BXBX NOVEL Chapter 222: A man's heart [1/2]
War originally didn\'t need guns. Men smashed each other with rocks when necessary. Guns just made the process easier. But there were no bad guns; the fault lies in the hand that wields them.
Seeing the dozens of guns around me, I could not help but grin. Vincent, seeing my pleased expression, began to explain the contents of his gift to me.
"I am honored that you find my humble offering pleasing. This lot contains 200 SIG MCX spears. They were designed to replace the M4 Carbines and were officially introduced just last April under the name XM7. Anyone familiar with the AR platform would be "at home" with one of these."
I pulled out one of the Sig spears and worked the controls. Everything from smooth pull of the charging handle to the feel of the crisp trigger just gave me immense pleasure.
"This is nice."
Allowing myself a brief moment of happiness, the gangster went on to describe the other weapons in the package.
Vincent pulled out one of the other weapons and brought it to me.
"Of course, just like the spears, this is the SIG LMG 6.8, also adopted under the same program. Designed to replace the M249 light machine gun, the LMG 6.8 was adopted under the name XM250.
"It is lighter and packs more punch at the cost of not being able to change the barrel. Some genius also decided to put a suppressor on a squad gun. I got 50 of them for you."
The mockery in Vincent\'s voice was palpable. It seemed that he liked guns as well; most people would think that a suppressor would help to minimize the muzzle flash. But that went against the role of a squad weapon.
These guns, much like my M60, were designed to be loud as hell. This was for the sole purpose of suppression. Anyone with a brain would know not to rush in if something loud was going to unleash a hail of lead.
To make sure that suppression effect lasted as long as possible. Squad weapons are designed to shoot slower than anything else. The logic being that as long as the squad weapon, usually a machine gun, was firing, the enemy should be in cover waiting for the gunner to run out of bullets.
So to Vincent\'s point. There was little reason to put a suppressor on an LMG. Many would say it was so they could go in quietly. But just as many would also point out. If you needed to be quiet in the first place, bring an assault rifle instead.
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I carefully put down the Sig spear and picked up the Sig LMG 6.8. As with the other weapon, I worked the charging handle and removed the safety before slowly squeezing the trigger.
"You seem to know your stuff. I assume those rounds over there are 6.8×51mm Sig Fury cartridges?"
For a gun nut like me, the news that the US military was using new weapons was like the biggest news of the decade. Of course, I knew what these works of art were even before Vincent introduced them.
"Indeed. The latest round to be used to deliver freedom. Halfway through the original 5.56 and 7.62 NATO rounds. The 6.8 or .227 Fury has the range and accuracy of a 308 Winchester with much less recoil."
There was as much science behind the bullets as there was in the guns that fired them. America had a funny history when it came to ammunition. The journey from each war and defeat shaped the common rounds used today.
If you ask any gun nut about the very first American service rifle, eight times out of ten they will answer the M1 Garand. While the M1 was the wrong answer, the reason it was more known was because although there were two rifles before it, they were copies of someone else\'s weapons.
The M1, which was the first service rifle designed in America, was used in not one but two world wars. Its predecessor, the M1903 Springfield, was relegated to a sniper rifle in WWII after its brief stint as the main service rifle during WWI.
Firing the grandfatherly .30-06 caliber, both the M1 and M1903 were considered overkill. Capable of blowing a large hole through most men, it was considered impractical. America, in its desire to kill as much as possible, thought that carrying so much gun was a waste; if the weight could instead be used for more rounds it would be better.
Enter the 7.62×51mm NATO, a smaller round that packed just as much punch. Then came Vietnam, one of the few wars America lost to the barely armored Viet Cong. The M14, which had 20 rounds, an improvement over the 8 for the M1, was heavy as hell.
After getting defeated repeatedly, the U.S. adopted the M16, designed by Eugene Stoner. The aim of this weapon was to lighten the load of the soldier as much as possible while at the same time carrying as much lead as possible.
The 5.56×45mm NATO was thus born. It was an even smaller round that could still kill people with one shot at 500 yards while being a fraction of the size of the .30-06.
Fast forward to war after war, people started equipping armor to survive the 5.56. So now we are taking it the other way around and moving up from the 5.56 to the 6.8.
Give it a few years, and with the advent of better body armor, the 7.62 would probably be the main cartridge again.
Knowing how these rifles performed, I had no complaints. If these beautiful girls were good enough for the many branches of the US military, who was I to know better? I put the Sig LMG 6.8 down and started checking the ammo boxes.
Then I noticed small boxes containing another firearm. I picked one up and did some pistol drills with it. Extremely happy with the pistol in my hand, I put it back down before moving on.