Looks like the US isn't the only one having some issues with their assaut rifles. http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htweap/articles/20150505.aspx One could also argue that others have avoided the "problems" simply by not having the same requirements.
I knew the subject rang a bell. "An assault rifle used by counter-terror police does not shoot straight when it gets hot, tests claim. The Heckler & Koch G36 is inaccurate by up to 20 feet at long range when temperatures top 30C, it was found. The weapon also becomes unreliable when it is left in direct sunlight, exposed to humidity or fired repeatedly, according to a confidential report. The findings have prompted an urgent inquiry into the German-made firearm, which is used by law enforcement officers across the UK. Britain's police forces use a short-barrelled version of the weapon known as the G36C – and have a total arsenal of up to 3,000." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3056013/British-anti-terror-police-using-assault-rifles-not-shoot-straight-hot-weather.html#ixzz3ZGzEGnui
The two cops pictured in the Mail article are not carrying the G36. They have MP5's or perhaps some other subgun. I don't know where the whole drive for plastic guns comes from. You save money in manufacturing, but those savings are rarely passed to the consumer. In the end, you have a plastic gun which is not as durable as steel or aluminum. As you see here, just the heat of firing the gun extensively causes the plastic to soften and create a host of problems.
I'm disappointed in my German freunden....I don't ever recall a problem with the plastic breaking on the M16s while in the Fleet...however, someone knocked one off the rack in bootcamp and busted it up big time......we did have a Marine warp his barrel shooting blanks at night..and I don't think he fired for a long time...could've been an old rifle though......the temps were not warm at all....but we rarely fired at full auto.... I'm shocked the G36 wasn't field tested for those situations....and by testing, I mean using multiple scenarios, long term, etc...the article states ''after years of user complaints and several rounds of testing....." how much testing was done before putting people's lives at stake with it??? I read Durant's book of when he was shot down....he considered the H&K a piece of junk..it wasn't a 36, but I think an MP5
The G36 uses a lot more plastic than an M16. The M16 just replaces the traditional wood parts with plastic - stock, forearm. On the G36 the whole receiver housing, trigger group, mag well and most/many of the moving parts are plastic. That's just poor design and wishful thinking. You can get away with that on a pistol (Glock for example) because it may not shoot as many rounds in its entire life as a military rifle might shoot in one engagement.
wow! Kody....I didn't know ....excellent points......but seems like they also had a testing failure ..allow me to ask, anyone, is this a 'new' or unique application for rifles?? the amount of plastic used. I mean? thanks any replies
I seem to recall they spent a fair amount of time, effort, and cash working on a caseless rifle. I seem to recall it was also designed to fire fast enough that you could get 3 rounds off before much recoil effected accuracy (obviously automatic). When it fell through they may have felt the need to get something more conventional to the force quickly. Or were they already using the G36?
I suspect that since the G36 came out not long after the Glock, the plastic was more about selling new "gee whiz" technology than making a good rifle. In other words, they were trying to bamboozle the bureaucrats who make such decisions.
I believe your talking about the Heckler & Koch G11 lwd, Designed from 1968 through to 1990, Has been some look into it since then but nothing serious and tends to only come from companies rather then governments. As to plastics in weapon's, I guess it all comes down to the location of the plastics and the actual plastic make up. Rather then going the plastic route for lighter weight's they should go the way the Steyr AUG went with the fiberglass reinforced polyamide.
There are nonessential parts that you can make out of plastic, but anything essential - receiver, any moving parts - should be metal. They spout off about carbon fibers and fiberglass, but none of them are as strong as metal. So, why put them in?
My understanding is the plastic was introduced to weapons becasuse they didnt transmit heat and above all to make each item lighter so that (you guessed it) women can use the weapon also...
Black rifles are effective but teething problems abound, and you have to test fire it to ensure you haven't picked out a lemon, which happens enough to make that a standard practice for such weapons. I've always been a proponent of wood and steel guns myself.
Well the Steyr AUG has been around for 37 years with no major issues with them beyond soldier's hating the reload system and the firing mechanism having a plastic part that tended to flex (easily swapped out for a metal one and I believe the Austeyr is built with the metal one from the get go) making firing a b****. Other then those couple faults/complaints it doesn't warp or melt, and when something does bugger up it is an easy fix with how the rifle breaks down. As to why put in carbon fiber, fiberglass and plastics into guns, Well quite simply they need to save weight where they can, Soldiers of today carry a hell of a lot more then they did decades ago so every little bit counts, Admittedly time to time it doesn't work out but other times it works out wonderfully, What makes a huge difference is having leadership (both military and civilian) that are willing to recognize the issue and fix it rather then sweep it under the rug (German government). As sits most faults with the Steyr AUG have been fixed in Australia, We have done more research into improving it then the actual company
I find H&K products very reliable, personally, with their 416 rifle and its derivatives preferred by many SOF units within USSOCOM.
The 416 is a clone of the M16, with the addition of a piston gas system (which folks have been screaming for US ordnance to adopt since M16 came out).
