Reply #18: civilian first, *then* militarized [View All]

[Romulus]

once again, the VPC gets its facts wrong.

Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead, the NYT bestseller about his time as a Marine scout-sniper in the Iraq War I, details how the USMC didn't give .50 cal rifles to snipers until the eve of the war.

The USMC weapons people had noticed the civilian rifle's potential and went out and bought some to see if it could be used by the military. Swofford detailed the problems with initial deployment as a military weapon, namely (1) no suitable scopes for a .50 cal rifle, (2) civilian magazines that were too flimsy for military use, and (3) overall flimsy civilian standards in the rifle finishing that needed militarization to withstand abuse.

Read the book and see. I'll take the word of the guy who was there and experienced it over someone who wasn't/didn't, and who has an agenda to push.