Were you ever in the Armed Forces

[Nonskimmer]

The M-14 was an update of the M1 Garrand, of WWII fame. It's a good rifle in it's own right. 7.62mm with lots of stopping power. From what I understand, it's still often used as a sniper rifle.

The SLR is a beautiful assault rifle. My dad was on the last guard to use the SLR in RAF Finningley. A beautiful piece of kit; he was out before he had to be introduced to the SA-80.

I've fired it too, except in Canadian service it was called the C1. It was a decent enough rifle in its day. No auto-fire setting though.

 

[evangilder]

Depends on the situation, but the M-16 that I had was a relic. I kept it clean as a whistle, but it still had a tendency to jam on me. A quick tug on the charging handle usually cleared it, which on the range was more difficult because you don't have the adrenaline boost to yank back.

But in some ways, Med, you are right. It is one more thing to carry that can be cumbersome and cause chafing. But when the fit hits the shan, you are happy to have it along!

 

[lesofprimus]

Ive fired the FN/SLR as well... Nice action, but a bit heavy and very long... Wouldnt recommend for usin in the thick bush...

 

[P38 Pilot]

Hey how come we classify most of our small arms with "M"?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

M stands for Model. M-16 = Model 16. M-1 Abrams stands for Model 1 Abrams.

As for the M-16 the newer M-3 (I think it is the M-3 which is not completely new since it has been around since the 80's I believe) is not fully auto anyhow. It has 3 selector positions being Safe, Semi, and Burst. Burst being the 3 round burst selection. Having said that now I have not fired an M-16 since Basic Training. Our standard weapons for the Blackhawk are the 2 crew chiefs we carry 2 9mm Barrettas and 2 M-60D Machine Guns. The 2 pilots carry 9mm Barrettas and 2 M-4 Carbines.

 

[P38 Pilot]

Cool! 8)

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

No problem.

 

[lesofprimus]

If u think luggin around an M-16 is a drag, try carrying an M60...... I carried one for about 2 months, and I hated it... That extra ammo hurts the lower back....

If Im not mistaken, the M in the M-1, M-14, M-16, M4A1 ect ect stands for Military....

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

You could be right I am just thinking it would model like in tanks and so forth.

You are right about the M-60. I never carry it around more than from the arms room to my helicopter but it would suck carrying around for ever which would happen if we crashed and I had to egress.

 

[P38 Pilot]

I feel sorry for my cousin. He had too carry around the M60 for 2 weeks!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Hope he enjoyed it.

 

[lesofprimus]

Its a blast dont get me wrong, but the problem with being an automatic weapons operator, is that at full-auto, the enemy will concentrate as much firepower as is available to take out ANY automatic weapons location...

Which is why we used very short bursts to somewhat conceal our locations...

Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didnt....

 

[Nonskimmer]

Not that anyone really cares, but about the only real difference between the standard M-16's and the C7 variants produced in Canada (under licence, of course ) is the fire selector. The C7 has no burst settings. Just straight semi and full-auto. The Canadian Army just didn't want the burst feature I guess. The rear sight is slightly different too I'm told, but as I've never handled the standard US M-16 I wouldn't know for sure. Same things go for the C8.

We don't use the M60. Our general purpose machine gun is the C6, or what's otherwise known as the FN MAG 58. We also use the M249 SAW, which we call the C9.

We like the letter C.

 

[P38 Pilot]

My cousin didnt like it! Having Vietnamese shoot at him was not fun. He quickly got back his M-16. But he did say that it was great for mowing down Vietnamese snipers in the jungle!

 

[P38 Pilot]

We like the letter M!

 

[lesofprimus]

The SAW is great, but the stopping power of the 5.56mm is not as preferred as the heavier M60 and its 7.62.... Im not sure what the modern cyclic rates for both are now....

I always thought the SAW was slightly lighter than the M60 though... Smaller rounds = lighter load....

I suppose the "C" is for Canada, eh???

 

[Nonskimmer]

What else?

 

[P38 Pilot]

5.56mm? You would think that it was lighter from what you said Les.

 

[lesofprimus]

Huh?

 

[Chocks away!]

Hey I just joined the Cypriot national guard. (This is why my brilliant posts were absent for a month) Lots of anti-turkish propaganda. But hey! An army needs an enemy doesn't it? We swore the military oath on Friday. You should have seen all the girls cheering! Learning to burp, spit and fart all the time as well as fire a gun. Hoping to join the airforce. Tally-ho!
(this is like a letter ) 8)