Free Republic

In a move that could ruffle the feathers of an Army command that views the Colt Defense-built M4 as the best carbine in the world, a select group of top senate staffers is gathering today to look at what could be the future of the military's standard assault rifle. About 30 legislative aides have signed up to attend a July 11 demonstration at Marine Corps Base Quantico, just outside Washington, D.C., that will feature weapons from various manufacturers vying to end the reign of the M16 and M4 as the U.S. military's most fielded personal weapon. The range day is...

Perhaps the single most exciting thing that happened at NDIA International Infantry & Joint Services Small Arms Systems Symposium 2008--away from the firing range, of course--was a confrontation between Jim Battaglini (Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James R. Battaglini) of Colt Defense and U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Mattes, the director of the Comparative Test Office for the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts, while Col. Mattes was giving a speech and promoting the idea of an open competition to determine the best infantry/assault carbine that can be supplied to U.S. military infantry warfighters. Specifically, the purpose...

HARTFORD, Conn. - No weapon is more important to tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan than the carbine rifle. And for well over a decade, the military has relied on one company, Colt Defense of Hartford, Conn., to make the M4s they trust with their lives. Now, as Congress considers spending millions more on the guns, this exclusive arrangement is being criticized as a bad deal for American forces as well as taxpayers, according to interviews and research conducted by The Associated Press. "What we have is a fat contractor in Colt who's gotten very rich...

Lots of folks hate the AR, or they THINK they hate the AR. Of those people, probably half just don't care for the caliber, and we'll definitely address that. Another quarter just hate black plastic guns, or the design of the AR specifically (the gas system especially), which I disagree with, but I understand their aesthetic issue, and the gas system IS a pain to clean. It's the rest of the AR haters I want to talk about. They don't like the AR/M16/M4 either because they don't like the entire concept of the assault rifle, or because the assault...

The reason for this dramatic change in the fighting culture of the average Afghan soldier is not to boost the coffers of the American manufacturer of the M16 —- although it undoubtedly will. The war hospital among the world’s best Nato general warns of a more ruthless Taleban Rather, it is designed to improve the efficiency of the ANA and teach its soldiers how to preserve ammunition to ensure that, when a battle is fought, the enemy is defeated before the bullets run out. Traditionally, the Afghan will fire his Kalashnikov from the hip as he advances, spraying the enemy...

Crack, crack, crack. Three Montana Highway Patrol troopers, firing from the prone position, sent 15 rounds from their new rifles downrange in quick succession recently. The .223 caliber bullets punched easily through the plywood and paper targets, kicking up clods of dirt from the berm behind the range at Glacier Park International Airport. After officers from the sixth district-which covers Flathead, Lake, and Lincoln counties-qualify with the new weapon, every trooper in Montana will be riding shotgun with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle. "They're just all-around more versatile for our day and age," Trooper Jerril Ren, one of the patrol's firearms...

<p>The Army has stripped the Asymmetric Warfare Group of its weapon of choice — the Heckler & Koch 416 — saying that its mission requires the unique outfit to carry the standard issue M4 carbine.</p> <p>The decision reverses a policy that allowed the AWG to buy 416s instead of carrying M4s when it was established three years ago to help senior Army leaders find new tactics and technologies to make soldiers more lethal in combat.</p>

The Iraqi security forces are replacing all of their AK-47s with U.S. M-16 and M-4 assault rifles. To that end, it has ordered another 100,000 M-16 rifles. In the last two years, it has received 235,000 M-16 and M-4 rifles. This new order, includes 4,000 AN/PVS-7D Night Vision scopes and a lot of support gear. Many Iraqi troops are not keen on getting the M-16. They know it is more accurate, and that they are getting more target practice to improve their shooting skills. But the M-16 requires more maintenance. You have to clean it a lot. The less accurate...

In a move that could be the most enduring imprint of U.S. influence in the Arab world, American military officials in Baghdad have begun a crash program to outfit the entire Iraqi army with M-16 rifles. The initiative marks a sharp break for a culture steeped in the traditions of the Soviet-era AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle, a symbol of revolutionary zeal and third-world simplicity that is ubiquitous among the militaries of the Middle East. "We in the U.S. know that the M-16 is superior to the AK ... it's more durable," said Army Col. Stephen Scott, who's in charge of...

BESMAYA — The Iraqi Army’s Presidential Brigade turned over their older AK-47 model rifles for newer and more accurate M-16s at Besmaya Range Complex here, Feb. 5. The weapons were issued using the biometrics system, which ties each Soldier’s photograph, fingerprint, voice, retinal scan and name to the weapon they receive for accountability. After receiving the weapons, the Soldiers received training from Besmaya’s staff. The training is broken up into three days. The first day, the Soldiers are taught basic marksmanship instruction, which includes disassembly and assembly, care and maintenance, body position, and trigger squeeze. The second and third days...

New arms for a new Iraqi army Soldiers are trading in the iconic Soviet assault rifle, the AK-47, for a U.S. military symbol, the M-16. By Doug Smith Los Angeles Times Staff Writer December 2, 2007 BESMAYA RANGE, IRAQ — The company of Iraqi soldiers pressed together for the dance of valor, singing of their bravery, stomping in the desert sand, thrusting their weapons skyward, just as they might have done not so many years ago to honor Saddam Hussein. But what were those sleek silhouettes they jabbed into the air? Not AK-47s. The iconic Soviet bloc assault rifle that...

The M-16 is America's rifle. Putting it in Iraqis' hands is a symbolic but also a tactical maneuver. The U.S. military in Iraq has begun issuing American M-16 rifles to some Iraqi troops in exchange for their Soviet-designed AK-47 rifles, the cheap and sturdy weapon that currently hangs from the shoulder of virtually every Iraqi soldier, police officer, insurgent and militiaman. U.S. military officials describe the switch, part of a $2 billion arms purchase for the country's fledgling security soldiers, as a modernization and a vote of confidence in Iraqi troops. The M-16 requires more care than the rugged and...

Nearly 80 percent of Soldiers said in a recent survey they are satisfied with their weapons, though almost half recommended a replacement for the standard-issued M9 pistol or ammunition with more stopping power. Additionally, nearly 30 percent of Soldiers in the December 2006 survey, conducted on behalf of the Army by the Center for Naval Analyses, said the M4 carbine should be replaced or more deadly ammunition fielded. "Across weapons, Soldiers have requested weapons and ammunition with more stopping power/lethality," the report said. (excerpt)

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – At the start of May, Iraqi Army recruits at the Regional Training Center here began receiving new M-16 and M-4 rifles. The Iraqi government made the decision to crossover from standard AK-47 assault rifles to the American rifles as part of the reshaping of their military and security forces. Under the program, Coalition Military Assistance Training Teams issue enlisted IA troops the M-16A4, while officers receive the M-4. With 200 basic training recruits per rotation, CMATT officials estimate that 1600 IA soldiers will receive the new weapons by the end of May. According to Lt. Col....

Illinois State Police trooper Gregory Mugge pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing an unregistered machine gun in federal court on Tuesday, according to an announcement from the U.S. attorney's office. Mugge, 52, of Jerseyville, was indicted in January, along with Illinois State Police Sgt. James Vest, 39, of O'Fallon, and John Yard, 36, an Illinois State Police special agent assigned to the Collinsville office, each face separate charges of illegal gun possession. Mugge faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and a maximum three years of supervised release. He is scheduled to reappear...

As American troop casualties in Iraq continue to mount, concern is growing they may be outgunned. That includes new questions about the stopping power of the ammunition that is used by the standard-issue M-16 rifle. Shortly after the U.N. headquarters was bombed in Baghdad in August 2003, a Special Forces unit went to Ramadi to capture those responsible. In a fierce exchange of gunfire, one insurgent was hit seven times by 5.56 mm bullets, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian. It took a shot to the head with a pistol to finally bring him down. But before he...

LONDON – Britain's secret intelligence service, MI6, has established the first proof al-Qaida is playing a major role in the new Cold War between North and South America – with Osama bin Laden's terror network seeing itself in league with Mexican subversives in infiltrating the U.S. border. The evidence emerged as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez swash-buckled into London after scoring a win in yet another venomous battle with Washington for influence and economic advantage across the Latin American continent. Chavez is in London to meet the capital's anti-Bush mayor, Ken Livingstone, and other prominent British opponents of the war in...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of the world's most popular assault rifle, says that U.S. soldiers in Iraq are using his invention in preference to their own weapons, proving that his gun is still the best. "Even after lying in a swamp you can pick up this rifle, aim it and shoot. That's the best job description there is for a gun. Real soldiers know that and understand it," the 86-year-old gunmaker told a weekend news conference in Moscow. "In Vietnam, American soldiers threw away their M-16 rifles and used (Kalashnikov) AK-47s from dead Vietnamese soldiers, with bullets they...

Just read this over at AR-15.com. I haven't seen any coroboration, yet. I copied this from the Outdoor Wire dated Feb 2nd. BUYING: Venerable firearms brand Colt's defense division has been sold to General Dynamics. The purchase preempts a public offering for that portion of the Colt company. The consumer portion of the bifurcated company (consumer/defense), is also being sold, with sources telling The Outdoor Wire the deal is "all-but-done". A total of eleven potential suitors were said to have been kicking the tires on the venerable brand. The winner may shock most of the firearms industry - as well...

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Many in Congress and the Pentagon boast American troops have the best equipment in the world. But reports from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan say otherwise. The information about the failures is not new; solutions are long overdue. Some of the most worrying questions center on the efficacy and lethality of the firearms U.S. forces are using. Official reports show high levels of dissatisfaction with the M-4 carbine, M16 rifle magazines, and M249 machine gun. The small size of the 5.56mm bullet used in these weapons is also highly controversial among some troops....

I haven't checked out the two above forums in a while, and when I did last night, there seemed to be alot of talk, especially on calguns.net, about AR-15's now being legal in CA due to a court case called Harrott. Does anyone have any specifics on this, especially the chronology of events?

The following is an e-mail I got from someone who is in Iraq now, and discusses tactics of the Jihadists and wepons and thei effectiveness. This is a must read.

Within the last week, there was a link here that discussed the military wanting to replace the 5.56 Nato with 7.62 NATO or some other round. I have used every search word I can think of but still can't locate that thread. Can anybody give me the link, PLEASE?

November 15, 2005: The U.S. Army’s cancellation of the XM8 (a replacement for the M16) reflects disenchantment with the 5.56mm round, more than anything else. While the 5.56mm bullet was OK when used in an automatic weapon, it is much less useful when you have so many troops who know how to shoot, and can hit targets just as easily with single shots. In addition to better shooting skills, the troops also have much better sights, both for day and night use. It’s much more effective to fire less often, if you have troops who can do that and hit...

The note below is from one such friend who did West Point, retired after 23 years as an Army infantry officer (06) and then taught math at the Academy for several years. It's a weapons and tactics assessment note from a Marine Gunnie friend of my friend. I found it interesting and useful and trust you will too. - Dan Hello to all my fellow gunners, military buffs, veterans and interested guys. A couple of weekends ago I got to spend time with my son Jordan, who was on his first leave since returning from Iraq. He is well (a...

Nicked ... emotionless Lakhani arrives at court THE British arms dealer seized over a US terror plot hero-worshipped Osama Bin Laden.Hemant Lakhani, 68, tried to supply missiles for a blitz on the scale of the September 11 attacks.He spoke of a bid to shoot down a plane on the anniversary of 9/11.Lakhani hated the US and was hell-bent on killing Americans, prosecutors said last night.The arms dealer believed terror leader Osama Bin Laden “did something right and set the Americans straight” when he orchestrated the September 11 attacks.And he was ready to help extremists unleash a new wave of terror....

By Abigail R. Esman World Defense Review columnist "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!" declared the posters taped across the city, the banner strung above the massive hole that once had been the World Trade Center, in the months after 9/11. And for a year, anyway, tourists came to pay respects at Ground Zero while New Yorkers brought flowers to their local fire departments, contributed to funds benefiting the families of those killed, pasted American flags to the windshields of their cars, and somberly marked the eleventh day of every month that passed. But four years later, to walk the streets of...

ONE of Hitler’s top intelligence officers, who ordered the murders of more than 100 British secret agents in concentration camps, was spared execution as a war criminal and selected to work for MI6. Newly opened papers contain startling evidence that in the postwar scramble to secure information about Russian communists, British Intelligence “turned” Horst Kopkow, faked his death and used him to fight the Cold War. Nazi SS documents Evidence emerged in the 1980s that Britain had become a refuge for suspected war criminals, but few would have believed that the Government had gone even further and put a man...

Twenty Indianapolis police officers were training to use M-16 rifles, with the weapons expected to be available to patrol officers by the end of the week, officials said."There are specific situations where they are going to be used," Deputy Chief James Reno said. "It gives us other options. This may be something they can have in their arsenal."Indianapolis police have faced the same types of weapons several times in recent years, The Indianapolis Star reported Wednesday.In August, a man fired an SKS-style rifle in a southside neighborhood and killed Patrolman Timothy "Jake" Laird from more than 150 yards away."I think...

MI6 WAS forced to halt a spying operation after it lost secret electronic equipment worth tens of thousands of pounds and intelligence records in a suspected arson attack. The incident followed the falling-out of MI6 and the Croatian security service, the third time in recent years that Britain’s overseas security service has found itself in a turf war with a foreign counterpart. A surveillance vehicle loaded with eavesdropping equipment was extensively damaged after it was torched while parked in a supposedly secure area next to a hotel in a suburb of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. MI6 blames disaffected members of...

Historically, the AR15/M16 has not been without controversy and critics. As a military rifle, during early use in the Vietnam War, the M16 suffered from functioning problems due to a change in propellants and improper training of soldiers regarding cleaning and maintenance. Lessons were learned, refinements made and the M16 platform evolved into one of the most prominent firearms in military history. However, the M16 to this day is not without criticism, not so much due to the rifle, but because of the 5.56 NATO cartridge, that lacks the long-range effectiveness of the 7.62 NATO cartridge used in the M14...

The Last “Big Lie” of Vietnam Kills U. S. Soldiers in Iraq August 24th, 2004 At a Vietnam Special Forces base during 1964, I watched a U. S. soldier fire 15 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition into a tethered goat from an AR-15 rifle; moments after the last round hit, the goat fell over. Looking at the dead goat, I saw many little bullet entry-holes on one side; and when we turned him over, I saw many little bullet exit-holes on the other side. Over time, those observations were confirmed and reconfirmed, revealing that the stories we were told on...

Note: this is No. 2 in a series that will be exploring Kerry-tales. Please add your links for this item.Previous Episodes: KERRY-TALE NO. 1 - John O'Neill is a Republican operative =================================================== Quote from John Kerry's testimony before Congress: I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50-caliber machine guns which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. That is an interesting quote. Unfortunately, it is a lie. Kerry claims that his first Purple Heart was earned during a nighttime patrol, when his group was attempting to stop the Vietcong from transporting contraband....

CHARLESTON (AP) -- Hundreds of machine gun owners plan to meet at a remote, abandoned strip-mine site near Shinnston this weekend to shoot their weapons. ''We call it 'Thunder in the Hills,' '' said Frank Watson, the event's promoter. ''Basically, it's a chance for machine gun owners to spend three days shooting lead and shooting the bull.'' Billed as a ''shoot and show,'' the event is open to owners of all types of automatic firearms. Military buffs will get a chance to see everything from the British-made Lewis gun of World War I to the M-60 now used by the...

WAVE OF THE FUTURE: The XM-8 Battle Rifle   Question: Can you build an all-purpose battle rifle that can change colors, barrels, and weapons packages on the fly, comes equipped with a grenade launcher and shotgun that can take out Sigourney Weaver's aliens, and jams far less frequently than the M-16? Answer: The new XM-8 rifle by Heckler and Koch. Photo by Heckler & Koch, USA For almost 40 years, the M-16 5.56mm combat rifle, in all its incarnations, has served as the United States military's primary battle rifle. To give you an idea of how long a time...

(New York-WABC, November 26, 2003) — Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are vowing to find out why the military is issuing a gun lubricant that many soldiers claim causes their weapons to jam, and endangers their lives. It's a problem Eyewitness News first told you about last week. The Investigators' Jim Hoffer broke the story and joins us now with more on what is being done to fix the problem. One lawmaker is calling for public hearings after seeing our investigation, and a U.S. senator is demanding answers from the Pentagon. They want to know why, as we first reported, soldiers...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - After nearly 40 years of battlefield service around the globe, the M-16 may be on its way out as the standard Army assault rifle because of flaws highlighted during the invasion and occupation of Iraq (news - web sites). U.S. officers in Iraq say the M-16A2 — the latest incarnation of the 5.56 mm firearm — is quietly being phased out of front-line service because it has proven too bulky for use inside the Humvees and armored vehicles that have emerged as the principal mode of conducting patrols since the end of major fighting on May 1....

(New York-WABC, November 18, 2003) — In a four-month investigation that reaches from the sands of Iraq to the halls of the Pentagon, we found that weapons given to tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers may not work in the desert. All because of a defective product. And it could be putting American troops at risk. The Investigators' Jim Hoffer is here with his findings. The key to surviving any war is to have a weapon that works. To that end a good, reliable gun lubricant is critical. But our investigation has found that a lubricant supplied by the military...

image clickable Innovation in automatic and semiautomatic rifles is fairly rare these days; the item pictured above is sort of a breath of fresh air along such lines. Kel-tec (www.kel-tec.com) has been a manufacturer of automatic pistols for some time and this appears to be their first foray into rifles. It uses the bolt mechanism of the M16 with a piston rather than the standard gas mechanism and since this lets the spring be in the front of the rifle rather than run through the butt stock, the rifle can fold and be carried in a napsack or some...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.(Oct. 2, 2003) -- CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. From the days of Marines wielding muskets, to the current day fully automatic machine guns, weapons in the Marine Corps continue to change to accommodate the needs of battle. The Marine Corps is now adding a new chapter to the history of its service rifles. For the first time since being chosen as the Marine Corps future rifle, Marines assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment here were issued and fired their new M-16A4 service rifles recently. The M-16A4, the fourth generation of the M-16 service rifle, has been in the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces searching a car after a shootout near a checkpoint recovered two M-16 rifles belonging to American soldiers abducted and killed north of Baghdad in June, the U.S. military said Monday. The soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division found the rifles in the trunk of a car stopped after a firefight late Sunday, said Lt. Col. George Krivo, coalition military spokesman. Shots were exchanged when the red sedan tried to run a checkpoint about 30 miles north of Baghdad, near the town of Balad, he said. One Iraqi in the car was killed, and three others...

US to Send Kalashnikovs to Iraq VOA - To some, it might sound like shipping oil to an OPEC member or ice to Antarctica but, as the Pentagon says there are good reasons why it's planning to send AK-47 firearms to Iraq. In Iraq, hardly a day goes by that the U.S. military doesn't report finding AK-47s - sometimes just handfuls, sometimes dozens, sometimes hundreds. There is no total, but Pentagon officials say the numbers are in the thousands, perhaps the tens of thousands. Despite this, the Baghdad-based, U.S. run Coalition Provisional Authority has been soliciting bids from arms dealers...

<p>The American occupation authority in Iraq will equip the country's new army and police forces with Russian-design AK-47 assault rifles, officials said Friday.</p> <p>Bidding closed Friday for a contract to buy 34,000 of the rifles.</p> <p>The purchased weapons will supplement thousands of AK-47s seized in raids and other operations since the war started in Iraq in March.</p>

(IsraelNN.com) The Defense Ministry has decided to begin the changeover from the M-16 to the Israel Military Industries Tavor T.A.R.-21 assault rifle. The weapon will be distributed to army infantry units. The first order calls for 15,000 pieces.

U.S. forces rolled over the Iraqi military in just weeks. The plans seemed flawless, and the courage of the soldiers and Marines unflappable. But with the dust settling — and the adrenaline rush of battle now subsiding — military officials are finding some weapons performed as advertised. Others, however, let troops down when they needed them most. Army and Marine officials recently released after-action reports compiling what was right and what was wrong about the small arms with which troops squared off against Iraqi forces. Soldiers and Marines rated the rifles and pistols they carried into battle, and not all...

Several soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company could not defend themselves or their comrades March 23 because their weapons malfunctioned while they sustained a lengthy fire attack by Iraqis near Nasiriyah, Iraq, according to a U.S. Army report on the ambush. The weapons that jammed or otherwise failed included a M-249 machine gun called a SAW (squad automatic weapon), a .50 caliber machine gun, as well as several M-16 rifles. The M-16 is the Army's standard issue weapon. The report is not conclusive about why up to three different kinds of weapons failed and suggests that the "malfunctions may have...

Posted on Sat, Apr. 05, 2003 Fort Riley soldier's idea keeps weapons workingAn oil-based lubricant for guns is like a magnet for dust and sand in the desert. One soldier found a synthetic substitute.BY TIM POTTERThe Wichita Eagle FORT RILEY - As they head to war in Iraq, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 13th Armor, carry 1-ounce bottles of orange liquid that could save their lives.They contain a synthetic lubricant that keeps pistols, rifles and machine guns working in the desert sand and dust, which can coat, clog and wear any mechanism.The tank battalion, part of the 3rd...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 February 13 The Eagle Nebula for CFHT Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight, CFHT Explanation: Bright blue stars are still forming in the dark pillars of the Eagle Nebula. Made famous by a picture from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, the Eagle Nebula shows the dramatic process of star formation. To the upper right of the nebula in the above picture lies the heart...

Just a reminder, for all you AL GORE fans here on FR - Al Gore is the host tonight, on SNL.

NATIONAL GUN CONTROL FREAKS HAVE LAUNCHED THEIR FREE MEDIA BASED ATTACKS ON AMERICAN SEMI-AUTO RIFLE GUNOWNERS!! CSPAN2 LIve SIMULCAST now! Saying he is a former "Marine and U.S. Congressman from Montgomery County, Maryland", Michael Barnes of the Brady Campaign to ban guns just declared that M16-like semiautomatic .223 rifles similar to what the shooter used "have no place in civilian hands". Michael Barnes just claimed that semi-auto black rifles are mainly being sold to "criminals." Bushmaster, AR-15 owners especially should take note! Jon Cowan, "Americans for Gun Safety" Executive Director is now blabbing about "centrist, moderate positions" on "gun safety."...