Posted on 01/31/2016 6:20:25 PM PST by jazusamo
Wartime U.S. presidents have taken keen personal interest in picking the most lethal gun for the military.
But in President Obama's first foray into small-arms procurement for the armed forces, his Jan. 4 executive order on gun control directs the Pentagon to find ways to make not so much more lethal firearms, but safer ones.
His direct order has brought a few snickers among retired combatants who argue that the commander in chief is issuing his directive at a time of more pressing small-arms priorities. The military, critics say, fields a flawed personal rifle and has spent more than a decade selecting a new off-the-shelf pistol, with no winner yet.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, an artillery officer in Vietnam who is steeped in military history, says at least three former presidents immersed themselves in ballistics -- for reasons other than safety.
Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War commander in chief, tested emerging "repeater" rifles in the White House "back yard" and championed the Spencer model.
Theodore Roosevelt, the combat-hardened Rough Rider, ordered development of the Springfield rifle.
John F. Kennedy, considered a founding father of the Green Berets, pushed the Army to give up the M14 for the new AR-15, which became the venerable M16. Kennedy envisioned the automatic rifle as the perfect counterinsurgency weapon in South Vietnam.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools, such as those who made him their president.
2008 Czech newspaper editorial
Bubble wrap and Velcro to be ordered next.
The. Marine Corps spent $22.5 million a few years ago to purchase M45 Close Quarters Battle Pistols in .45ACP.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with the M9 Beretta. It has a couple of weaknesses in that the grip is a little large for girls and the double action trigger is a bit heavy.
Otherwise it is a sterling example of reliability, durability and ease of hitting what you are shooting at.
The only real problem was some early slides cracking due to being fired extensively with +P+ ammo. That has been corrected. The other is unreliability with a certain series of magazines. Beretta warned them about the magazines but the Army went ahead with them anyway.
Overall I think they should just go to the Sig P226. It is no more reliable or durable but does have a better double action and the grips feel better.
They could just go back to the Browning Hi-Power used by other countries. It is durable and reliable and fits the hand better than just about any pistol. They need to change the barrel to a one piece just like the early ones and issue 15 round mags instead of the 13 round ones.
Put condoms over the barrels..
I thought that the M-16’s ‘3 round burst selector’ configuration was adopted after the Viet Nam War. Am I thinking of some other weapon?
Yes. There is 25th a 25th Amendment solution to this..
Sorry for the double..
I thought the three round burst was first implemented in the M16A2 in 1983 by the USMC and 1986 by the US Army.
Be patient. It could get better.
Obungo's next E.O for our armed forces will limit them to suicide vests, machetes and decapitating knives...
Just to make it fair!
It's the right thing to do!
Hail to the Chief!
< /s >
That is very disturbing, plus he looks like death warmed over in that sequence.
A triangular shaped bayonet creates a wound that can’t not be easily repaired, so the recipient usually bleeds to death. They were outlawed by the Geneva Convention, and apparently TR.
Because they already have one.
The M9 is fine for a general issue sidearm.
Repeatedly spending millions to select another handgun is a waste of time, energy and $$$.
SEALs still use the 9mm and have just approved the Glock 19 for duty.
The caliber debate is pointless.
The USMC was, indeed, the lead service on the M16A2.
At the time, it was believed that the bayonet was declining as a viable battlefield implement, and would only be used for “light duty” like guarding prisoners.
TR, in his usual hands-on manner, used a standard Krag rifle with bayonet to demonstrate that the “rod-bayonet” of the early Springfields would easily be broken off in battle...his written statement to his generals was that he believed the rod bayonet “...about as bad an invention as I ever saw”.
Here is the scary part:
“The Presidential Memorandum directs the departments to conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology that would reduce the frequency of accidental discharge or unauthorized use of firearms, and improve the tracing of lost or stolen guns.”
There are numerous technologies that are expensive and could do just that.
Consider an RFID chip embedded in a composite frame. The proper type of scanner could elicit a signal that identifies the firearm, tells whether it is in motion or not, and with a couple of recievers, give its location.
That is pretty Orwellian stuff.
Sure, it can be countered, but the idea is to make weaopons in the hands of citizens risky and illegitimate.
That is about what I remembered Blue, (see post #47). But what do I know about AR’s I guess......
Ping.
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