Atlanta PD MAC

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

Should have seen BQM back in the day, it had an awesome showroom loaded with militaria from all over, and in the back they had a sale section of one-off samples of just about everything but actual guns. Including some MAC stuff. The 80’s in Atlanta rocked. Btw, Found one of the Sionics patches.View attachment 40984

I can only imagine. If I had one of those special deloreans the first place I’d go is an Atlanta gunshow in the early 80s and then take a trip over to BQM, I’ve heard so many cool stories about that showroom, I loved army surplus stores when I was growing up in the early 90s, and BQM was the king of the surplus stores from what I hear, like “surplus city” in the movie Commando…. Sadly, surplus stores (and cool army surplus items in general) have become somewhat of a thing of the past, we still have one at the local flea market but the true brick and mortar army surplus stores have all turned into cheap clothing outlets…

Then I’d be off to a Molly Hatchet concert… 😎
That patch is awesome!!! 😯

 

[Slowmo]

I can only imagine. If I had one of those special deloreans the first place I’d go is an Atlanta gunshow in the early 80s and then take a trip over to BQM, I’ve heard so many cool stories about that showroom, I loved army surplus stores when I was growing up in the early 90s, and BQM was the king of the surplus stores from what I hear, like “surplus city” in the movie Commando…. Sadly, surplus stores (and cool army surplus items in general) have become somewhat of a thing of the past, we still have one at the local flea market but the true brick and mortar army surplus stores have all turned into cheap clothing outlets…

Then I’d be off to a Molly Hatchet concert… 😎
That patch is awesome!!! 😯

There was another pretty good surplus store in the area called Hodge Army Navy. It was around for 50 years and is the army surplus store in the show Stranger Things, but it finally closed not long after being on the show. Seems like over the years most of the surplus stores have gone from selling actual surplus gear to reproductions and Chinese knock-off crap.

 

[slimshady]

Back in the 90s I was living up by Hammond, Indiana. There were TWO surplus stores. One was mainly clothing and camping supplies but the older one was the real deal. There was even a surplus aircraft parts aisle! I really wanted that Draeger Navy surplus rebreather. They didn't sell firearms and I never did find the secret room full of cool toys...

My first Delorean trip would be to Bannerman's in NYC circa 1958! That place was legendary.

 

[root]

Herd118
I have one of those range bags.
Took it to a gunshow a few years back full of Pmags I wanted to trade for surefire mags.

Never again.
I had so many people wanting to buy it from dealers to customers.
I did manage to trade off the Pmags 1:1 for the Okay surefires but it was hard to walk around the show with the range bag must have been 30 people ask where I got it and how much I wanted for it.

 

[MAC MAN]

There was another pretty good surplus store in the area called Hodge Army Navy. It was around for 50 years and is the army surplus store in the show Stranger Things, but it finally closed not long after being on the show. Seems like over the years most of the surplus stores have gone from selling actual surplus gear to reproductions and Chinese knock-off crap.

Old Sarge's Army Surplus on Buford Highway.

 

[ferndog1]

There are pictures of classes held at the MAC range in the 1960-70 era in the MAC MAN book.

 

[Slowmo]

I’ve always wondered how many guys were really living the “Soldier of Fortune” lifestyle. Were guys back then just today’s version of “tacticool,” or were they really running around toppling African nations and rescuing political figures like in Dogs of War and Wild Geese?

 

[herd118]

This is the circa 1984 flyer for Sionics classes.

 

[herd118]

I’ve always wondered how many guys were really living the “Soldier of Fortune” lifestyle. Were guys back then just today’s version of “tacticool,” or were they really running around toppling African nations and rescuing political figures like in Dogs of War and Wild Geese?

Around Atlanta then I knew of a couple that did Rhodesia, several that did Central America mostly Nicaragua, and more than a couple that got involved in drug running and jail time. The rest of us just larped it.

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

Around Atlanta then I knew of a couple that did Rhodesia, several that did Central America mostly Nicaragua, and more than a couple that got involved in drug running and jail time. The rest of us just larped it.

I know a guy who did the Nicaragua thing back in the 80s.. he went and supported the Contras with some civilian group, I forget what they were called, but i don’t think they ever actually got to get involved in the real dirty work.


Here’s a Cobray school brochure





Were you familiar with Jason Lau? He was a martial arts trainer at Cobray and SIONICS, he still does martial arts instruction in the Atlanta area.

Sifu Lau — Jason Lau Wing Chun

www.jasonlauwingchun.com

 

[herd118]

I know a guy who did the Nicaragua thing back in the 80s.. he went and supported the Contras with some civilian group, I forget what they were called, but i don’t think they ever actually got to get involved in the real dirty work.


Here’s a Cobray school brochure

View attachment 40987
View attachment 40988


Were you familiar with Jason Lau? He was a martial arts trainer at Cobray and SIONICS, he still does martial arts instruction in the Atlanta area.

Sifu Lau — Jason Lau Wing Chun

www.jasonlauwingchun.com

Yeah I know Jason, last saw him at a funeral for a mutual back 8 years ago. Hadn’t changed.

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

Herd118
I have one of those range bags.
Took it to a gunshow a few years back full of Pmags I wanted to trade for surefire mags.

Never again.
I had so many people wanting to buy it from dealers to customers.
I did manage to trade off the Pmags 1:1 for the Okay surefires but it was hard to walk around the show with the range bag must have been 30 people ask where I got it and how much I wanted for it.

I guess I should start going to your gunshows

Yeah I know Jason, last saw him at a funeral for a mutual back 8 years ago. Hadn’t changed.

I saw photos of him online from some event not too long ago, may have been on his instagram. He was wearing a black beret with a gold Cobray logo on it, the Cobray symbol had wheat around it, it was something unique to Jason as far as I have seen. He is still (at least occasionally) representing the Cobray.

 

[root]

Mitch just take one to the Bloomsburg or Allentown GS.
You will get bugged from the parking lot on your way in till you leave.
I keep S12 drums in it right now.

 

[MitchWerbellsGhost87]

Mitch just take,one to,the,Bloomsburg or Allentown GS.
You will get bugged from the parking lot on your way in till you leave.
I keep S12 drums in it right now.

I go to PA shows, valley forge area eagle arms shows and Morganville. Gunshows are usually a big let down these days… the occasional decent deal on a used magazine but rarely anything else worth talking about. Me and my wife wore bomber jackets with Cobray patches to the last one… not a single person, dealer or otherwise, noticed the Cobray patch or said anything about it (not that anyone is gonna try to buy the clothes off our backs anyway 🤣). I honestly think that the vast majority of folks at the shows don’t even know wtf that logo is. Im sure some of the old timers and class 3 guys recognize it, but none of the younger generation does, and the old timers don’t say anything. We are usually the only people at the shows that have any interest in Cobray stuff from what I can tell. The majority of vendors still think it’s cheap junk, as evidenced by the prices when I occasionally find something MAC related hidden amongst the heaps of cheap Chinese glock and AR crap.

 

[Weso]

In 2015 Clyde Armory had (2) well-worn 9mm M10s for sale with Atlanta PD electro penciled and had shot-out silencers marked the same. Price for the M10 was $4k. Clyde is known to buy/sell surplus LE equipment.

I passed on the M10s and bought a minty M11/9 from another seller for a little more. I know a member of this site bought one of the M10s because he posted about it a few months later.

I got one from the Roswell PD

 

[ferndog1]

Cobra Diploma, and a few pics that didn't make it into the MAC MAN book, except Mitch WerBell sitting on the bleachers, the color picture of the range was in 2001. In image 0024x the guy in army fatigues with the hat is Don Thomas, co-author of the MAC MAN book.
The property is soon to become a housing project

 

[Slowmo]

Cobra Diploma, and a few pics that didn't make it into the MAC MAN book, except Mitch WerBell sitting on the bleachers, the color picture of the range was in 2001. The property is soon to become a housing project

It’s interesting to me how nicely many of these people were dressed. Nice jackets, a few ties, etc.

 

[herd118]

Cobra Diploma, and a few pics that didn't make it into the MAC MAN book, except Mitch WerBell sitting on the bleachers, the color picture of the range was in 2001. The property is soon to become a housing project

The B&W pics are not at the Farm, I think they’re shooting that demo at the old APD range on Key rd. That’s the only place I remember from back when that had those bleachers, marked lanes, a paved parking lot, and homemade coffee cans for dumping revolver brass.

 

[ferndog1]

Those police photos were not taken at the farm, but the MAC range did have bleachers, I took a (nostalgic) picture of them because they were all rotted, and I just thought of all the activity there many years ago. I will see if I can find it.

 

[herd118]

Those police photos were not taken at the farm, but the MAC range did have bleachers, I took a (nostalgic) picture of them because they were all rotted, and I just thought of all the activity there many years ago. I will see if I can find it.

Yeah they had some, but not like those.