Shortcommings of the "spray and pray" philosophy

[Ping]

I carried the M-60 while in the Air Force till I had enough stripes to carry my M-16, minus the M-203. The M-60 is a very accurate machinegun in small bursts. I would have to say that it would be more accurate, at distance, than a AK-47. Of course the rounds are different but I would take a 7.62 mm over a 7.62x39 any day of the week. But both provide a buttload of damage. With the M-60 and the accuracy, you can avoid collateral damage by distant shots which the AK-47 cannot do. This is my input. 

[Timothy]

100 yards = 600ft diameter x pi (3.1416) = 1884.96 circumference / 360 = 5.236ft per degree of arc traveled.

1 degree equals 5.236 ft or 60 moa off target in 1/2 second! 

More than likely, you can sweep the muzzle WAY more than one degree in 1/2 second.  Your point is proven...

[fightingquaker13]

100 yards = 600ft diameter x pi (3.1416) = 1884.96 circumfrence / 360 = 5.236ft per degree of arc traveled.

1 degree equals 5.236 ft or 60 moa off target in 1/2 second!  

More than likely, you can sweep the muzzle WAY more than one degree in 1/2 second.  Your point is proven...

Damn! Thats some good math skills Timothy. And a very good point that HAZ made, and you just proved. Maybe TW does have the right idea with his Sharps.
FQ13

[Hazcat]

100 yards = 600ft diameter x pi (3.1416) = 1884.96 circumference / 360 = 5.236ft per degree of arc traveled.

1 degree equals 5.236 ft or 60 moa off target in 1/2 second! 

More than likely, you can sweep the muzzle WAY more than one degree in 1/2 second.  Your point is proven...

Thanks, Tim!  Yes, there certainly are valid applications for a full auto gun, BUT i do not believe it is for the normal combat troop (3 round auto either).

JMHO (with a bit of 'history').

[Timothy]

10th grade geometry and trig.....reinforced by 35 years of drafting and design.

Now, do it in your head including windage, bullet drop and curve of the earth while crawling in a Gilly suit in hostile territory in some Southeast Asian shithole.   Hit your target, crawl out and go get some mid-rats as a celebration!

Gotta love the Sniper Corps of our Military!

[Sponsor]

[1911 Junkie]

O.K.     We just wasted time going over "spray and pray".

It's called "spray and pray" for a reason. If it worked it wouldn't have that pesky "pray" part. It would be called something like "spray and watch all the bad guys fall over dead".

Also, not to be confused with the "pull and pray" method of birth control, although probably just as effective.

See the thread with the fat guy shooting the Beretta.  He practices the "Pray I find my penis before I pee myself" technique.

If your tactics involve the word "pray", you might want to reconsider.








 

[Timothy]

Junkie,

We named her Meggie, she's going on 25 next year!  Best shot of my life!  Here I was just trying to poke some fun at her mother and she took me seriously!

 

[tombogan03884]

I'm too lazy to look as well, but it would be interesting to compare to WWII stats. Granted the japs and the Nazis had bolt actions. Still, seeing the number of rounds fired, enemy dead, and our guy's survival rate would be interesting. I'd still rather have an M-16 than a Garand, but the difference in training and use mindset between the two might tell us a lot.
FQ13

I HAVE seen those stats compared Years ago in defense of competitive shooting and the DCM program. The numbers for WWII were much lower, the numbers for WWI were lower still.

But the real deal do not "Sweep" the full auto, They fire short bursts into identified targets.
Gang Bangers who learned to sweep an area from watch bad TV tend to hit people all over the block and usually miss the target.

[1911 Junkie]

Junkie,

We named her Meggie, she's going on 25 next year!  Best shot of my life!  Here I was just trying to poke some fun at her mother and she took me seriously!

 

That's what I'm talkin about! 

[Badgersmilk]

I remember reading in one manual or another that the teachings that came along with an AK47 were to shoot at the other guy's right knee cap.  The second round will get him about the center of his torso, and the third round will clip him in the left shoulder.  Let go of the trigger, find 9 more guys to do that to, reload, repeat.  


"Yes, there certainly are valid applications for a full auto gun, BUT i do not believe it is for the normal combat troop (3 round auto either)."

+1 on not needing full auto for all but 2 of a 20 man squad!  Not so sure about three round burst being a bad idea.  Either way, I do think two of the men in a squad should have full auto for cover fire and support.