8 Apr 04
Informed comments from a friend who manufacturers rifles:
"I was invited to a conference at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indiana last year. The purpose of the conference was to provide those of us in the U S domestic gun industry with knowledge of problems our government is having with the currently issued M4 Carbine.
A government official told us that their internal model shop wanted to build a run of M4 carbines chambered for 30 Soviet (7.62X39), as USSOCM, referring to the current M4 (chambered for 223), has stated that, 'It has never met our requirements.' He then showed us a 30-round, 7.62x39mm magazine, which fit an M4 receiver. He asked if any of us could manufacture this magazine, as the 'magazine ban' had driven the original manufacturer out of business. We all expressed our opinions about the magazine ban and the politicians who supported it and, to a man, assured him that none of us were interested in the least, under present laws. He nodded his head in reluctant acknowledgment.
Some courageous manufacturers have developed the 6.8mm cartridge. This cartridge is an improvement over the 30 Soviet, and a vast improvement over the 223. This round and military rifles chambered for it are desperately needed for our armed forces right now, particularly with our current active deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. The immediate hold up is the fact that no domestic manufacturer wants to make this new rifle, if they can only sell it to the government. With no prospect of civilian sales, there is zero interest in this undertaking among American manufacturers, like me. So, critical progress is now stalled and will be for the foreseeable future.
We thus see how the 'ban' is significantly harming our troops and the nation's ability to successfully prosecute a war. It has never, nor does it currently, impacted violent crime in the slightest. Everyone needs to contact their Senators and Congressmen and demand that the 'ban' be allowed to sunset.
Sometime, before we get into a big war, the US military needs to get rid of our current generation of 'varmint rifles' and start issuing real rifles. We need to do it now, while we have the chance."
Comment: Thank heaven the Big War hasn't started yet. When it does, pray we are ready!
/John
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