New Army Weapon - M16/M4 Replacement

[nippinout]

H&K M4



I want one.

[HoppysMag]

this is nicer.

[Automaggot68]

this is nicer.

it's just as Nice.
Not ONE weapon will be enough for EVERY combat situation.
Would you use that in a small building?

[Glickman]

got everyone beat

my friend was telling me about a browning that was a bolt action, that somehow had a switch that allowed it to go semi. apparently its being used by delta

[HoppysMag]

it's just as Nice.
Not ONE weapon will be enough for EVERY combat situation.
Would you use that in a small building?

its a competition rifle, and its not as big as it looks, its just the picture

[Steelrat]

The XM8 is based on the G36, which was in turn based on the Armalite AR18. The G36 is a well proven design, and a good rifle. The materials used for the XM8 in no way detract from its usefullness. Polymers have, by now, proven to be satisfactory components in a weapons system.

As for the XM8 LMG variant replacing the 249, I never saw anything written about that. I didn't even see where the Army was adopting any of the variants other than the rifle and carbine. I don't think anyone would consider the XM8 with a bipod and double mags to be a replacement for the 249 with its box mag.

As much as I like the M16 family, it really is time for a whole new design. H&K makes superb guns, and Im sure the M8 will be a fine weapon, though I wish they kept the angular lines of the G36 instead of rounding them. But hey, its for killing people, not looking good.

One last thing. Apparently, SOCOM is getting an entirely different rifle, the SCAR, made by FN because the XM8 does not fulfull their needs, including the ability to change calibers. Its positively bad-tushie.

http://world.guns.ru/assault/as70-e.htm

[Steelrat]

Oh, that I were able to buy this...

[Automaggot68]

its a competition rifle, and its not as big as it looks, its just the picture

Even then. How many weapons are there suited for EVERY combat situation?

[HoppysMag]

Even then. How many weapons are there suited for EVERY combat situation?

il think that a bull pup style rifle chambered in 308 would cover alot of situations. make a system like on the XM where the zero is retained so u can switch between scope and say, red dot. stick a folding tripod on there and you get the size of a carbine, the barrel length and accuracy of a full rifle, with stoping power of a sniper rifle. obviously its cost prohibative but still.


another thing im sureprised at, is that its not a bull pup design. the FAMAS and Enfield are a big rifle in a small package and thats what we need in our military.

[teufelhunden]

Steelrat, I saw the SCAR on world.guns.ru and... omg. almost creamed. so nice.

[Target Practice]

You know, we've had a professional armorer and soldier tell us what can be done to current battle rifles to bring new life to our arsenal, but nobody is listening. I wonder why that is?

Hasty8, you imply that Army doesn't know what he's talking about, yet you say that he knows as much as everyone else on this thread. This includes you. Do I really need to point out where I'm going with this?

Fight all you want, but when current'ex military members say they can't/won't use the thing, you know something's up. It doesn't matter what civvies think, what the people who will be USING, FIXING, and depending on them for their lives think is the important part.

[Steelrat]

il think that a bull pup style rifle chambered in 308 would cover alot of situations. make a system like on the XM where the zero is retained so u can switch between scope and say, red dot. stick a folding tripod on there and you get the size of a carbine, the barrel length and accuracy of a full rifle, with stoping power of a sniper rifle. obviously its cost prohibative but still.


another thing im sureprised at, is that its not a bull pup design. the FAMAS and Enfield are a big rifle in a small package and thats what we need in our military.

Enfield is a major POS. The British army is considering replacing it with the G36, which is the same as the M8. FAMAS is okay. The bullpup design is nice, but its not really necessary.

[Steelrat]

You know, we've had a professional armorer and soldier tell us what can be done to current battle rifles to bring new life to our arsenal, but nobody is listening. I wonder why that is?

Hasty8, you imply that Army doesn't know what he's talking about, yet you say that he knows as much as everyone else on this thread. This includes you. Do I really need to point out where I'm going with this?

Fight all you want, but when current'ex military members say they can't/won't use the thing, you know something's up. It doesn't matter what civvies think, what the people who will be USING, FIXING, and depending on them for their lives think is the important part.

There is typically a lot of complaining when switching weapons systems, especially when the looks are so radically different. The 16 is a good rifle, but there are better ones out there now. Why invest time and money into trying to fix the flaws with the 16, especially the venting of the gas directly into the barrel, when you can buy a new gun that addresses all the issues? I think its fantastic that our military is looking to purchase an H&K weapon for the troops. H&K makes fantastic guns, and im sure it will rock once the enevitable teething problems are overcome. Even better though, since its a G36, most of those issues have probably been taken care of by the Bundeswehr, the Spanish military, and the other current users.

And yes, the SCAR looks tight as heck.

[Muzikman]

Just when the men in arms get comfortable with their weapon, the military looks to change it. It happened when they introduced the M16.

I just hope that they do any changes between wars and not during.

[Destructo6]

It's fun to argue this on a non gun-specific board.

Changing a component of an existing weapons system is a better solution than to switch to an entirely new unproven weapons system. The M-16 has gone through decades of use and refinement, why stop now? Many changes have been implemented into the M-16 since the days of Vietnam, and phasing in a new upper receiver could be the next one in line.

A new upper would be a new weapons system. And, a phasing-in would cause added confusion in the "Is that the old or new version?" vein. What changes to the M16? sights, barrel length (introducing problems along the way), a fence around the mag catch? Those are pretty minor.

As said above, the XM8 is not untested. Unlike the M16 at adoption, the core system of the XM8 has been fielded by other countries, in the form of the HK G36. It has been tested more than the Garand, M14, and M16 were prior to adoption.