I think it was essentially a parallel design that quickly became redundant, and then when the M4 went flattop, the M16A2 carbine became not just redundant but obsolete.
Not the barrel, but the guide rails. I don't know what exactly the issue was, but given the update has a bevel, I imagine there was some interaction on the front when the barrel was pushed forward.
The XM177 was introduced in 1960s, long predating the M16A2 carbine which was developed in the 1980s.
The M4 development started only a tiny bit later than the M16A2 carbine development, as a requested improvement on the XM177. It was originally known as the XM177E2, then renamed the XM4, and then finally the M4.
The XM4s are basically identical to M16A2 carbines. The later standardized on M4s finally moved to a flat top. I believe a very small number of carbines with receivers marked "M4" (rather than "XM4") but retaining the fixed carry handle were pushed out early to the US Army Rangers, but I can't find the source I read that on.
Right now I haven't been enforcing a specific format. Like some other comms that have title tags, I'm letting people put it however for the time being.
Wolverine's healing abilities have been all over the map, but I'd wager with modern writing he'd likely be able to regrow his bones just fine. There's an article on some of his feats here. I'll mention that his chopped off hand in Age Of Apocalypse has been justified as a special case in a few ways by comic nerds (he didn't have time to wait for it to regrow, and the laser blast melted his metal skeleton to cap off the underlying bone are two common suggestions) along with the fact that Wolverine's powers have been increased by writers over time and that means he's gotten more over the top since the 90s.
It all depends on the writer whims really, but I doubt any writer would leave Logan clawless for too long. The bone claws themselves are a retcon after Magneto sucked all the metal out of Logan's skeleton in the 90s anyway, which shows how important they are for the character.
Of course, the easiest simplest killshot on flat earth is the sun setting below the horizon. Flat earth and space deniers tend to say the sun is well, something that's not a star, but more importantly that it stays in the sky and circles further away from a given location on earth until we can't see it from a given location anymore while it stays overhead. To think that is to deny easily observed reality of it setting below the horizon. They just wordsalad about perspective until the conversation ends.
One aspect of flat earth/space denial that keeps me engaged is learning from the responses that educated people give to their questions. Details of space programs and astronomy that wouldn't come up often except to answer flat earth/space denial.
Knocking with your feet to pretend there is a ghost is still an alive and well practice. I don't have exact instances on hand but John Wolfe on YouTube has covered a lot of ghost hunting content and some people in there do it.
Today there are more technological ways to create ghostly knocking using various devices, but if the "ghost hunter"/"medium" is taken to a location they can't prep beforehand, some of them still do basic knocking tricks.
They are a sub-set of flat earthers. Not all flat earthers are space deniers, but every space denier I've seen is a flat earther.
Some of the more prominent ones like Level Earth Observer spend innumerable hours picking apart International Space Station live footage as "fake". Things like space rocket launches need to be picked apart to absurd degrees as well. Every camera glitch, every stutter, every little movement is hyper-analyzed and declared to be a fraud.
I find it all fascinating. Some of these deniers put forth their own lay theories, which are usually very Biblical in bent, but many of them like LEO will twist themselves into incoherent knots refusing to admit they have a viewpoint and that they are "just asking questions" despite pushing back in a very particular way to all the answers they get.
Some of them like "CC from New York, Westchester County" are just totally off the deep end, not even playing word games, just conspiratorially ranting without even internal consistency.
I've only ever interacted with a space denier directly once and it was as equally interesting as it was frustrating.
There's a big flat earth/space denier overlap with other fringe ideas like young earth creationism which gets you into Kent Hovind territory. That's interesting in its own way but also full of slime.
Spears were centrally relevant through the 1600s as part of pike and shot warfare, and even then only went away with the advent of bayonets for firearms. With as long as standard muskets stayed, as well as the continued use of formation tactics and existence of cavalry on the battlefield, these bayonets carried on in use and form factor as spears through the middle of the 1800s.
Modern bayonets and rifles are short enough and used differently enough they are a distinct type of weapon, but that evolution is relatively recent.
You were originally asking why spears hung on so long as a military weapon. Battles were not one on one duels. To ignore this seems to be fishing for some kind of answer that intentionally ignores the historical context.
A unit of spearmen works together to stab you from a further reach than you can respond with a sword. I think you also overestimate the ease with which you could chop a spear. Designs differed, but a Greek dory was about 2 inches in diameter. Try taking a whack at the wooden shaft of a shovel some time and see if you get it in one go. Remember that in combat if you were doing this, the person with the spear and the rest of the front rank would also be trying to stab you rather than standing still like polite mannequins.
A formation unit purely of sword-using infantry against spears would be pushed as the spears could kill the sword-users, while at best the sword-users could damage some of the spears but wouldn't get close enough to harm any of the spearmen. The spear unit with multiple ranks of usable spears could keep going even if a few spears were damaged.
Some sort of skirmishing formation of sword-users would be in even worse shape, as they'd be overwhelmed by a formation and as light moving skirmishers would likely not have full sized shields so if archers were involved would be easy pickings.
Old Testament Aslan.
Whatever it takes to get a foothold to alternate content.
I think it was essentially a parallel design that quickly became redundant, and then when the M4 went flattop, the M16A2 carbine became not just redundant but obsolete.
Not the barrel, but the guide rails. I don't know what exactly the issue was, but given the update has a bevel, I imagine there was some interaction on the front when the barrel was pushed forward.
The XM177 was introduced in 1960s, long predating the M16A2 carbine which was developed in the 1980s.
The M4 development started only a tiny bit later than the M16A2 carbine development, as a requested improvement on the XM177. It was originally known as the XM177E2, then renamed the XM4, and then finally the M4.
The XM4s are basically identical to M16A2 carbines. The later standardized on M4s finally moved to a flat top. I believe a very small number of carbines with receivers marked "M4" (rather than "XM4") but retaining the fixed carry handle were pushed out early to the US Army Rangers, but I can't find the source I read that on.
Fixed to Molino.
Right now I haven't been enforcing a specific format. Like some other comms that have title tags, I'm letting people put it however for the time being.
Water Womb World is free on Steam. It's short but it's really something.
Yeah, it'll do that.
The bone claws were a retcon, so since the retcon he's always had them.
Wolverine's healing abilities have been all over the map, but I'd wager with modern writing he'd likely be able to regrow his bones just fine. There's an article on some of his feats here. I'll mention that his chopped off hand in Age Of Apocalypse has been justified as a special case in a few ways by comic nerds (he didn't have time to wait for it to regrow, and the laser blast melted his metal skeleton to cap off the underlying bone are two common suggestions) along with the fact that Wolverine's powers have been increased by writers over time and that means he's gotten more over the top since the 90s.
It all depends on the writer whims really, but I doubt any writer would leave Logan clawless for too long. The bone claws themselves are a retcon after Magneto sucked all the metal out of Logan's skeleton in the 90s anyway, which shows how important they are for the character.
These aren't direct copies, but capture the flavor quite well if you can find someone to print them.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4532582
Of course, the easiest simplest killshot on flat earth is the sun setting below the horizon. Flat earth and space deniers tend to say the sun is well, something that's not a star, but more importantly that it stays in the sky and circles further away from a given location on earth until we can't see it from a given location anymore while it stays overhead. To think that is to deny easily observed reality of it setting below the horizon. They just wordsalad about perspective until the conversation ends.
One aspect of flat earth/space denial that keeps me engaged is learning from the responses that educated people give to their questions. Details of space programs and astronomy that wouldn't come up often except to answer flat earth/space denial.
My first tattoo was done in a shack with a DIY tattoo kit ordered online.
Afterwards we had DIY beer made with a Mr. Beer kit ordered online.
Knocking with your feet to pretend there is a ghost is still an alive and well practice. I don't have exact instances on hand but John Wolfe on YouTube has covered a lot of ghost hunting content and some people in there do it.
Today there are more technological ways to create ghostly knocking using various devices, but if the "ghost hunter"/"medium" is taken to a location they can't prep beforehand, some of them still do basic knocking tricks.
Space deniers.
They are a sub-set of flat earthers. Not all flat earthers are space deniers, but every space denier I've seen is a flat earther.
Some of the more prominent ones like Level Earth Observer spend innumerable hours picking apart International Space Station live footage as "fake". Things like space rocket launches need to be picked apart to absurd degrees as well. Every camera glitch, every stutter, every little movement is hyper-analyzed and declared to be a fraud.
I find it all fascinating. Some of these deniers put forth their own lay theories, which are usually very Biblical in bent, but many of them like LEO will twist themselves into incoherent knots refusing to admit they have a viewpoint and that they are "just asking questions" despite pushing back in a very particular way to all the answers they get.
Some of them like "CC from New York, Westchester County" are just totally off the deep end, not even playing word games, just conspiratorially ranting without even internal consistency.
I've only ever interacted with a space denier directly once and it was as equally interesting as it was frustrating.
There's a big flat earth/space denier overlap with other fringe ideas like young earth creationism which gets you into Kent Hovind territory. That's interesting in its own way but also full of slime.
Spears were centrally relevant through the 1600s as part of pike and shot warfare, and even then only went away with the advent of bayonets for firearms. With as long as standard muskets stayed, as well as the continued use of formation tactics and existence of cavalry on the battlefield, these bayonets carried on in use and form factor as spears through the middle of the 1800s.
Modern bayonets and rifles are short enough and used differently enough they are a distinct type of weapon, but that evolution is relatively recent.
You were originally asking why spears hung on so long as a military weapon. Battles were not one on one duels. To ignore this seems to be fishing for some kind of answer that intentionally ignores the historical context.
A unit of spearmen works together to stab you from a further reach than you can respond with a sword. I think you also overestimate the ease with which you could chop a spear. Designs differed, but a Greek dory was about 2 inches in diameter. Try taking a whack at the wooden shaft of a shovel some time and see if you get it in one go. Remember that in combat if you were doing this, the person with the spear and the rest of the front rank would also be trying to stab you rather than standing still like polite mannequins.
A formation unit purely of sword-using infantry against spears would be pushed as the spears could kill the sword-users, while at best the sword-users could damage some of the spears but wouldn't get close enough to harm any of the spearmen. The spear unit with multiple ranks of usable spears could keep going even if a few spears were damaged.
Some sort of skirmishing formation of sword-users would be in even worse shape, as they'd be overwhelmed by a formation and as light moving skirmishers would likely not have full sized shields so if archers were involved would be easy pickings.
Swords in the Greek ancient world were used for close in fighting once the initial contact between formations had been made or if the quarters were otherwise impractical for spears.