GDG- Re: rifles and muskets

[Batrinque at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/27/07 3:46:46 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
jmkelly at norwoodlight.com writes:

> You note that the M14 did not work out for general issue; yet, it was 
> supposedly an improvement on the M1 (we had M1's in the old days; never saw 
> an M14 [civilian M1A] until many years later-now i have both).  Why did it 
> fail in general issue?  I consider it a fine rifle with somewhat shorter 
> range than the M1.
> 

I have heard that the primary issue with the M14 that in automatic mode only 
the first round fired was likely to go in the desired direction.  The design 
of the weapon was such that recoil was almost guaranteed to throw subsequent 
rounds high (and higher); the M16, with its barrel aligned much more with the 
shoulder rest, was the superior weapon for automatic fire, despite being 
probably less accurate at long range for single shots than the M14.  The reality, of 
course, is that most combat occurs at ranges far shorter than weapons' 
theoretical capacity.  This is as true today as it was in the Civil War.

Bruce Trinque
Amston, CT


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