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My "MA" just got fired.

By The Armorer on May 13, 2004 | | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (1)

About the only thing left that has been fighting for the US longer than the B-52 is on the short road to retirement.

The MA-Deuce. M2 .50 Cal machinegun. My mostest favoritist firearm in the whooooole world.

She's being retired in favor of the XM312. Which is, I admit, pretty cool-looking. But she'd better be as reliable as my MA! I still have my headspace and timing gauges I carried for 24 years.

More info is available here.

Purty though, ain't she? A little lighter, too.

vm312.jpg
General Dynamics Photo.

Hat tip to Strategy Page.

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This is how you DONT do it from There's One, Only! on September 7, 2004 8:26 PM

I guess what they say is true. Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Good thing it wasn't one of these.... Read More

7 Comments

By CitadelGrad on May 13, 2004 9:16 AM
Maybe it's made to look cool to distract us from the incredibly low rate of fire. It smells like a POS to me.
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 13, 2004 9:21 AM
Hmmm. Ya probably don't like the fact that it's convertible, either - meaning the crew has to carry all the bits and pieces around? Not too mention, more DODICS in the ammo requests.
 
By Chuck on May 13, 2004 5:01 PM
Looks like some defense contractor has sold another M-16 to the military. If it is not as reliable, or not as accurate, or not as effective, it is a POS!
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 13, 2004 7:17 PM
I see (based on email, too) that the weapon is not popular with Castle visitors, by about a 5 to 1 margin. With me not being the one. I don't have an official opinion other than it looks cool, and I'd take one for the Arsenal. But I really do like the M2. There was that BTR...
 
By Boudicca on May 13, 2004 8:36 PM
The new one kinda looks like something out of Star Wars.
 
By Old Fogey on May 13, 2004 9:36 PM
I see a short barrel which with the same loading as the M2 round means a low velocity and translates in to poor accuracy at longer ranges. Yeah, Yeah I know that mgs are not supposed to be super accurate and they tend to produce a cone of fire for area targets, but still if nothing else lower velocity also means less penetration against hard targets. The low rate of fire has got to be a down side too. I suspect it was meant to reduce overheating with that thin barrel. Once again I think this would be a minus when engaging moving vehicles. Overall, I can't see any real need for a weapon of these characteristics. It does't weight that much less than a M2, which with a decent ammo load means that it will still have to be vehicle mounted for mobile operations. For fixed implacement weight is not of much concern. Low velocity and rate of fire means it won't be worth its pay for long range suppresion.
 
By Nick on May 15, 2004 3:49 PM
I'm not sure why the DOD is looking at this other .50. Are they trying to make the .50 more "man portable?" If so, that's pretty stupid. The maduce is combat proven and still as effective, or more effective, than any other heavy machine gun in the world. I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If they do want to improve it, forget about man portability, which is not going to work out anyway, and go for a Gatling solution. The idea is to INCREASE firepower, not decrease it. I think a 2000 round per minute .50 cal Gatling mounted on a hummer or other vehicle would be a serious improvement for the capabilities of units using such a solution. If you're not going to do that, stick with what you know is going to work. On the other hand, if we can ever get our elected boneheads to reinstate the 2nd Amendment maybe we can go to the gun show and pick up an M2 for $500. I'm game for that!
 
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