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View Full Version : By a retired Marine whose son is over there.



thedrifter
01-29-06, 11:53 AM
By a retired Marine whose son is over there. <br />
email <br />
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“Hello to all my fellow gunners, military buffs, veterans and interested guys. <br />
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A couple of weekends ago I got to spend time with my son,...

outlaw3179
01-29-06, 12:07 PM
Definetly a very good read.

GySgtRet
01-29-06, 12:46 PM
It isn't mentioned what rank this Marine is. Not that it makes a difference but if it is a LCpl or a Lt the views may be more honest, or different. I am sure the retired Marine wants to guard the identity for security regarless of classification. Good read...!!!

rb1651
01-29-06, 12:52 PM
Great story. Now if we can just get the d**n media out of the way and let our Marines due their job.

lovdog
01-29-06, 11:01 PM
Good point made by the retired Marine. We trained with the M14 in boot camp and once you got your windage - elevation etc. it was a very accurate piece at 500 yards. The rifles we used had some age to them but we also took very good care of them. They did not have the tendancy to jam with sand getting inside the chamber - most times you could just blow them out and they would be okay. The M1 we used in AIT at Lejune - they were pretty old and most had seen better days. They had a problem with sand getting into the top loading chamber and were hard to clean and prone to jamming. At what they called at the time (The John Wayne Course ) rapid fire at popup targets about 1/4 of the M1's stopped working for us. Six of us had to use one M1. I was the last one to use it that day and could only hold the rifle by the butt end because it heated up so bad it burnt your hands. The M16 we used at jungle training and overseas - lightweight but only accurate to about 250 yards. Bullet had a tendancy to "tumble" or "flutter" in flight and didn't have the stopping power as the 7.62mm round. Some of the guys in Viet Nam were lucky enough to get an M14 - had it converted to automatic by a selector switch. If you had a long shot to make - the M14 was the preferred weapon. Aside from the trigger mechanism on the M14, you could take your weapon completely apart in the dark, clean it and put it back together with no problem. Good info on the article - I guess times haven't changed as much as I thought they did if most still like the M14.

hrscowboy
01-30-06, 01:31 AM
I have always said when they phased out the M-14 on us in Nam it was a mistake and now the 16 is coming back to haunt them again. Many times charlie was found to be hopped up on opi or herion but the 14 always took his arse down.. I say scrape the 16 and let the men and women have something that puts the enemy in the dirt and makes them stay there and that is the M-14