Battle of battle rifles
Over at DefRev, they note the Army’s comparison of XM8,
Mk16 SCAR-L, HK416, and M4 Carbine.
Update: Here’s The Army Times on the tests:
The M4 carbine, the weapon soldiers depend on in combat, finished last in a recent “extreme dust test” to demonstrate the M4’s reliability compared to three newer carbines.
Weapons officials at the Army Test and Evaluation Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., exposed Colt Defense LLC’s M4, along with the Heckler & Koch XM8, FNH USA’s Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle and the H&K 416 to sandstorm conditions from late September to late November, firing 6,000 rounds through each test weapon.
When the test was completed, ATEC officials found that the M4 performed “significantly worse” than the other three weapons, sources told Army Times.
Officials tested 10 each of the four carbine models, firing a total of 60,000 rounds per model. Here’s how they ranked, according to the total number of times each model stopped firing:
• XM8: 127 stoppages.
• MK16 SCAR Light: 226 stoppages.
• 416: 233 stoppages.
• M4: 882 stoppages.
December 18th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Not too surprising, but please please I hope to god the army doesn’t adopt an H&K rifle. You and I will never be able to touch it.
December 18th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
I thought “battle rifle” referred to a full-powered rifle (like an M-14).
December 19th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
No personal experience with the AR15/M16 family, my son does tell me the M16/M4 is one of the dirtiest rifles he’s ever seen. M16 in basic, M4 is what he’s carrying now. Quite accurate in its range, good ergonomics, but gets dirty real fast.