That contemplative stare is him trying to figure out how to fire the gun, hold the hopper cover open, and load clips into the gun simultaneously with only two hands.
Vintage Saturday: Type 11 Nambu
Forgotten History
Alligator Creek: America Learns to Fight the Japanese
The Battle of Alligator Creek (aka Battle of the Tenaru) was a formative moment in the American World War Two psyche. After making an unopposed landing on Guadalcanal and taking its mostly-completed airfield at minimal […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Type 1 Japanese Paratroop Rifles at RIA
Before standardizing on the Type 2 paratroop rifle (a 7.7mm Arisaka that broke in half at the chamber), the Japanese military tested a variant of the Type 38 carbine with a folding stock retrofitted into […]
Accessories
New Reproduction Colt 4x AR-15 Scope by Brownells
In the 1970s and 80s, Colt offered a 4×20 fixed power scope for its commercial AR (the SP-1). These replaced the earlier 3x scopes, and were designed to fit directly to the rifle’s carry handle. […]
I think troop regardless of weapons platform get that same stare at one time or another.
Interestingly, the that particular Type 11 has a detail not usually seen – a sort of improvised handguard! It doesn’t seem to be made of wood though (my guess would be canvas or some similar material).