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Hey! You got to shoot one? C'mon...let's have a review! I understand also that the Army has asked for standby iron sights for the rifle, among other improvements.

Three magazines worth, a wek before my birthday, at which I also got to try two 6,8mm prototypes. The XM-8 was a 5,56mm version, but the changeover takes maybe 20 minutes. Most of the serious military types I know want to see it first replace every M203 Grenade launcher in service. I pretty well concur.

The rifle I shot burned through two .50 ammo cans worth of 5,56mm the day I and others gave it a go, 1680 rounds worth without cleaning, and no stoppages- zero. That's promising.

The handguard heat may be an issue, but I know of no one, save maniac Muzzies, who fire 2-300 rounds nonstop on full auto.

I'd dearly love to have heard the story about how the unit Jessica Lynch was with had just been reequipped with their new M8 carbines, and a few of their NCOs and other personnel with other variants in the family, and promiscously ran through their issue 7 magazines of 210 rounds total each upon being attacked, plus a couple of the 100-round versions, burning out barrels in their new weapons [which will take about ten minutes each to fix] and melting the handguards and otherwise abusing their fine new weapons. And I'd make fun of the sloppy work of the REMFs too, but I'd buy their NCOs a drink afterward to hear the story and to celebrate the good fortune of every one of them coming out of it alive. Every one. And not a one of those poorly-maintained carbines jammed; pretty good deal....

Maybe we'll someday hear a story like that about that, from a place with a name that'll become as common as Rourke's Drift, or Killer Hill, Camerone or The Alamo, but forever associated with a group of outnumbered Americans who held out against insane odds, and made it. One of my reccomendations regarding the XM-8 was that somebody track down Jessica Lynch and her soldier husband and see what they think of it. I like to think it might have made a difference for them.

So, how's it handle? Is it accurate? Most importantly, does it FEEL like a weapon, or a toy? by that I mean, would an average Soldier have the confidence in his weapon that a good, robust design provides? Tellmetellmetellme

Pretty good. It's muzzle heavy, not necessarily a bad thing, in that the result is very controllable on full-auto, and that helps counteract the tendency of rookies to point high at night. The carbine version I fired was at least as accurate [200 meter range] as an M4, and the optical sight is fast and precise; I like it as well as a British SUIT/Trilux or Russian 1P29, which is saying quite a lot. I'm reasonably fond of the British SA80/L85A1, despite the horror stories about it, and I really like the French FAMAS G2 Clarion. The M8 is at least their equal, but I could think of some improvements, and I did, and submitted them in writing, the reason I got to play with one. Most of all, I'd like to see downward ejection, equally convenient for the lefthanded and righties.

The plastic magazines seem to be an improvement over the M16 aluminum magazines, and that may be the feature that makes or breaks the new rifle. But I'd bet that if we don't go for it, someone else will; I got a hint that at least one other nation is interested enough to cancel a reported reequipping of their armed forces with M16A2s. We shall see.

One neat thing: it's modular. If you really wanted to, you could fit a wooden butt and foreend on it. I'm just perverse enough to do so if one comes my way more-or-less permanently, but I'll hang onto the components to switch it back into GI configuration, too.

I forsee white plastic versions with chrome-plated barrels for honor guards, blue ones for the Air Force, and so forth. But that's not really a fault of the weapon. And such bling-bling can be swapped back out to GI again, thank God.

They'll need a good name for it. Springfield and Garand are already taken.