story ideas

[Yresk]

hi guys I´m Yresk and i´m sorry to bother you with my questions
but i´m writing a book as it is and guns are a big part of it and i need help
because my 2 most trusted weapon know it alls are in a conflict.

the story is in part about this guy who is a extremely good soldier and he
has a hobby of making new guns and its his pride and joy that is the source
of the conflict

the weapon is a modified M249 that first of all can regulate its ROF
that is not the problem the problem is one of overheating. i had written that the barrel and breach had been significantly reinforced to act as a heatsink so the gun would not overheat. but one of my friends tells me that this is completley impossible. so for now i´ve written in that the gun has 2 barrels and you can
switch back and forth between them by a shotgun like pump and twist move
i´m very happy if you could shine some ligth at this problem that is keeping me up at nigth

Yresk

 

[BrothersInArms]

The M249 DOES have a quick change barrel system, and M249 gunners routinely carry a spare barrel.

 

[kwo51]

Maybe a heat proof glove.

 

[RangerDanger]

The M249 DOES have a quick change barrel system, and M249 gunners routinely carry a spare barrel.

I tried to find a youtube video but ran into a bunch of airsoft crap and gave up

 

[Yresk]

i´m sorry but that does not really answer the question
can you reinforce the breach and barrel or install heat sinks
to make it far easier to handle the heat built up by rapid firing?
or is the dual barrel approach the easier approach?

 

[RangerDanger]

If you keep heating the barrel too much you'll damage it. Best thing to do is change barrels

 

[Yresk]

then pose another sollution would it work if the barrel was made
out of another material that was better at absorbing heat? i know i´m
grasping at straws but i would story wise prefer to have the one system
that does not require changing of barrels. just reloading is big enough of a
risk you don´t want more things to distract you from shooting the enemy
the closest to a war i´ve been is airsoft games and whenever i was not
combat ready to shoot i felt like i had a big target on my face

 

[RangerDanger]

Either change barrels or reduce the rate of fire. I'm sure that after all these years we're probably using good materials for our barrels.

 

[Bluez]

The barrells are pretty good right now.

Adding material to make a heat sink or even add fins like some guns in WW2 or a water jacket like in WW1 all work ( to a point) but add a lot of weight.

Modern military experience points it to it being less total weight to just carry a spare barrel as more effective than fins and lighter than a water jacket.
(but this solution is heavier than fins and less effective than a water jacket).

 

[Jo6pak]

So, I think the OP is looking at a modification to the actual weapon, such as having the spare barrel be "part" of the gun. No, it may not be totally practical, but that is why they call it fiction.

I guess you could have both barrels attached to a strut that runs the length of the barrels, and would facilitate rotating one barrel into battery and have the other along side until it is needed.
Of possibly some variation of the old swivel barrel muskets.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZVux0mXUWo]Double barrel flintlock Kentucky long rifle. A National Firearms Museum Treasure Gun. - YouTube[/ame]

No, it's not quite the same, but as long as we are inventing things, why not be inventive?

 

[Silver-Bolt]

What you describe is too much Hollywood nonsense. Keep the M249 as it really is with changeable barrels. It won't matter too much to nongun readers and to vets and gun enthusiasts keeping it real will keep them tuned in.

 

[cce1302]

I don't know why a heatsink of some sort wouldn't work. there are barrel nuts for the AR-15 that are designed to work as a heatsink, and are often used on high volume SBRs.

Here is one. I think the design could be adapted for the SAW. Since you don't change the barrel, you'd remove the handle and the collar that holds it and replace it with something like this:
https://www.pof-usa.com/pof-rifle-overview.html

Don't worry, you're not removing a carry handle. The handle is only for making barrel changes, as my NCOs were quick to remind anybody who forgot.

A second idea would be something like this:
JP - Thermal Dissipator™

You could remove the upper handguard entirely and modify the lower handguard to make this fit inside.

 

[kwo51]

Prolonged full auto use would still cause barrel distortion. Most of this problem was solved in WW 2. Slower cycle rate- less rounds on burst -water cooled - quick change barrels, and the best is multi-barrels ie mini gun.

 

[Arckadian]

I am working on some games and I am doing the story creation myself. You can use a little writer discretion when it comes to certain areas, but I personally find that sticking to actual fact and truth when possible will make the story much more believable and less likely to offend or put off people that know a lot about what you are trying to use. I for instance and using the Japanese people in one of mine. I could use creative purview and change them as I see fit, but when my game gets to their market and they see what i did i run the risk of loosing all my consumer base. Just try to keep that in mind when you are doing this and i think you will be ok In many cases real fact can be just as fun as made up information.