M4 reliability in the field?

[UrbanWolf]

Didn't HK came up with a goofy name for that mag?

And this little gem:

As for Chief Warrant Officer Stafford’s firsthand experience with M4 magazines, Gen. Scales said: “If my son were in the infantry, for his birthday I would buy him about 50 [German] Heckler and Koch magazines, not just for him, but for his buds. Why do we die for a dollar-and-seventy-cent item when a fighter plane costs $550 million?”

This guy is smoking crack. Heavier, less reliable mags that puke out everything when dropped and collapse springs after 1k rounds.

Oh... and cost over $20 each (old GSA).

NO.


Galaxy Note II + Tapatalk 2

[Gman]

Who knew that the service rifle couldn't fire on full automatic forever? Not even heavy machine guns can fire in full auto for long periods of time. This is ridiculous and is nothing new.

Complaining about some of our weapons systems ages? The 1911 is still used by special forces units and the Marines are bringing it back for good reason. It just works. The M2 works. You don't throw away a solid design because of an arbitrary decision based on the date that it was adopted.

I would however like to see a mix of 5.56 and 7.62 rifles in squads for dedicated marksman use.

[Mick-Boy]

Three big take aways from this article:

1) Basic knowledge of small arms use and maintenance in the military is terrible. I'm serious. I find myself teaching hip pocket classes on what makes a rifle work and how to fix it when it stops working almost every time I spend more than a couple of days with a non-SOF unit. USMC, Army or AF doesn't matter. The number of old wives tales and general bad information that affects how soldiers think about, treat and care for their weapons is staggering.

2) The rifle runs best when wet. - Every time I hear some loud mouth, know nothing, asshole (even better when they have shiny shit or rockers on their collar) telling younger guys that "you're not supposed to lube a rifle in the desert because it'll attract dust" I want to throat punch them. We're more than 12 years into this shit and I still hear it at least once a rotation. Lube the moving parts. It's not rocket surgery. If it's extra dusty you should maybe think about taking the bolt carrier out of the gun, wiping it down, lubing it up again, putting it back in the gun and closing the dust cover. This process takes about 60 seconds. People need to stop acting like weapons are magical instruments that are supposed to work indefinitely with no end user maintenance. It's a simple machine and needs to be treated as such. It's your rifle, it's your responsibility to keep it running.

3) Magazines are wear items. - When they stop working, stop using them. They are not heirlooms to be passed down through the generations. Numbering them so you know which is which is a good step towards getting rid of the problem magazines in your load out.

[Zombie Steve]

Now why would you go and take such a prestigious gun lore topic and apply common sense? Jeez.

[ZERO THEORY]

The 1911 is still used by special forces units and the Marines are bringing it back for good reason. It just works.

[Zombie Steve]

Got 2 1911's. One is over 12,000 rounds, the other is unknown, but I have at least 5,000 through it. No problems. They just work. Of course, there are Ford Fiesta versions and Rolls Royce versions...

[Gman]

Yeah, the 1911 was a joke during WWII as well and the soldiers that carried them couldn't wait to get rid of them.

If it was designed by JMB, chances are it still works.

[vossman]

I still think a current polymer pistol would be better. I like the 1911 but I think there is a better option for our fighting guys.