The Gun That Never Was

Submitted by Eric Daniel

Well, it looks as if the Army has again officially opened the can of worms that is the debate revolving around a replacement for the M16/M4.  With this go around however, the Army says all limitations are off.  They say they’re willing to consider any caliber, any operation system, and any configuration.

Given the Army’s track record with sticking with the M16/M4 through thick and thin, as well as the Army’s previous position that it would stick with the M4 until there was a “revolutionary” breakthrough in small arms technology (hand held death rays?) I’m taking this most recent statement with a salt lick, but in as much as they are soliciting ideas, I might as well offer up mine.

On its face, it would seem that there are only three real issues to consider; how big (in caliber) how many (bullets in the magazine) and how to crank it (what operating system do you go with.)  Once you settle on those, putting them together is packaging. While there are any number of cartridges and operating systems that offer obvious advantages over the M16’s feeble 5.56mm bullet and wretched gas carrier key operating system, if you wanted a truly revolutionary replacement for the M4, I would put my money on the H&K G11.

For those of you not in the know (not that I am, but I remember when it was developed) the H&K G11 rifle was developed as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle in the 1970s.  What the Germans wanted to develop was a weapon with a large ammunition capacity (50 rounds) low weight (< 10 pounds loaded) flat trajectory (no sight corrections at <300m) and a high degree of accuracy in 3-round burst mode.

To meet the burst accuracy requirement there were two ways to go, either fire projectiles simultaneously (shotgun shells or duplex rounds) or fire bullets very fast.  The shotgun shell method was dropped because the bullets which would do the job not only generated too much recoil to be effective, but their size put them outside the round capacity requirement, so H&K went with the “shoot really, really fast” approach.  This is where the G11 comes into its own as a revolutionary weapon.

H&K realized that the bigger the bullet, the more propellant it would require to drive it, and that propellant would be translated into not only recoil to be absorbed by the shooter but a loss of overall ammunition capacity in the magazine.  One solution was to use a smaller bullet.  The 4.73x33mm bullet developed for the G11 is smaller that the 5.56mm bullet currently used in the M16 but the high degree of accuracy with the G11 in burst mode makes the G11 as accurate firing 3 shots as the M16 firing one, so the combined effect on the target, with the G11, is greater.

The second issue was dealing with the recoil.  As has been documented since the invention of the first shoulder-fired automatic weapons, felt recoil will bring the weapon off target, thus rendering accurate, aimed automatic fire impossible at desirable ranges.  H&K’s solution was to eliminate the issue by having the weapon fire a 3-round burst so fast that the bullets were out of the barrel and going down range before the recoil reached the shooter.

Again, how H&K did this was pretty slick.  To speed up the firing process H&K eliminated several steps in the firing sequence, specifically locking, unlocking, extracting and ejecting, by going with a caseless ammunition, where the propellant, rather than held in a metal casing behind the bullet, is actually molded around it.  This eliminated the need for extracting and ejecting spent casings, as there were no cartridges to extract, since, when fired, the propellant body was consumed and the bullet launched out the barrel.  Using a caseless cartridge also enabled H&K to not only make lighter bullets (there was no weight wasted in metal casings) but also allowed them to pack more of the bullets into a given space (since the bullets are square, there’s no wasted space in the magazine.)  The net result was a cyclic ROF of 2,000 RPM in 3-round burst mode (in single shot and full auto, the ROF is only 460 RPM.) An additional benefit with going with caseless ammunition was the elimination of additional openings for contamination.  Lacking an ejection port, the G11’s chamber remains relatively sterile.

To eliminate the recoil issue H&K “floated” the barrel and action on a secondary recoil mechanism.  The effect here was that when the burst was fired, the body of the rifle would remain stationary against the firer’s shoulder, while the action and barrel recoiled down the secondary rail; by the time the action came completely out of battery, where the recoil would be felt by the shooter, the burst cycle would be complete (a recoil spring pushes the action back into battery for the next burst.)

The end result was a weapon that was light, with a high ammunition capacity, and which was capable of firing accurate 3-rounds bursts.

So what happened to the G11?  Well, as luck would have it, as the G11 was nearing production capability, peace broke out all over the world and with all the lions-and-lambs group hugging going on, the West German government decided it had more important things to do than buy a bunch of new wunder rifles, (like look for jobs for all it’s new citizens from the East “zone”) so the program was shelved. 

Well, if the Army is looking for revolutionary, I don’t think you can get any more revolutionary than this.  I just don’t expect the Army to explore it.

Check out the G11 here.

The Last Boots You’ll Ever Buy

Submitted by Eric Daniel

An interesting thing happened this year.  As a National Guardsman I was activated on three separate occasions for firefighting related activities.  What made this unusual was the fact that it was actually the first time I’ve been activated and I wasn’t already fighting fire with the USFS. 

Fortunately, those three activations were for support and security roles, and didn’t actually involve firefighting duties (this was because in order to go on the line you have to go through mandatory, annual, fire fighting training, and we didn’t have time to get the class in; we’ve scheduled one for next year.) 

I say fortunately because when I got the call, I suddenly realized how ill prepared I was for cutting line.  The neat new uniforms the Army issued us might make us excellent soldiers (or is it strong soldiers now, I can never keep up with the marketing adjectives) but they make for poor firefighting duds.  The biggest issue is boots.  According to NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) 1977, Standard on Protective Clothing and Equipment for Wildland Fire Fighting, 2005 Edition guidelines, firefighting boots must be all leather construction with ten-inch tops.  Those high speed GORTEX lined cordura mesh issue boots are a big NOGO.  Unfortunatly, I still see troops on the line wearing them.  The common answers are, “They told us they were ok”, “These are all I’ve got”, “We’re just doing mop up, so I’m fine” or, my personal favorites, “We’re not authorized to wear the old black speed-lace boots with ACUs” or, “Not everyone has black boots and we all need to be uniform.” Being a slave to fashion (or Army uniformity in this case) is one thing, but having a nylon boot melt around your foot because you stepped into a smouldering stump hole is a whole new world of pain.

When I started firefighting in 1993 I was wearing my old speed-lace issue boots.  Unfortunately, they just weren’t up to the challenges and abuses that wildland firefighting places on footwear.  In a four month period I destroyed (and by destroyed I mean rendered unrepairable and completely unservicable) three pairs of boots.  At the end of the season my Engine Boss told me, “You’ve got some money now. Get your self some White’s.  They’ll be the last pair of boots you ever buy.”

So I did, and I have to agree, they were the last firefighting boots I ever bought (ok, that’s technically not true; I bought a second pair of White’s in 1998 and had cork soles put on my original pair for logging and spring/fall burning operations.)

White’s Smokejumpers (the ones I have) are of all leather construction, with some serious arch support.  You can purchase them either “skin out” or “rough out” which refers to either the smooth side of the leather or the rough side of the leather on the surface.  Me, I prefer skin out as I believe the rough interior helps grip my foot better, and the smooth exterior surface is easier to clean.  They can be purchased in standard 8” or 10” tops, in black or brown leather.  They come standard with leather laces (I’ve seen some folk use 550 cord but I’d counsel against that; the leather is more fire resistant, but I’d recommend packing two pair of extra laces in your redbag as well) and are completely rebuildable.  As long as there’s some leather left to stich them back together, you’ll get your boots back (after 8 years of annual rebuilds my second pair of White’s finally gave up the ghost and they couldn’t be rebuilt, which is why I was worried when I got the call this year.  I have since ordered new boots.)

It used to be that you could just call White’s and order boots.  Things have gotten a little more complicated and now they ask for physical measurements (to the point of asking you to trace your foot on a piece of paper) but that’s probably a good thing because the end result is a thing of beauty.

Get a pair of White's here.

Sterling Carbide Pocket Sharpener

Submitted by Lewis Perdue

I swear by the Sterling sharpener. Pricier, but it's served me for years and years.

ED – Some additional information.  The Sterling sharpener features a pair of tungsten carbide sharpening “teeth” set into a 20 degree “V” notch, just like the ceramic rods on the Fiskars sharpener.  The carbide teeth are mounted on an A32 aluminum body, which can be custom colored (the stock sharpener is red.)  Sterling warranties the carbide teeth and construction for life, but does not warranty the custom coating (i.e. they warranty the teeth forever but not the grizzly bear painted on the body.)

The stock sharpener retails for $19.95

One thing to note.  The company says that you can clip this sharpener to your key chain, making it a “go anywhere” sharpener.  In this post 9/11 world though I’d ask first before you try to take it on the plane.  Yes, I know it’s just a sharpener, and it’s got no sharp, “weapon-like” edges, but I’d hate to see someone have to DX theirs at the X-ray machine because the TSA employee at the security checkpoint thought it was a weapon.

Get a Sterling Pocket Sharpener here.

A Real Personal First Aid Kit

Submitted by Eric Daniel

In every unit that I’ve ever been in, one common part of the field uniform has always been the field dressing.  Normally carried at the left hand shoulder, this is the item we’re supposed to reach for in the event we injure ourselves on the battlefield.  Well, that’s all good and well if that wound happens to be from a gunshot, or a bayonet, or artillery fragments, but what if it’s a cut from a small piece of glass, or a skinned knee?  I’ve always been impressed by the portable hospitals the medics in my units carried.  They all take great pride in their work and almost to a man they are medical pack rats.  One of everything is the absolute minimum, and they’d carry three if they could get away with it.  Unfortunately, the end result is, when all I need is a band-aid, it becomes a major evolution just to dig one up out of their pack.  This isn’t a knock on the medic’s preparedness, but rather an observation that, for the most part, they are focused on the “big picture” that being the treatment of large, multiple battle related injuries – not the “play ground” stuff.

A couple years back I started carrying a USFS personal first aid kit with me in the field.  It’s small, about the size of a canteen cup, and is filled with a good assortment of personal first aid items.  In addition, it comes in a nice, durable, plastic case that was fairly crush resistant.  Unfortunately, I even found that to be too large for what I was looking for.

What I eventually settled on was using an empty mint tin (Altoids, Fishermen’s Friend, etc..)  It was the perfect size.  In it I carry a couple assorted sized band-aids, a couple alcohol pads, a couple iodine pads, a small patch of moleskin, a couple aspirin, Motrin and Imodium, and that’s about it.  The tin is small enough that it can go into any of my ACU pockets (I put mine in the right hand ankle pocket to keep it out of the way and since I don’t use those pockets for anything else) and is robust enough that it keeps the contents in good shape (especially the pills.)  More over, the size absolutely limits how much I can carry.  The purpose of the kit is to treat truly minor boo-boos without having to break open the CLS footlocker; it doesn’t have to get me through a 1-year tour, just the end of the day.

P.S. – As an added bonus, it fits inside that “hot beverage bag” (aka the Ziploc) that comes with MREs now so if you want to waterproof it, you can.

Pocket Rock

Submitted by Eric Daniel

Making beer one day I was rooting around my buddy’s garage looking for a razor blade to cut open a bag of hops when I came across an old folding blade pocket knife in his tool box.  Opening up the main blade, I could see that it was dull as hell, but, being too lazy to go into the kitchen for shears, I figured I’d just blunt force the bag open with the knife.

“Hold up”, my buddy said, “Gimmie that knife.” 

So I did, and he pulled a tiny orange square out of the box and proceeded to pass the knife blade through it a couple of times before passing the knife back to me.

“There you go, good as new.”

Sure enough, the knife functioned as advertised and the reinforced mylar vacuum bag opened with ease.

The tool he had used was a Fiskars Pocket Sharpener.  The FPS is a square of plastic maybe 1 x 2 inches, with a pair of pre-set of ceramic sharpening stones.  One pair is for coarse work, while the other pair is for fine finishing.  I was amazed at the number this tiny little sharpener did on that knife.  To be sure, I would imagine there are stones and sharpening systems out there that could put this little gem to shame, but not for the price ($3) and the size (less than an ounce and you could carry a dozen in your pocket.) This thing is just the ticket for a quick touch up out in the field.

For some odd reason, Fiskars doesn’t mention this sharpener on their website, and they are no longer orange, but they are still available.

P.S. -- Apparently Gerber also sells a version of this sharpener, so they are also available from Gerber in both ceramic and diamond versions.

Get a Fiskars Pocket Sharpener here.