"Smoker" Is a long time friend of mine and recently at 27 he enlisted in the army to Join the OCS. We have corrisponded to one another in the past several weeks and today he wrote me about his rifle range experience.
The first thing he told me is to Keep my FAL and AK. and to never trade for an ar. He has been an AR fan in the past but this is what happened.
before qualifying in testing out his "Weapon/rifle" (whatever the military makes you call it, his first problem was a crooked front sight post. that was fixed.
then he said if he charged the charging handle 2 or 3 times the elevation knob would move a full click. the armoror adjusted it in vain and ended up replacing the elevation knob assembally. the sights were off then and his SGT would not let him zero it before qualifying. then the extractor went bad had to be replaced. needless to say he did not qualify. Now the Elevation knob is moving again and His SGT. told him to "DUCT TAPE IT DOWN". He said it is too dirty of a weapon and they make him clean it with Shaving cream and hot water.
This rifle is a Colt M16 A2. Hopefully he will get the bugs out and qualify for a different gun.
I do not own a gun that is not piston gas operated, and this kinda turns me off of the Idea of owning an AR.
Open for suggestions
BIG JAKE
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Don your goggles if you wish to resist.
FAL and AK rule for reliability. The AR design is inherently accurate but something's only accurate if it holds together. One reason I picked a pre-A1 with vertically fixed rear site.
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Trust is earned, not... GIVEN away. - Worf
Tell him to hang in there.
I was sopposed to Qual on the M9 for resource protection for the 12th AF Honor guard, for when we took our M1's in town.
At the time the military was short on 9mm ammo (1989). Had to qual on the S&W .38 revolver. Had to have the armorer put the rear sight back on every 5 shots. Qualified but missed the opportunity for a bronze star on the expert ribbon. Not a big deal, but cool for a wrench turner to get the opportunity to accomplish.
Range guns suck. They are over abused and worn out generally. The armorers can't do much with them because the gubmt bird dogs every penny.
I'm with Wir Waffe on this one. I've heard horror stories about how some of the regular Army treat their M16s. Special Forces and Marines, however, get out of their weapons what they put in.
I would love to own one but it would have to proove itself.
If "Smoker" Qualifies really good he can get an m4 or an A2 with bells and whistles.
With this gun he is telling me he is all over the target.
I have seen him shoot. he can definately hold his own. it is such a shame, He has to qualify a certian percent to join OCS. I would quote the letter but it is too profane, he isnt a profane person but he is soooo mad.
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Don your goggles if you wish to resist.
We saw the same sort of thing in the Navy, qualifying with the .45 1911A1. Mine was so loose, it rattled. I qualified - barely. We all thought the Colt flawed - until one of our officers shot his personal Gold Cup - a very tight group indeed. Bad form, training the troops on worn-out and faulty equipment. We need more funding in the training camps for better gear, and training to keep that gear in good condition. The guys at the sharp end deserve no less.
I was not accepted into the navy when I was 18, and still could not join. but I agree with Big dog about them having better equiptment. otherwize how will we know who are really the ones who stand out amongst others. I wrote him back and I will post any unpersonal responses reguarding his standings. I hope he can qualify the OCS percentage requirements.
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Don your goggles if you wish to resist.
When I started with guns, to get my arms permit, I had to qualify at the "curso de uso y manejo" (use and handling course) and the weapons were provided by the range.
I got a S&W 9mm gun that jammed after every rnd fired, I had to push the slide foward after every shot since it won't lock into battery.
IF I judge the S&W 9mm for this experience, I would trash this gun right away.
Here it's the standard PD issue weapon so can't be that bad, can't say fer sure since I've never had tested one to it's full capacity, but many oficers here swear by theirs and it's very popular here among civilians as well.
I won't judge a weapon if it've been abused, any abused weapon is bound to fail, even the trustys AKs.
The neglected weapons reasonings are probably on target. I shot a Smith 9mm in IDPA competition for a while and never had a problem. -inside note(the reset is faast on that gun) I think it was a 5906, my brother was letting me borrow it and check it out since it was new. fed fine etc.
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Don your goggles if you wish to resist.
