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45King · April 24, 1999, 03:24 PM

I belong to Mid-Carolina Rifle Club in Columbia, SC, and today, we held an open house to celebrate our new $60K range improvements. FN, Glock, and several RKBA groups were invited to attend, as well as the general public. Glock was letting people try all their models (except the machinepistol), and IPSC, IDPA, & the SASS were showing folks what they're all about.

FN demo'd everything in its mil/LEO line except the M16. This was the first public demo of a pistol they will be releasing next month, the M49. It's a .40, poly frame, SS top end, 14 rd, barrel looks to be about 4". Looks a lot like the Smiths, with a touch of Glock & SIG thrown in.

Next, the Five SeveN pistol in 4.7mm. The cartridge is designed to leave the pistol in excess of 2100fps, and capable of penetrating TL IV body armour out to 200m. Bullet weight of 32 gr. Ammo & guns available only to military & LEOs. No noticable recoil with or without suppressor. Next, they demo'd the P90 subgun in the same caliber. With the longer barrel (10"?), the bullet achieves velocities of over 2300fps. They had 2 on hand, and the one shooting subsonic ammo (63 gr @ 1100fps) with the suppressor kept jamming. The suppressor is designed to be taken on & off with just a 90 degree turn while pulling it back against the gun. It's very effective, the bolt made more noise than the shots. When fired in unsuppressed mode, it cooked. Last demo of it was a sustained full mag (50 rds) of tracer, every rd of which stayed in the black of a B47 target at 50 yds. However, one bullet spun off to the top of the berm & started a grassfire, which was quickly extinguished by RO's with shovels (range is in an old sandpit.)

Next up, 2 versions of the M249 SAW, the Para & the SPW (Special Purpose Weapon.) The Para has a 15" barrel & collapsible stock. The SPW (for which this was also the first public demo) has the same features, but has been further lightened so that unloaded weight is under 6#, and has been redesigned so that it does not accept M16 mags, only the 100 rd belt-in-a-box. It was built by FN at the request of gov't agencies which they refused to ID. (SEALs, CIA, who knows? Who cares?) The Para version had some problems, but the SPW ran through 2 boxes of ammo without a glitch in either 3-5 rd bursts, or sustained bursts. I like that one.

Next, the M240B, a .308 medium MG to replace the M60 (about damn time, too.) I'm pleased to report that we may have a winner here, folks. The 2 examples each ran through 2 250 rd belts w/o a hiccup, short & long bursts. I'm impressed, especially compared to the M60, which I've heard can hardly fire 1 consecutive round without jamming.{G}

Last, FN demo'd a quick change barrel adaptaion they've come up with for the Browning M2 .50. A 100 rd belt was fired, then the barrel changed in about 3 seconds, a second belt loaded, and then firing resumed. No more headspacing, etc.

FN did have one surprise they didn't tell us about-a couple of the targets had small explosive charges on the back. That was neat.

After FN cleared out, a private Class III manufacturer whose name I didn't get demo'd a plethora of weapons. M16's; M16 .22 LR conversion; CAR15 auto converted to .40S&W with an integral 10" suppressed barrel; Tec 9 machinepistol with a handgrip added at about 10 degrees above the horizontal to the left side of the barrel shroud; Thompson SMG; AK SMG w/75 rd drum; Port Said SMG; a couple of Browning M1919's; A Daewoo K3, a copy of the M249 but with a higher cyclic rate, about 900rpm; suppressed 10/22's; and the finale, a GE .308 Minigun mounted on an authentic 1886 Gattling gun carriage (modified, of course.) When the Mini fired, 600 rds went downrange in about 1.5 seconds. That's the closest I've ever come to having an orgasm without having sex.{VBG}

One interesting thing I noticed-the gun which seemed the loudest and had the most concussion was the AK subgun. I was about 15 feet behind and slightly to the left of the shooter, and my pants legs were flapping with the blast. I was much closer to the Mini when it fired, and didn't notice it. Even the M2 didn't do it. Strange.

The only fly in the ointment was a last minute decision by SLED to not let anyone other than manufacturers, LEOs, or military personel shoot the auto weapons. SC is not a Class III state, and SLED (State Law Enforcement Division) decided to interpret "to possess" to mean "touch." I guess our next big legislative effort is going to be to try to bring SC into the Class III fold. (Just as an aside, one can own a suppressor under state law, just not auto's or sawed-off's.)

Well, that's about it. If you haven't got it figured out by now, I've never seen full-auto in person, and I'm now hooked. Damn, now I've GOT to get to Knob Creek.

------------------
Shoot straight regards, Richard

[This message has been edited by 45King (edited April 24, 1999).]

April 24, 1999, 03:24 PM	#1
45King Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 1999 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 1,033	I belong to Mid-Carolina Rifle Club in Columbia, SC, and today, we held an open house to celebrate our new $60K range improvements. FN, Glock, and several RKBA groups were invited to attend, as well as the general public. Glock was letting people try all their models (except the machinepistol), and IPSC, IDPA, & the SASS were showing folks what they're all about. FN demo'd everything in its mil/LEO line except the M16. This was the first public demo of a pistol they will be releasing next month, the M49. It's a .40, poly frame, SS top end, 14 rd, barrel looks to be about 4". Looks a lot like the Smiths, with a touch of Glock & SIG thrown in. Next, the Five SeveN pistol in 4.7mm. The cartridge is designed to leave the pistol in excess of 2100fps, and capable of penetrating TL IV body armour out to 200m. Bullet weight of 32 gr. Ammo & guns available only to military & LEOs. No noticable recoil with or without suppressor. Next, they demo'd the P90 subgun in the same caliber. With the longer barrel (10"?), the bullet achieves velocities of over 2300fps. They had 2 on hand, and the one shooting subsonic ammo (63 gr @ 1100fps) with the suppressor kept jamming. The suppressor is designed to be taken on & off with just a 90 degree turn while pulling it back against the gun. It's very effective, the bolt made more noise than the shots. When fired in unsuppressed mode, it cooked. Last demo of it was a sustained full mag (50 rds) of tracer, every rd of which stayed in the black of a B47 target at 50 yds. However, one bullet spun off to the top of the berm & started a grassfire, which was quickly extinguished by RO's with shovels (range is in an old sandpit.) Next up, 2 versions of the M249 SAW, the Para & the SPW (Special Purpose Weapon.) The Para has a 15" barrel & collapsible stock. The SPW (for which this was also the first public demo) has the same features, but has been further lightened so that unloaded weight is under 6#, and has been redesigned so that it does not accept M16 mags, only the 100 rd belt-in-a-box. It was built by FN at the request of gov't agencies which they refused to ID. (SEALs, CIA, who knows? Who cares?) The Para version had some problems, but the SPW ran through 2 boxes of ammo without a glitch in either 3-5 rd bursts, or sustained bursts. I like that one. Next, the M240B, a .308 medium MG to replace the M60 (about damn time, too.) I'm pleased to report that we may have a winner here, folks. The 2 examples each ran through 2 250 rd belts w/o a hiccup, short & long bursts. I'm impressed, especially compared to the M60, which I've heard can hardly fire 1 consecutive round without jamming.{G} Last, FN demo'd a quick change barrel adaptaion they've come up with for the Browning M2 .50. A 100 rd belt was fired, then the barrel changed in about 3 seconds, a second belt loaded, and then firing resumed. No more headspacing, etc. FN did have one surprise they didn't tell us about-a couple of the targets had small explosive charges on the back. That was neat. After FN cleared out, a private Class III manufacturer whose name I didn't get demo'd a plethora of weapons. M16's; M16 .22 LR conversion; CAR15 auto converted to .40S&W with an integral 10" suppressed barrel; Tec 9 machinepistol with a handgrip added at about 10 degrees above the horizontal to the left side of the barrel shroud; Thompson SMG; AK SMG w/75 rd drum; Port Said SMG; a couple of Browning M1919's; A Daewoo K3, a copy of the M249 but with a higher cyclic rate, about 900rpm; suppressed 10/22's; and the finale, a GE .308 Minigun mounted on an authentic 1886 Gattling gun carriage (modified, of course.) When the Mini fired, 600 rds went downrange in about 1.5 seconds. That's the closest I've ever come to having an orgasm without having sex.{VBG} One interesting thing I noticed-the gun which seemed the loudest and had the most concussion was the AK subgun. I was about 15 feet behind and slightly to the left of the shooter, and my pants legs were flapping with the blast. I was much closer to the Mini when it fired, and didn't notice it. Even the M2 didn't do it. Strange. The only fly in the ointment was a last minute decision by SLED to not let anyone other than manufacturers, LEOs, or military personel shoot the auto weapons. SC is not a Class III state, and SLED (State Law Enforcement Division) decided to interpret "to possess" to mean "touch." I guess our next big legislative effort is going to be to try to bring SC into the Class III fold. (Just as an aside, one can own a suppressor under state law, just not auto's or sawed-off's.) Well, that's about it. If you haven't got it figured out by now, I've never seen full-auto in person, and I'm now hooked. Damn, now I've GOT to get to Knob Creek. ------------------ Shoot straight regards, Richard [This message has been edited by 45King (edited April 24, 1999).]