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.303 British did well there; give our soldiers SMLEs and Bren guns. The two piece stock and sturdy receiver of the SMLE also make it an excellent weapon for buttstroking the wily Pathans when they break the square.
I think the M-16 has it's place especially with soldiers with smaller frames but you can't beat the long distance stopping power of the 7.62mm (.308).
I agree. Isn't the sniper rifle a .308? Is there a more compact .308 out there for getting in and out of vehicles or close quarters? Or would be more of the same issues regarding reduced velocity and range?
I have talked to many returning guys and it seems that M1A's, M14's AR !0's and such would be most welcome in large numbers. The M4 is just limited by it's small bullet in terms of being able to penetrate, though the good ol' A2 sill shines on soft targets out to the 400 yard stick or so. A couple extra inches of barrel and heavier bullets help, but it's still not a .308. It also seems that a few guys have special ordered SOCOMS, standard M1A's and such, paying for them with their own cash. Springfield still has a backlog on these rifles because of high demand, much of it military oriented. My personal experience lends me to believe I would want my M1A with me over there, however, I don't see a huge advantage to the AK over the AR series when people are the primary target. I would take my A2 over an M4 any day, but the 7.62x39 AK round IS more potent than the 5.56/.223 mainly due to sectional density and ballistic coefficient. Just as with the internal comustion engine,..."ain't no replacement for dispalcement". I say, the brass should LISTEN to what the guys are saying, and give them anything they say will do the job better. Contracts and pencil pushing anylists be damned.
I have talked to many returning guys and it seems that M1A's, M14's AR !0's and such would be most welcome in large numbers. The M4 is just limited by it's small bullet in terms of being able to penetrate, though the good ol' A2 sill shines on soft targets out to the 400 yard stick or so. A couple extra inches of barrel and heavier bullets help, but it's still not a .308. It also seems that a few guys have special ordered SOCOMS, standard M1A's and such, paying for them with their own cash. Springfield still has a backlog on these rifles because of high demand, much of it military oriented. My personal experience lends me to believe I would want my M1A with me over there, however, I don't see a huge advantage to the AK over the AR series when people are the primary target. I would take my A2 over an M4 any day, but the 7.62x39 AK round IS more potent than the 5.56/.223 mainly due to sectional density and ballistic coefficient. Just as with the internal comustion engine,..."ain't no replacement for dispalcement". I say, the brass should LISTEN to what the guys are saying, and give them anything they say will do the job better. Contracts and pencil pushing anylists be damned.
Unfortunately the guys who are in procurement tend to cycle out @ retirement (see general officer) and become big shots at arms companies.
The steep decline in ethics and general integrity in the USA is not a freebie.
My own opinion, and this is free to everyone!, is the mil should make four or five battle rifles and pistols available.
Parts parts.
Yes, well the supply system is already complex as hell now so, in order to best-arm our people in harms way I say make it .1% more complex.
I'd offer the AK 47 and AK 74, the 74 is available in 5.56 x 45 and in the Rooskie 5.45 x 39. Cheap, so very available, and can be got off dead bad guys all day long...makes it even cheaper.
The 6.5 is considered by many the finest compromise round, puts out more hurt at longer ranges than the 5.56 and not as heavy as the 7.62.
I'd offer GIs a .40 and .45 cal to supplement the PC/NATO 9mm. I'd also offer them .357 and .44 magnum revolvers. The .357 can be had in 8-shooter guise courtesy of S&W and Taurus.
It's definitely an interesting article, which reminds me of many things I've thought about for a while concerning that family of firearms..
The rifle was designed around the cartridge. As stated in the article, cutting 5.5 inches off the barrel changed the performance of the round radically. I've always felt that the M4/M16 design is outdated, you can only make so many improvements to the rifle before it's something completely different. One could argue that the AK-47 design is outdated as well but it's a completely different rifle- takes more abuse, harder to achieve jamming, etc. We shouldn't have to use rifles that need a "forward assist" for jams.
I've shot several different (civilian-owned but mil-spec) M4/M16s and I've always felt the charging handle was pretty flimsy, I've never felt comfortable puling it back to chamber a round. They are more accurate than the AK but they require more maintenance.
I feel that the calibers are just too small for what we are using; it's either time to design/adopt new rifles (which they haven't done after many weapons tests proved that the M4/M16 is an inferior design compared to some others out now such as the Sig 550/552/553/556, the HK416, G36, etc) or design a new caliber.
I'd much prefer to see the .308 come back in a shorter rifle. More power in a smaller package is good.
Bullpup rifles are also great- ideally I'd like to see the military design a .556 bullpup, a .308 rifle (preferably bullpup design as well), 9mm SMG, and perhaps a return of the trusty .45.
But of course, the government is owned by the lowest bidder..
Sorry for the rant :S it's not that the M4 isn't a good rifle, I just feel it's time for a redesign of our small arms arsenal.
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