Can't beat a religion. Has nothing to do with issued rifles and everything with fanatics worshiping their gods.
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The 60 and 100 round magazines may work more reliably with the reduced cyclic rate and reduced recoil.
With regard to the AK 74, I have a friend that did an extensive evaluation of it for a reputable defense industry publication. His report was that it has "negative climb". In other words, the muzzle has a tendency to go down rather than up. If you have watched videos of Russian troops in action with AK 74s during their war in Afghanistan you may have noticed that there is no muzzle rise. This is due to the reduced caliber and the very effective muzzle brake. Of course, as many of us know, it is also very hard on the ears. I got the impression that Mr. Sullivan was lumping the 47 and 74 together, but could be wrong.
Here is another thought to consider. Perhaps the idea of almost constant full auto is obsolete? Soldiers now have advanced optical sights which make high volume of fire much less necessary in order to hit. The emphasis these days is accuracy, even with airplanes. Machine guns were originally designed for long range use against mass attacks. Except for short range emergency use, their day in warfare may be pretty much over. Armies, and sometimes even designers, often prepare for the previous war.
How interesting, I wonder if this is an extension of increasing bolt carrier over travel that's been done in a few forms since the 80's at least. I've seen a few variations of that, and the other issues that came up like needing to seriously beef up everything about the bolt catch and lots of specialized components. I've been a fan of that approach for almost 30 years, but nobody would've considered putting that up to bid for a PIP or into production because it deviated too far from the original platform. I've been wanting to see a quality manufacturer produce a next generation version of the AR platform for years that is capable of including most of what's been learned over time. Lot's of possibilities, let's see what happens.
I have 4 of the Surefire 60's and ran two of them in a Magpul course when I got them. They worked 100% during the 3 days and then another subsequent course. This was with a suppressed SBR that was also run unsuppressed part of the time.
I think one criticism of the mag and it's valid, is that if you drop it and it is partially loaded, it can cause the rounds to unseat and bind.
Here is the patent application:
https://www.google.com/patents/US20120180648
I'd venture to say LAV was referring to himself and rightly so. Have you ever shot one of his 1911's?
Thanks for ALL of your contributions Larry, not just for serving as a tier one Delta guy. But for all you have done for the firearms industry and training community since then. Next time you are in my AO, I hope I am able to talk my PD into sending me to one of your classes for "instructor development", if not I will do it on my own as I have many times before.
Good stuff. Thanks for posting this.
Of note, there's a lot more in that patent application than the modified carrier.
- uses a gas tube that has a "radiator" portion (appears to just be thicker for about half the length and threaded)
- a self-regulating gas block of some sort - uses a metering plug
- new gas rings that have a bulge in them to ensure a tighter seal
- larger lugs on the bolt assembly
- a longer carrier key
- a different bolt cam design that allows the carrier to move back 1/3" more
- longer barrel extension allowing for larger lugs
- wider feed ramps on the extension
- the gas port on the barrel is about 3/4" farther down the barrel
- a shorter buffer assembly
There is a lot more stuff in there...