Forum Overview :: E.L. Koba Fights For Us :: Re: War Update

[quote name="E. L. Koba"]Yah, most of the weapon complaints are the same old rehashed armchair general complaints that have been around for years (decades?). Most of the debunking is right on. [quote name="Guido Jones"]1) The M-16 rifle ...[/quote] Yes, you have to clean your rifle. No shit. Everyone in the Army (and I assume the Marines O_O) has been doing this since basic training. Before the M16 came out did soldiers just not ever have to clean their weapons? To hear the people talk about the jamming problems of the M16 family, you'd think that the old skool weapons could go for months without ever being broken down for cleaning. And yah, the M4 is more popular because of the rails (which are more usefull than you can imagine) and because it's so much smaller and easier to get around in small spaces (Humvees) with. You can actually shoot out the window of a humvee with an M4. First chance I got I swapped out my M16 for an M4 with an ACOG. [quote name="Guido Jones"] >2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): .223 cal. Drum fed light machine gun. Big thumbs down. Universally considered a piece of shit. Chronic jamming problems, most of which require partial disassembly. (that fun in the middle of a firefight). > First off, it's the M249 SAW and it's not drum fed. It's belt fed. Granted, the plastic box magazines the 200 rd belts come in, could be mistaken for a drum magazine by someone who had never seen one before, but I would think that a Marine would know the nomenclature of this weapon. Also most units are buying the nylon bags to carry the belts in because they don't rattle and fall off like the plastic box magazines, [/quote] The nylon bags only hold 75 or so rounds, so most people only use them when they are hanging out at the FOB. The plastic boxes only fall off if you've had the same box for a while and the plastic starts wearing down. [/quote] [quote name="Guido Jones"] >3) The M9 Beretta 9mm: Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert environment; but they all hate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actually fairly common. Same old story on the 9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times and still in the fight. > Well the M9 has had all kinds of problems with the aftermarket magaines the military is buying, but the author leaves this out. It's been documented in many offical AARs that the Checkmate brand magazines are junk, yet they haven't been recalled and soldiers and Marines are still having problems with them. [/quote] Yes, the mags for the M9 were absolute crap. I never bothered taking my M9 outside the wire. [quote name="Guido Jones"] >4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun: Works well, used frequently for clearing houses to good effect. > The Marines are using the Benelli 1014 shotgun. They may still field the Mossberg in some quantity. Hate to bust the author's bubble, but shotguns are used to breech. With the restrictive rules of engagement, rifles and precise shooting is the order of the day for clearing operations. Buckshot and slugs are hard to aquire in country and I have a friend who said they used birdshot to scare people who approached too close to convoys. [/quote] The only thing we used the shotgun for was shooting dogs. And my squad leader liked taking potshots at birds while we were driving down the highway [quote name="Guido Jones"] >5) The M240 Machine Gun: 7.62 Nato (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun, developed to replace the old M-60 (what a beautiful weapon that was!!). Thumbs up. Accurate, reliable, and the 7.62 round puts em down. Originally developed as a vehicle mounted weapon, more and more are being dismounted and taken into the field by infantry. The 7.62 round chews up the structure over there. > The Army and Marines have used the M240 for years. It's the standard platoon level machine gun. They don't have to dismount them from the vehicles. The dismount kits for the M240 thats the coax gun in the Abrams and Bradley is very hard to come by. If they dismounted the M240 from the turret, it's most likely unusable in a ground mount role. [/quote] The M240B is the dismount version that is issued to the infantry. They aren't taking them out of the turrets or whatever. It is awesome. [quote name="Guido Jones"] >6) The M2 .50 cal heavy machine gun: Thumbs way, way up. Ma deuce is still worth her considerable weight in gold. The ultimate fight stopper, puts their dicks in the dirt every time. The most coveted weapon in-theater. [/quote] M2 is also great, but it takes some knowledge to use correctly. If you have her tuned correctly she's a bad bitch. If you don't know what you are doing you'll have a hung of iron. [quote name="Guido Jones"] >7) The .45 pistol: Thumbs up. Still the best pistol round out there. Everybody authorized to carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With few exceptions, can reliably be expected to put em down with a torso hit. > Force Recon and Det 1 are the Marine units carrying .45s. There are couple Army units that don't really exist using 1911 types and Glock 19s. >The special ops guys (who are doing most of the pistol work) use the HK military model and supposedly love it. > The special ops guys are using SIGs (Navy Special Warfare), M9s (Army, Air Force), MEUSOC 1911 (USMC Force Recon), Kimber 1911 (USMC Det 1) Various 1911s and Glock 19s (unnamed Army SOF). As a side note Springfield Armory was recently given a contract to build the new MEUSOC pistol. > The old government model .45s are being re-issued en masse. > Not true at all. [/quote] This is my favorite. Never saw a .45, never heard about a .45. [quote name="Guido Jones"] >8) The M-14: Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a modified version to special ops guys. Modifications include lightweight Kevlar stocks and low power red dot or ACOG sights. Very reliable in the sandy environment, and they love the 7.62 round. > Again not true. Some units are using modified M14s with commercial aftermarket stocks, but they are not being issued in bulk. None of the aftermarket stoks currently in use is made of kevlar. [/quote] We had 2 of these issued to our company. I think we put them in the towers a couple times. Nobody would ever consider taking these on patrol. [quote name="Guido Jones"] >9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle: Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and accuracy and hits like a freight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide bombers ( we actually stop a lot of them) and barricaded enemy. Definitely here to stay. > A single shot even from a .50 BMG isn't enough to stop a vehicle. Machine guns, especially the M2 are most used to stop car bombs. They are used to remotely detonate IEDs that are discovered and you'll find a lot of them in the hands of EOD. [/quote] Back in reality, only some snipers carry these. And I can't imagine a scenario where a sniper would be in a position to take out a VBIED. If you suggest shooting an IED to an EOD guy, he'd probably smack you upside the head. [quote name="Guido Jones"] >11) The new body armor: Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs. and can reliably be expected to soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round. > We only wish it weighed 6 pounds. The IBAS with SAPI plates weighs in at just under 16 pounds and when you add in the neck, shoulder and groin protection you're back up over 20 pounds. [/quote] Almost nobody wears the groin protector because when you run it flaps around and smacks you in the dick. Most of us attached it to the side of our vest to give a little more protection from an IED going off next to our vehicle. [/quote]