I had a dream

[Alpo]

A uniformed army officer wearing a 45 is watching a parade. The colors go by. He draws his pistol and holds it diagonally across his chest, with the muzzle pointing up toward his left shoulder.

 

I believe that is the correct way to do a pistol salute. Is it?

 

He also cocked it. Is that part of doing the salute?

[Pat Riot]

I don’t think I recall such a salute in the Navy. Not saying there isn’t one, I just don’t remember it. Actually I have never heard of it in any U.S. military service branch. 
 

 

[Kid Sopris, SASS Regulator]

Me neither 

[Buckshot Bob]

I had to look at this thread just Incase it was referring to Martin Luther Alpo 

[Alpo]

I did a web search on a pistol salute. I found nothing.

 

Then I did a web search on a rifle salute. Found all kinds of information. Most of it referring to the three-shot volley at a funeral. And most of those referring to the three-shot volley as a "21-gun salute ".

 

Morons.

 

There are two types of rifle salutes that I am aware of. Outside you have your rifle at right shoulder arms, and you bring your left hand straight across your chest so that your left fingers are touching the barrel of your rifle. And you leave your fingers there until the salute is returned. Indoors you have your rifle at trail arms, holding it a few inches below the muzzle, with the muzzle forward so the rifle is slanted and the butt is not on the ground. That is how you walk indoors with a rifle. And when you salute you again bring your left hand across your body so that the fingers of your left hand are touching the muzzle of your rifle above your right hand. And you hold it until the salute is returned.

 

That is a rifle salute. The internet has never heard of it. So it does not surprise me that the internet has never heard of a pistol salute, but I have come across it in my reading. Maybe they just don't do it anymore.

[PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L]

12 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I did a web search on a pistol salute. I found nothing.

 

Then I did a web search on a rifle salute. Found all kinds of information. Most of it referring to the three-shot volley at a funeral. And most of those referring to the three-shot volley as a "21-gun salute ".

 

Morons.

 

Three volleys from 7 rifles = 21 shots fired.

[Alpo]

With the three shot volley, what is important is the three shots. Not the amount of shooters. Whether there are seven shooters or five shooters or three shooters is irrelevant - they fire three shots.

 

It is true that most times they have seven shooters, but that is not required.

 

As for calling it at 21 gun salute - as people keep explaining to me, in the military a "gun" refers to artillery. Those things the shooters have - they are rifles.

 

A 21-gun salute is fired by cannon.

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

2 hours ago, Alpo said:

A uniformed army officer wearing a 45 is watching a parade. The colors go by. He draws his pistol and holds it diagonally across his chest, with the muzzle pointing up toward his left shoulder.

 

I believe that is the correct way to do a pistol salute. Is it?

 

He also cocked it. Is that part of doing the salute?

 

Think you had a bad dream.  Not aware of any such salute and the cocking of the pistol a part of the salute makes no since what so ever.

[Alpo]

ButWOULD not - damn otto, would not, not but not, geeze - be the first time that my dreams have been nonsense.

 

And I agree, the cocking of the gun is just --- HUH??

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

10 minutes ago, Alpo said:

With the three shot volley, what is important is the three shots. Not the amount of shooters. Whether there are seven shooters or five shooters or three shooters is irrelevant - they fire three shots.

 

It is true that most times they have seven shooters, but that is not required.

 

As for calling it at 21 gun salute - as people keep explaining to me, in the military a "gun" refers to artillery. Those things the shooters have - they are rifles.

 

A 21-gun salute is fired by cannon.

There were only 5 rifles used at my Dad's Funeral and they fired 3 vollies.

 

[PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L]

52 minutes ago, Alpo said:

With the three shot volley, what is important is the three shots. Not the amount of shooters. Whether there are seven shooters or five shooters or three shooters is irrelevant - they fire three shots.

 

It is true that most times they have seven shooters, but that is not required.

 

As for calling it at 21 gun salute - as people keep explaining to me, in the military a "gun" refers to artillery. Those things the shooters have - they are rifles.

 

A 21-gun salute is fired by cannon.

 

I stand corrected (but have participated in a number of funerals in which 21 shots (three 7-shot volleys) were fired to honor a combat veteran):

 

Quote

Firing of 3 volleys at military funeral honors In accordance with TC 3–21.5, the firing party may include three to eight rifle bearers, reflecting the American military custom of firing “three volleys of musketry” over the graves of fallen comrades. This practice of firing three volleys originated in the old custom of halting the fighting to remove the dead from the battlefield. Once each army had cleared its dead for the battlefield, it would fire three volleys to indicate that the dead had been cared for and that they were ready to go back to the fight. The fact that the firing party consists of seven riflemen, firing three volleys does not constitute a 21–gun salute.

SOURCE

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

Two things:

(1). With the rifle, what you are calling "Rifle Salute", is "Present Arms", to salute a superior either as an individual or in Formation upon being ordered to do so. 

(2) With the pistol, at "Present Arms", a hand salute is rendered. The only other time I know of that a pistol is unholstered would be when ordered to "Present Pistol", just like "Inspection Arms" for a rifle. 

The only time I've heard of the action Alpo mentioned is in Heinline's "Number of the Beast" novel. It might have once been part of the Manual of Arms and just have been discontinued.

[Alpo]

15 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

With the rifle, what you are calling "Rifle Salute", is "Present Arms

These guys are at present arms

 

 

 

Nothing like either of the rifle salutes I described.

[Subdeacon Joe]

Re the 3 shot salute at funerals.

 

I ended up being the clergy at the funeral for my dad.  My oldest brother had arranged for the USMC detail for the flag and salute, but forgot to arrange for clergy.  

The Staff Sgt. Came and talked with me about what his detail would be doing, including "the 21 gun salute." He didn't understand when I tried to tell him that it was three vollies, not a 21 gun salute - Dad hadn't been a head of state. One rifleman or a hundred of them, it's still a three volley salute.

[PowderRiverCowboy]

What Mushrooms did you take prior to this dream ?  There is no pistol salute  

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

49 minutes ago, Alpo said:

These guys are at present arms

 

 

 

Nothing like either of the rifle salutes I described.

I wasn't sure if that's what you meant or not. Just adding to the confusion. Do you remember the scene I referred to in "Number of the Beast"?

[Alpo]

Yes I do. Zeb and Jake drew swords and saluted, so Corporal Bronson drew Jake's 45 and held it in salute, and Maureen came in the door, and Ted fainted.

 

That's probably where my subconscious dream maker got the idea.

[Pat Riot]

In the US Navy I was part of our ship’s Honor Guard. I was on the firing party. There were 7 of us that fired salutes at burials at sea and we had 2 alternates in case someone was not available for whatever reason. 
Typically our burials at sea were for enlisted personnel. We would perform a 7 gun salute or a single volley salute. Each of us would fire one round. For officers it depended upon their rank, but we didn’t perform any ceremonies for officers when I was aboard that I remember. 
I believe now all burial ceremonies get a 21 gun salute. At the time when I was in rules for salutes were different but I don’t recall why. 
 

https://thedrillmaster.org/2016/11/15/all-about-the-firing-party/

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

1 hour ago, Alpo said:

Yes I do. Zeb and Jake drew swords and saluted, so Corporal Bronson drew Jake's 45 and held it in salute, and Maureen came in the door, and Ted fainted.

 

That's probably where my subconscious dream maker got the idea.

THAT'S what I was thinking. 

[Utah Bob #35998]

As Powder River said. There is no pistol salute.
If you watch a formal military funeral at Arlington or other location, will may see a pistol worn by the officer in charge of the rifle squad. Regulations require officers in charge of armed troops must also be armed. The pistol stays holstered. If the officer is armed with a saber it‘s different. There is a Present Arms command for the saber.

[watab kid]

8 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

In the US Navy I was part of our ship’s Honor Guard. I was on the firing party. There were 7 of us that fired salutes at burials at sea and we had 2 alternates in case someone was not available for whatever reason. 
Typically our burials at sea were for enlisted personnel. We would perform a 7 gun salute or a single volley salute. Each of us would fire one round. For officers it depended upon their rank, but we didn’t perform any ceremonies for officers when I was aboard that I remember. 
I believe now all burial ceremonies get a 21 gun salute. At the time when I was in rules for salutes were different but I don’t recall why. 
 

https://thedrillmaster.org/2016/11/15/all-about-the-firing-party/

only naval burrial i attended was my father in laws , his was 7 that fired three times each , this was at camp snelling so im not sure what might happen elsewhere - M14 rifles , not a pistol in sight 

[Pat Riot]

5 hours ago, watab kid said:

only naval burrial i attended was my father in laws , his was 7 that fired three times each , this was at camp snelling so im not sure what might happen elsewhere - M14 rifles , not a pistol in sight 

We used M14s. The officer in charge carried a saber. 
Edit to add that I was only involved in 4 burials at sea. These were typically done by another ship that didn’t spend so much time at sea (we were nuke so no fuel logistics to worry about. We were haze gray and underway a lot) but our Captain volunteered our ship for this duty. There came a point where the requests became too difficult to factor into operations so we relinquished the duty back to the base.