M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

[ssgp2]

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/m4-and-m4a1-guns/

"The M-4 carbine, one of the primary rifles used by the United States military, appears destined for a change. After concerns surfaced about rifles overheating in a sustained firefight in 2008 in Afghanistan, the manufacturer and the United States Army are close to agreeing on a modification to the weapon’s barrel that makes the carbine more resistant to the stresses of extended firing."

A test with a fluted barrel would be interesting...

 

[Phylodog]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

Any improvements which can be made reasonably to the weapons our armed forces are utilizing gets a quick nod from me.

Having said that, there comes a point where they must realize that every weapon has it's limitations. If you want to do 15K round mag dumps, get a minigun. A Saw would be a better choice for the type of sustained fire they conducted during their test and it's better prepared to handle it.

Outfitting every soldier on the battlefield with a machine gun capable of surviving this test may not be practical.

Again, if it can be done I'm all for it. I just get tired of hearing about how faulty the M4/M16 platform is.

 

[Maggot]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

Awesome vids, thanks for posting

 

[500grains]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

And it took since 1962 to figure this out?

 

[Jayhawker]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 500grains</div><div class="ubbcode-body">And it took since 1962 to figure this out? </div></div>

I believe you're being sarcastic so take my reply in that vein...

Nope...anyone who knows anything about the platform knows it was never designed for that kind of abuse. Fire any weapon on FA beyond it's design limits something bad is gonna happen and things are gonna break.

This video, while interesting, doesn't prove anything new...

 

[JoeSmith]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

When any weapon is going to be fielded a large series of tests are included. They were done in the 1960s. This includes finding out failure points. The old dash 10 manual clearly states the M16s sustained fire rate.
If memory serves, its something like 12-15rds/minute.
NOBODY ever reads it!

 

[shark0311]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

Sometimes Marines just need to shoot.

 

[Switchblade]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

Sustained fire will not happen with a M4, however, since the heavier barrel works, but leaves the gas tube to fail, an easier fix would be to retrofit an oprod kit to fix the gas tube issue and apply a fluted barrel. Heavy barrel will shed the heat issues ok, but a fluted barrel will do so much easier since it has more area.
I of course am still trying to figure out why we do not have plasma rifles or energy weapons at this point, afterall they did say round about the 50's or so...

 

[shark0311]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

I blame Duracell.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: M-4 being subjected to an intensive sustained-firi

I put my order in for the 40watt plasma cannon at the Shot Show!