The American people practically designed Russia's next rifle

Took a trip out to the Larch Mountain shooting pits. It was a horribly planned trip, we were supposed to meet at a certain time, but everyone was late, but not late in a way that synced up in any way, cards were de-magnetized, ammo was purchased, the map was lost and forged anew en route, trucks gasped for fumes as we chugged through the clouds up a mountain...

GOOD

MEN

DIED!

But in the end we made it up, less Jim... Jim always dies. We shot off a nice sum of ammunition, and checked out some of the other rifles the people had up there. That's what it is you know, a social hobby. You know? Meeting new people with similar interests? Take a friend who has never been shooting, shooting, and meet new friends at the range. For the love of god though, don't forget some good earplugs.

When I got home from my adventure, which for those who weren't there for some reason, involved a mall and a Kalashnikov, I began to peruse the news. After a moment I happened across this story about Japan. All it really says is that Japan can now export military equipment, and I assume contracts (as it talks about them getting some F-35s). One of the first things I thought of when I saw it was "So can I buy surplus Japanese gear now?" After I mulled over that thought for a good 1/18th of a second I realised that selling surplus military equipment is quite possibly the best thing a nation can do!

You see, soldiers are trained to not complain, it's the first of many things you learn not to do! :D And beside the fact we do it anyway, we don't do it a lot. Now civilians on the other hand, they can do what they want. Take a look at the M16 line of weapons (to include the M4), it had a rocky start as a piece of equipment, and grew over time (mostly because that start was REALLY rocky...) and then kind of petered off. But in one of the latest Requests for Proposals (RFP) the military essentally took a look at what the civilians had souped up the rifle to be and said "I want what they're having."

Now this does not just go for rifles, many [avoid weasel words] airsofters use old military equipment for their military simulation gameplay, and while shooting plastic BBs at each other hardly qualifies as combat use, they don't mess around. When you have people using equipment free from regulations they begin to change it to suit their needs, and if they are using it in a similar capacity to how the military would (like having pouches hold magazines, or radios) the innovations and changes made in that field affect the other, improving the equipment the military uses.

But why stop there? Governments subzidize all kinds of things, so why not military equipment? Which got me to thinking...

Japan is renowned for shitty military arms, and what better way to fix that than selling semiautomatic versions to the American consumer for a dirt cheap price? Sure the market will scoff "Pah, it's just a shitty Japanese rifle!" they will proclaim loudly! But after their friends leave the store they will pick up a rifle for $300, and a few boxes of ammo. Soon everyone will have one, they will joke, say they got it as a conversation piece, or as a "social rifle." But give them time. Just like those maniacs who would soup up a VW Beetle, so too will the garage gunsmith fine tune Japan's rifle. Aftermarket parts will come out, at first to replace the parts that most often break, after that, to make them stronger, faster. Accuracy a problem? Not anymore, Jim figured out that if you just do this... BOOM, about as good as a sniper rifle on a bad day. Doing this would not only be good, it would make Japan money!

How do I know that would happen? Why, it already did. With all the accessories for AK type rifles being produced for the American consumer market, the American people practically designed Russia's next rifle.