Comments by "" (@RedXlV) on "Book Review: Honour Bound - The Chauchat Machine Rifle" video.

  1. The ergonomics of the Chauchat seem like they'd be quite awful. In particular, the placement of the "foregrip" (if it can even be called that when it's located behind the magazine) seems like a spectacularly bad idea. But then, I've never actually laid hands on one, let alone fired it, so I certainly can't speak from experience.
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  2. Honestly, the 8mm Lebel is a cartridge that never should've existed. It's just that there was a requirement imposed from above that the first smokeless powder cartridge should have the same rim diameter as the 11mm Gras so that Gras rifles could be more easily converted in an emergency to fire the new round. To combine that rim width with an 8mm bullet made for a very oddly shaped cartridge. It was a silly requirement that impaired French automatic weapon development for decades to come.
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  3. I bought that book specifically because I own a MAS-49/56, actually.
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