TactiSMART 011: Unhinged SKS-X: Speed Stripper Clip Loading
IF a reliable SKS 75 to 100-round drum can be had, start firefights with a Maximum Rounds Start (MRS)
A lot of SKS stripper clip hate directed at me comes from right-handers who frankly don't know they've been lied to about guns all their lives--a firearm with a bolt handle or charging handle on the right is actually best for LEFT-handed shooters because we can not only work them quickly with our non-firing right hand, we can actually SEE THE ACTION and understand what's happening. Watch how a Russian Special Forces Soldier has to reach across his AK or tilt it just to reach its right-hand charging handle--precious seconds lost during a firefight.
SOBR TEREK Chechen SF Load-Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBED4Fo5LQo
Its like Simonov (SKS) and Kalashnikov (AKM) were secretly lefties when they designed their guns!
Its so bad that a left-side, charging handle was created for the AK called the "Lightning Bolt".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so_2D6KzINU
AFAIK, the only military firearms designed for right-handers were/are the German MP40 Sub-Machine Gun (SMG), G36, Austrian Steyr AUG with charging handles on the LEFT SIDE for easy access by righties. The best baseball players are lefties because they can SEE a right-handed pitcher's throwing motion: Barry Bonds 762* Home Runs, USMC combat fighter pilot, Ted Williams last to bat .401 in a season, longest home run ball hitter, Mickey Mantle; in the NFL, legendary QBs like Steve Young of the 49ers, Ken Stabler (Raiders, Oilers, Saints), Jim Zorn (SeaHawks), and Michael Vick (Falcons, Eagles)--incidentally all very mobile, too.
* Probable steroid use. Sad.
Stripper Clip Loading (SCL) is an Unavoidable Reality--NOT an Option
You G.I. Joe ARE going to stripper clip load before or in a real firefight after being resupplied--be it into magazines away from the guns (PRELoaded Magazines aka PRELMs) or INTO the guns if they are smartly designed to accept stripper clip loading directly into the gun's magazine like the M14, Mini14 wih Cogburn Arsenal Adapter, Vz58, Canadian C1 FN FAL and oh yes, the fabulous SKS. Yes, made by a Russian--get over it.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/the-sks-is-a-better-rifle-than-the-ak-for-civilian-shooters/
The more you think about it, the more the SKS looks like a superior rifle.
Take construction, for example. Although there are a few (and expensive) milled-receiver AKs in the U.S., the vast, vast majority of Kalashnikovs in civilian hands have a stamped, sheet metal receiver. Cheap to build, but not really high quality. Worse yet, the AKs (even the milled-receiver versions) have a tinny, cheap, stamped upper cover.
The result is a rifle that is adequate for Red Army conscripts and peasant revolutionaries, but feels flimsy and uncomfortable. In contrast, every SKS has a forged, milled steel receiver and receiver cover, solid pieces all.
The safety is another huge difference. Not only is the AK safety a crude, ungainly, noisy nightmare copied from a turn-of-the-century Remington rifle, Kalashnikov put it on the wrong side of the receiver! Perhaps it was the brainchild of a surly Commie conscript carrying a rifle without a safety mechanism that could be seen from a hundred meters by his commanding officer. Or heard all the way across the Kremlin courtyard, where it scared the Borscht out of the armaments minister.
Again, the SKS with its easy-to-use ambidextrous trigger-guard safety (similar to the one used on the M1 Garand) wins the contest here.
Another factor that favors the SKS for civilian shooters: the magazine. Armies, of course, like to give their Soldiers lots of magazines that can be changed out quickly so as to keep them shooting (they call this “firepower.”) Civilian shooters, by contrast, are generally more interested in hitting their targets than they are in putting up a wall-of-lead to keep the enemy’s head down.
The SKS’s 10-round fixed magazine is more than adequate for most shooters. It’s also more rugged than the AK’s, which is made of a very heavy stamping of steel (by contrast to the AK's plastic or light metal stamped magazines). Best of all, the SKS’s magazine can be “recharged” with the use of cheap, widely available “stripper clips.” For the cost of one AK magazine, you can buy a whole pocket full of SKS stripper clips
In fact, reloading the SKS with stripper clips is easy. The SKS will conveniently lock the bolt open on an empty magazine. This prepares the weapon to accept another load of ammo and tells the shooter he needs to reload. By contrast, the AK has no bolt hold open. Unless you’re counting rounds or using the last-round-is-a-tracer trick, the only way you know you’re out of ammo is when you pull the trigger and hear a dull “click” instead of a robust “bang!” When you’re fighting off Zombies, that can be downright embarrassing.
The SKS’s longer sight radius (the distance between the front and rear sight) make it easier to shoot more accurately. The lack of a long, wobbly magazine makes the SKS easier to set on a sandbag or other improvised rest – again, improving accuracy.
“Firepower” isn’t really a consideration when you don’t command brigades, and don’t have to pay for your own ammo. Besides, you can buy extended magazines for the SKS, should you feel an overwhelming need to send a lot of lead downrange.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SKS
The SKS represents an intermediate step in the process towards the development of true assault rifles, being shorter and less powerful than the semi-automatic rifles that preceded it, such as the Soviet SVT-40, but being longer (10 cm or 4in) than AK-series rifles which replaced it. As a result, it has a slightly higher muzzle velocity than those arms that replaced it.
A small number of SKS rifles were tested on the front line in early 1945 against the Germans in World War II....in particular the Chinese army, who found it well-suited to their own style of warfare, the "People's War" whose main actors were highly mobile, self-reliant guerrilla bands and rural militias protecting their own villages. In the philosophy of "the People's War", the emphasis was on long-range sniping, spoiling attacks, and ambushes. For this the Chinese army preferred its own domestic version of the SKS (the Type 56 carbine) to the AK pattern.
From its introduction in 1956, the Type 56/SKS remained the workhorse of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for 30 years. In 1968, the army was briefly re-equipped with the unsuccessful Type 63 assault rifle, which had been intended to combine the sustained firepower of China's first AK-47 variant (confusingly called the "Type 56 assault rifle") with the precise semi-automatic fire of the SKS/Type 56 carbine and replace both of those separate rifles. However, by the mid-1970s, all manner of problems were plaguing the unreliable Type 63 rifle. Troops clamored to be given back their carbines, which had been redistributed to local militia units, and the army staff abandoned the Type 63 and returned the Type 56 carbine (SKS) and Type 56 assault rifle (AK-47) back into service. The standard practice was for squad leaders and assistant squad leaders to carry an assault rifle and for most other Soldiers to carry a carbine, so that a front-line infantry squad fielded two assault rifles, two light machine guns, and seven carbines.
In the more than 70 years of use worldwide, the SKS has seen use in conflicts all over the world. World War II: used only for testing purposes during the last battles of the war
WWII
Korean War
Algerian War
Bangladesh Liberation War
Suez crisis
Vietnam War
Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Cambodian Civil War
Laotian Civil War
Portuguese Colonial War
Rhodesian Bush War
South African Border War
Ethiopian Civil War
Sino-Vietnamese War
Lebanese Civil War
Shaba II
Soviet–Afghan War
Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995)
Yugoslav Wars
Algerian Civil War
Burundian Civil War
Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–99)
Iraq War
Mexican Drug War
Kivu conflict
Northern Mali conflict
Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
Syrian Civil War
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
****
The vaunted Russian "AK-47"--actually stamped AKMs--don't have a Stripper Clip direct-Loading-into-the-gun (SCL) capability. In fact, most models have bolts that do NOT LOCK-TO THE-REAR when a magazine is emptied; you only know you are out of ammo when it goes "click". Every time you run an AKM to empty, you have to remove the magazine, replace it with a full one by slow nose up & rock back, reach across or tilt the entire gun to re-charge the bolt--precious seconds in a firefight when you ain't fighting.
An U.S. Amy RANGER from Vietnam discovered a way to internally hold the AKM bolt by using its hammer:
AKM Internal Bolt Hold Open HACK!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCclRB2Tbes
You can also cut-out a notch in the AK's side selector lever to "catch" the bolt and hold it open--
How to Make an AK Safety Lever Bolt Hold Open
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntzguGodPX4
...but the above won't have this automatically happen when you run your ammo dry unless you use AK magazines with followers that when empty, lock the bolt rearward.
WeaponTech Mag Bolt Hold Open Followers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuHz0DJbUW4
Lefties Are the Best Gun Handlers
The intrinsic problem with Vz58 and SKS stripper clip loading--using CHEAPO CHINESE STRIPPER CLIPS--into the gun's magazine is that unless you are a lefty and can see your stripper clip loading actions, after the 1st stripper clip loads in, pushing down successive 7.62mm x 39 SOVIET rounds gets more difficult and you may not get to fill your 20, 30, 35-round (or more) capacity magazine. Its a stacking problem because larger SKS magazines have feed lips that the original magazine didn't have so after the 1st 10 rounds they offer a lot of resistance for you to press down with successive 10-round stripper clips--even if you use the Russian Army thumb & forefinger technique and the CHEAPO CHINESE STRIPPER CLIPS. However, with high-quality RUSSIAN STRIPPER CLIPS this is not the case. Consider in contrast, the pampered AR15/M16/M4 which cannot fire unless it has a magazine pre-loaded with bullets in it. [Yes, you could hand-load a single round into the chamber, smart-ass]. Army RANGERS in Somalia were unwisely throwing away their magazines as they emptied them instead of recovering them? [Are we sure this wasn't dumb-ass marines since the 75th Rangers I've encountered TAUGHT ME TO RETAIN MAGAZINES WITH 550 CORD LOOPS] and lacked stripper clip reloading capability resulting in preventable casualties in 1993. Ponder the frantic stripper clips-into-magazines reloading at the Vietnam War, Battle of LZ X-Ray in 1965. Better to have 10 than NONE and end up carried by 6.
Strangely, the SKS does not have a BHOD per say--so it must have an empty magazine inside to activate its hidden BHOL. This means with the M14 & Canadian FN FAL, if you know you are running low in your magazine--say just 3 bullets left---you can remove the magazine and insert a full one into the well while the bolt is closed holding a ready round--but not the SKS. Thanks be to Sailor Curt, he explains how the SKS BHOL works and why the magazine can't be removed with the bolt forward--unless modified. He's a very smart guy.
http://sailorcurt.com/2007/05/sks-bolt-hold-open.html/
A “sort of” fix for this problem is the bolt mod that I described in my earlier post.
http://sailorcurt.com/2007/03/evolution-of-homeland-defense-weapon-3.html/
The bolt has two “rails” in the bottom that lock into the “feed lips” of the magazine when forward. Those rails prevent the empty magazine from being removed or a new magazine from being installed with the bolt closed. That means that, without this mod, if the magazine being used doesn’t operate the bolt hold-open latch, either through design or malfunction, the shooter has to manually hold the bolt back while operating the magazine cover latch and removing the old and installing the new mag. This obviously is not convenient and increases magazine change time.
All you do is grind off the rails at the bottom of the bolt that catch on the magazine feed lips. That enables you to change mags without opening the bolt.
It is not truly a fix because there are still issues. You can’t load your mags to max capacity because inserting the mag with the bolt closed causes the rounds to push down into the magazine. With a fully loaded mag, this is often very difficult if not impossible. Some magazines feed lips allow the rounds to move around too much which causes the top round to shift and jam up the works when attempting to insert a loaded mag with the bolt closed. Having the mod is better than not having it but it is not utopia.
After completing this mod, I purchased a 20 round “polymer” (read plastic) mag from Tapco. Lo and behold, at least on my rifle, the Tapco mag actually operates the bolt hold open latch.
Here’s how it works.
The follower in the magazine (the part that pushes up on the bottom round) has a small “tail” that sticks off the back end.
With the magazine loaded, the follower is pushed down into the magazine so that the “tail” is down inside a groove in the magazine.
Here, only one round is loaded so the “tail” is sticking up a slightly, a second round placed on top of the first would push it down completely into the mag.
Once the last round is stripped into the chamber, the tail sticks up as high as it will ever go.
That “tail” pushes the bolt hold open latch up. After that last round is fired and the bolt cycles back, the bolt hold open latch is pushed into the bolts path.
When the recoil spring pushes the bolt forward, the face of the bolt catches on the latch, locking the bolt open.
This is just a reference photo to show you what part of the rifle we’ll be looking at. I hate it when I’m given close-ups for illustrations and they just assume you know what general area you are supposed to be looking in (car manuals are notorious for this).
We are going to be looking up through the bottom of the magazine well.
This is with the bolt locked back. The bolt hold open latch is in the way of the bolt, the bolt is making contact with the latch at the arrow, holding it from moving any farther forward.
There is a small metal tab on the face of the bolt hold open latch. This tab is what the “tail” of the magazine follower pushes on to raise the latch into position to lock the bolt open.
The bolt hold open latch is actually held in the unlocked position by a weak spring. It is the tension of the bolt, being held firmly against the latch by the tension of the recoil spring, that keeps the hold open latch in the locked position.
To release the bolt, all you have to do is pull slightly back on it, as soon as the tension on the latch is released, the spring will push it out of the way of the bolt (in the direction of the arrow) and the bolt will close.
To lock the bolt open without a magazine inserted, put your finger up into the rear of the magazine well. You should be able to feel the tab sticking off the bolt hold open latch. Pull the bolt to the rear while putting upward pressure on the latch, as soon as the bolt clears the latch, the latch will slide up and the bolt can be released. It will catch on the bolt hold open latch thereby locking the bolt open.
This is a different perspective with the bolt locked open again. The pencil is pointing to the hold open latch.
Again with the bolt closed, the pencil is pointing at the latch.
If your bolt hold open isn’t working with your magazines, either the “tail” on the magazine isn’t positioned correctly (or it simply doesn’t have one) or the tab on the bolt hold open latch that the “tail” is supposed to press on is worn or possibly broken off.
Numrich Gun Parts has the bolt hold open latch for $7.05 if you need to replace yours (I would imagine that this particular part is the same for the model 59 but I make no guarantees and offer no promises…Numrich also has parts listings for the Type 45 and Type 56).
The arrows in this photo are pointing to where the rails on the bottom of the bolt SHOULD BE had I not ground them off. The gaps where the arrows are enable the magazines to be removed/installed with the bolt closed…usually…with some difficulty…depending on your magazines…your mileage may vary.
The best all-around magazines I’ve found to date are the Tapco 20 rounders. They feed flawlessly, they install the most consistently with the bolt closed and they operate the bolt hold open latch so I generally don’t have to worry about them working with the bolt closed.
Mike Tiller
on July 1, 2017 at 1:16 am said:
Tapco 20s are the best. All of the metal ones that I have used are junk 30/40 rounders. File, bend, twist, might as well throw them away, and stripper clips will work in the Tapco mags. Might not get them all in, but 18-19 is better than none. Next mod is on the bolt carrier feed lips. Elimates the ‘3’ handed mag change, just don’t load 20. I ‘massage’ all of my new 20 rounders by taking them apart and de-burring. Also, the factory 10 round box mag will still work. Carrier feed lip trick works too. Of course the box mag works pretty damn good if you have stripper clips.
Daniel Wild on May 26, 2018 at 10:11 pm said:
I have two Norinco rifles. One is a regular model 56, the other a ‘D’ model which takes the AK-style magazine.
Unlike the regular model 56, the AK mag rifle has no provision for bolt hold open.
That piece is not there.
Can someone please explain why, and is there any way to provide for a bolt hold open on this rifle?
Thanks to anyone who can shed some light on this for me.
Dan
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YOU CANNOT REMOVE an unmodified SKS's MAGAZINE UNLESS ITS BOLT IS LOCKED-TO- THE-REAR--which means if you are down to 3 rounds you have to cycle the bolt 3 x to clear the gun and make yourself disarmed and temporarily unable to fire until you insert a new loaded magazine in and slightly pull back on the charging handle to undo the BHOL and let go--sliding the top-most round into the chamber. .
As a lefty, I can with a SKS with magazine removed, hold its stock under my arm pit, then with my non-firing right hand, pull back on the bolt's right charging handle, reach in with my firing left hand into the open mag well and with its pointer finger find the bolt face and the BHOL under it to push it up to engage the bolt. Wheew! difficult--but do-able. Righties can do the same by starting with the SKS stock under their right arm pit, pulling back on the bolt handle so the non-firing, left hand can enter the mag well bottom and its pointer finger finding the BHOL and pushing it up and letting the bolt go slowly forward to catch it. The key reality is the gun has to be held stationary by the arm pit to free one hand to hold the bolt open and the other hand to find the BHOL and push it up to engage the bolt as its slowly released against it.
Thinking of my right-handed, 2A patriot, shooters that out-number my ilk by 90% I've decided to FIX this lack of a BHOD and way to hold the SKS stationary problem so you can find & push the BHOL without worry of accidentally letting go of the charging handle and having the bolt slam into your fingers--by adding a BHOD.
At the very least, a BHOD so no more than 1 round is ejected & lost from the chamber if wanting to remove a partially-loaded magazine during a lull in the firefight and insert a fully-loaded one for when combat begins again. Another reason for a BHOD is jams like the infamous SKS double-feed--sometimes you need to clear the action completely and start-over.
SKS Unhinged: DIY Bolt-Hold Open Device (BHOD)
BHOD Positioning Before Mounting: Screws to the Left and Right were added beyond the hinge holes to cope with the intense spring pressure when bolt is retracted
Arriving at your local hardware store, find a small hinge like shown here because its LENGTH can reach up to the base of the SKS bolt handle. Hacksaw off one side to make a "L" shape.
Position the "L" just under and against the SKS open bolt handle. Mix some Epoxy glue and dip the entire hinge base underside with it and position so its straight along the line of the stock. Let the glue dry overnight. This will position the hinge holes where they need to be for their screws which will bear the actual brunt of the bolt's sprung force.
After overnight drying, screw in the screws into your wood or plastic stock after putting a dab of glue around the threads. Add a screw outside the hinge holes on the right as a backstop to the enormous pressure the bolt will exert when resting against the hinge lever.
Place a square of soft Velcro on the space between the hinge and the lever. Place an exactly same-sized, hard Velcro square on the lever where it meets the soft Velcro square on the hinge base. This is to help hold the lever in the DOWN position.
Next, carefully spray gray primer then flat black paint over the SKS Bolt-Open Device's bare metal surfaces not covered by Velcro.
VOILA!
Practice, Practice, Practice Makes Perfect
https://www.strikeindustries.com/shop/products/rifle-accessories/dummy-rounds-762x39.html
Dummy Rounds 762x39
PRODUCT IN STOCK
SKU:SI-DR-762X39
$7.00
Strike Industries dummy rounds will let you safely test the feeding, extraction, and magazine function of your firearms without the worry of accidental discharge. They also let you dry fire without risking damage to the firing pin. Great training tool for safe handling of any of the most popular firearms calibers. This will aid in keeping your fundamentals sharp and keep the cost down on practice. Made out of polymer material so it can’t corrode or cause corrosion to any of your firearms.
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COMBAT STRIPPER LOADING & RE-LOADING
1. Bolt locks to rear on empty magazine
2. Insert stripper clip into guide on top of bolt and press down on top-most cartridge with thumb & forefinger (Russian Army proven Tactics, Techniques, Procedures, Environment, Enemy, Equipment (TTPE3)
3. When done, remove empty stripper clip and place in pocket for re-use (I'm cheap & resourceful)
4. Insert another stripper clip and load again with Russian thumb & forefinger TTPE3
5. Continue until inserted magazine is full
6. Remove empty stripper clip and place in pocket for re-use
7. Pull slightly back on bolt & let go to insert 1st round into chamber
COMBAT PARTIAL MAGAZINE CHANGE
1. Bolt is forward--but you know magazine below it is nearly empty
2A. Lefties: Pull bolt to rear with non-firing, right hand ejecting the round in the chamber, move thumb to BHOD back-stop and flip-UP hinge
3A. Remove ARCHANGEL 20- or 35-round magazine by grabbing their Quick-Release lever and place in Dump Pouch--or if looped at the bottom--clip to a carabiner or gear clip for retention. If you have a QR lever upgrade to your SKS, use it to remove lever-less mags like the reliable TAPCO 20-rounder.
4A. Grab loaded 20/35 magazine from LBE pouch, insert duckbill in 1st, then back using QR lever.
5A. Rotate BHOD to DOWN and pull back on charging handle a pinch and let bolt fly home loading the top-most cartridge
2B. Righties: Place SKS stock under right arm pit, pull bolt to rear with firing, right hand ejecting the round in the chamber, with non-firing left hand, flip-UP the BHOD hinge
3B. Remove ARCHANGEL 20- or 35-round magazine by grabbing their Quick-Release lever and place in Dump Pouch--or if looped at the bottom--clip to a carabiner or gear clip for retention. If you have a QR lever upgrade to your SKS, use it to remove lever-less mags like the reliable TAPCO 20-rounder.
4B. Grab loaded 20/35 magazine from LBE pouch, insert duckbill in 1st, then back using QR lever.
5B. Rotate BHOD to DOWN and pull back on charging handle a pinch and let bolt fly home loading the top-most cartridge
COMBAT EMPTY MAGAZINE CHANGE
1. Bolt locks-to-rear on empty magazine
2. Remove ARCHANGEL 20- or 35-round magazine by grabbing their Quick-Release lever a If you have a QR lever upgrade to your SKS, use it to remove lever-less mags like the reliable TAPCO 20-rounder. nd place in Dump Pouch--or if looped at the bottom--clip to a carabiner or gear clip for retention.
3. Grab loaded 20/35 magazine from LBE pouch, insert duckbill in 1st, then back using QR lever.
4. Pull back on charging handle a pinch to release BHOL and let bolt fly home loading the top-most cartridge
The SKS-X Future is America's Army's Future
combatreform.org/atac.htm
An ATACS like the new STEED to collect guns & ammo after firefights so we have a PLAN B in event U.S. ammo resupply fails to arrive over Non-Linear, 720 degree Battlefields (NLB 720). SOP would be to collect intel documents from the dead enemy after grappling hooking him to pre-detonate any booby traps. Next, strip-off his LBE with loaded mags or stripper clips inside to save time and place in eATACS. Collect ammo cans/boxes and place in eATACS. Enemy ammo should be test-fired thru a captured weapon from a VULTURE gun rack mounted to the squad's mother tracked tank's Driver's VULTURE RACK to insure its not sabotaged. The Russians used racks to fire 88 x PPsh Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs) from the bomb-bays of Pe-2 bombers for Terrain Firepower Saturative (TFS) area effects against enemy infantry in WW2. Early U.S. Army Stuart light tanks had a pair of .30 caliber Medium Machine Guns (MMGs) bracketed to fire foward by the driver in WW2. Drivers in Armored CAValry (ACAV) units in Vietnam mounted M60 MMGs to fire forward to give them forward firepower.
https://hendrickusa.com/steed
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d1dfc967a9de200015ee075/t/5d1f69705e9d7a00011a3bfe/1562339696946/STEED+Quad+Chart.pdf
Genius gunsmith Aaron Gifford (AG) has created an AG-1 SKS HYBRID that using his own words:
"Yes, will accept stripper clips and fixed mag, and ak mag, and duckbills..."
VIDEO DEMO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPXRUCRd7bw
MOD DETAILS:
www.migunowners.org/forum/showthread.php?248529-First-of-its-kind-*Original*-Hybrid-SKS-takes-Duckbills-AND-AK-mags-VIDEO-post2&highlight=
The point of already having upgraded SKS VULTURE guns is so they can be Battle Sight Zeroed (BZOed) to high American fast reflex & night firing speed/accuracy so their functions are well understood BEFORE combat and not just ad hocery with captured enemy SKSes, AKMs etc. best utilized on vehicle VULTURE gun racks.
The next U.S. Army service rifle the notional "M16A5" should be modular to fire as many types of friendly & enemy ammo to overmatch threats in open and closed terrain fights--by both stripper clips and magazines.
combatreform.org/21stcenturyrifle.htm
VULTURE U.S. ARMY Back-Up Gun: The Ultimate SKS-X
"Does it also work with stripper clips? If so, then this is the ultimate 7.62 X 39 rifle ever. I mean the ultimate!"
The U.S. Army Soldier needs the "ultimate rifle, ever"--one that fires multiple calibers from both stripper clips and magazines. We once had this almost--the M14--we can have it again with upgraded SKS VULTURE guns and a new "M16A5".
Airborne!
James Bond is REAL.
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