quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Is that a snakeskin pattern on that stock?

It could be a custom spray paint job, with at least one layer of paint sprayed over netting as a stencil to create a paint pattern to further break up the outline. (A fairly common method to easily apply camo patterns to guns, which is used among special operations troops.)


A similar method to this:

Mesh laundry bags work well for Cam pattern painting and everyone is issued those

Here’s a link to a better picture of the L119A2 variants.
Scroll down the upgrade list to L119a2 and click on it. Website won’t let me send you directly the the picture.

Colt Canada Wpn Upgrades

This is a gun forum, and therefore people will be interested in the guns used in incidents like this.

“It’s the Indian, not the arrow” is a catchy phrase, but no, it’s both the Indian and the arrow. We would expect an SAS trooper to be deadly with a variety of weapons, but some arrows are better than others, otherwise top competitors wouldn’t be spending $30+ apiece on some and not others. Likewise, some firearms are far better to have in incidents like these than others, and it’s sometimes nice to get a little validation of our choices by seeing what other people rely on.

That Colt Canada site is pretty cool! I'm digging the Botswana rifle. Is there a reason why this and the Canadian carbines have such an odd length barrel? (15.7"). Do they have a piece of gear that they use that requires this length?

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
That Colt Canada site is pretty cool! I'm digging the Botswana rifle. Is there a reason why this and the Canadian carbines have such an odd length barrel? (15.7"). Do they have a piece of gear that they use that requires this length?

The original C8 had a 14.5” pencil barrel. I’m going to guess that the 15.7” barrel combined with the stepped diameters behind the flash suppressor allows the mounting of the Canadian version of the M203. The Canadian M203 differs from the US version in that it has front and rear grenade launcher sights mounted on the launcher itself.

As my old unit only had C7a2’s I can’t confirm my barrel length theory.

Ahh, that makes sense. I was thinking it might have had something to do with the bayonet they use but I thought that was similar to the US one. Completely forgot about mounting a 203 (and I didn't know theirs was different). Thanks!

15.7" is just a hair shy of 40cm. Perhaps they had a spec using metric.

quote:

Originally posted by DaBigBR:
Perhaps they had a spec using metric.

That’s often the case. Everyone likes nice even numbers. Ever wonder why 124 grains is a standard 9mm Parabellum bullet weight?

I wouldn't be surprised if it's actually 123.5 grains. Per the on-line converter, 123 grains is a little less than .03 grams under 8 grams, and 124 grains is a little more than .03 grams over 8 grams. I've always thought it was interesting that that's the standard bullet weight for both the 9x19 Luger and the now-venerable 7.62x39 - and the Belgians went for a 4 gram bullet (about 62 grains) for what they proposed as an improvement on the original 55-grain 5.56x45 load.

Yes, 8 grams doesn’t convert to an exact integer number of grains; 123 is actually a little closer than 124, but the difference is probably due to what conversion factor someone used and how the numbers were rounded.

I believe it was in the book Innumeracy that John Allen Paulos pointed out that when the effort was made to determine the average or “normal” human body temperature, the temperature measurements were in Celsius. When the Celsius value was first rounded to an integer (37) and then converted to Fahrenheit, the temperature was (as I recall) raised slightly. My normal body temperature is 97.8 °F, which is 36.56 °C, and may be closer to the actual average, but who would want to deal with a number like that back when the original research was being done?

If my temperature reads 98.6°, I’m actually running a slight fever. I’ve tried pointing that out to medical providers, but no one ever seems to understand what I’m getting at. “Ninety eight point six is normal; there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Good thought, BTW, about where 62 grains came from. I had no idea that the Belgians were involved in the process.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
My normal body temperature is 97.8 °F, which is 36.56 °C, and may be closer to the actual average, but who would want to deal with a number like that back when the original research was being done?

If my temperature reads 98.6°, I’m actually running a slight fever. I’ve tried pointing that out to medical providers, but no one ever seems to understand what I’m getting at. “Ninety eight point six is normal; there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Even if they readjusted the "normal" body temperature to 97.8 F for you, they wouldn't consider 98.6 F a fever.

Doctors don't consider an elevated temperature a fever until it exceeds 100.4 F. Subtracting the 0.8 F offset you gave, that would be 99.6 F.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Doctors don't consider an elevated temperature a fever until it exceeds 100.4 F.

Learning something new all the time. I’m guessing that the 100.4 figure came from a nice, round 38 °C.

If my temperature is a Fahrenheit degree above its normal, I feel the effects. That doesn’t make it serious, of course, and I’ve run across two reminders recently that a moderate fever is a good thing for the body’s efforts to fight disease. But I do notice it, and it’s usually the first indication that I’m in the early stages of a cold or the flu.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
^^ Canadian C8, although they've got their own "L" designation for it.

Thanks.

I’m not criticizing the lack of a rear backup sight because although I have them on all my rifles that they can be mounted on, most haven’t been zeroed for long distance shooting. I do find it interesting, though, that a top-tier military organization in a hot zone wouldn’t mandate them. More support for my belief that today’s optical sights make backup sights very unlikely to ever be needed.

It's not as much that as it is the fact they are not needed as a "back up". You use the dead tube as the peep sight/ghost ring and fire your shots. At close quarters distances, it is easily a head shot, and body shot out to 100 with no sweat.

quote:

Originally posted by DaBigBR:
15.7" is just a hair shy of 40cm. Perhaps they had a spec using metric.

I'll subscribe to the "metric" answer too.

But remember, there's the countrys that use the metric system, then there's the country's that put people on the moon.

Are those run of the mill Chinese knockoff lycra stretch Old Navy® Capri jeans or tactical Nomex/Kevlar/CarbonFiber 5.ll's ?

I am familiar with the method of using the tube of a sight without a reticle to get acceptable hits. It’s a technique I have my students practice to learn that it’s possible.
There are, however, conceivable situations in which it would be necessary to remove the optical sight entirely and then backup sights might be necessary, or at least desirable. One hint: I discuss one such situation during my classes on cold weather operations.

I'll also point out that like most high speed types, he has a laser sight on his rifle.

I read Midwest Industries offered to give him a set of BUIS if he contacted them

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:
I'll also point out that like most high speed types, he has a laser sight on his rifle.

Likely IR for use with NODs.