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Originally Posted by Walt
I've never had any issues with the SAW that couldn't be fixed with tape and zip ties. But it's heavy and doesn't do anything that a full-auto M4 can't do aside from keep more rounds on tap. If I am going to carry something heavy, I would prefer that it bring more ass than my M4.
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Yeah, I disagree. The SAW is a fire team maneuver support weapon and, if I recall correctly, is one of the more successful weapons (based on body count) in the GWoT. I think it's a good thing that the SAW weighs three times as much as the M4. It helps when you're spraying those 5 round bursts from the rice paddy prone. The M4A1 (full auto) doesn't have a quick-change barrel and its light weight and small magazine capacity make it absolutely useless as a fire team maneuver support weapon. I really like the Ares Shrike concept (belt fed M4), but I'd have to see how it handles recoil on burst. The M4 is a point weapon, the SAW is an area / volume (keep heads down) weapon. I like it. Like the M240B, it sucks to carry (awkward ergonomics and horrible sling attachment points)... but it tends to be a joy to shoot. It isn't perfect, but I'll take it over a "M4A1/M240B ONLY" if that was my situation.
Don't get me wrong, I think the SAW needs several major exterior improvements. The US Army should switch to the Mk 46 or an updated equiv. Get rid of the useless/dangerous magwell, beef up the bipod, put a good sliding stock on it (fuck the POS folding stocks), beef up sling hooks, change the takedown pins so they don't get loose / fall out (coat hanger WECSOG, anyone?), go to a safety with a rotating paddle instead of a crossbolt, etc.
15 pounds isn't good but it isn't bad. The Thompson M1 weighed over ten pounds empty and Tom Hanks killed a frickin' metric tonne of Nazis with it. The M1 Garand weighed how much? And I take it you think something like the Mk 48 (18 lbs, 7.62) would be a better 1-in-4 weapon for infantry squads.
Until we can get an updated intermediate cartridge (
6.8'd!), the 5.56 carbine/SAW remains a solid, logistically sound combo for today's video-game-trained-grunts-vs.-dirtbags-in-mandresses "war." I think the biggest problem with the military is that everybody wants more-power-more-rounds when we went from more-power-less-rounds (7.62 M14) to less-power-more-rounds (5.56 M16) during the last 50 years. Part of the power problem is being addressed with the new generation of military-only super-headsplatter 5.56 ammo that you probably know way more about than I do.
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Originally Posted by Walt
Lots of folks disagree with me on the M9, but I've never had one that worked worth a damn. I don't like the exposed barrel. The overly complicated locking block always makes me want to smash things. It's oversized and weighs elevendy billion pounds. They should all be replaced by G19's and then get melted down to make more 240s.
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This. Times elevendy billion.
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Originally Posted by Walt
The 203 doesn't really suck until you attach it to your rifle and you have to move around a little bit. Then it fucks up the balance and makes the whole system awkward. Especially in tight spaces like when you have to stick your rifle out the window of your truck or clear a building. Sometimes a 40mm grenade is needed....but not often enough to justify messing with your primary weapon. I would be all for bringing back a shortened version of the M79 and letting it hang out in my assault pack until needed.
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I generally agree with this as well. I was actually thinking about spending some BAH on a KAC M203 stand alone collapsible stock for mine the last time out (
Gearqueer'd!). Then I wised up and decided that my uniform-over-mission 1SG would throw a E9-grade shitfit over the fact that my never-to-be-fired 40mm grenade launcher wasn't mounted to my carbine and secured with 19 miles of lacing wire. I see kids walking around today with the M320s (funny nomenclature for the 203's replacement) on their M4s and I can't help but think that it is another case of "too much technology for no reason." I like that the M320 can do stand-alone mode, though. It should go, as you said, in a scabbard on the grenadier's assault pack. The M203, however, was excellent at storing Fig Newtons during patrols. I think the future of grenade launchers is something like the AICW Metal Storm stacked "Roman Candle" 40mm.