M-16s for the Iraqis

[Mikey]

Gee expensive Bulgarian AKs arent good enough for them, I highly doubt the M-16 is going to help them in any way the AK couldn't, but hey good for Colt I guess $$$. Lets just hope we don't have 5.56 coming at us in the future.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119180608991151863.html

Too long to post

 

[hminsky]

Ali Jassim, an Iraqi soldier who received his M-16 in August, worried that the gun's bullets, lighter than those used in AK-47s, won't be strong enough to quickly kill combatants. "To tell you the truth, I would prefer my old AK," Mr. Jassim said. "The M-16s may be better for Americans, but the AKs are better for Iraqis."

Sign this guy up for an account on AR15.COM!

 

[Slim]

Gee expensive Bulgarian AKs arent good enough for them, I highly doubt the M-16 is going to help them in any way the AK couldn't, but hey good for Colt I guess $$$. Lets just hope we don't have 5.56 coming at us in the future.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119180608991151863.html

Too long to post

From the article:

"Mr. Goodman, clad in olive-green pants and suspenders, told the troops that an AK round is narrow so that it typically goes straight through the enemy, limiting damage to tissue. An M-16 round spins much faster and tumbles when it makes contact with the enemy so that "it causes mass casualty in the body."

I thought it was the other way around?

 

[Mikey]

"Mr. Goodman, clad in olive-green pants and suspenders, told the troops that an AK round is narrow so that it typically goes straight through the enemy, limiting damage to tissue. An M-16 round spins much faster and tumbles when it makes contact with the enemy so that "it causes mass casualty in the body."

Yeah, narrow compared to what?

 

[icyclefar]

The shift to M-16s is stoking a debate about how the new Iraqi army should be equipped. The M-16 is a far more accurate weapon than the AK-47 assault rifle the Iraqis relied on through decades of fighting. But it's also tougher to maintain and could strain the Iraqis' supply and maintenance systems. More to the point, the Iraqi army is riven with conflicting loyalties, leading many in the U.S. military to worry that the very weapons the U.S. is supplying could be turned against them some day.

Not "could be" more like "will be" it's just a matter of time. Bad move if you ask me.

 

[ArmedMainer]

Not "could be" more like "will be" it's just a matter of time. Bad move if you ask me.

Common sense and past history says your probably right.

 

[Chris]

An M-16 round spins much faster and tumbles when it makes contact with the enemy so that "it causes mass casualty in the body.

Any bullet who's center of mass is behind the midpoint of the bullet (most rifle bullets) will tumble inside anything but air. In fact, M16 bullets in the wrong rifling will tumble in air. You shoot a 70 grain bullet in a 14:1 rifled barrel and you'll see some really strange holes on the paper. In fact, some weight/twist combos are so marginal that the difference in air density in winter can be enough to no longer allow the round to stabilize.

Some rifle rounds have less lead near the top, or even have a hollow point as a means to set the center of balance further back to encourage tumbling on target. Hunting rounds with hollow points are usually for tumbling, not expansion.

The denser the material, the higher the spin has to be to maintain stability. A mostly water substance like the human body is something like 1000 times as dense as air. No way we are spinning a bullet fast enough to stabilize in flesh.

Pistol rounds being far less tapered stabilize a lot more easily. This not only helps in the firing, but limits tumbling in the target as well.

 

[matt1956]

Ok... i completely agree this is a bad freaking idea... they WILL eventually use them on US troops.

Secondly... Haven't we captured 1,000's and 1,000's of AK style rifles from "bad guys"??? why the eff not just recondition those and issue the Iraqies those guns? Hell... some may get back there old trusty rifle... and who in Iraq doesn't own an AK

 

[Mikey]

Ok... i completely agree this is a bad freaking idea... they WILL eventually use them on US troops.

Secondly... Haven't we captured 1,000's and 1,000's of AK style rifles from "bad guys"??? why the eff not just recondition those and issue the Iraqies those guns? Hell... some may get back there old trusty rifle... and who in Iraq doesn't own an AK

True and we have also purchased a large amount of Arsenal AKs for them. I know the government gets price discounts from the Bulgarians but it is still a lot more expensive for an Arsenal then some cheap Romanian or Chinese stuff.

 

[Chris]

Where is the M16 for the homeland Militia? How come these foreigners get the toys and I don't? It is MY freaking tax dollars.

 

[matt1956]

Where is the M16 for the homeland Militia? How come these foreigners get the toys and I don't? It is MY freaking tax dollars.

Because... if we banded together and called ourselves a "militia", we would be labled as terrorist and arrested.