I had earlier point out that the progressives weren't giving up without a fight. Their hard-fought victory over the military establishment and the consequent loss of it, even if partial, cuts deeply. They have so weakened the edifice that it is crumbling. The department cannot meet recruitment goals, needs warfighters for the national defense and cannot find them, wastes increasingly precious dollars on failed programs, and celebrates transgenders and LGBTQ. This crumbling of the edifice meets…… [read more]
A 1-8×30 variable magnification direct view optic built by Vortex Optics subsidiary Sheltered Wings, the XM157 incorporates advanced technologies such as a laser rangefinder, aiming lasers, environmental sensors, ballistic solver, compass and a digital display overlay, all of which are designed to “increase the probability of hit and decrease the time to engage” with a computerized assist, according to the Army’s fiscal 2025 budget request.
The XM157 also features wireless connectivity that will purportedly allow it to integrate with heads-up displays like the Army’s current Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular, or ENVG-B, and future Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, do-it-all goggles, allowing soldiers to survey the battlefield from cover using a live video feed from their weapon optic.
“The XM7 with mounted XM157 demonstrated a low probability of completing one 72-hour wartime mission without incurring a critical failure,” the Operational Test and Evaluation report adds.
Despite the documented issues detailed in DOT&E report, the Army is still plowing ahead …
But of course they are.
Hmm, let’s see. A brand new ceramic cartridge with essentially no real logistical chain to speak of, chambers that will now see 85,000 psi, and a new optic that can’t go three days in the field without malfunctions.
Well, maybe some general got rich off of this boondoggle.
I’ve told y’all what we need to do, and I think most of you agreed. Issue fighters a range finder, get a decent LPVO and spend a lot of range time, switch over the barrel and BCG in existing M4s to 6mm ARC (and for heaven’s sake, ditch the 14″ barrel and use an 18″ barrel), and use Amend2 magazines because in my experience they work well with 6mm ARC.
Now see there, I didn’t even make millions of dollars fixing the problems for you.
Get a decent LPVO, switch over the barrel and BCG in existing M4s to 6mm ARC (and for heaven's sake, ditch the 14" barrel and use an 18" barrel), and use Amend2 magazines because in my experience they work well with 6mm ARC.https://t.co/ViFili9aMq
He does a good job in this video of answering the obvious questions concerning what happens in a shotgun when a Sabot slug is shot through a smooth bore barrel, what happens when a rifled slug is shot through a smooth barrel, and what happens when a rifled slug is shot through a rifled barrel.
I found the results less than impressive. I’m embedding another video below concerning the use of a rifled choke which are quite impressive.
Frankly I find this whole conversation a bit awkward and oddball. First, it seems to me that shotgun-only deer hunting states, by encouraging the use of a less than accurate weapon, are actually encouraging unethical shots and potential pain and suffering of the game animal. To me, that’s an awful outcome. I think the regulators in those states should grow up and do the right thing.
Then again, this also makes me wonder why someone would take a shotgun shooting slugs into the bush as personal defense against dangerous game. Why not just carry a 45-70? The bullets begin at over 300 grains and go up to 400 grains. Why would it be better to shot shotgun slugs than a round from a 45-70? The rifle will be more accurate.
Perhaps loyal readers like TheAlaskan who live the life of dangerous game defense can educate us. I respect his views.
First, the generalized video on different kinds of slugs from different shotguns.
Second, the video on use of the rifled choke. Once again, his results are extremely impressive.
Review of Executive Actions:
The Attorney General is tasked with examining all orders, regulations, guidance, plans, international agreements, and other actions taken by federal agencies from January 2021 through January 2025. The review will assess whether these actions infringed on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens under the guise of promoting safety.
Focus on Firearms Regulations:
The order specifically directs the Attorney General to review:
Rules promulgated by the Department of Justice, including those by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Policies related to the “enhanced regulatory enforcement” of firearms and Federal firearms licensees.
Reports issued by the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Classifications of firearms and ammunition by federal agencies.
The processing of applications to make, manufacture, transfer, or export firearms.
Litigation Positions:
The Attorney General is also instructed to evaluate the positions taken by the United States in ongoing and potential litigation that could affect Americans’ ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Development of a Plan of Action:
Within 30 days, the Attorney General must present a proposed plan of action to the President, through the Domestic Policy Advisor, to address any identified infringements on Second Amendment rights. The plan will then be finalized and implemented in coordination with the Domestic Policy Advisor.
Well, okay, I’d like to see where Pam Bondi takes this before I start cheering.
I want to see Trump press the SHUSH act to deregulate suppressors from the NFA and GCA. I won’t be happy until suppressors aren’t an NFA item.
Our nation has become so centralized and litigious and dependent on the government that it wouldn’t even consider this solution. But the use of the Militia, combined with Posses, would be very effective, and also legal and within robust historical precedent.
Protestors against ICE mass deportations in Glendale, Arizona were seen beating and destroying police cars
Completely shattering police SUV’s windshields and causing chaos. These people are in our country illegally and are literally attacking our police protesting being deported pic.twitter.com/Xzvbo0cZaU
A memorandum of understanding between Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the State of Texas, reviewed by Breitbart Texas will immediately grant Texas National Guard soldiers the authority to make immigration arrests within the Lone Star state. Pete R Flores, CBP Acting Commissioner, authored the memorandum of understanding (MOU).
The memorandum, which has not yet been disseminated to all Texas border sectors, will allow the soldiers to perform roving patrols and exercise all the duties of an immigration agent so long as a U.S. immigration officer or Border Patrol agent accompanies them. According to the MOU, the ratio of soldiers to immigration officers is preliminarily listed as one officer to four soldiers.
Well, that’s a stupid stipulation.
I do hope that they are under arming orders. If the image is correct they are carrying what look to be Sigs. One looks like he needs to lose some weight.
A Republican bill filed on Capitol Hill last week would deregulate suppressorsas firearms under both the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act.
The Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing, or SHUSH, Act was introduced on Jan. 30 by U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, and has four co-sponsors, all from the GOP. The language of the five-page bill deletes all federal regulations– including taxes, fees, and registration requirements– of suppressors. Those who paid a transfer tax for such safety accessories in the two years before the bill’s enactment would get a refund.
“Despite what Hollywood may lead you to believe, silencers aren’t silent, and they aren’t just for secret agents,” said Lee in a statement. “They are a vital tool for hearing protection for countless marksmen and gun enthusiasts across America, and making them prohibitively difficult to obtain is an assault on the 2nd Amendment. The SHUSH Act eliminates federal regulation of silencers and treats them as the non-lethal accessory that they are.”
U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) will spearhead the bill in the House, where it will join a stack of suppressor reform legislation that includes the Hearing Protection Act.
“Suppressors are a vital tool for responsible gun owners that protect hearing, enhance safety, and reduce firearm noise—but thanks to Hollywood and federal overreach, they’ve been unfairly vilified,” said Cloud. “Law-abiding Americans shouldn’t have to endure months of red tape and pay an additional tax just to access a safety accessory. The SHUSH Act puts an end to this unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, eliminates the federal tax, and prevents state overreach by treating suppressors like any other firearm accessory.”
More than 4 million suppressors are in circulation, a figure that has more than quadrupled in less than a decade.
According to a joint release from Cloud and Lee, the measure has the support of the National Association for Gun Rights, Gun Owners of America, the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
The SHUSH Act in the Senate is filed as S.345 and has been referred to the Committee on Finance.
If I don’t get anything else out of this administration, I want suppressors removed from the NFA.
There is no excuse for not doing this bill and pushing it through quickly. There is no excuse for suppressors to have ever been in the NFA to begin with. This is about hearing protection, something OSHA claims to care about.
From the time I came to Vietnam in May 1967 to date, I have been on 82 patrols as an infantry unit commander and have been shot at on 38 separate occasions. From this experience I have several observations which may interest readers of THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN, especially those who may be slated for combat duty in this area. The standard U.S. infantry rifle in Vietnam is the M16. There have been stories of men getting killed because their M16s jammed in battle. My advice is to ignore these tales. I have carried at different times two M16s as well as two of the stubby little CAR-15s. The CAR-15 is simply an M16 with a short, carbine-length barrel and telescoping stock. With these four arms I have never experienced a jam in 18 months of combat. If given the same care as a .22 rimfire semi-automatic rifle, the M16 will not fail.
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I have knocked out Communists at ranges from 50 feet to 750 meters and have yet to use full-automatic fire. There are two reasons why I stress semi-automatic fire. First of all, it is just wasteful of ammunition. The average G.I. carries from 10 to 20 18-round magazines (21 rounds can be squeezed into the M16 magazine, but overfilling can cause jams. One can fire off 20 magazines of ammunition in from 5 to 10 minutes, but then there are likely to be problems.
You can read the rest at American Rifleman.
Of course the M-16 / M4 and AR-15 variants today are good rifles, the current suite of AR-15s even better (in most cases, assuming you don’t buy a “rack” or budget AR).
Here is another image that’s helpful.
All of the initial changes were made by the Army against the advice of Eugene Stoner, and all of the changes you see in the image above were made back to what Eugene Stoner had originally designed.
It remains today an awesome weapon. Personally, I don’t think the DoD should ever have gone with the new ceramic cartridge design. The only change that should have been considered is a re-barrel to 6 mm ARC. It is a awesome cartridge – I know from hunting with it.
John Moses Browing and Eugene Stoner are the greatest weapons designers America ever produced.
