Marine in Afghanistan with a Dragunov

holtjv · 11-13-2008, 09:56 AM

I think I id'd this correctly. What's up with this? Just curious.

M.D. Holloway · 11-13-2008, 10:02 AM

nice collectors rail, maybe he traded?

SlowToady · 11-13-2008, 10:08 AM

It could have something to do with the aural effects of the rifle; I've talked to several service men (SEALs) who said that in 'Nam, they'd switch to enemy weapons if they happened on a cache, because then they'd sound like the enemy. An AK-47 makes a drastically different sound than an M-16.

Also, 7.62 is flatter, heavier, and off the top of my head evenly matched in velocity.

Hell, maybe he just likes it. I've always wanted a Dragunov.

Porsche-poor · 11-13-2008, 10:09 AM

The sound of that rifle would also blend in with the local folks so as not to attract unwanted attention like opening up with a .223?

Jeff Higgins · 11-13-2008, 10:11 AM

I'm sure its previous owner no longer needs it.

Az911 · 11-13-2008, 10:13 AM

I'm sure he picked up because it's more reliable then the m4s

onewhippedpuppy · 11-13-2008, 10:17 AM

Nothing wrong with a souvenir.

M.D. Holloway · 11-13-2008, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Nothing wrong with a souvenir.

my kinda afghan souvy...

NICKG · 11-13-2008, 10:46 AM

mine too...hubba hubba

charleskieffner · 11-13-2008, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Az911

I'm sure he picked up because it's more reliable then the m4s

IM POSITIVE OF THAT!

if i had been drafted................i would go to a full blown in yer face COURT MARTIAL .......................BEFORE ID CARRY A M-16 or any of its POS VARIANTS INTO BATTLE!

here trooper put yer rifle in this bag so no dust gets on it!

here trooper dont ferget to clean yer weapon every 5 minutes.

here trooper we are sorry our lowest bid went to some clown machine shop and the bolt /receiver tolerances aint that good.

here trooper.....heres some new ammo, we dont know if its dirty powder or good powder but rest assured yer goobermint went fer the lowest bid on ammo!

anything but a M-16! hell id be happier with 1903 springfield 30 '06! a mosin, a mauser, an enfield in .303(owned one and it blew stuff up big time) and all the aforementioned WENT BANG WHEN NEEDED EVERY STINKING TIME!

no love whatsoever with stoners wunderweapon. buddy has 5 of them. from the carbon fiber lake havasu whizbang liteweight to yer standard variant. selling them off because of repeated misfires jams etc.

reloads/brand new federals/sellier belliot/wolf/remington/ ss109's/winchester you name the ammo and it has jammed or misfired. perfectly clean new /used!

i really piss him off BIG TIME as i go thru freeking SCADS of 20/30/40 rd mags of .308 the weapons(hk's, M1A's,FN's) being either clean or dirty all day all ight long. rain snow dirt dust.

i machined these parts. i had my full of the tolerances needed to make the damn thing werk all the time. i saw first hand how they are built from the ground up. i saw how lowest bid machine shops work and the QC that does not go into critical life support parts. and a weapon is a LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM!

my roomate just left for taji iraq. came back from army reserve training with his m-16 targets. mentioned weapon only jammed once. grouped 5 inches with wazoo aimpoint zoomy scope . his target was only 300 meters freeking AWAY!

didnt have the heart to tell him i and the group of people i play with could do that standing on our heads IRON SIGHTED HALF DRUNK ALL DAY LONG!

showed the target he left to my ex marine corp electrician and all he stated was "thats why they send in the MARINES when the crap gets DEEP"!

army does not stress or emphazize MARKSMANSHIP! marines live by MARKSMANSHIP!

"GIVE ME THE DAMN RANGE AND I'LL HIT IT IRON SIGHTED!"

holtjv · 11-13-2008, 11:15 AM

Well, the problem with the M16 is precisely because its tolerances are so tight compared to an AK; not the other way around. My platoon and I put about 1000 rounds through AKs with no stoppages--couldn't do that with an M16. If I read your post wrong, chas, I'm sorry--sensory overload (but always interesting).

But try to hit a running target 400 meters away with an AK.

Guess it's all in the application which weapon is best.

The sound characteristics of that SVD is the best explanation I can think of. I can also imagine it's more accurate past 200m than an M4. Would be interested to hear some active duty types speak up rather than some washed up, no-longer-lean, Marine.

charleskieffner · 11-13-2008, 11:49 AM

yep thats how i wrote it. tolerances held are crap at low budget lowest bid machine shops.

and whats even better is YOU my friend in the field experienced the EXACT SAME DAMN PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED WHEN STONER FIRST SOLD THE DAMN POS DESIGN TO THE POWERS THAT BE .

just saw comparison on history channal ak vs. m-16.

only advantage btwn .308 and .223 is you can carry more .223 . but thats NEGATED WHEN YER FREEKING GUN WONT FIRE!

ak goes bang everytime. you can fill a m-1 carbine with mud(i have) and it will still fire. same with FN/HK/M1A's etc. and they will still go bang.

i have tried real hard over the years to become somewhat of a m-16 kind of guy and every damn juan has jammed on me when i have shot them. i have never had a misfire on a hk ,fn, or m1a. and i have shot a hell of alot of rounds with them.

i love PPOT posts about AR-15's and laugh my ass off all day and night what people are buying. for christ sake if bucks are a problem buy the damn AK variants. at least they will go BANG when needed!

40 bazzillion freeking towelheads and commie russkies cant be wrong. they sure put a dent in our military every single time we get into a fire fight. ie. m-16 vs ak.

hell improve the economy and buy springfield m1a's. improve the european economy and buy hk's or fn's. why did colt sell off the m-16 to FABRIK NATIONAL!

NICKG · 11-13-2008, 11:50 AM

my bushmaster never jammed

Seahawk · 11-13-2008, 11:55 AM

Sure that is a Marine with the Ak?

Cammo pattern s different, gloves are different, pack set-up looks different and I'm not sure of the scarf (I haven't fought there so I don't know).

Afghan fighter working with the Marines?

charleskieffner · 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NICKG

my bushmaster never jammed

and have you filled it with sand or mud? is it full auto?

have you priced a bushmaster with what the military pays for (juan) 1 m-16 or m-4????

have you noticed all the mfgs are trying to come up with a better round to work with stoners design?

do you realize how old the stoner design is?

do you realize that all the mfgs and cottage industries surrounding the m-16 will dry up and blow away when the u.s. goobermint goes out for bid on our militarys next weapon/next caliber.

do you realize the writing is on the wall?

do you realize yer bushmaster holds higher tolerances than a mil-spec m-16?

p.s. go buy the cheapest ar-15 out on the market today and tell me after shooting 2000 rds(not a hell of alot actually) that you HAD NO JAMS OR MISFIRES! and im not saying in combat conditions crawling thru mud/dirt/water/cesspools/debris flying everywhere. just off the bench or off the back ofd yer pick em up truck!!!!

holtjv · 11-13-2008, 12:05 PM

chas, I wish you'd post youtubes of you reading your posts. I'm still not sure if I understand your tolerance point or not. Also not sure if that would clear it up but, speaking for myself, I think a youtube of your rants would be excellent tubage.

I've never fired an 03 or M1 but would love to. I think the M16 broke the formula of: "this is a mickey mouse POS" then being referred to as better than the new one. The M16 will forever be perceived as crap but I thought it was astonishingly accurate out to 500 yards on the KD range.

Only weapon I ever shot in anger was the M60E3 pintle mount--right thru the grill of a mercedes-- then--stoppage. I thought the '60 was a POS, especially compared to the FN240.

holtjv · 11-13-2008, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Sure that is a Marine with the Ak?

Cammo pattern s different, gloves are different, pack set-up looks different and I'm not sure of the scarf (I haven't fought there so I don't know).

Afghan fighter working with the Marines?

Pretty sure. There are more pix of him in this montage taken in the korengal valley: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/afghanistans_korengal_valley.html

That, and the fact that he doesn't have a million patches and badges all over his utes distinguish him from a doggie (sorry).

Seahawk · 11-13-2008, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by holtjv

Pretty sure. There are more pix of him in this montage taken in the korengal valley: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/afghanistans_korengal_valley.html

That, and the fact that he doesn't have a million patches and badges all over his utes distinguish him from a doggie (sorry).

Great link.

There is a good picture of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Debose with his regular weapon in the link.

He looks like the same guy with the Drag...community organizer connecting with the locals?

FOG · 11-13-2008, 12:16 PM

First it is not a Marine in that picture. There is a soldier in the background and probably a Soldier shooting the rifle.

I have had lots of failures, with blanks. Don’t remember many issues with full sized M-16/AR-16 variants in the reliability department. Just personal observation, and from others, the M-4s appear to require more attention than the full sized version. Carried them from CONUS to Basilan to Africa to SWA to other places off and on since 1980.

I have seen local troops jam HK G3s, some catastrophically.

I’d like to see how well the iron sights hit at night on say a .022 or lower lux night compared to a M68 (Aimpoint). As a point of reference a STA Marine from Wpns 2/7 put a few well aimed rounds into a bad guy a plus 900 meters using an A-4 with an ACOG in Combat Spring of 04.

Lots of reasons the Soldier could be using the SVD (or clone, or overgrown AK from FRY, etc.) but they would be speculation. He’s the one in the field accomplishing his mission and it’s not my place to question what or how that is done.

S/F, FOG

charleskieffner · 11-13-2008, 12:24 PM

how do you JAM a HK G3?

only thang i can think of is aluminum paratrooper mag lips deformed???? i swinging at this one? i honestly dont know how and i have owned my hk-91 for almost 30years!

never a jam! and i have shot alot of crap military surplus ammo thru it. it LOVES federal 168gr boattail hollowpoints.

since i have been so abusive to mine, i have recently taken it in to rdts.com(home of badass hk 21's) to have a new buffer installed with my magpul adj. stock and have the entire weapon gone thru stem to stern. cost is no thought. bang bang bang x 20 x 30 is all i care about.