>308 Win
Posted on 02/02/2011 5:04:42 PM PST by Pan_Yan
For the first time in almost 50 years, the U.S. Army wants to replace the standard rifle shouldered by hundreds of thousands of frontline troops around the world.
The service this week advertised its interest in a new weapon that would incorporate futuristic sights and other advances in rifle design and be able to handle improved ammunition.
The gun would potentially supplant the M4 carbine, a shorter-barrel version of the M16, the Army's main infantry weapon for decades.
Operations in Afghanistan—where troops often engage the enemy over long distances—have rekindled debate over the quality of the Army's standard-issue rifles and their reliability in dusty, primitive conditions. An Army report on a 2008 battle in Wanat, Afghanistan, cited soldier complaints about jamming and overheating M4s, in particular. Nine servicemen died in that fight.
Critics have also raised concerns about the range and lethality of the 5.56 mm cartridge of the M16/M4.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I am waching Restrepo now and they are using M4s with red dot sights as suppressive fire , they might as well use Ak’s.
They need a real rifle not some 14” toy.
Yeah, baby!
If I had one it would be mine as well.
For now I guess it is the FAL, HK or VEPR
Let me know what you think of that movie.
So far, it is Vietnam. They put a base where they know it will get hit in order to get some contact.
>308 Win
AR-10 here.
better off with an PKM
.338 Federal that is.
The ROE are BS
Then there's the reciprocating bolt mechanism which works very well for a semi automatic rifle but works terribly for a full auto or three round burst weapon. That's why the AK-47 is known for its reliability, because it has a gas piston assembly, not a reciprocating bolt with direct gas impingement. I like the new generation of AR15s hitting the market that utilize a gas psiton instead of a reciprocating bolt. If I didn't already have too many assault rifles, I would buy one. Then again, I believe in a semi automatic one shot/one kill rifleman philosophy so why bother? The M16A2 is not supposed to be alight machine gun.
Regarding the 5.56 NATO round? same thing, its is asked to do too many things. There is no perfect rifle/round combo that will perform flawlessly in every situation. So, unless you can afford to purchase and field a different weapon system for every possible battlefield, you need a weapon that is a jack of all trades and master of none but which is easily adaptable to master a new environment should the need arise. I think the M16 has demonstrated that it is that weapon.
If the military wants to improve its downrange lethality, they should probably look at the ammunition they're using. A high quality 5.56 mm reload is extremely accurate. We're talking about hole for hole capability at 100 yards or .223 MOA. Technically, that translates into a rifle that can shoot a 1 inch group at 400 meters. Maybe 1 soldier in 100 is capable of shooting a rifle that well (especially under duress); however, it does promote a higher chance of hitting targets within every soldier's given cabilities.Incidentally, the standard M855 ball round is calculated to shoot around 2-4 MOA in a standard M16A2. That means it's shooting 8"-16" groups at 400 meters. That doesn't leave any room for error at all. In fact, if there's a 7 mph crosswind, you're gonna miss even if you're dead on center mass. All just my opinon of course. Plus, I don't like seeing our soldiers fielding weapons made by foreign contractors like HK or FN especially when we're capable of producing better.
I'm watching it as well. Second time. It's heart wrenching.
The XM8 was supposed to replace the -16.
Then some beaurocrat decided he didn’t like the choice of plastic, then somebody didn’t like the color, then somebody else didn’t like this, or that..
Etc etc etc.
I can whack stuff at 400 yds with the 5.56, but as you say, the problem is the round is to light.
Crosswinds will throw you off at that distance easily.
Yer gonna need a big ditty bag!
Uh oh, Bloombug is going to have a coronary!
*lol*
What channel is that on?
Never mind. I found it.
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