Having full auto capabilities does not mean you will "pray and spray." That is for Hollywood.

Yes, but normal infantry shouldent be doing too much CQB, and even if they they do, i would think that its possible to train for fast and accurate 3-rounds-bursts.

Originally Posted by SHERMAN

Yes, but normal infantry shouldent be doing too much CQB, and even if they they do, i would think that its possible to train for fast and accurate 3-rounds-bursts.

Well, with today's war, they will be involved in CQB more often than 20 or even 10 years ago. However, they will not have the constant training drilled into them to be effective or safe with full auto capabilities. And yes, burst fire is just as effective and also reduces the chances of blue on blue while keeping accuracy.

One thing that I always insisted on with my troops was that I NEVER heard their M16s on FULL AUTO on the live fire assault courses (it doesn't take that much experience to hear the difference between the Pig and the Poodle-Shooter).

NEVER TRY TO RECTIFY DEFICIENCIES IN YOUR TRAINING WITH MACHINES! TRAIN YOUR TROOPS RIGHT!

3-round burst is the same mentality that gives us magazine safeties (like the Browning Hi-Power and S&W pistols -- now required in the PRK). Proper weapon craft can be taught just as well as safe weapon handling.

Troops can be taught that the selector stays on SEMI unless they are in a situation where they MUST EMPTY A MAGAZINE! Just like they can be taught to not point their weapon at someone UNLESS THEY ARE GOING TO KILL THEM!

Welcome to Hollyyyyyyywood!

Target ID, shoot 2, scan, target ID, shoot 2. Don't like bursts, teach them hammer fire.

Full auto has but a few uses in CQB. Not worth the trouble.

I dont know about fiddeling around with the selector in the middle of a firefight....

I agree. Fiddling with the selector in the middle of a firefight is a bad idea. But looking for a fresh mag to stuff in your weapon is worse.

In a firefight, your rifle should be on semi-auto. You should be taking aimed, rapid-fire shots.

3-round burst means one shot is aimed, 2 are not. Your 30 round magazine is empty with 10 pulls of the trigger on 10 targets.

Which is worse -- thumbing the safety to full-auto when you need to empty the last 20 rounds at the guy rushing your position, or fumbling for a new magazine because you don't have 20 rounds left in your mag?

By the way, one of my favorite combat rifles in the Steyr AUG. There is no selector. When you want to take aimed, semi-auto shots, you squeeze the trigger. When you want to empty the magazine, you PULL BACK HARD ON THE TRIGGER. Very natural.

Oh, I see....Well, I dont see anything bad about having semi-auto instead of bursts. But the Full auto will empty clip and hit nothing.

Sherman,

Maybe you missed my earlier post. SEMI AUTO IS FOR KILLING. FULL AUTO IS FOR SCARING.

My point is that full-auto is a specialized feature that is used VERY INFREQUENTLY.

The fact that many troops can't keep from "spraying and praying" is not the fault of the weapon -- it is the fault of the leadership and their training.

For a combat rifle, there are few that will beat the M1 Garand, but if you need to clear a room, you need to call the guy with the M3 Grease Gun.

The whole idea of an assault rifle is that it is used as a RIFLE 95% of the time. It is used as a SUBMACHINE GUN 5% of the time.

Originally Posted by 5CAV

The fact that many troops can't keep from "spraying and praying" is not the fault of the weapon -- it is the fault of the leadership and their training.

I wasn't aware this was a fact, it sounds more like an opinion to me.

For a combat rifle, there are few that will beat the M1 Garand, but if you need to clear a room, you need to call the guy with the M3 Grease Gun.