Posted on 10/01/2018 12:25:29 PM PDT by george76
The Army adopted its battle rifle in 1963 and has spent 55 years looking for a replacement for the M-16 and its variants.
They might have found it in Martin Griers Colorado Springs garage. Grier, a self-described inventor who has worked at a local bed and breakfast, built the new ribbon gun with a hobbyists tools. It looks like a space-age toy drawn by a fifth-grader.
But goofy origins and cartoon-looks aside, this could be the gun of the future. The Army is studying Griers gun and has ordered a military-grade prototype.
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The specifications are incredible, four 6 mm barrels cut side by side within one steel block. New ammunition blocks fired by electromagnetic actuators that could theoretically give the weapon a firing rate of 250 rounds per second.
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And then theres the feature no soldier would turn down. Its called a power shot, Grier said.
Thats the shotgun feature of this sniper-shot, machine-assault gun that can send four bullets simultaneously whizzing toward an enemy at more than 2,500 mph.
It isnt science fiction. Hes built the gun and patented the technology behind it. Now his garage-based company, FD munitions, is hoping the Army will buy it.
A multibore firearm, with several bores within a single barrel, could potentially exhibit many of the advantages of a multibarrel design, while reducing the size, weight and complexity disadvantages, Grier wrote in his 2016 patent application.
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The last rifle that was seen as a possible replacement for the M-16 family of guns was tested for six years before the program was canceled in 2008.
The Army found that the XM-8, despite its high-tech looks, offered few advantages over the weapons troops have carried since Vietnam.
Grier is convinced that his weapon is so revolutionary that it will overcome Army foot-dragging.
(Excerpt) Read more at gazette.com ...
“four 6 mm barrels cut side by side within one steel block”
There’s a reason side by side double barrel shotguns have been largely replaced by over/under guns. The recoil tends to pull the gun to one side. Granted a rifle has a lot less recoil, but then you are shooting at much greater range with a much smaller “pattern” (single projectile). Bound to throw the barrel off target.
For today’s young soldiers you need a weapon that looks like game pad or joystick ,LOL
Oh my!
Upon looking at the picture it seems the writer doesn’t know the difference between “side by side” and over/under. Therefore my previous comment is moot.
250 rounds per second ?
Who is going to carry the ammo for this thing ?
More overcomplicated, catastrophic failure prone high tech BS !
Fail !
Why?? What is wrong with side mount?? It would seem to me that side mount would be superior when firing from a prone position.
We have pics of 4 round blocks amd pics of 5 round blocks.
Which is it?
How do you get the media to print an advertisement for your product like that?
There it’s a 5 bore rifle.
EMP was my first thought once I read the article. That needs to be addressed before the army even looks at it.
Why would I want to fire 4 bullets at the same time toward the same target? If the weapon is accurate and the rounds are powerful enough, then I have just wasted 3 bullets.
New ammunition blocks fired by electromagnetic actuators that could theoretically give the weapon a firing rate of 250 rounds per second.
Unless a soldier has an ammo truck following him, this is stupid. Ammo takes up space and is heavy. Running out of ammo in a few seconds doesn't seem practical.
FWIW, I am a retired Army officer.
Belts are side mount...................
From the photo of the cartridge block/breechblock in the article, it's not clear whether this will use electronic priming (which Remington tried a while back) or simply electronically-controlled mechanical strikers and conventional primers. Essentially, this design combines the breechblock and pre-loaded magazine into one piece, feeding from the side in stacks of four rounds.
John Moses Browning's dad actually designed something similar, the "harmonica rifle":
Pretty sophisticated for its day - the breechblock was moved forward by a cam, forming a gas seal (more or less) against the breech end of the barrel.
Equates to 3666.667 Feet per second.
It means it's a barrel burner if there is little or no cooling between rounds, which is something somewhat important for a battle rifle. Of course if the threat is eliminated quickly due to overwhelming firepower, then I guess barrel life doesn't matter much.
Maybe the writer is from the hood. Then it is a side by side.
Funny thing is, this thing seems mechanically simpler than even an AR.
No locking lugs, no gas system, no sear or other trigger components (replaced by a switch), fewer springs.
Much of this replaced by electronics, but the cost of electronic components/implementation of such a simplistic sort is in the kiddie-toy category.
Downside is ammo bulk and maybe mechanical issues with moving ammo blocks in a magazine, vs individual rounds.
Ammo cost may be on par with current brass cases; it certainly wouldn’t be in small volumes. This will have to be a matter of manufacturing engineering.
“Why would I want to fire 4 bullets at the same time toward the same target? If the weapon is accurate and the rounds are powerful enough, then I have just wasted 3 bullets.”
Suppression. Hit probability. There is more than one target in the zone. The one-shot vs full auto argument was won long ago, for the battlefield.
And this thing apparently can still fire single shots and regular automatic fire at regular automatic firing rates.
Gimme a lighter BAR and I’m in.. This thing will eat ammo like popcorn at the next Trump debate. I like the 2500 mph velocity burst thingy tho.
How many “batteries” would a soldier need to take on a one-week excursion, in this “electronic” gun?
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