American Snipers In Iraq: Not exactly a pleasant story, this article describes how a team of Army snipers battled to survive an attack by a larger force. http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12233 --- From John Farnam: 29 Oct 07 Another birdshot incident: "My agency is investigating a recent AD that took place during a hunting excursion. A dropped TC pistol, when it struck the ground, apparently fired a chambered 410 shotgun round upward at the person who had been holding it. The #7.5 birdshot hit him in the groin area. From the muzzle to the point of impact was three feet. The shot never left the plastic shot cup. The whole thing hit intact, but never penetrated into the abdominal cavity. The entire shot cup stopped in the fat layer and abdominal muscle. The victim never lost consciousness, remaining animated and normally responsive while walking around. He was treated at a local hospital, but released within twenty-four hours. Full recovery is expected." Comment: I am confident that there will never be a "scientific" study of ballistic effectiveness, because there is no way to generate a body of uncontaminated, empirical data from which we could even begin to confidently draw conclusions. What we have, all we have, and all we're ever going to have, is antidotal incidents, like the above. In this particular case, birdshot was utterly ineffective in producing any species of "stopping effect." /John (There was a time when one manufacturer was pitching a "special" .410 shotgun as a home-defense alternative to a handgun for women who could not master the latter.) 29 Oct 07 Adjustable gas systems on military rifles: The FAL is one of a number of military, gas-piston, autoloading rifles that feature and adjustable gas system. The user may adjust the amount of gas pressure, and thus the degree of robustness of the cycle of operation, by altering the size of the "purge vent," and thus amount of gas that is bled off and whose energy thus does not contribute to pushing back the operating rod. This feature permits the user to alter the amount of recoil and literally "tune" the rifle to the particular ammunition being used. Instructions that come with the rifle advise the owner to adjust the size of the purge vent by measuring the distance ejected cases are flung. For the recreational user, that is all fine, but my advice to the serious user is to close off the purge vent completely and leave it that way! The only advantage associated with enlarging the purge vent is lessening the recoil and (at least in theory) lessening wear and tear on the rifle itself. Again, my advice is to stop worrying about any of that and concerning oneself more with the reliable operation of the piece, no matter what kind of ammunition is being used. In a Vehicle-Defense Course last weekend in IN, a student brought a DSA/FAL and a mixture of 308 ammunition. With ammunition becoming ever more expensive and scarce, these days one needs to use whatever he can get! In any event, one round in a half-dozen short-cycled and created a stoppage, to the increasing annoyance of the rifle's owner! After witnessing the problem for twenty minutes, I asked the shooter where he had his gas-adjustment set. The purge vent, as it turns out, was half open. My colleague, Henk Iverson, and I both suggested he close it up completely. When he did, the short-cycle problem immediately went away, and the rifle ran normally for the rest of the day. Serious users of FALs and other gas-adjustable rifles, never knowing what brand of ammunition they may be compelled to use, are thus well advised to forget about adjusting the gas system at all. Close it off and leave it that way! /John 1 Nov 07 These sage comments on FAL gas adjustment from my friend and colleague, John Krupa, Director of Training for DSA: "Not knowing that one can control gas-flow on this weapon has led to countless customer-service calls to DSA, complaining that the rifle 'doesn't work.' The following is laid out in great detail in the Owners's Manual, of course, but we are happy to explain to each owner how the gas-regulator works and then walk them through correct gas-regulator adjustment. Invariably, when we're finished, like a miracle, the rifle suddenly runs fine! (1) The gas vent is directly behind the base of the front sight. We start the process with the gas-regulator set to the full-open position, which is # 7 on the gas-regulator dial. The vent-hole will be visibly open all the way. Next, we start to close off the gas-regulator vent by turning the dial clockwise two clicks, which will place it at # 6. You will now see that the vent hole is partially occluded. From here, we can start our live-fire, function testing. (2) Charge a magazine with a single round of ammunition. Insert the magazine into the rifle and chamber the round. Holding the rifle in a normal, standing position (bench-resting is not recommended) aim into the impact area and fire one round. When the bolt fails to lock back, not enough gas is driving the piston into the bolt group for a complete cycle of operation. So, close the gas regulator another, single click, which will put it at 5 1/2, and then repeat the one-shot drill. Continue to close off the gas-regulator, a click at a time, until consistent (three in a row) bolt-lock is achieved (2) When the bolt thus consistently locks to the rear after firing a single round, insert a magazine charged with five rounds, load the rifle, and fire all five in rapid succession. Once again, the bolt needs to unfailingly lock to the rear as the last round is fired. (3) Once your rifle passes the 'five-round test,' close the gas-regulator two more clicks! The gas regulator is now 'set.' Just about all rifles we issue for student use have a final set at 4 to 4 1/2. That is pretty standard. (4) When the rifle gets hot, dry, and dirty, and starts short-cycling, you can use the gas-regulator dial to quickly make incremental increases in gas pressure, instantly restoring the rifle to normal functioning. I don't recommend closing the gas-regulator completely, as you suggested in your last Quip, unless absolutely necessary. What concerns me is not excessive wear-and-tear on the rifle. The DSA/FAL is a robust, military rifle that is designed for heavy use in hostile environments. It will take whatever you can give it! Nor is my concern with accuracy. Practical accuracy is unaffected by gas-regulator adjustments. Nor is my concern with recoil attenuation. Soft recoil is nice, but we can all handle recoil. The real problem is with case-extraction that is so violent it may result in cases being literally pulled apart as the bolt moves to the rear. The front half of the case may thus be left in the chamber, resulting in a stoppage that cannot be corrected in the short term. With regard to ammunition: Ammunition quality is all over the map! Ammunition from dubious sources, reloads for example, typically exhibit inconsistent head-space and inconsistent pressure. DSA, of course, recommends against the use of such poor-quality ammunition, except in exigent circumstances." Comment: John K is the resident expert, and I will surely defer to his judgement on this issue, and my advice to FAL owners is that they adhere to his, foregoing, instructions. The thorny issue is, of course, "exigent circumstances!" When I have my FAL, some magazines, and a supply of ammunition about which I know little, and I've been invited to participate in a fight that is starting immediately, best bet is to begin with a rifle whose gas-regulator is closed off. I'll put up with recoil, and I'll take my chances with case-separation, just as long as I can be assured my rifle will complete each cycle of operation. Conversely, when I know what ammunition I'm going to feed it, and I have time to go through the foregoing gas-regulator adjustment routine, and a range where I can do the mandatory live-fire, I will surely tune my weapon to maximum advantage. No contestation there. Of all dubious ammunition, the most suspect is reloads. Cases that have been reloaded multiple times are stretched, weakened, and thin in spots. They are the ones most prone to case-separation, described above, and inspection may not be helpful. From the outside, one can seldom tell if a case wall is dangerously thin. "Once-fired-reloads" is a commonly-used platitude, but how can anyone really know how many times a particular case has been reloaded? Reloads are thus not recommended for use in any autoloading rifle. /John 2 Nov 07 Important note from a reloader: "Most military 308 brass that is available on the commercial market was designed for use in, and subsequently fired through, machine guns. In order to insure reliability, machine-gun tolerances, including headspace, are generous. Accordingly, cases fired through machine guns typically stretch considerably. They are thus particularly disposed toward separation when reloaded and fired again in autoloading weapons. I've seen such brass come apart under no more stress than being resized in a sizer die. This stuff is doubly risky when fired in a FAL with the valve closed!" Comment: We agree. Keep reloads out of your FAL and all other military, autoloading rifles. /John (I once lost the use of a Ruger Mini-14 in the midst of a rifle course due to a case separation with a commercially reloaded .223 round. Fortuitously, I had an M1 Carbine standing by, with plenty of ammo, and switched on the next line break. Such breaks are not generally offered in gunfights. As above, I was told by a friend and mentor that the culprit was most likely the result of stretching and resizing of a case that had probably been fired in an M249 SAWS. Separated cases are not easily cleared from rifle chambers.) -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .