Posted on 02/22/2019 8:28:18 AM PST by w1n1
Army Sgt. James Snow has carried an M-4 carbine and an M-110 sniper rifle as an infantryman on missions. With the M-4, he knew he was capable of hitting a target accurately up to only 300 meters. With a sniper rifle, he had less maneuverability and spent a lot of time breaking down and reassembling the larger weapon to carry.<
Last month, Snow was given the opportunity to try out the Army's new Squad Designated Marksman Rifle, or SDM-R. After just a couple days handling the new weapon, he said it felt like something that could fill the needs of both his previous weapons. It had more mobility and close combat capabilities like the M-4, but also better precision at a distance like the M-110.
"It’s easy to move around, and you can do a lot of things with it," Snow said. "Absolutely, I would carry this around every day if I was deployed. Every day, you could carry it for every single situation."
That was exactly the type of weapon that the Army looked to create for its combat arms squads — a weapon for one member of an infantry, armor, cavalry scout or combat engineer squad to carry and provide precision fire between 300 and 600 meters without losing the capability of hitting closer-range targets.
The need for such a rifle was identified in the 2015 Small Arms Capabilities-Based Assessment that stated “squads must have an organic, precision-fire capability to engage select personnel targets from zero to 600 meters." Read the rest of this SDM-R rifle.
They have essentially re-invented the original AR-10 with added features. Eugene Stoner had the right idea a long time ago. McNamara screwed it up by insisting it be downsized to a .223 varmint round instead of a .308 man-killer so the troops could carry more ammo. Personally I’d rather carry less ammo that worked every time than more ammo that was marginally effective.
Well, it is ASJ....
“Would still prefer the M-14, though..”
I carried an M14 for 7 months, then they took it from me and gave me a POS M16 (a whole 2-1/2 pounds lighter). First 2 firefights with the M16 had it fail on me.
God only knows. I always wondered how they designed the 7.62 NATO; some folks say, ".30-06 performance in a smaller package," others suggest different priorities/criteria. When I'm feeling cynical, I figure some bureaucrat looked at the .30-06 cartridge (63mm case), and the 7.62x39mm cartridge (obviously a 39mm case), and just averaged the two. Voila! 7.62x51 NATO...
I corrected myself further down the thread if you bother to read.
The m14 while great, does require tweaking and user knowledge in my opinion to function at its best.
They were basically High Power match rifles with free-floated handguards and 77 gr SMK’s
Good out to 600 yards in the right hands.
Don’t you know the .223 is evil holocaust causing ammunition and must be banned because it can....well because...
Dont be touchy. It took me a while to complete my response. Posting isn’t my life.
Actually, the first version WAS 5.56 NATO, but it was retired and a new 7.62 NATO version rolled out under the same designation.
Actually i think it might depend on what army and or country you are in. lol
I knew it was something like that.
I’m glad they’re going back to .308 for the DMR role at least—the prior “SDM-R” was an accurized M16 in 5.56, and arming a “designated marksman” with 5.56 is even more ludicrous than arming the rest of our soldiers with that inadequate caliber. They can tinker with 5.56 all they want, adding steel penetrators or loading a 77 grain Matchking, but it will never be suitable for combat and it really has to go.
Turning to the new SDM-R, it’s an HK G28. Good rifle, but I have to wonder with they would go with a “designated marksman” rifle with a 16.5” barrel. That knocks a good 150 fps off compared to a 20” barrel, which is going to knock a couple hundred yards off its effective range. I hope the Army will at least issue these guys 168- or 173-grain match loads, but I fear they’ll just get regular M80 Ball (which would be completely inadequate for the job).
Overall, a step in the right direction, but we really need to do better rifle-wise. The M16/M4 is a 50-year-old platform that has had two fatal flaws from the beginning: a maintenance-intensive direct impingement system and chambering in a caliber that is wholly inadequate for combat use. We have decades of both military and civilian knowledge built up since then, and can certainly afford to put it to use to design a reliable, effective rifle for our soldiers.
I’ve always been a .45 guy, but I actually kind of liked the M9 when I qualified with it. As double-action triggers on autoloaders go, the pull was very smooth, and the sights were decent. I’ve never owned a Beretta since and that was 20 years ago, so maybe my memory’s off, but I did pretty well with it on qualification at a time when I felt like a below-average pistol shot.
My hands are large, though, so maybe that’s it. My usual carry gun these days is a Glock 21, if that tells you anything.
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/prototype-280-fal/
;^)
You’re showing something that’s been around for 15 years, not the new SDM-R.
Please see post #14...
That tells me you have some large paws, The Pack Knight.
And, you’re right, the Beretta is a smooth shooter. Being all metal helps with the recoil. But that grip is no joke. And when it went to single action, it was no different than shooting a 45.
As you may remember from one of my earlier stories, I kept my M14 long after everyone else got stuck with the M16.
Every time my company commander (the best man anyone could ask for to lead them, Tom Pratt - who died last year) would ask why I still had my M14 (fed by stripping M60 belts) and I told him “I’m in artillery, Sir and we don’t have them yet”. And he’d tell me, “well, get one when they do”.
When I went to my battery to see if I had mail, the armorer would yell “Chainmail, I’ve got your M16” and I’d yell back “no thanks: the grunts want me to keep my M14”.
I ran that scam quite happily until I got hit - and my lieutenant crawled up to me and said “I’m sorry you’re hurt Chainmail - but can I have your rifle?”.
Yeah, if you read further down the thread I said that.
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