Toprudder
Member
And I think that is the achilles heel of bullpups. It is bad enough having an explosion out in front of your face, it is especially bad having it right under your face.
What's the achille's heel of firearms?
- Thread starter hi-impact
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NIGHTLORD40K
Member
Thought of a few more Achilles heels....
Beretta Tomcat- cracked frames
Walter PPK, Bersa Thunder- snapped off hammers due to overuse of the decocker
Walther TPH- broken firing pins thanks to dry-firing
Low# Springfield M1903- brittle receivers due to improper heat treating
Helwan Brigadier- soft locking blocks wear excessively
Late production Universal Carbine- cracked slide at the cam cutout
"Sand rail" SIG P226- split frame rails
Early .40 cal. Glocks- insufficient chamber support at the feed ramp resulting in some catastrophic failures
Hi Point C series- broken safeties, cracked zinc slide
Yugo SKS- grenade launcher gas cut valve worn/ leaking, resulting in short stroking
Colt New Army revolvers- broken leaf springs
SA M1A- broken cast extractors
Granted, many of these guns are very reliable, but when they go, these are typically the parts that break.
Beretta Tomcat- cracked frames
Walter PPK, Bersa Thunder- snapped off hammers due to overuse of the decocker
Walther TPH- broken firing pins thanks to dry-firing
Low# Springfield M1903- brittle receivers due to improper heat treating
Helwan Brigadier- soft locking blocks wear excessively
Late production Universal Carbine- cracked slide at the cam cutout
"Sand rail" SIG P226- split frame rails
Early .40 cal. Glocks- insufficient chamber support at the feed ramp resulting in some catastrophic failures
Hi Point C series- broken safeties, cracked zinc slide
Yugo SKS- grenade launcher gas cut valve worn/ leaking, resulting in short stroking
Colt New Army revolvers- broken leaf springs
SA M1A- broken cast extractors
Granted, many of these guns are very reliable, but when they go, these are typically the parts that break.
Demi-human
maybe likes firearms a little bit…
The small leaf spring in the loading ramp of a Nylon sixty six. 
Now it doubles as a rain stick, with all the cartridges rattling around inside.
Now it doubles as a rain stick, with all the cartridges rattling around inside.
FL-NC
Member
Like you said, nothing is perfect. The trick is finding what is BEST for you, or your agency. Some firearms have more imperfections than others. Rem 700- extractors. AK- accuracy, controls, ability to mount optics solidly, massive protruding magazine. M9- Locking blocks, trigger bar spring, safety location, grip screws. MK 47- overall reliability, requirement to pull the trigger during the loading sequence. MP-5- no last-round bolt lock. M2 HB 50 cal- weight, barrel change, many small parts, can be improperly assembled and still pass a function test. The list goes on.
Scooter22
Member
Ya beat me too it.
I’ll take “ignorant” for $500, Alex.
I carried a AN/GAU-5 in my last deployment to Iraq in 2006. That thing was old and looked it. I managed to get it out of the armory and in my weapons case. Had my reasons for wanting that one. None of those reasons would have mattered if I didn’t consider it reliable. In Mogadishu, Somalia I carried the M-16. You know, no forward assist, three prong flash hider, triangle shaped hand guards, 20 round mags, M-16. It never missed a beat and no ones else did either. Central America, South America, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, (cake walk S. Korea) with multiple deployments and my M-16, M-16A1, M16A2, GAU-5, M-4, or M9 for that matter, was not at the top of my list of concerns. Your great-uncle on your step-mother’s side twice removed may have not liked his but I wrapped the sling of mine around my leg when I slept.
Oh yeah, Achilles heel.....ummmm....running out of ammo. Don’t do that.
Oops. Edited to add .....”not” at the top of my list.... One word changes the meaning of the whole statement. Proof read the proof read. lol
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TRX
Member
#1 problem: too many firearms designed for operation only with the right hand or shoulder.
On the Marlin 795, it's the cheap plastic trigger mech housing which invariably cracks at some point near the guard screw making proper receiver clamping impossible.
This one had a new one machined out of aircraft duralumin at a well-known aerospace factory.
This one had a new one machined out of aircraft duralumin at a well-known aerospace factory.
Really? I've put north of 150,000 rounds through a Marlin 60 and it still works fine. I'd like to see examples of what this looks like so I can watch for it. I no longer shoot that rifle like I once did but I still have it setup for a particular purpose. I've never had to polish the feed ramp or anything like that. I did wear out a recoil spring which took about 30 seconds and $10 to fix (might have been cheaper - it wasn't much).
As for the Achilles heel of firearms I'd have to say user error with things like firing out of battery in the running.
1KPerDay
Member
[Edited for those without a sense of humor]
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JeffG
Member
The erroneous portrayal as machines of human butchery on the movie screen. The liberal Hollywood crowd produces these fantasies to make millions; then the liberal political machine uses those movies as the emotional basis for their argument that they should be banned.
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
They switched from the two-piece self destructing cast feed throat to the improved one piece design in the early 80's, IIRC. Your is probably the newer style- or a previous owner already retrofitted it? Either way, very impressive round count!
Panzerschwein
member
Mosin Nagant:
No Achilles heals. It is glorius rifle of motherland for destroying capitalists!!!
No Achilles heals. It is glorius rifle of motherland for destroying capitalists!!!
Or how about rudeness. But, this is the internet, so you can act and say whatever makes you feel good.
1KPerDay
Member
Edited for those without a sense of humor
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None of the posts you made are on topic to this thread. Therefore, I'm not going there with you. This is the highroad. If you don't want to take the highroad, that's fine. But, you are going are going there all by yourself with your remarks that have no value.
mokin
Member
I don't know how much of an Achilles Heel issue this is, but the only firearms I've seen break while in use were AR-15s. On one the bolt broke, right where the cam pin passes through it. The other was the latch on a charging handle (ironically it happened to be BCM). The thing is, these are machines and will wear out with use. I've replaced parts on my guns and know many who have as well. It's the knuckleheads out there who don't do that maintenance who are the real weak links.
Col. Harrumph
Member
Teenagers with naïve girlfriends. Youtube is full of examples.
Flechette
Member
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The French MAS was one of the first direct impingement but had a bolt/carrier design that did not spray into the gun like an AR. It vented the exhaust up out of the top.
The MAS also had a VERY robust trigger group. The firing pin looks like a roofing nail. Extremely reliable and accurate.
I do not know why this design did not take off and be used by other guns.
Both of the 60's I currently own were made after that date. The one with the high round count was made in the early 90's. It wasn't the only .22 I had for years but it was pretty much the only one I shot. I managed to do everything I needed to do with it (most varmint control) and I shot it a lot just for for. And shooting semi-auto .22 for fun will burn up ammo quickly. I had a lot of days where I shot a brick and sometimes 2. It took about 14 years to rack up that many. It isn't as many as it sounds when you figure that's only about 12,000 rounds a year. That's not even hard to do. I've shot way more than that in some years since.
I did have some problems with it for a while. I thought the action was worn out so I bought a new one. But it turned out I only needed to bend the ejector wire. I still have the other action. I've only tried it out. I put the original back in. I've had to replace the recoil spring but that ws no big deal.
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