The Magnificent Browning GP-35 High Power

 

The GP-35 was the last design created by John Browning.  Many experts state the GP-35 is the zenith of Browning’s Pistol designs. Of course Dieudonne Saive, the great Belgian arms designer, deserves a lot of credit for the final design. Largely ignored in today’s polymer frame world, the cognoscenti, still regard the GP-35 as the best fighting pistol ever designed. Simple, reliable, and accurate, the high power has quietly ridden in holsters around the world since its introduction before the Second World War. It was used by the Allies and the Axis, manufactured on two continents, and used from France to China. 

 

In the post war era, the high power became closer to a free world standard than anything else.  It could be found on every continent in police and military service. In its final form, the high power is quietly being used today. Although in many countries the polymer pistols have replaced it, the high power soldiers on. That makes a service life of almost 79 years and counting.        

James Yeager introduces Ammonation

James Yeager is gathering support for a proposed miniseries "Ammonation". It is an in depth look at the gun culture through the unvarnished and sometimes R rated view of James Yeager.
You can get more information here. I wish James the best of luck in this endeavor.

James Yeager

I don’t know James Yeager or have any connection with his company Tactical Response or participated in any of his training.  But I can tell you he is a good guy and a patriot.  His now infamous video of early January 2013 received national attention and much criticism.  Mr. Yeager apologized for his remarks and began to weather the storm of personal criticism and character assignation which followed. 

The media and their stooges call James Yeager a coward for his actions during a vehicle ambush in Iraq. James is no coward, as an unfortunate veteran of two IED blasts in Iraq, I can definitively say, his actions in the ambush were reasonable and prudent.

James’s controversial video was full of direct unvarnished colorful language, I guess that is who he is.  I personally have no problem with that. This country need more people who speak like General Patton, and less people who speak like Nancy Pelosi.  The second thing is, how many of us have said or thought the same thing? The answer is, all of us. I don’t think its O.K. for the gun hating liberals to threaten us, and we can’t respond in kind. The gun haters always state they’ll “go house to house” to confiscate firearms.  That is a direct threat, since the implication of the use of force is made. The gun haters are never challenged on this. Yet, we are roundly criticized when we state we will not tolerate this.

I will stand with people who express themselves with candor and courage, like James Yeager.  Someday, in the foreseeable future, after a few issues are settled, I’ll take a class at his facility. Over the years he has taught over 25,000 people essential skills needed to survive a lethal confrontation.  His company Tactical Response, is known for honesty and integrity. That means a lot to me.  His videos are on YouTube and more information is on his web site www.tacticalresponse.com     

Scincere Flattery!

I noticed the last episode of Guns & Ammo TV was lording the praises of the M16A1 assault rifle. Had they bothered to read this blog they could have had much better information. What they presented was just an incomplete blurb which sounded like it came from Wikipedia. I should not be surprised, as G&A really only presents a surface examination of each gun they present.  I wish they would have some in depth reviews of some interesting firearms and shooting sports.   

Why the U.S. Military has never understood the Assault Rifle. Part VII

A U.S. Marine fires an M16A4 rifle. 

 

The M16A4. This rifle is used by the Army as a designated marksman rifle (DMR) and as a general issue rifle by the Marines. It really represents an M16A2 type rifle with M4 Carbine modularity.  This is a logical move for both the Army and Marines.  Infantry squads need a sniper or advanced marksman capability. This was proven during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the excellence of the M4 Carbine as an assault rifle is not diminished by the adoption of DMRs.

At combat ranges up to 300 meters, and even at longer ranges, the M4 Carbine out performs every other assault rifle including the legendary AK-47 type rifles. The M4 is far more controllable in burst and full auto fire. It can handle a wide variety of accessories.  Later versions of the M4 Carbine restore the full auto capability which was abandoned after the adoption of the M16A2.  America now produces the best assault rifle in the world, the M4 Carbine.  Trials for replacement rifles such as the H&K XM8 and the FN SCAR, have failed to produce a weapon superior in performance to the M4.   If the U.S. Military dumps the M4 for a match rifle type weapon such as the M16A4, many of the advantages of the true assault rifle will again be lost.

The decision to product improve the M1 Garand into the M14 which is the best battle rifle in the world, damaged the effort to develop the assault rifle concept after WWII.  The U.S. insistence on standardization of the 7.62x51 NATO cartridge seriously delayed the introduction of assault rifles by Western European military establishments. In terms of assault rifle performance, the old WWII German STG 44 was a superior performer to the new Western European and American 7.62x51 NATO battle rifles.  On the other hand the Soviets learned the lessons of World War II and applied them to the development of their assault rifle, the AK-47.

Why the U.S. Military has never understood the Assault Rifle. Part VI

 

The M4 Carbine.  In the 1990s the Special Operations community was finally fed up with the M16A2. After using compact weapons like the H&K MP5 9mm SMG, the wisdom of having an intermediate cartridge compact assault rifle became obvious. The AK-47 fit the size and performance envelope much better than the M16A2.  Colt developed the M4 Carbine in response to this requirement.  This design was a not entirely new.  Carbine versions of the M16A1 had existed since the 1960s. 

Colt CAR-15 Rifle c.1978

 

 The weapon was quite popular in Vietnam and a civilian semi auto version was marketed in the late 1970s.  To those “in the know” the CAR-15 was an excellent weapon, very compact and powerful. The shorter barrel made the CAR-15 very maneuverable.  The collapsible stock and short barrels, anywhere from 10 to 16 inches, were the major changes from the M16A1.  The M4 looks very much like the old CAR-15, the M4 does have a removable carry handle with A2 type sights, a 14.5 inch barrel. 

M16A4 and M4 Carbine in Iraq

The adjustable butt stock has six positions, which greatly help fit the M4 to individual soldiers, especially while wearing body armor.  The Army and Marines quickly adopted the M4 for general issue in the early 2000s.  The M4 established an outstanding record of success in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Law enforcement quickly followed suit and the popularity of the M4 skyrocketed.  The ability to configure the M4 for specialized missions and the wide variety of sights and accessories makes it the most versatile assault rifle available.    

M4 Carbines in Iraq

The M4 Carbine is the signature weapon of the Global War on Terror.  It seemed the services were content with the performance of the M4, however the old arguments of weapon range resurfaced.  The environment in the Middle East provided the opportunity to engage enemy targets at longer ranges. While the M4 performed these acceptably well.  There was a requirement to provide long range firepower. At first, upgraded M14 rifles were used in the designated marksman role.  Gradually, a M16 based rifle with the modularity of the M4 Carbine was designed and fielded.