Opinions Please - Are Assault Rifles Perfected?

[ChalkLine]

Just spend some time reading the wikipedia article on the FN SCAR and it occured to me that assault rifles are pretty much a mature technology and any refinement from here on in are pretty much minor, but then again I've never used one.

What are your thoughts?

[swaghauler]

I would say not quite. The average assault rifle is in its third generation and is very reliable under most conditions. Accuracy is acceptable. Where they fall short is in universal ergonomics. The "ideal" assault rifle would have the following features:

- A safety that can be reached EASILY with the firing hand thumb or firing finger. There are several options here. I like the AR option but it has this annoying trait that you CANNOT "on safe" the weapon and then load it. You must load it then put the safety on. The FAL's safety is good as is the M14/Mini-14's (and M1 Garand's) inside the trigger guard push to "off safe" lever. The SKS also uses a push to off-safe trigger blocking safety which is FAR SUPERIOR to the AK's receiver-mounted safety (which I have trouble disengaging WITHOUT breaking my firing grip). The Mossberg Shotgun's tang-mounted safety is the MOST ergonomic shotgun safety I have ever used ON A STRAIGHT STOCK. Put that safety on a pistol grip style stock, however, and it becomes UNREACHABLE! Thus one must consider the weapon's stock design in tandem with the safety's placement.

- A drop-free magazine release that can also be "manipulated" with the firing hand easily. The AR wins here as well. The paddle release is not bad it is just slower than a mag release that allows the empty mag to drop free. The drop-free mag release CAN BE "problematic" IF it is poorly designed. The IW/L-85 was known for "dumping its mag" as the catch would rub on a soldier's equipment. The FAMAS was also known to "dump" a loaded mag while moving. The AR mag catch was often known to fail if the user locked in a 100 round Beta Mag and began moving with it. The Beta Mag just weighed TOO MUCH for a stock mag catch. This also became an issue during the War on Terror with the M249's 200-round "Pork chop" box. The plastic tabs would break and the box would just fall off the SAW leaving the gunner dragging a belt. SF operators began carrying the 100-round soft-sided "Nutsack" (due to its round shape) carrier in lieu of the 200-round "pork chops." The "nutsacks" are still highly popular with moving troops due to their smaller size, lighter weight, and more reliable attachment to the gun.

- A bolt hold-open on an empty chamber AND one that can be manually "locked back" to clear a malfunction. The AR has a good bolt hold open that can be manipulated with the weak hand (the SCAR and Remington ACR too). The H&K G series just SUCKS. Its left side charging handle is forward of the action (requiring you to reach FORWARD of the mag after seating it) and has no automatic bolt hold open. The experienced H&K user will manually lock the bolt back when the gun goes "click" and just slap the charging handle down (and into battery) after loading the new mag. This is still slow. The AK's right side charging handle/bolt without a hold open is the second slowest operating system. The M14/Mini-14 and FAL at least have a hold open on an empty mag (although some models will snap closed when the mag is removed). The FAL's non-reciprocating charging handle is ideally positioned (for right-handed shooters) on the left side and will release the bolt hold open (there is no button to do this).

- A bolt/charging handle that can be configured to either strong or weak handed operation and is NOT a reciprocating charging handle (to prevent it dragging on walls or obstructions and jamming the weapon). The Beretta AR160 with its "configurable on the fly" charging handle swap AND ejection change is a winner here. The SCAR is close but the charging handle reciprocates so you have to be careful not to place a SCAR too close to a weak-hand wall (if you like your charging handle weak side like I do) or it could strike that wall and cause a malfunction. The FAL has a good weak hand side charging handle but the non-reciprocating metric guns I fired could NOT use the bolt to remove a stoppage if the bolt was jammed. The M14/Mimi-14, with its right side charging handle, is slightly awkward to use (reaching over the receiver) but does hold open on an empty mag. The AK's right side charging handle with no automatic hold open (which you reach under the receiver to manipulate) is the second worst bolt to run. The H&K is DEAD LAST in this category. The charging handle is on the weapon's left (weak hand for me) side FORWARD of the magazine. It has NO automatic bolt hold open and you must push the charging handle into receiver cutouts to manually lock the bolt rearward. When reloading, you must lock the bolt back manually, then drop the empty mag and replace the full mag. You must then slap the charging handle downwards out of the retaining cutout to run the bolt forwards. To add insult to injury, IF you try to reload the mag with the bolt closed on the chamber, a fully loaded magazine often WILL NOT SEAT because of the full mag. Savvy H&K users will often download their mags by one round to prevent this.

- A bolt/charging handle that can be used to extract a stuck round from the rifle's chamber. This style MUST NOT conflict with the trait above. The G36's non-reciprocating charging handle is the ideal to me. You press a button on top of the handle (which is hinged to spring backward to avoid snagging) to lock the handle into the bolt. You can then work the bolt with the charging handle. Pressing the button puts the handle back into a non-reciprocating mode. The AR is the worst here. The charging handle is NOT YOUR FRIEND! It can only be used to eject a dud round and will be of little use in a chamber jam. Jams will occur on occasion if you charge the weapon by running the charging handle. It is better to lock the bolt to the rear, load a mag, and drop the bolt by using the bolt release on the upper receiver. You should avoid manipulation of the charging handle at all costs.

I hope these experiences I've had give you some "insight" into various weapon's quirks.

[ChalkLine]

Cool stuff!

Does anyone think that there'll be a game-changer technology for the assault rifle?

[Legbreaker]

It's possible, but I'm thinking it'll most likely be in the ammunition itself, probably with the development of a stable caseless round.
4.7mm as used by the G11 had loads of potential, but I believe there were still problems with the propellant cooking off, or being effected by moisture (possibly both). All would have been sorted out in time though I think...

[copeab]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

It's possible, but I'm thinking it'll most likely be in the ammunition itself, probably with the development of a stable caseless round.
4.7mm as used by the G11 had loads of potential, but I believe there were still problems with the propellant cooking off, or being effected by moisture (possibly both). All would have been sorted out in time though I think...

Caseless ammo has bigger problems.

(1) Fragile: dropping a caseless round (even in a magazine) can cause the propellant to crack or completely break, leading to a malfunction.

(2) Malfunctions: to clear a malfunction on the G11 you essentially had to field strip the gun. For regular cased ammo, operating the bolt manually (to eject the unfired round and chamber a fresh round) is usually sufficient.

(3) Overheating: Brass cases absorb heat from the propellant exploding and are then ejected out of the gun. Caseless rounds don have this to get rid of some of the heat from firing and will overheat much faster.

No, caseless ammo is really a dead end.

(Talking about small arms here, not the ammo for larger cannons and howitzers)

[CDAT]

So just making sure are you asking about assault rifles (M-16 and such) and battle rifles (M-14 and such), or assault rifles and carbines (M-4 and such), or just any shoulder arm that may be carried by troops today?

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by copeab

Caseless ammo has bigger problems.

(1) Fragile: dropping a caseless round (even in a magazine) can cause the propellant to crack or completely break, leading to a malfunction.

(2) Malfunctions: to clear a malfunction on the G11 you essentially had to field strip the gun. For regular cased ammo, operating the bolt manually (to eject the unfired round and chamber a fresh round) is usually sufficient.

(3) Overheating: Brass cases absorb heat from the propellant exploding and are then ejected out of the gun. Caseless rounds don have this to get rid of some of the heat from firing and will overheat much faster.

No, caseless ammo is really a dead end.

(Talking about small arms here, not the ammo for larger cannons and howitzers)

I think MetalStorm's digitally/electrically detonated caseless propellant is really the wave of the future. The US Navy successfully deployed a number of 40mm MetalStorm units as a close combat weapon on ships. The ammunition is reliable and the rate of fire is INSANE.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by copeab

Caseless ammo has bigger problems.

(1) Fragile: dropping a caseless round (even in a magazine) can cause the propellant to crack or completely break, leading to a malfunction.

(2) Malfunctions: to clear a malfunction on the G11 you essentially had to field strip the gun. For regular cased ammo, operating the bolt manually (to eject the unfired round and chamber a fresh round) is usually sufficient.

(3) Overheating: Brass cases absorb heat from the propellant exploding and are then ejected out of the gun. Caseless rounds don have this to get rid of some of the heat from firing and will overheat much faster.

No, caseless ammo is really a dead end.

(Talking about small arms here, not the ammo for larger cannons and howitzers)

Got to hold a 4.7MM caseless. You need a heat and rough handling resistant propellant. Also for long term storage it must be sealed. But I thought it was "neat". Also, it seems that one must "give and take" on desired features for now in regards to the weapons them selves.