message board home
Next
6/10/2023 1:59:18 PM
 
Reply
or ReplyNewSubject
Section 9: Military Weapons Subject: M14 Msg# 1187786
|
||||||
|
As to optics mounting, that was the last thing on the minds of the DOD in the 1960s. And the M14 was as capable of optic mounting as the M16 (which still had a carry handle then, you'll recall).
Yes, the M14 was capable of mounting a scope. Because the US Army had no specific sniper rifle (USMC used the M70 bolt action rifle) at the start of the Vietnam War, the XM21 was developed. It was an accurized M14 with a different stock and a Redfield 3x9 scope. Some were even outfitted with the Starlight scope for night work. Harvey |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
For reference, the above message is a reply to a message where: That we didn't end up fighting the Russians and Eastern Bloc doesn't mean that wasn't the world we lived in at the time. We haven't had an all-out nuclear war either, but like the Boy Scouts, we should be prepared--and were prepared for that. And with a ground war with the Soviet Bloc a real possibility, I don't believe that dropping a .30 caliber battle rifle for a 5.56 was wise. Even the Russians didn't drop their .30 caliber until 1974. As to optics mounting, that was the last thing on the minds of the DOD in the 1960s. And the M14 was as capable of optic mounting as the M16 (which still had a carry handle then, you'll recall). Optics may be a big deal today, but it has nothing to do with why the M14 was dropped for the M16 over fifty years ago. If we are going to debate events of a certain era, we need to consider the era in which they occurred. |
