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Thanks for the reply. Was the M219 the thing with the real, real short action (I mean, the whole receiver was about eight inches long) or was that the M37... the one I'm thinking of fed from both sides. You changed the position of something in the bolt carrier, moved some pieces, and voila, it was left hand feed.

Yeah, the Chauchat... one more kiss we owe the French. Well, all the guys who carried that and weren't killed by it are gone now, anyway... it was almost 90 years ago.

Some American weapons, including the M4, have issues, but I can assure everybody that responsible pros are working on them. Guys who know engineering are working with guys who have shot people with it, and all working with the contractors to make a better gun for everybody. We are agitating for wider availability of the effective 77gr Black Hills round, too.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

The M219 was based on the M73, which was such a worthless POS that the M219 was considered an improvement. Both guns had short receivers to reduce inboard length and take up less space inside the turret.

According to Jane's Infantry Weapons 1976:

The M219 is (was, thankfully) normally issued as a left hand feed gun. However in some vehicles the gun must have a right hand feedand there is a conversion involving 11 stages which allows the change. Similarly, regardless of the direction of feed, the charging assembly, which is a handle and chain, is normally on the left of the receiver but can be changed over to the right.

I had forgotten about those chains. Busted several. I hated the M219.