Free Republic

Developed in the early 1960s, the M79 grenade launcher saw use in the Vietnam War – and for those who carried the weapon, it was either instant love or lasting hatred. The weapon was simple to use. Much like a shotgun, it was a break-open, shoulder-fire weapon that could fire a 40mm grenade. It utilized a “high-low propulsion” launching system that reduced the recoil, yet allowed shooters to launch a grenade upwards of 400 yards, which was far further than a hand grenade could be thrown. The rifled barrel gave the round a right-hand spin, which also ensured accuracy.

Sheriff's officials in Goshen County are touting a grenade launcher as a useful tool for keeping the peace, even though they have never used it. The Casper Star-Tribune reported Sunday that officials bought the weapon for use in the county jail, which houses 25 inmates and has not had a large fight in the past year. Lt. Jeremy Wardell says the grenade launcher, one of three the county has owned, is a less-lethal option for controlling riots. He compared it to pepper spray or a Taser. "We would use it in situations when less-lethal force is justified to get the...

In the damned if you do, damned if you don’t category, the Army’s new M320 grenade launcher is facing stiff criticism over one of the principle advantages of the system requested by Soldiers and touted by the Army. There were lots of M320s among Joes in the 3rd BCT of the 101st Airborne — in fact I don’t remember seeing a single M203 among them. But just about everyone I asked about the new H&K-made M320 was that they miss the 203. I got the sense that this was mostly a reaction against changing from a tried and true system...

Grand jury indicts London physician on grenade charge BY LINDA SATTER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Dr. Randeep Mann of Pope County was formally indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Little Rock on a single charge of possessing 98 unregistered grenades. Last month, Mann, 50, was arrested by federal agents after Pope County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call from public works employees for the city of London who had stumbled upon a partially buried plastic bag in a wooded area. Inside the bag, buried 875 feet from Mann’s home, was a military canister containing the explosives, which were designed to...

These tiny injuries are not consistent with B-40 rocket shrapnel. THEY ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE EFFECTS FROM M-79 GRENADE LAUNCHERS. ... He probably then grabbed the M-79 grenade launcher -- shooting a round into a reportedly monsoon rain. The round would have detonated prematurely due to the wall of rain that was coming down and thus blown back to wound Thorson and Kerry, as well as Fred Short it appears.