Almost Adopted: The H&K XM-8 Family
Select-Fire Rifles
•
16m
Today we are in H&K's Grey Room in Virginia, taking a look at the XM-8 program. The rifle evolved form the kinetic energy carbine portion of the doomed XM29/OICW program, and eventually became the G36 rifle. In between those two, however, it was the XM-8, and it came close to adoption by the US military.The XM-8 was designed to be a very modular system, with a variety of interchangeable stocks, handguards, optics and accessories. We will take a look at all of these different elements, as well as the disassembly and mechanical function of the design.
Up Next in Select-Fire Rifles
-
HK XM-8: What Was it and Why? (With L...
Larry Vickers has the closest thing most any of us will ever have to a true XM-8 rifle, and has more than a little trigger time on the original XM-8 rifles. So, I asked him to explain what the rifle was and why it failed to become the new American service rifle. It's a fascinating story that will...
-
Rocket Surgery: Inside the Russian Ni...
The AN-94 Nikonov is one of the recent series of innovative new small arms coming out of the Russian Federation. In this case, it is an attempt to increase hit probability by firing two rounds before the recoil impulse changes the shooter's point of aim - similar to some of the US SPIW project ex...
-
Holy Mother of Muzzle Flash, the Rico...
Rico is a gunsmith at SIG Neuhausen who likes to tinker. He put together this SIG 510 (aka Stgw 57), with a modern collapsing stock, quad rail foreend, Aimpoint red dot, heavy barrel, and massive muzzle brake. And we just happen to have some 7.5 Swiss and a full-auto grip assembly. How hard can i...
