Vietnam era "Special" weapons

[Gewehr98]

Like I said before...

"Who?"

IOW, one article from "Tactical-Life" does not a highly-coveted, resounding success of a military weapons system make, hand-holding or otherwise.

Hell, I saw our guys using these .300 Win Mag BAR conversions during my government-paid vacation in Bosnia.

I could've sworn at the time that we had The One True Sword with respect to USGI semiauto snipers.




I wasn't even close. Good thing I didn't bet my military retirement pay on that one, eh?

I might've wished the above Armstech system would have been fielded in large numbers, but that didn't mean it happened.

Same for the venerable M14 in today's military. Jeff's right, it's a nice rifle, but the DoD's moved past it for better nowadays.

 

[chuckusaret]

How many of you Vietnam experts served in Vietnam???? Most of what I am reading has got to be hear say because a lot of it is nothing more than BS. I am not a weapons expert but I did get to see the majority of the weapons used in Vietnam during the 66 months that I was there. One thing I never heard was that the M21 was not a good sniper weapon. You also have to remember it was the best we had at the time, but has come a long way since then. The Special Forces has used a version of the M21 designated the M25 since the 1980's

 

[H2O MAN]

 

[H2O MAN]

chuckusaret

I am not a weapons expert but I did get to see the majority of the weapons used in Vietnam during the 66 months that I was there. One thing I never heard was that the M21 was not a good sniper weapon. You also have to remember it was the best we had at the time, but has come a long way since then. The Special Forces has used a version of the M21 designated the M25 since the 1980's

Well said sir.

 

[sinistr]

this was a very interesting thread.....so if we could please get back on topic?i saw a program on seal weapons during vietnam including the hushpuppy and an m60 that they had removed the stock and the sights among other things to reduce weight.it reminded me of the book "rouge warrior"(sp?) as a seal when he talked about to eating the same food( to mask sweat and feces smell) and wearing the same footwear of the enemy.(like the ones discussed above) behind enemy lines.can anyone in the know elaborate further?also andy macnabe's "bravo two zero"was also fascinating in the methods they used to conceal their presence.

 

[HorseSoldier]

The Special Forces has used a version of the M21 designated the M25 since the 1980's

The M21 was innovative in a lot of ways for its time.

As far as the M25 goes, they may be out there somewhere, but I spent most of the last five years assigned to a Special Forces unit and never saw one -- M24s and SR-25s were the only 7.62x51 sniper guns we had (+/- a PSG-1 that occasionally got played with, though it's performance wasn't stellar) or anyone we trained with or worked with brought with them (+/- some M14s the USAF used for OPFOR weapons).

 

[H2O MAN]

M25 Sniper Rifle:

Originally developed by the 10th Special Forces Group at Ft. Devens, the M25 was built as a joint services system, meeting the needs of both
Army SF and Navy SEAL sniper teams for a semi-automatic sniper rifle built on the same lines as the match grade M14 and M21 semi-automatic rifles.

 

[HorseSoldier]

Right -- I just haven't seen any of them floating around. There may still be some kicking around, I just never saw one turn up. My guess is that the SR-25s made them extinct pretty quick, since we got SRs in abundance well before the M110 blipped up on Big Army's radar.

 

[swgunner]

Check out Uncle Sam's Tin Can Navy We have M14 and M25, though I cant remember the scope it was NV scope with pinhole cover for day and 10x magnification, nice system, took out some drug runner's outboards with it in 2002.

 

[H2O MAN]

HorseSoldier Right -- I just haven't seen any of them floating around. There may still be some kicking around, I just never saw one turn up.

My guess is that they were eventually replaced with Crazy Horse and EBRs.

 

[lipadj46]

I am not sure why people get so defensive about the M14 making it's little comeback. It's an awesome piece of technology from a bygone era that was written off but has proven it is still relevant today (ala B-52, A-10). You better believe if so many had not been chopped up back in the 90's you would be seeing many more of them today. Yes we know it is currently a stop gap measure until the SCAR H or M110 can be sorted out. While the military messes with those platforms getting the bugs out the M14 is there, it has been proven to work in adverse conditions in Vietnam and performs very well in a dessert environment.

I don't know why people take it so personally and cannot admit it is still relevant as a platform these days. After the whole modernization process you get just that a rifle that is accurate, durable and has all the rail space you would need. The whole "fragile glass bedding" argument is a bit outdated as stated above. The whole high maintenance argument is also strange, the M16 is a reliable platform because the military trains soldiers to clean their weapons like an OCD person washes their hands.

Anyways whatever I like the M14 and the AR (I own an M1A) but I think the SCAR H is the right "next" semi auto 7.62 Nato platform with it's piston gas system and modular design.

 

[H2O MAN]

lipadj46 I think the SCAR H is the right "next" semi auto 7.62 Nato platform with it's piston gas system and modular design.

Agreed.

 

[TNThomas]

Im going with the Rocket Pistol. If i remember right it was called the Gyrojet, or something to that order. I saw one at a gun show a few years back...

 

[flintman]

Never any combat here,just served from 1981-1986.
I reckon there were a lot of different weapons out there.As for me,when I got to my Army Reserve unit after my Junior Year in High School,I was very happy to be assigned a M203 under a Colt AR-15.

 

[Speedo66]

Don't know if they'd be classified as "special", but there were M-2 Carbines and Swedish K's being used by some Rangers early on when they were "advisors".

 

[61chalk]

Although the M14 might not be considered "special", Rock Island converted
1435 of NM quality rifles into M-21 sniper rifles...I would consider these to be
Special. They were used by U.S. Army snipers....an a salute to the Top sniper
of Vietnam with 109 confirmed kills...Staff Sgt. Adelbert F. Waldron III, 9th Inf.
He used the M-21 with a 3-9X Leatherwood ART scope, Starlight scope, an
used suppressors. His most talked about shot was a 900 meter shot from a moving
boat to the shore, killing an enemy that was firing on them. He past away in CA.
in 1995.

 

[Dimis]

wow who is urinating farther here?

seriously guys are any of you still in the military right now?
more specificaly an armorer or buyer for the military?

the army and marines are notorious for never throwning things away the M14 has seen modern battlefields by Marines for god sakes pick up a magazine and youll see them with "crazyhorses" that name wasnt a designation from the military BTW its from smith enterprises inc who helped convert alot of busted old and new M14s into new M21s and M25s for the army and marines

if you think that the military throws out old armament for new everytime the latest whizbang comes out then we would all have plasma rifles in a 40 watt range by now but they dont throw away anything hell just look at recent photos of military personel from afganistan iraq and elsewhere those guys may be carrying an old stevens pump action shotgun or a brand new M110 (which is the best SASS to date btw) military arms are issued in accordance to mission requirements not everyone gets a brand new SOPMOD M4 with all the trimmings hell last i checked camp lagune still had vietnam era M16s for qualifications now thats just sad

ok you can continue your watersports distance competition now

 

[Justin]

Dimis, Jeff White served in the US Army in Infantry. While I don't speak for him, I suspect he'd be happy to provide you with qualifications if you were to PM him.

So far as I know, H20 Man never served in the military.

 

[61chalk]

POST 67....?........I thought the OP was interested in 'special' weapons of Vietnam....
No one told me I had to be a Nam Vet to enter this thread. I did serve at one time...but I never saw combat....does that make me less a Vet in your mind??? Not sure who your talking about or why...feel free to PM me or anyone you are upset with an why....

 

[Art Eatman]

Oh, yuck. Enough.