The Army adopted its battle rifle in 1963 and has spent 55 years looking for a replacement for the M-16 and its variants.
They might have found it in Martin Grier’s Colorado Springs garage. Grier, a self-described inventor who has worked at a local bed and breakfast, built the new “ribbon gun” with a hobbyist’s tools. It looks like a space-age toy drawn by a fifth-grader.
But goofy origins and cartoon-looks aside, this could be the gun of the future. The Army is studying Grier’s gun and has ordered a military-grade prototype.
The specifications are incredible, four 6 mm barrels cut side by side within one steel block. New ammunition blocks fired by electromagnetic actuators that could theoretically give the weapon a firing rate of 250 rounds per second.
And then there’s the feature no soldier would turn down. “It’s called a power shot,” Grier said.
That’s the shotgun feature of this sniper-shot, machine-assault gun that can send four bullets simultaneously whizzing toward an enemy at more than 2,500 mph.
ht/ PHenry
Sending 4 simultaneous projectiles down range with a single trigger pull wouldn’t kick much. Haha.
I’d love to give it a go, though.
I’m gonna order me one
will ‘prime’ work for this?
It will definitely need barrel ‘stiffeners’ with those discharge rates, and also for use as a club. All rifles should have the ability to be used as a club- it can get to that.
An optional horizontal orientation, versus vertical as shown, would be desirable. Vertical orientation is good for distance evaluation, but horizontal would be better for ‘crowd control.’ Convertible, in the field, for me please.
” In other rifles, the trigger is connected to a mechanical trigger pin, which fires the gunpowder and sends the bullet flying.”
Well, clearly the author knows jack shit about weapons. The above is like listening to a virgin describe sex.
Isn’t this counter to the adoption of 3rd burst vs fully auto vis a vie running out of ammo too quickly?
JustAl
This weapon is based off a larger version already in prototype mode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEu9LLQpOF8
15000 rds/min? Seems optimistic.
This is my skeptical face.
Is it black and scary looking?
American ingenuity. Now can we make sure Diane Feinstein’s staff doesn’t steal it away to China?
Nope. Give me good old mechanical function. I’m still pissed they removed Kickstarter from motorcycles. Battery goes dead and you get the pleasure of push-starting a 400 to 500lb.(often even more) bike. Not fun.
where’s the chainsaw attachment?
And then they arrested him for having an “assault weapon”. Oh, wait. That would be Commiefornia.
From AB: “This weapon is based off a larger version already in prototype mode.”
No, there are almost no similarities between the two other than multiple barrels.
I read a little more about this thing.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/01/23/shot-2018-fdm-l5-pseudo-caseless-rifle/
I’m not impressed. The ammo is actually bulkier and heavier than individual brass cased rounds. Still uses a percussion initiated primer to ignite the conventional powder charge. No protection from a squib round leaving an individual bore clogged with a projectile.
It is a different way to make a firearm? Yes. Is it better? Not any way I can see.
And they say nothing is new under the sun! Hope this guy is successful.
There’s something really troubling about electrical components in the basic functioning of a personal weapon. I’m not talking about the optics but rather the gadgetry that makes the gun go BANG.
Furthermore, those ammo blocks sure look heavier and bulkier than normal brass or steel cased cartridges. The only really decent argument for 5.56mm over 7.62 NATO or .30-06 is the grunts can carry quite a bit more when hoofing it.
We need to hear from BB !
Where are you Bro ???
@Lowell October 1, 2018 at 6:14 pm
> Is it better? Not any way I can see.
That battery capacity let’s you talk to Cortana. When you’re lonely, and far from home. In the New™ military, it’s feelz training that matters.
If you don’t ask Santa for one of these, you’re gay.
Shut up and take my money!!!!!!
My bad, Lowel. A multi barrel electrically fired weapon is not similar in any way to a multi barrel electrically fired weapon.
Who’s going to carry all the ammo???
Meh. Over complicated and overweight (both firearm and ammo). Would really question reliability since it requires both mechanical and electrical parts be working. Reloading seems overly complicated and failure prone. Major question of barrels being aligned to 2 MOA or better.
@really enraged- “Who’s going to carry all the ammo???”
In a perfect world, the guy you’re shootin’ at should be carrying some of it.
Gimmicky piece of junk at best. Not that it would be the first time the armed forces pissed away a big pile of cash on something that was a nonstarter.
@RADIOATIONMAN/CB/HAM/AM/FM/SSB/VHF
Huh??
Are the officer pushing for the prototype testing Obama’s hand picked officers?