Never knew about a Colt 703...

[SmokyBaer]

Thanks go out to Wileecoyote for pointing me to Nodak Spud in pursuit of an AR serialed #417.  While on the hunt, I came across another link to RetroBlackRifle.com and learned what a Colt 703 was... the 1st short piston AR in the late 1960's. 

 

Check it out...

 

 

 

[whitewolf001]

Looks like they ripped the rear sight whole upper right off a Stoner 63.

[SingleStack]

that is a pretty cool website

[Dolomite_supafly]

That is a good looking rifle.

[Spiffy]

I wonder why it didn't catch on?

[1gewehr]

Late 1960's. Colt was busy making m-16a1 as fast as possible. The 703 was just insurance.

[Clod Stomper]

I read a book years ago about Special Forces in Vietnam. The author mentioned that SF preferred the "Stoner" over the M-16. I wonder if that's the rifle that he was referring to.

Edit: No, it was probably the Stoner 63 mentioned above. Edited March 24, 2015 by Clod Stomper

[whitewolf001]

I read a book years ago about Special Forces in Vietnam. The author mentioned that SF preferred the "Stoner" over the M-16. I wonder if that's the rifle that he was referring to.

Edit: No, it was probably the Stoner 63 mentioned above.

It was. ;)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoner_63

[dcloudy777]

I wonder why it didn't catch on?

 

Because pistons belong under the hood, not the handguard.   :pleased:

[whitewolf001]

Because pistons belong under the hood, not the handguard.   :pleased:

Pretty much every first world government with an excellent infantry weapon system would disagree, except our archaic butts. :p

[dcloudy777]

Pretty much every first world government with an excellent infantry weapon system would disagree, except our archaic butts. :P

 

Meh... the short-stroke piston is a step backward.

 

There's not a better system in widespread use today than the M16A4/M4A1 combo.... except maybe the Canadian C7.

Edited April 1, 2015 by dcloudy777

[Dolomite_supafly]

Meh... the short-stroke piston is a step backward.

 

There's not a better system in widespread use today than the M16A4/M4A1 combo.... except maybe the Canadian C7.

I am an AR guy through a through but it is far from being the best. Heat kills springs and causes metal to become brittle. The bolt, and carrier, get heated very, very quickly in a DI AR. In piston guns, including a piston AR, they bolt remains relatively cool. Definitely not hot enough to affect springs or cause the bolt to become brittle. The current Army issue AR is probably the worst gun that we could buy. The twist is too fast, the barrel is too short, the caliber is a short range caliber and the caliber is not even remotely lethal at the distances we are trying to use it at.

 

If you wanted to improve the current AR in a single step it would be to replace the barrel with a 9 or 12 twist and lengthen it to at least 18". That would turn the AR back into a weapon that is lethal. But even so it is still a very limited because of the caliber.

 

6.5mm or 7mm TCU is a much better option with nothing more than a barrel change but even with that we are still left with the AR.

[whitewolf001]

Meh... the short-stroke piston is a step backward.

 

There's not a better system in widespread use today than the M16A4/M4A1 combo.... except maybe the Canadian C7.

I guess the Swedish(AK5), Austrian's(AUG), German's(G36), Chinese(QBZ-95), and Belgian's(FAL, SCAR) have been doing it wrong all this time...

[dcloudy777]

I guess the Swedish(AK5), Austrian's(AUG), German's(G36), Chinese(QBZ-95), and Belgian's(FAL, SCAR) have been doing it wrong all this time...

 

The M16A4/M4A1 system is easily a better battlefield performer than any of those, except maybe the Chinese gun... nobody really knows much about it at all. 

[whitewolf001]

The M16A4/M4A1 system is easily a better battlefield performer than any of those, except maybe the Chinese gun... nobody really knows much about it at all. 

:rofl:  :bowrofl:

Edited April 2, 2015 by whitewolf001

[dcloudy777]

:rofl:  :bowrofl:

Okay... the G36 is utter garbage.  The L85 is slightly better garbage since they were completely rebuilt. The AUG has typical terrible bullpup ergos (as does the Tavor, SAR21, and likely the Chinese gun). The FAL is a .308 select-fire battle rifle, and that entire concept is just dumb.  The SCAR and AK5 probably offer the same level of performance as the AR system, but don't offer any significant increase in any useful metric.

 

It's not cool and new anymore, but the M16 family still does the job as well or batter than anything that anyone else issues.

[whitewolf001]

Okay... the G36 is utter garbage.  The L85 is slightly better garbage since they were completely rebuilt. The AUG has typical terrible bullpup ergos (as does the Tavor, SAR21, and likely the Chinese gun). The FAL is a .308 select-fire battle rifle, and that entire concept is just dumb.  The SCAR and AK5 probably offer the same level of performance as the AR system, but don't offer any significant increase in any useful metric.

 

It's not cool and new anymore, but the M16 family still does the job as well or batter than anything that anyone else issues.

I enjoy the Stoner family of weapons just as much as the next guy but I know where the weapons usefulness ends and fail-points begin. In the Individual Carbine tests the Army performed for the next gen carbine, the M4 failed four times as much as the next competitor but then, we don't exactly live in a sandy environment. Get our boys better gear if we have the opportunity to. Hell, an SF branch based out of Okinawa swapped out their Colt uppers for H&K 416 uppers.

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/the-usas-m4-carbine-controversy-03289/