well, heres two cents worth.. i just know i will get kicked in the teeth for this!
we are all being free with our notions here, so i will say I respect every one s opinion her, but I think ya'll are missin a point or two:
Uncle Bob... agreed, the M60 isnt the best, but i found that with attentive maintenace on the part of the shooter, they did ok. Heavy? yep, but the mag is no light weight either (and I agree, it is the better weapon)
shooting from the left is less an issue of making the weapon a new way as much as the soldier either shifting position or adopting better cover or adapting to his weapon... geez!
The whole M16/ assault riifle- battle rifle argument- well, i served as a sniper and have had the misfortune of humping every weapon known to man at one point- all have their pros and cons.
personally, anybody tells me a weapon is too heavy (and I have humped and prefered FN FAL, M14 and M70 in prefernce to a lighter cal. weapon), well , I am an eliteist. Obvoiusly, they need to look for work in a proffesion that doesnt require physical fitness. Otherwise, screw em... bad troops make great targets, believe me.
IMHO, the modern trend seems to be to make a gun that soldiers for the soldier, and all that high tech, gun-the-size-of-a-house , multiplex ammo and gee whiz optics doesnt compare to one Afghan that can shoot a 40 year old enfield. Ask the Russians, or the 'Nam vets... they all learned better.
These practical lessons have been forgotten in the more recent years non-wars, and the trend artists and theorists are all about the new soldier, you know the guy... he's the human that is there to reload the damn gun!
Rather a focus on marksmanship and fundementals, while niether trendy nor glamorous, will be the answer to all these ills, coupled with a weapons system that eshews the niceties for good accuracy and excellent reliability- my prefernce for an assault rifle is hands down the AK, for this very reason. Barring that, there are several battle rifles up to the task... G3 and FN FAL being only two, but these I personally like.
To my thinking the weapon of the future will likely be more compact than large, perhaps have a smaller grenade launcher ( Aliens was a good example, Starship Troopers much less so) and tend to be very rugged. Materials technology will make them cheaper, and they will focus on one of two functions: volume of fire ( personally i think its sloppy work, but that is where the current wisdom is headed) or larger caliber long range pentrators, to defeat the commitant increase in armor on the soldier.
Granted I am voicing hard opinions, and I stand by them. I make these opininons based on handling the weapons in question in the ONLY venue that counts- combat, with enemy working REAL damn hard at offing me in the process.
Africa, Middle East, Central America, and all the attendent climates... its all about the soldier, and how he handles the weapon, not the weapon itself.
G11-too complex, and no logistics train... dont trust a rifle you cant fix in the field
AUG... within 300 yrds, an excellent gun, but limited by its sights
FAMAS- the french built the damn thing, nuff said
SA-80-too delicate by half, but they are getting there
M61a2- a good weapon, and it only took thirty years to get that way
FNFAL- i trust it.
the FN 2000 ( the little subgun guy) got to try one live recently- stinks for anything long range,(100-150+meter) but in urban/CQB, in the hands of an aggresive troop, its a buzzsaw! excellent design for that purpose!and yes, reliable , too.
G3- this one I trust, too
M14... a little delicate, but tricked out as a sniper my rifle of preference, as a box magazine means you can fight your way out of a bad situation. ( boltguns are more accurate, but lousy when your being chased by a squad of cuban regulars with AKs)
the new Objective Weapons.. abominations created by idiots in the lab. actually talked to a fellow who attended a test, and he maintened the test shooters only comment away from the range was that they would be a great weapon-mounted on a vehicle.
enough exposition, i leave ya'll to it
