, the opposing rifle is the Confederate Enfield 1853. While this rifle has ladder elevated sights, the grooved Miné Ball round had better flight stability. In reality, both rifles were about the same.
Colt 1860 Army
During the episode on Cavalary riders, Civil War re-enactors use Colt 1860 Army revolvers.
Shown as the prefered weapon of cavalary riders is the LeMat 1861 revolver. This is likely because it fired nine rounds plus a shotgun round before having to reload.
Hawkins Plains Rifle
A cavalary re-enactor is seen using a Hawkins Plains Rifle, even though this is a modern percussion rifle.
Flintlock Pistol
During the episode on Bowie knives, a man is seen using a Flintlock Pistol.
Matchlock Rifle
For the episode on medieval weaponry, a man fires a reproduction Matchlock Rifle.
Handgunn
Also in the episode on medieval weaponry is one of the most primitive portable firearms, the Handgunn.
Browning M2HB
Browning M2HB machine guns are seen many times throughout season two. Probably the most notable being the episode on Marine soldier training, in which Gunny gets to man a .50 caliber designed for indoor training at Camp Pendleton, using gas tanks to fire and recoil realistically like the real deal.
When Gunny visits Fort Irwin, California to watch how OP-4 laser training is done, deactivated M2HBs with gutted out recievers and barrels are seen mounted on tanks.
M136 AT4
During the indoors training simulation at Camp Pendleton, one of the Marines is seen using a specially modified M136 AT4.
FN M240G
During the indoors training simulation at Camp Pendleton, one of the Marines is seen using an FN M240G machine gun running of the gas tanks. Gunny later tries one of these out.
FN M240C
During the episode on Light Armorered Vehicles (LAVs), Gunny gets to man an FN M240C machine gun.
FN M240D
A soldier lets loose some tracer rounds with an FN M240D machine gun during the LAV episode.
FN Minimi
A Marine at Camp Pendleton is seen firing an FN Minimi machine gun.
FN M249-E2 Squad Automatic Weapon
The FN M249-E2 Squad Automatic Weapon or "SAW" mkaes several appearances in season 2 including several of them modified for the indoor training room at Camp Pendleton and soldiers are seen training with them at Fort Irwin, California.