Army’s new m16/m4 program.

[smittty]

They're coming after all semi-autos anyway.

[TMB 1]

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Shouldn't worry about that or you'll have yourself only having a single shot that shoots a short range cartridge.

[PyroFox79]

The HK-416. So great it needs special mags to work right. Yea I don't see that happening.

[caliguy93]

The HK 416 is battle proven piston driven longer range.

Didn’t the SEAL who killed bin laden carry one of these?

I wish Glock would make an assault rifle.

You must play a lot of video games.

Bin laden is another human just like anyone else. A bullet affects him just the same. He wasn’t like a video game boss where you need a stronger weapon to take him down. His execution shot could have been made with a hi point and he would have died just the same.

So really, what the SEAL who killed Bin Laden happened to be carrying bears no importance to which weapons are better than others.

However, I’ll give you something to work with, the seal team must have relied on some Information that helped them decide to carry that weapon as it is PRESUMED heavy research was performed to insure each and every warrior sent in to take out Bin Laden has the best of the best. But then again, it is also PRESUMED that all of our elite fighting forces, regardless of who their target is, would carry the best of the best, and they don’t all carry HK’s or scars, or M4’s

[smittty]

Shouldn't worry about that or you'll have yourself only having a single shot that shoots a short range cartridge.

I have thought about it and realize the burden of being stuck with a gun that I have to give special considerations to own, and it's not something I want to deal with.

Not being able to pass it down to my kids is only one of the concerns.

I could justify owning one rifle that could get captured in a future redefinition but not more.

[Michael777]

I have also read the HK has greater range than the standard m4 and the marines have been ordering them in large numbers.

[caliguy93]

I have also read the HK has greater range than the standard m4 and the marines have been ordering them in large numbers.

Greater range? Based on what? A longer barrel? A different twist rate? It certainly isn’t the piston system that gives a projectile it’s velocity.

Let’s be serious about this as it’s not rocket science

The only thing that would make one firearm a better choice than others are reliability, maneuverability (and ergonomics), capability, and versatility. Then you can factor in things like cost to determine if the cost is justified by the advantages one has over another.

An AR is easily configurable to any barrel length and twist rate so there is no way an hk416 can have greater range than an AR... reliability? Machine gun Las Vegas did a study on their firearms and came to the conclusion that they have to fix or replace more parts on their piston drivin rifles more frequently than their direct impingement counterparts.

Maneuverability and ergo? Are about the same with the exception that piston drivin rifles are typically slightly heavier.

And versatility is obvious that the m4 wins out since it can be easily converted and swapped with thousands of options and other firearms while maintaining the same reliability. Other guns can’t do that..

Then there’s cost.. m4 again, much cheaper.

Now I’ll throw you a bone, some piston systems change where the reciprocating mass is, which in turn can affect follow up shot accuracy. But the hk 416 still sends a massive bolt back towards the shooter in the same area as a DI rifle. The Kris’s vector for example (although blowback) gets great follow up shot accuracy because it diverts the reciprocating mass downward. All of this is explained through science, and not on who the gun has killed or what performance attributes you have heard the gun may have.

This is the real world with real science, not video game science. A gun doesn’t have greater range just because somebody says it does or who it has killed.

Ok flame off

[JustaBlokeAnywhere]

The reason honestly why the AR has lasted so long (and it's not because of its anemic bullet) is the sure modularity of the platform. I honestly think the military should keep the gun and move up the caliber or at least a heavier grain bullet.

[caliguy93]

The reason honestly why the AR has lasted so long (and it's not because of its anemic bullet) is the sure modularity of the platform. I honestly think the military should keep the gun and move up the caliber or at least a heavier grain bullet.

[hunterb]

....I wish Glock would make an assault rifle.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHHAHHAHAAHHHAH

[NapalmCheese]

I have also read the HK has greater range than the standard m4 and the marines have been ordering them in large numbers.

The design of the M27 IAR makes it more accurate than an off the shelf M4 or M16 (not the piston, but the free floated barrel and tighter tolerances in general), therefore in it's role as an Infantry Automatic Rifle it's effective range is farther than that of the M-4 or M-16. It still fires the same round as the standard M-4 or M-16 though.

[Mr. Snuffalupagus]

I would like to see how the Kel-Tec RDB would do in that testing!

Turners just had the 20” C model in stock and sold out quickly.

I have a 17" in Flat dark Earth in a free state configuration (wanted a 20" but they were like hen's teeth, I couldn't find one)

it's a pretty nifty rifle. the rear/downward eject is pretty cool the way it works.
some bash Kel tec - but the RDB works very well. I would expect the C model to work just as well... even if it is goofy looking.

(my 17" model is ridiculously handy, being just 27" long)

[smle-man]

They have been trying to upgrade for decades and haven't done it yet. What we have are a bunch of brass who have a financial stake in whatever billions of dollars will go into a proposed change of weapon. Will they make the best choice for the common soldier?

What we have is a gazillion 5.56mm rounds in inventory and an equal amount of repair parts for the M4 series.

Latest talk is spinning around a 6mm or 6.5mm bullet launcher as general issue. I'm thinking the 5.56 and M16/M4 will exceed the length in service time that the Brown Bess musket accured (90 years).

[Lonestargrizzly]

Should have gone with the XM-8 and the PX4 storm.

[baekacaek]

An AR is easily configurable to any barrel length and twist rate so there is no way an hk416 can have greater range than an AR... reliability? Machine gun Las Vegas did a study on their firearms and came to the conclusion that they have to fix or replace more parts on their piston drivin rifles more frequently than their direct impingement counterparts.

Just to nitpick a little, I believe Battlefield Las Vegas compared DI ARs to Piston ARs, not DI ARs to piston HK416 or other piston driven rifles.

Anyway, spot on with the other stuff. The range of a weapon is determined mostly by the barrel length (which determines muzzle velocity). So a 20inch barrel M16 is going to have greater range than a 16inch barrel HK416, which will have greater range than a 14.5inch M4.

I think I did read the same article the poster you quoted was talking about. It talked about how HK416 was awesome (when compared to M16) because it can be used as a machine gun, like the M249, due to its awesome rate of fire, and also as a sniper rifle, due to its accuracy and increased range. It talked about how the USMC was considering it because of those "facts". I remember thinking "what the flying f***"?