From a different perspective

Here is the trip as told by my rabbi

http://blog.azrabbi.com/

I think it's hilarious how different our views can be. The 22 Dec entry, about half way down is this paragraph:

Some of the conversation is surreal- at one points they were all comparing weapons and their various preferences for more stripped down versions versus every high tech accessory. Then there was a whole discussion of where the best place is to put the tracer bullets in your magazine.

This was my conversation, the conversation actually surrounded different versions of the m16/m4/ar15 weapons family. Right now I am carrying the M16A3 version, which was introduced 3-4 years ago, most of the other peopl here are carrying the m4 which was introduced in the late 90's. Which is better? My opinion, the M16A3 is, except for one small change I would like to see, which is the adjustable butt, I prefer the shorter reach from my shoulder to the grip that the M4 offers, however the M16 has a longer effective range, higher exit velocity, and more general stopping power. The M4 has a much shorter barrel, and was designed for use in smaller spaces, such as in buildings, and city streets. Each has it's pluses and minuses. And for all the high tec accessories, yeh they are nice and all, but they all require batteries, which can easily run out if you leave it on, which means that you have to leave everything off until you need it, then when you do need it, it needs to be turned on, and fast.

The other half of the discussion was about where to put tracer rounds (the bullets that burn as they shoot, so you see where they are going. Sounds great right, you actually see the bullet shooting through the air, and where it hits! Well that also means that they see where it is coming from. It makes for a great visual reference for all. The magazines I have I loaded have 2 tracers in them, on on the top and one 3rd from the bottom. The one on the top is great. I can at any time pull out the magazine, look at the top bullet and see that there is a red tip , this tells me that the tracer on top is still there, and not loaded in the chamber of the gun, which would mean that the gun is ready to fire. No tracer = bad, Tracer on top = good, simple eh? The other tracer, 3rd from the bottom is the other reference, If I ever do need to fire it, while I'm shooting I have a cisial reminder that after a few shots, and I see the tracer go flying out , I only have 2 more shots before I have to reload, gives me a quick warning that I'm about to be out of bullets, and need to grab another magazine.