The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Conference Center > General Discussion Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old February 23, 2008, 02:15 PM   #1
ISC
Junior member
 
Join Date: August 5, 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,982
M203 grenade launcher uses.

A buddy and I were talking about practical uses for a M203 launcher. We pretty much agreed that they had limited use unless you had ammo for it. Mostly we talked about 12 G age and .22 pepperbox adapters. Anyhow, I commented that I used to have a 37 mm launcher but got rid of it because I didn't think it was practical. Mine had a folding stock rather than the kit allows it to bolt under a M16 barrel.

He started telling me how when he was in Ranger batt they would use 203s with T&P rounds to open doors. The T&P rounds wouldn't even go "poof" and throw up a orange cloud of powder. The idea as he explained it was instead of using a shotgun and slugs, the #4 man in the stack would use his 203 and a T&P to break the lock before kicking in the door for an entry team.

I've fired plenty of them at the range, sometimes it can be interesting. A couple of classes ago a student (I wasn't his safety, a different instructor was on the position) had the muzzle of the launcher too low and it hit the top 6x6 of the barricade he was shooting behind. It left a 1/2 deep moon shaped indention in it but didn't pop.

I got to thinking that seemed like a good idea. I think alot of entry teams use a shotgun for this very purpose but if your squad is entering MOUT environment after a movement to contact you probably won't have a shotgun.

I'd like to get an under the barrel short barrel 12 gage for just that purpose. I've seen them available before, and I live in a state where it isn't too expensive to have one. I am starting to think it might be practical.
ISC is offline  
Old February 23, 2008, 07:12 PM   #2
Th0r
Member
 
Join Date: January 15, 2008
Location: The Not So United Kingdom
Posts: 55
What could you actually use it for?

Could you adapt it to use to fire smoke grenades or a grenade that emmited CS gas or something of that nature?

I have to say for home defence one that fired a cartridge like that would be very useful. However a proper grenade cartridge... Well I imagine trying to defend your possesions, wife and junior could be a problem with a military grenade...

Im not sure of any other practical uses...
Th0r is offline  
Old February 23, 2008, 07:42 PM   #3
AMX
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 22, 2005
Posts: 129
When I was in the Army, (early 80's) all we had for night vision was PVS4's and PVS5's. We almost never used them and we didn't have enough for everyone. M203 Paraflares was what we used for night fighting.

Once contact was made, we'd start popping flares over the OPFOR so we could engage them with our high tech A1 sights.
AMX is offline  
Old February 23, 2008, 07:52 PM   #4
Beretta686
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 11, 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 761
Quote:
I'd like to get an under the barrel short barrel 12 gage for just that purpose. I've seen them available before, and I live in a state where it isn't too expensive to have one. I am starting to think it might be practical.
Is there anyone who makes such a thing, a mount or would you have to DIY?

If you could mount it one of those nifty 3-shot AOW 870s made by Serberu (I think) might do the trick (but I think you'd have to paper it to an SBS since your M16 has a stock).
__________________
"Our contract called for 16 cases of rifles and ammunition for $10,000 dollars, not a machine gun...........That is our present to the General"-Pike Bishop

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
Beretta686 is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 03:33 PM   #5
MarineCorpsAT
Member
 
Join Date: October 4, 2007
Posts: 81
Are there not enough problems with people looking at gun owners as nuts without something like this?

Threads like this will only feed into the impression that gun owners are nuts that are driven to basically amass an arsenal and take over the world.

There is no practical civilian use for an M203 and if we keep feeding the anti gun paranoia in our forums we will never be able to overcome their issues.
MarineCorpsAT is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 03:42 PM   #6
TNFrank
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 22, 2007
Location: Crossville, TN., U.S.A.
Posts: 490
The "civilian" model is a 37mm instead of the military 40mm and I think they'd be fun to shoot parachute flares with or smoke or even a bean bag style round for defence.
__________________
“You know what the difference between me and you really is? You look out there and see a horde of evil, brain eating zombies. I look out there and see a target rich environment.” -Dillis D. Freeman Jr.11/2/2001
TNFrank is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 03:58 PM   #7
ISC
Junior member
 
Join Date: August 5, 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,982
Not everyone here is a civilian. Many of the folks here are either active, retired or reserve law enforcement or military. I'm certainly not the only one here that takes my training seriously and works hard to maintain proficiency on my own time in addition to my time in uniform.

This post was about a possible use for a M203 or its civilian counterpart for us as an entry tool and/or other applications. Not many people here will ever be in a stack. Most people here probably don't even know what that is. For those of us who have and have tried to kick in a door, we know that they don't just fly open like they do in the movies.

Not everyone has a use for a Full auto weapon.
Not everyone has a use for a grenade launcher.
Not everyone has a use for an assault rifle.
Not everyone has a use for a semiauto weapon.
Not everyone has a use for a high capacity magazine.
Not everyone has a use for an accurate long range (sniper) rifle.
Not everyone has a use for the 2nd amendment.
If you don't have a use for it than don't have one, but don't be so closed minded that you advocate the prohibition of the ownership of those items for those of us with a practical (or impractical) use for them.
ISC is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 07:49 PM   #8
shaggy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 9, 2004
Posts: 1,519
Quote:
The "civilian" model is a 37mm instead of the military 40mm and I think they'd be fun to shoot parachute flares with or smoke or even a bean bag style round for defence.
Frank, I believe the bean bag rounds, if used in a civilian 37mm make the weapon a destructive device as the round is considered anti-personnel, and thus no longer just a signaling device. If you get a true 40mm M203 or M37 ( which must be registered as a DD) it doesn't matter what type of rounds you put in it, so long as they not explosive (which each require a seperate registration as a DD).

Quote:
There is no practical civilian use for an M203
Sure there is, and its one of the reasons many of us own guns in the first place - for the sheer fun of it. I've shot plenty of civilian owned 40mm launchers (both M37 and M203) and really enjoy hurling a chalk downrange at the target. That said, keep in mind to buy a true M203 or M37 you're going to have to go through all the same NFA process as you would to own a machinegun or suppressor, except there's far fewer licensed DD dealers to buy from or have it transfered through. Also, as I mentioned above any explosive round would require a seperate registration and transfer of the round as a DD, and no manufacturer of explosive rounds is selling to civilians anyway. Thus your choices if you have a registered M203 or M37 as a civilian are mostly limited to bean bags, .22 beehives, smokes, chalks, and flares.
shaggy is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 08:19 PM   #9
TNFrank
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 22, 2007
Location: Crossville, TN., U.S.A.
Posts: 490
I wondered about the bean bag in the 37mm but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway. This just goes to show how stupid our firearms laws are in the country. I can use a bean bag load in a 12ga and it's a "less then lethal" alterative to a buck shot load but if I used one in a 37mm "flare lancher" I could get in trouble because it'd be a DD. That's just too crazy for words to express.
__________________
“You know what the difference between me and you really is? You look out there and see a horde of evil, brain eating zombies. I look out there and see a target rich environment.” -Dillis D. Freeman Jr.11/2/2001
TNFrank is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 08:54 PM   #10
Beretta686
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 11, 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 761
Quote:
Are there not enough problems with people looking at gun owners as nuts without something like this?

Threads like this will only feed into the impression that gun owners are nuts that are driven to basically amass an arsenal and take over the world.

There is no practical civilian use for an M203 and if we keep feeding the anti gun paranoia in our forums we will never be able to overcome their issues
So what exactly is an acceptable weapon for civilian ownership? Certainly not an evil assault hangun holding more than 5 rounds, since who needs more than 5 rounds to protect their family?



Although after playing with HE I'd have to confess that just having the chalk rounds would be kinda boring.

But if you REALLY want to win the size contest, there is ONE transferable Mk19 out there for about 750k.
__________________
"Our contract called for 16 cases of rifles and ammunition for $10,000 dollars, not a machine gun...........That is our present to the General"-Pike Bishop

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
Beretta686 is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 09:04 PM   #11
roy reali
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 23, 2005
Posts: 3,248
Re:ISC

You posted one of the best responses I have ever read here. Dollars to doughnuts you've never lived in California.
roy reali is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 09:11 PM   #12
warrior poet
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 13, 2007
Location: Whereever Uncle Sam wants to put me
Posts: 415
What you can use a grenade launcher for is limited only by the rounds you have for it. Since someone mentioned the Mk19, I'll add a warning. Don't ever try to fire Mk19 rounds from a M203: the rounds are NOT interchangable. The Mk19 round works at a MUCH higher pressure and will cause the M203 / M79 (to include all the ol' bloopers out there) to EXPLODE. That's why the M203 / M79 reach out to 400m at a max, but the Mk19 is good past 2000m. Mixing those up makes for a really bad hair day.
FYI, my cousin's volunteer fire department has a sleeved M79- brings it down to 37mm. They've used it for all manner of things. Speciality rounds MAY be available through fire department supply companies. I don't know where they get theirs, so I'm guessing.
__________________
Trigger control: The skillful manipulation of the trigger, which causes the weapon to fire, while maintaining sight alignment and sight picture.
warrior poet is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 09:43 PM   #13
Beretta686
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 11, 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 761
I think all talk of Mk19 rounds is all theortical, since I don't know where you could possibly find rounds for it.

The Mk19 out there is basically a massive Penis-Enlarger that you would be unable to shoot.

But I have often wondered if there is any affluent people out there who created their own 40mm HE rounds (either legally as a DD Manufacturer or payed a $200 tax for one BOOM) but I'm sure some Bubba made something for it (and possibly lived to tell about it).
__________________
"Our contract called for 16 cases of rifles and ammunition for $10,000 dollars, not a machine gun...........That is our present to the General"-Pike Bishop

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
Beretta686 is offline  
Old February 25, 2008, 11:17 PM   #14
MyGunsJammed
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2007
Location: in a very anti-gun state :(
Posts: 565
I wonder how much of an explosion can an M203 40mm shell cause?

enough to blow up a SUV to smithereens?

enough to blow up a 1 family house?
MyGunsJammed is offline  
Old February 26, 2008, 02:02 PM   #15
CGSteve8718
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 14, 2007
Posts: 798
Quote:
What you can use a grenade launcher for is limited only by the rounds you have for it. Since someone mentioned the Mk19, I'll add a warning. Don't ever try to fire Mk19 rounds from a M203: the rounds are NOT interchangable. The Mk19 round works at a MUCH higher pressure and will cause the M203 / M79 (to include all the ol' bloopers out there) to EXPLODE. That's why the M203 / M79 reach out to 400m at a max, but the Mk19 is good past 2000m. Mixing those up makes for a really bad hair day.
FYI, my cousin's volunteer fire department has a sleeved M79- brings it down to 37mm. They've used it for all manner of things. Speciality rounds MAY be available through fire department supply companies. I don't know where they get theirs, so I'm guessing.
+ 1, but I think all the military guys here already knew that. For mere "civilians", it's a non issue, cause we can't have them anyway.

And recently, I have become one of the ones to say that as far as small arms go, civilians should be able to have what the military has. So yes, we should have select fire weapons, M203's with all available rounds for it, etc.

If we are to understand and uphold the 2A, then we should not care how people who don't share our views percieve us. The argument that you make, MarineCorpsAT, is the same arguments that anti gunners make for ANY firearms on a whim. They would say there is no practical use for handguns, hi cap magazines, semi auto versions of rifles that look like military rifles of the world, etc. etc. Unless you think owning guns is about hunting, then I have nothing more to say.

As for how much can a 40mm do to a house, unless you live in a mud hut, it's not going to take down a one family house. Neither will a hand grenade cause a massive flame explosion that billows into the air (I've only thrown frag grenades though). All Hollywood theatrics.
__________________
"You are fighting for what you can never obtain, and we defending what we mean never to part with." Thomas Paine
CGSteve8718 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:12 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.08110 seconds with 7 queries