Not the SCAR 16 or HK416.
Though both of those were my submissions.
I think we get wrapped up in the mystique of the hype of surrounding a new(er) platform and when we see positive data it compounds into a spiral of legend.
The same can be said if we see or hear about bad data first, it makes an initial negative association. A perfect example come with the M16.
The US Air Force’s use of the M16 (Colt AR-15) was very positive. But the wider trial, the one that got reported on and disseminated second hand, was the US Army’s. That one went bad because the Army made some very dumb mistakes (some believe it was on purpose too in order to sabotage the M16) with failures. If true, those higher ups are responsible for the blood and death caused as a result of them fucking up the M16 with stupid decisions during mass procurement.
Anyway, compare that to the M1 Garand’s procurement that went very well overall (the M1 in 30.0 was actually the more problematic one, but it still ran) and the Garand’s competition was out matched in firerate by 5 to 6 times. The Garand was a clear dominance in the 1930’s and 1940’s while the M16’s jacked up procurement made it look inferior to the AK’s and SKS rifles that were running.
Anyway… Check out the Gunday Brunch episode.
