Did Weapons Fail U.S. Troops During Afghanistan Assault?

[bambooshoots]

Originally Posted by johnv

Same issue happened to the M16 in Vietnam it was jamming up at critical times then and the M4 is doing it now which is basically the same weapon niether could take in influx of dirt/grime in the breech not very good for a battlefield weapon to not perform in the worse adverse conditions you can put it thru in the field. Lets face it the AK47 or its variants are superior weapons at half the cost of a M16/M4 forget about the made in America thing the facts are the facts AKs refuse to jam even when cleaning and maintainence have been neglected by the soldier,they were designed by a soldier Kalasnikov who new the rigors of frontline battle and what the weapon will go thru and would be a disservice to his countryman to put out a weapon that has reliability problems. Givem AKs or bring back tha M14 rifle a real weapon.

The problem with M16s in Vietnam were severalfold - stick powder when the gun was designed with ball powder; troops being told it was a self cleaning weapons, which meant that they didn't clean it; no chrome lined barrel which attracted fouling.

Once the troops were taught to keep weapons clean, were issued upgraded M16A1s, and proper ammo, the weapon problems largely went away.

Oh, an AKs do jam over in Afghanistan. Anything will jam if it gets dirty enough.

I'm sick and tired of people who think the AK never jam. They do, just not as often. FWIW, my 10.5" suppressed AR has had NO failures while my WASR10 has failed to feed once. And the AR has had more rounds through it.

[bambooshoots]

Originally Posted by chris4x4

Read post #92.

Oh...haha sorry. I'm at work and just wanted to throw in my $0.02 before I get caught online.

My mistake

[johnv]

Originally Posted by bambooshoots

The problem with M16s in Vietnam were severalfold - stick powder when the gun was designed with ball powder; troops being told it was a self cleaning weapons, which meant that they didn't clean it; no chrome lined barrel which attracted fouling.

Once the troops were taught to keep weapons clean, were issued upgraded M16A1s, and proper ammo, the weapon problems largely went away.

Oh, an AKs do jam over in Afghanistan. Anything will jam if it gets dirty enough.

I'm sick and tired of people who think the AK never jam. They do, just not as often. FWIW, my 10.5" suppressed AR has had NO failures while my WASR10 has failed to feed once. And the AR has had more rounds through it.

Okay my bad so what really happened in Vietnam was that the Government put a rifle that was not ready for combat in the hands of our soldiers? They used the wrong type of powder and didnt chrome the barrels,the troops did not maintainthier own weapons properly a matter of life and death on any battlefield? All excuses for the fact that the M16 and its predesesors are of a bad basic design unsuited for real combat,whereas the AKs when into battle firing and killing the enemy with out any flaws that needed correction,the design was a success,Ive never heard of Taliban or Al Queda surrendering because thier weapons jammed up.

[beastlytaco]

well the deal with the AK...its outdated. the russians come up with one good weapon and it becomes the basis for their weapons for the next 40 or so years. yeah its a good gun but its less accurate than all the bells and whistles our boys are using over in afghanistan.

[johnv]

Originally Posted by beastlytaco

well the deal with the AK...its outdated. the russians come up with one good weapon and it becomes the basis for their weapons for the next 40 or so years. yeah its a good gun but its less accurate than all the bells and whistles our boys are using over in afghanistan.

Yes supoosely it is less accurate than the M16 but an assault rifle is designed for use at mid-shortrange combat thats why the Germans developed the 1st assault rifle the MP44 for just that purpose,for short or mid range work a full powered round was not needed the they developed the Kurz or medium sized bullet not full power or not pistol type ammo.

[beastlytaco]

not to mention that the germans also developed the first stamped metal assualt rifle. some say that kalashnikov got the idea for his AK from the germans.

[RussBow6]

i know for sure nsw is going to the SCAR. it's pretty sweet... only a couple parts from what i've heard and everyone is stoked about the 7.62.

will the scar eventually trickle down to the rest of the armed forces or will it stay up in just sf for awhile? is it just seals using it or are the rangers, berets, recon etc getting the scar too?

and i should know this but what are the AF special forces? the combat rescue and controller studs?

[Afwrestler1986]

Pararescue, combat controllers, TACP

[AVTOMAT]

Originally Posted by johnv

Okay my bad so what really happened in Vietnam was that the Government put a rifle that was not ready for combat in the hands of our soldiers? They used the wrong type of powder and didnt chrome the barrels,the troops did not maintainthier own weapons properly a matter of life and death on any battlefield? All excuses for the fact that the M16 and its predesesors are of a bad basic design unsuited for real combat,whereas the AKs when into battle firing and killing the enemy with out any flaws that needed correction,the design was a success,Ive never heard of Taliban or Al Queda surrendering because thier weapons jammed up.

What rifle were/are our CIA ops carrying in Afghanistan?

[BigAndy21966]

I would suppose same as everyone else. whatever it takes to blend in with the indigenous population and not become an international embarassement if detected by OPFOR

[RCBS]

Originally Posted by beastlytaco

not to mention that the germans also developed the first stamped metal assualt rifle. some say that kalashnikov got the idea for his AK from the germans.

indeed he did...from the Sturmgewehr 44