The 416?

You know, soldiers have been bitching about the M16/M4 platform for almost longer than I have been alive.

It seems that for every round of bitchin', the higher ups always say "they just didn't clean the damn thing well enough!"

Here it seems that HK has come up with a viable solution - to replace the existing gas system with one that's more reliable, easier to clean, and easier on the weapon's parts - and of course, it's a no go with the Pentagon bureaucracy.

There are some of these new uppers out on the market - Cowboy Blob has picked one up; perhaps we can get a good range report from him as he puts the new upper through its paces.

I've never used my AR's in combat - but from what I've seen of ARs in all sorts of different environments and configurations - from massive humidity and rain in the woods on the Gulf Coast to gusting fine dust in Wichita Falls - ARs either work - or they don't.

I had one that I couldn't get to function no matter what I did to it. JR took that upper and it works just fine in his AR. My new Bushmaster has functioned perfectly to this point, but I've probably only got 500 rounds or so through it - but as of now, it's doing just fine.

If these new uppers prove to be as reliable as we're hearing, I wouldn't mind having one myself....