In the wikipedia article for MARSOC the first picture is of two of them in Afghanistan. One of them appears to be holding an SVD. Would this be due to an issue causing the guy to toss his own gun and pick that up until they return to base, or is it simply due to preference? Or another reason?
Does it happen often that US soldiers swap their weapons for things they find? I know it was done quite a bit in Vietnam, but you'd think it wouldn't happen nowadays.
>>28062021
It's actually a PSL, not a Dragunov.
>>28062035
I see. Question still stands though, what would be the reason for him to be using it?
>>28062021
you dont "toss your gun" or swap it in the military. life isnt video games. thats also a psl not an svd. more than likely he needed more range and they found the psl earlier so he used it.
>>28062049
/thread
>>28062049
This.
They probably found it sitting in a hut and since you don't leave guns laying around for snackbars to use later, they took it and decided to use it for something.
>>28062049
>>28062054
>>28062061
Of course you wouldn't just toss it, but what if the one you have breaks for whatever reason and you're expecting more combat soon?
>>28062072
life isnt video games
>>28062035
>>28062049
On the topics of psls, does anyone make receivers for parts kits?
>done quite a bit in Vietnam
Not really. Not among the infantry anyway. It was done with a fair degree of frequency when the M16 was first introduced, but that was out of necessity more than anything else.
It didn't take long for the A1 to be introduced, and once it was, complete with chrome barrels, proper powder loads, and cleaning kits, there was no real need to pick up enemy weapons.
And of course, MACV-SOG was busy sabotaging enemy weapons with booby trapped rounds. It wasn't safe to pick up enemy weapons as long as Italian Green was going on. You never knew which one would blow up in your face. That said, SOG themselves, along with the SEALs, SF, and LRRPs, still carried AKs on occasion. Apparently, its distinctive report helped to confuse the enemy. Incidentally, that's another reason infantry were discouraged from picking up AKs. There were (reasonable) fears that a bunch of guys firing AKs would lead to a blue on blue incident.
>>28062076
Its a legit question, don't be so miserable.
>>28062072
Yes in that kind of "oh fuck its all kicking off" situation you would use whatever you can get yours hands on. It's not uncommon either, in intense situations to use enemy weapons, been happening since the first time man picked up a stone and hit his cavebro over the head with it.
Not likely to toss your own broken equipment unless it's a very speedy bugout but you don't want to leave enemy firearms lying around either.
>>28062072
That never happens you underaged faggot.
I swear to god half of /k/ is 15 year olds that think Call of Duty is a simulation game.
>>28062021
Captured weapons sometimes are used to supplement issued weapons. It was more common in Iraq than Afghanistan.
Nobody tosses their issued weapon away. It's more a case of not having an issued weapon which fills a niche and getting one. So a guy, say, who works mostly in vehicles with an issued M16A2 might get away with picking up a captured SMG and using it. Usually as an unofficial supplement, the M16 would still be nearby.
I'd guess, as best I could from the limited context of the picture, that Mr. MARSOC needed a DMR, but hadn't been issued one (which was a problem for much of the GWOT), so he used a PSL.
Mostly stuff like this is not an instant pick up and use. It gets captured, taken back to the FOB and inspected and cleaned to make sure it isn't a piece of shit that will explode when fired.
>>28062138
>>28062076
>life isn't a video game
>guns don't break in 99%+ of all video games
Also I recall seeing pictures of someone's M4 in Iraq which's barrel had been hit directly, and it was fucked enough from the impact that it couldn't be used. In such a scenario, would it not be reasonable to take a found firearm, rather than having nothing?
I always liked those pics with the marine in fallujah clearing buildings with a PPSH
>>28062154
It's not common in the middle of firefights to come across weapons. I'm a different anon, and not trying to be condescending, but engagement ranges in real life are often much longer than in video games.
Soldiers also are almost always in platoon sized elements. They aren't the only gun out there, they have buddies to cover for them in the outlier case of a weapon being destroyed.
I actually know somebody who had his M4 shot. He had an M9 on him at the time, but since the engagement range was about 200 meters, he ended up keeping his head down and letting everything blow over.
>>28062138
>that never happens
You think in the history of warfare that a gun has never been struck by a round or had its barrel bent or otherwise been rendered totally inoperable in the field?
Because I have seen several examples of guns that took a rifle round to the receiver and were wrecked.
>>28062154
I'll put it this way: It happens.
But not nearly as much as places like /k/ would make you believe. You get a skewed impression of combat from places like /k/, which are going to over represent cool pictures and make it seem like isolated incidents are commonplace.
Never think something in the military is common just because of a handful of photos.
>>28062207
I can't remember for the life of me which book it was, but an account of the Falklands war written by a British paratrooper states that quite often they would discard their SLR's for the Argies FAL's, as the version the argies had still had the automatic mode and they preferred it for clearing trenches.
His words were something along the lines of weapons are just a tool to be used in war and for killing and if you find something better you're stupid not to use it.
To answer OP's question, i wouldn't be surprised if the weapon in question was used by the ANA/ANP and they decided to take a few shots on it for shits and giggles. Happens more often than you'd think.
