Gun Porn!

I saw a bizarre contraption that involved two Maxims and a holosight in photos from Donbass long ago.

Aha, here it is.

Mind you, one of the most beloved heavy infantry weapons in the US military arsenal is a machine gun that first saw service in the Great War. There have been a few upgrades to it, and a (relatively) lightweight variant designed for use on aircraft.

It has been modified and updated several times and a number of variations created. They aren't using the same weapon as the original, thank god.

We still use the M1917 Browning .30 cal?

Apparently the M1917 spawned a couple of spin-off designs that would stay in service for many decades, the Ma Deuce and the M1919, which had rechambered variants serving at least as late as Vietnam. Trying to find any info on how late the M1919's variants stayed in service with the US but coming up with nothing right now.

Pretty sure the m2 is still around and very much loved.

The M-1919 .30cal was used on some helicopter mounts and US Riverine "Brown Water" navy craft.

The M2 HMG is still around in one of several forms. It has undergone slow but steady and constant alteration and development since what we now consider the M2 came to be. The M2 itself is a redesign of the M-1921.

Edited by TuefelHundenIV on Feb 7th 2020 at 5:44:07 AM

Random musing thought:

When reloading a magazine-fed rifle, are en-bloc clip fed weapons always slower to reload mid-magazine compared to an empty reload? I know the M1 Garand and the Steyr-Mannlicher 1895 as well as early Carcano versions did have this issue where it was always faster to empty the clip then insert a fresh new one.

But are all en-bloc clip fed weapons the way I mentioned?

I know detachable box/drum mags are always faster with a round in the chamber compared to empty. (Though not always advisable. I know it's a risky move on an M16.) Stripper clip fed weapons depended on rounds remaining as far I know. (I know for a Mosin-Nagant, it's always faster if you have One Bullet Left to simply eject the last round and insert a full clip.)

Edited by MajorTom on Feb 11th 2020 at 4:04:36 AM

Maybe if there's like one or two rounds in the en-bloc but to reload the Garand you just pull the charging handle back and hit the little release button, it's a pretty simple process.

But to reload the M1 from empty is pull the charging handle back, insert the clip and go. No button release step required as it automatically ejects the spent clip with a hearty PING.

And you can't eject a clip one handed on the M1. It takes both hands.

Edited by MajorTom on Feb 11th 2020 at 4:10:13 AM

I don’t see why it would be risky to reload with a round in the chamber. As to whether it’s faster or slower, on most modern rifles at least the last round hold open feature means there’s basically no difference in speed, since you can engage it while you’re seating the magazine.

I've never heard of it being an issue on the M16 but I do know the MP5 and G3 family don't like being reloaded with a round in the chamber because the bolt ends up squishing the topmost bullet in the mag down and could damage the magazine springs.

Edited by LeGarcon on Feb 11th 2020 at 7:27:35 AM

I know on the M16 it usually works without much if any hassle to reload with one in the chamber, but if the magazine or the magazine well are a bit worn or if the magazine is ever so slightly out of place or both as a result of each other it'll misalign and risk a misfeed. The bolt hold-open on it is built in such a way that it expects all mag changes to be empty reloads. That and the M16 has very little wiggle room in terms of tolerances.

I’ve never heard of a malfunction occurring like that. Feed lips being bent out of shape can cause a round to fail to seat properly, but they would have to be really bent up and at that point it wouldn’t matter whether you were reloading on a closed or open bolt. Tactical reloads have been part of the basic manual of arms for AR-pattern rifles for forever.

That sounds to me a little like one of those Vietnam-era rumors that’s gotten passed around so much it’s been accepted as truth. The AR pattern in general has so many of these rumors surrounding it it’s hard to know what’s true and what isn’t sometimes. Talk of the “tolerances” of the gun causing malfunctions generally falls into the rumor category, I’ve found. The tolerances the weapon is built to don’t really necessarily impact its function, as much as the general design does. You can have a very reliable weapon built to loose tolerances, or exacting ones, and you can have a very crappy weapon built to either as well.

MP5 magazines can be a little stiff if you load them on a closed bolt, but not so stiff that you can’t simply push them into place with a minimum of extra effort. Doing so wouldn’t harm the function of the weapon, just slow down your reload a little.

Edited by archonspeaks on Feb 11th 2020 at 9:53:00 AM

On a semi related note, last couple of months I was attached to a company at the coast during the Brazilian summer, in order to intensify the security at the beaches during the holidays.

And let me tell you, the Taurus 24/7, also known as 24 fails 7, isn't the most reliable sidearm there is. And the salty air and the mist from the sea water was totally ruining the arms of my colleagues.

Mine is only at good condition because I regularly oiled and cleaned my gun, I swear I've seen handguns been eaten by rust to the point it is easier for you to die of tetanus than it is for your shot to kill someone.

The moment I saw how salt loaded the air was, I cleaned my gun with religious devotion along other firearms aficionados using some decent cleaning kits.

Yeah, saltwater in the air is murder on weapons. Especially if you have cheap ammo whose residues and burn off can be mildly corrosive on top of everything.

Saltwater is murder on just about anything metal.

Never had an issue with the mag well, bad magazines are 'nother story. The mags with the old black and green plastic "followers"^note The part that pushes the bullets up suck. They can tilt at an angle and stop feeding. The feed lips get bent and the mag jams.

Double feeds can happen and unless you have a tool, you're fucked as a round can get stuck above the tube that feeds gas to the bolt.

In basic, the rifles were so old that a "weapons truck" was always there when we did Basic Rifle Marksmanship. A contractor would fix our rifles. At one point a girl my platoon had the flash suppressor that would rotate freely. A Drill Sergeant (who normally teases her about her haircut) told her to get it fixed ASAP because the weapon could blow up in her face if it wasn't looked at.

Now for those of you firing old ammo, surplus ammo or old surplus ammo, there is The Dreaded pop and no kick aka the "squib load". The power is bad but the primer is not. So there is the "pop" of the primer and some of the powder. The bullet could be in the barrel but the cartridge is slowly burning in the chamber. If you don't drop the mag and walk away you could get a face full of metal.

Never happened to anyone I know but that's why we check the rounds before we lock and load...

"Hot Dog Gun" Shows How Someone Really Felt About The Army's Failed XM10 Pistol Competition.

Neat history and the hot dog gun is clearly chambered for .45 Beef Franks.

Given the ups and downs of Army contracts, I'm not surprised.

Did someone write "Help Me I Am Losing My Mind" on the other side of the "hotdog gun"?

• NGSW Update: Push for the 6.8mm Continues

• The Army wants $111 million to finally field its next-generation squad weapon by 2023

I'm hoping the bullpup NGSW-R wins. For two reasons.

1) Good old fashioned jollies rubbing in a bullpup beating the AR-15 family in the faces of AR-15 fanboys who say it can do nothing wrong and everything right.

2) Practicality. You can achieve the velocity, range, accuracy and signature (noise, flash) of a full sized weapon such as an M16 in a smaller platform with a bullpup design. Imagine a weapon the size of an M4 or smaller but with a 16 inch or better barrel length.

That said, I'm hoping the belt-fed NGSW wins the LMG contract. All the accuracy in the Universe means nothing if you ain't got no longevity in dealing with either suppressive fire or multiple targets. It has been demonstrated time and time and time again over the past 80 years that nothing beats a belt-fed in the machine gun role.

Edited by MajorTom on Apr 30th 2020 at 6:16:07 AM

Just bought me a Beretta 92A1. 9x19 caliber, 10-15 round capacity. In a way the Army/Marine Corps M9 with an underside rail for lights.

It's got a bit of weight to it in feel. A good kind of heavy, a 1911 kind of heavy if a bit wider.

The 92's with the 15 round mags do tend to be thick in the grip. It should shoot fairly well provided you care for it.

Very solid choice. I’m interested to hear how it shoots, the recoil buffer those have seems like it would make 9mm all but a breeze.