Posted on 07/29/2015 6:40:26 AM PDT by w1n1
Marine leaders have made the momentous recommendation to ditch the iconic M16 in favor of the M4 carbine as the new universal weapon for infantrymen.
The recommendation to swap the venerated rifle that has served as the grunt’s primary implement of war since Vietnam now sits on the commandant’s desk, pending his final review and a decision. But, the swap appears imminent and if approved will relegate the M16 to a support role. It follows a similar shift already underway in the Army.
With the endorsement of several major commands already supporting the switch — including Marine Corps Combat Development Command; Combat Development and Integration; Plans, Policies and Operations; Marine Corps Systems Command; and Installations and Logistics — final word is possible in weeks or months.
“The proposal to replace the M16A4 with the M4 within infantry battalions is currently under consideration at Headquarters Marine Corps,” according to a jointly written response from the commands provided by Maj. Anton Semelroth, a Marine spokesman in Quantico, Va. Read the rest of the story here.
Really mess with them and take both.
LOL.
L
Weren’t those designed for a really fast barrel change ? Pull a pin and rock the receiver to one side ..... slide out the barrel and slide in the new, rck the receiver back and pin reinserted ....?
Ha! Yep, it will have to do. I never thought of the Greatest War Implement as a buffler gun though.
Jacks M1 is a fine rendering of it, ain’t it?
Hope yer good archy!
Right?
Be safe brother.
Yeah...left Orlando after boot...it was 72 degrees..Hours later arrived at O’hare it was 23 and blowing snow.
Spent almost two years at Great Lakes for USN gunnery A and C school. This Georgia boy hated it.
I hear the kudzu isn't as bad at Great Lakes.
I'll have to get some repro's made. That's from the 1985 50th FBI anniversary, thus the *Camp Hoover* reference.
But I bet I can come up with a couple of others in 3X you'd get a kick out of.
Yep, both the M73 and the M85 .50. I goofed and made some comments above that apply to the M85 and called it the M73, still having a bad taste in my mouth recalling the things.
The M85 was intended to be a tank cupola gun that could have an overheated barrel changed from the inside of the turret; same idea with the 7,62 M73 [and later M219 version; no better.] The previous M37 Browning .30 used in the M48 and very early M60 tanks [which had M48 turrets with 105mm main guns] was a great gun and reliable as any of the Browning-designed shooters, but you had to pull the backplate, withdraw the bolt and barrel extension, and unscrew and replace the barrel in its extension to swap barrels, then replace everything. It was a bit slow.
Not John M Browning's fault: he designed his machineguns to be watercooled so they wouldn't have a problem with the barrels overheating. Some of the WWI tanks used watercooled MGs, but none I can think of since.
Hope yer good archy!
I can't complain. It's against the morale policy.
Given my druthers of the hardware of that period, I think a BAR might be a fair pick. The Garand is handy in my area for at least four reasons: buffalo/bison as noted, bear [Yellowstone isn't near, but there've been a few strays reported actrive this year] feral humans in metal vehicles [.30M2 AP] and .30 tracer for signaling aircraft.
In the words of a former EOD tech with whom you might be familiar, hold my beer, and watch this!
Yessir .....:o)
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>> “Certainly this makes sense for close quarters and short range jungle type combat...” <<
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Like US cities you say?
Hmmm
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>> “Soldier hammered pin in with .50 cal round...” <<
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Using the primer end as the hammer, I trust?
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Possibly, using it as a hammer to drive in the retaining pins would make something almost resembling sense. Or maybe, using the round as a drift punch to try to drive the crosspins out. I could see that happening after using dummy rounds that way in a training environment, then being sent off to the land of rusted equipment and Live Ammo, AKA the real world.
In any event: don't do it. And avoid those who do if you can, and if you can't, don't turn your back on them.
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The question that pops into my head is “why would the gun not have appropriate tools permanently attached with a chain or cable?”
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I used to wear my coax MG headspace and timing gage around my neck on my dogtag chain. If I'd left it chained or cabled to a vehicle mount, it would have been boltcuttered away in a heartbeat.
I'm thinking about it. Maybe I can get 'em to pay miles travelled for training?
Interesting choice of vacation destinations you have.
Best
I do get around. It helps to have a Texas passport.
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