11-24-2011, 05:58 AM
A lot of the design features of the AR15 had already been pursued and fielded by the Germans, especially in-line rifles with segmented or tubular metallic receivers of unorthodox manufacture and non-traditional design layouts like the FG42 and the MP44. If you look at the AR's recoil spring, ejection port cover, mag release, & other ergonomic interface features, they bear direct lineage to the MP44/Stg44, although I really like the Stg44's charge handle arrangement the best.
The M14 was a step backwards and away from the direction the Germans had steered small arms development in both rifle layout and the intermediate cartridge concept. Things like steel receivers bolted to wooden stocks with traditional grips blended into the comb can be traced back to early experimenters who strapped pipes to a piece of wood, packed it with black powder, and lit it manually.
If any of the weapons tested during the 1955 service rifle trials, the AR10 should have been the one, but the baboons running the tests couldn't recognize genius when they saw it, and worked hard to sabotage the AR10 in Stoner's absence. It still out-shot the T44 (later became M14), but Not Invented Here Syndrome ruled the day.
Having used several variations of the M14 in the field, overseas, and in competition, and comparing it to the weight, balance, and handling of the original AR10, the AR10 stands in a class of its own. You have to get your hands on one and enjoy it for a while, they are great rifles in original form.
A 7mm-08 AR10 would make a sick Infantry rifle in that era, but it would still suffer from the soldier's load limitations, which were made obvious in modern, maneuver warfare.
![[Image: Suomessa392.jpg]](http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j422/LRRPF52/Suomessa392.jpg)
The M14 was a step backwards and away from the direction the Germans had steered small arms development in both rifle layout and the intermediate cartridge concept. Things like steel receivers bolted to wooden stocks with traditional grips blended into the comb can be traced back to early experimenters who strapped pipes to a piece of wood, packed it with black powder, and lit it manually.
If any of the weapons tested during the 1955 service rifle trials, the AR10 should have been the one, but the baboons running the tests couldn't recognize genius when they saw it, and worked hard to sabotage the AR10 in Stoner's absence. It still out-shot the T44 (later became M14), but Not Invented Here Syndrome ruled the day.
Having used several variations of the M14 in the field, overseas, and in competition, and comparing it to the weight, balance, and handling of the original AR10, the AR10 stands in a class of its own. You have to get your hands on one and enjoy it for a while, they are great rifles in original form.
A 7mm-08 AR10 would make a sick Infantry rifle in that era, but it would still suffer from the soldier's load limitations, which were made obvious in modern, maneuver warfare.