5 ms·
Interestingly, the M14 is only now finally getting entirely phased out. It found quite the niche doing exactly what it was designed for, middle to long range pr
by huffmsa 8y ago
Interestingly, the M14 is only now finally getting entirely phased out. It found quite the niche doing exactly what it was designed for, middle to long range precision fire.
Entirely tangential, but I really don't think John Browning gets enough credit for how good his designs we're.
The M2 is still in regular use, and the M1911 keeps popping up despite the pentagon's best attempts to phase it out. An argument against design by committee.
- bluedino 8y agoWhat's the alternative to the M1911, the M9? Ugh. I'm sure the sidearm isn't that important in today's military, but a Glock (or similar) .40 S&W would probably be a much better tool Even if they had to stick with 9mm. I've heard the 1911 is kept around by Special Forces types who can use whatever they want for the most part. Same reason it's used by SWAT teams and such.
- mkong1 8y agoMy understanding is that government issue sidearms require a manual safety, immediately ruling out the Glock.
- potta_coffee 8y agoThis is to prevent NDs (Negligent Discharge). The ironic thing is, the SA/DA design with safety is more complicated and requires a lot more training to use properly, resulting in a higher rate of NDs (so I've heard).
- aclsid 8y agoIf money and logistics were not an issue, I believe the FN Five-SeveN with the specialty 5.7 cartridge would win hands down. It very much has done for the pistol what the AR-15 did for the rifle.
- robdachshund 8y agoSig p320 is the new sidearm. Officers and certain units can still get 1911s or modern variants like the m45. M9 is going bye bye due to some pretty big long term reliability issues.
- potta_coffee 8y agoThe M2 is the best gun ever.
- huffmsa 8y agoBasically every vehicle the US produced in WW2 had an M2 mounted to it. It's a great platform.