Belt Fed Ar-15 (Shrike)

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CleverNickname said:
No, but it is illegal to link up more than 10 rounds together.
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Yes and no. It is illegal to link up more than 10 rounds if you are using links acquired after 2000, but if you had the links before 2000 then you can link up as many as you want. How anyone figures out what constitutes a pre-2000 link is beyond me since from what I understand there are no date stamps on the links. So a build using a monsterman grip, a fixed stock, and pre-2000 links should be okay, if I have not missed something.
 
I would agree that its civillian utility is limited, its real purpose is in the military theatre. I would suspect that civie deposits were just a way to fund development, makes sense, no interference from military committees that don't know what they want.

I can see the high speed guys falling in love with this thing. A compact 8 lb belt fed LMG, gas piston, interchangable barrels ect. Hanging a 200rd belt box on the bottom kinda defeats the purpose of having a fast handling MG, I would think operators would link up each 200 belt into one large 1000 belt and load it into a SAW gunners chest rig, similar in principle to the old AR10 belt feb back pack.

Price is 7k and going up.

To answer the first post, regarding the advantage over the Beta C system, the US Military has prohibited the use of beta mags after several jaming incidents where soldiers lost their lives. The mag well dimensions wont allow the rounds to feed up the tower reliably.
 
Blade_Zero hit in on the head, the original project was designed to take over in the military in the area the old Stoner LMG had been. The SAW even in the para config is still considered large and bulky. The idea of the Shrike is that you can stick a 200 rd belt into a M16 and go to work, plus since it takes regular M16 mags, it can be used in a rifle roll as well. Not much more weight/bulk then a normal M4/M16 and a whole lot more rounds on tap.

Did anyone else notice the guy shooting in the video is slapping the heck out of the trigger?

-Jenrick
 
Did anyone else notice the guy shooting in the video is slapping the heck out of the trigger?
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Hmm, not sure what you mean. Looked to me like he either had it completely and firmly depress for the entire duration of the belt with the second pad of his finger or firing and letting go for burst shots.
 
I can tell just by watching the video that the weapon is too light for the rate of fire that they have going on there. The muzzle was jumping around too much for any good accuracy. I know that accuracy is less important in a suppression role, but I don't think that means your weapon should be inaccurate.
 
Why did they not make more? The concept obviously works. They also obviously made working prototypes too.
 
I too think a standard AR-15 is a little light for belt-fed full-auto fire. You'd just spray and spray with poor gun control.

If you weigh down the AR-15 (not sure how you'd go about that) then it would be more than just a REALLY cool range toy.
 
^^^most ARs ARE weighted down these days. Rail system, flashlight, laser, NVS, pistol foregrip... add a 200rd belt of ammo in a box and you'd have a fairly hefty weapon.
 
hkSW: The second pad, with what appeared to me to be a death grip on the trigger was what I was talking about. After looking at it again it's not as bad as I was thinking.

The idea of a light weight LMG doesn't mean it's going to be inaccurate. The normal three round burst of the M16A2 is pretty controllable, and full auto out an M4 isn't uncontrollable either (I will agree that it certainly is not as accurate as single rounds). Short bursts (3-5 rounds) out of this sucker I think would be fairly accurate and controllable (it's a LMG, not a DMR) for offhand.

Remember that LMG's aren't normally fired from offhand standing in the supporting/suppression fire roll if trying for any kind of accuracy. The goal of shooting in that position is to put a lot of lead out, to suppress the enemy to break contact etc. I'm curious how well this would shoot of a bipod, what size beaten zone, etc. I'm imagining it's probably a little to accurate, to really perform as required in the traditional MG roll.

Treating it as a M4 with a really large magazine, best sums up it's intended use IMO. A auto rifle, capable of being used to suppress the enemy through a large volume of fire, in a platform that is lighter and handier then the other comparable weapons (belt fed LMG's).

-Jenrick
 
That is quite a cool firearm, but according to what many of you said the company is probably going to end up bust. Maybe if a more established company bought out the concept, like Bushmaster or DPMS, it would become more widely available.
 
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