US Marines on problems with military’s current rifle
Time magazine has a look.
8 Responses to “US Marines on problems with military’s current rifle”
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March 17th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Proving that particular argument started with “Flint vs. Obsidian spear points” and will continue to “Phasers vs. Disruptors.”
March 17th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Man, and I thought the media was the go to source for weapons reviews and first hand knowledge of why the firearms our military issues are complete garbage.
We should definitely revisit our opinion of World War II combat due to this article, there is just no way the M1 Garand worked as well as it did.
_______________
But seriously, is it worth paying any attention to the big media monkeys at all? Not just firearms, but concerning any and everything. They don’t know jack about shit.
March 17th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
OK, you got me on that one…:-) Interesting read, however.
March 17th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
I get the impression that this is a backhanded effort to lend faint support to the M-16 platform.
fail.
Because while the failings of the M-16 platform are manifest, well known, and have been in place for decades now, nobody from time thought to go back to say, 1945 and ask the Marines or anyone else what they thought of the M-1 THEN.
Of course we know now what veterans of the second war, and the Korean war think of the garand now, and their opinions run universally to the outstanding.
And despite all the modifications, doo dads, and upgrades, the opinion of the M-16 has not changed all that much.
The latest complaint being ineffectiveness at ranges exceeding 300 meters.
But should we change to another weapon, even if only marginally better, more effective, and more reliable?
Yes.
Why?
Because we can.
March 17th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Right now the biggest failing is the magazine. The new floor plate is still subject to malfunction if the feed lips are dinged. Out of the box they work pretty well but any change in feeding geometry causes the m16a2 to misfeed or jam. Also the sand induced wear around the magazine catch and the magazine well are known contributors to changes in geometry. Even if the rifle is cleaned regularly the sand still takes a toll whenever the rifle is used. Supposedly the m4 eliminates the magazine problems. I was never issued an m4 so I cannot be sure. My suspicion is that the newer receivers with less wear and tear on the internals are what is “fixing” the problem. We should know more once the USMC receives a shipment that is destined for Marine grunts rather than SOCOM. The second problem is that under heavy use the m16a2 bolt is subject to locking shut due to a combination of sand, carbon build up and extreme heat. An unofficial way to keep the rotary bolt head and locking lugs clean is to not use Clp and oil on them, but to scrub them with gasoline or brake cleaner if you are lucky enough to have access to it. The gasoline evaporates and leaves less of a film then the oil so less crap is collected. The big minus to this method is that any humidity will start making itself known right away so watch out for your NCO’s spot inspections. However it does significantly reduce buildup under heavy use. The debris form more of a powder and less sticky paste.
March 18th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
“The second problem is that under heavy use the m16a2 bolt is subject to locking shut due to a combination of sand, carbon build up and extreme heat. An unofficial way to keep the rotary bolt head and locking lugs clean is to not use Clp and oil on them, but to scrub them with gasoline or brake cleaner if you are lucky enough to have access to it. The gasoline evaporates and leaves less of a film then the oil so less crap is collected.”
John Smith you are doing this wrong. Wrong wrong wrong.
http://vickerstactical.com/tactical-tips/weapon-lubrication/
March 18th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
There’s a new pdf going around that I can’t find that talks about problems with the M4. The one that talked about how M4s are only good out to 300 yards and that’s not good enough for A-stan. Anyway, in that report it comments that the major problem with M4/M16 reliability is that the military is near 100% retarded when it comes to weapons maintenance, cleaning, and lubrication.
Replace your stuff when you’re supposed to (not when it breaks), keep your weapon clean but not too clean (overcleaning hurts guns! You don’t detail strip your car’s engine everytime you get home) and nobody lubricated enough or properly. The report section highlights Mr. Vickers.
March 19th, 2010 at 6:12 am
…I wonder how effective it’d be to add a little moly or other heat-unaffected dry lubricant to the buffer in the powder for the issued rounds. If ‘ash’ blows everywhere anyways, why not make the ash lubricitous?