M16 Revisited..... ( 1 )

[450NE]

Originally Posted by goldenwings

Sorry guys--but as a combat infantry and recon Marine who saw heavy combat in my two tours in Vietnam, plus combat in Beirut, the Gulf, Somalia--the M16A1, A2, A3 and A4 did the job it was designed to do--kill and wound the bad guys I fired at.

Anything else is unimportant in regards to this or that---iThe A4 and M4 did the same for my son and his Marines in Iraq and Afgahistan--

Again, all else is unimportant in regards to the weapon and what it was designed for.

Well, Major, good luck on your career as an author.

I remember things a bit differently. My first tour was '68/'69. When we turned in our M14's for the M16's I was a bit pecimistic. I was not alone. There were indeed, quite a few Marines who were convinced that the gun's plastic parts were produced by Mattel.

You can blame the M16 all you want but the truth of the matter is that the problems were caused by:
a.) Dirty powder fouling the tube &
b.) Marines somehow being given the impression that cleaning wasn't as important for some reason.

The combination was deadly. When I carried an M14 I never had any expectation that I should be less than completely thorough in my cleaning. Why would I assume it would be different with any rifle. I mean if there was one thing I came out of boot camp with was that my rifle was my friend and I took care of it.

A lot of people want to get on the bandwagon and cry about the early problems with the M16's. Well you know what? It did suck. But if you want to cry about something, why not cry about the way our government prosecuted the whole war. The problem with the M16 was real but only temporary. Yeah, people died as a result. They also died from friendly fire and gettin' fragged.

As a Major, I am sure you were issued a 1911 .45 acp. Well, let me tell you, I played with an awful lot of guns while in country and I never found one 1911 .45 being carried by Staff NCO's and above that was capable of firing a complete clip (7 rounds) without jamming. Usually more than once.

It wasn't until later that I found out that it was due to the shi**y magazines that were issued.

I personally own four M16's. From early model 3 pronged flash suppressor to an A2.

That early M16 Rocks and Rolls all day. With modern ammo (and I use surplus going back as far as the '70's) I have no issues with cleaning. I have no issues with emptying big C mags flawlessly.

There's no difference in that gun and the one that I was issued in 1968.

Yeah, the dirty ammo sucked and should never have happened. But it was just in tune with everything else about that war.

By the way. Keep in mind that the M16 replaced, not just the M14, but a host of other weapons. The Thompson M1A1 (tommy gun), the grease gun, the BAR, the M1 Carbine and I'm not sure that list is complete.

We had all of those weapons in Viet Nam. The M16 simplified things greatly.

I joined when I turned 17. I was afraid they'd end it before I could get there. Ha !

When people used to try to give me crap about going over there I would usually respond by telling them "it was the only war I had".

I've always loved my M16's and I wouldn't trade them for any AK made.

I gotta agree with GoldenWings, above.

[RunningOnMT]

Originally Posted by 450NE

Well, Major, good luck on your career as an author.


You can blame the M16 all you want but the truth of the matter is that the problems were caused by:
a.) Dirty powder fouling the tube &
b.) Marines somehow being given the impression that cleaning wasn't as important for some reason.

When I carried an M14 I never had any expectation that I should be less than completely thorough in my cleaning. Why would I assume it would be different with any rifle. I mean if there was one thing I came out of boot camp with was that my rifle was my friend and I took care of it.

Exactly right.



As a Major, I am sure you were issued a 1911 .45 acp. Well, let me tell you, I played with an awful lot of guns while in country and I never found one 1911 .45 being carried by Staff NCO's and above that was capable of firing a complete clip (7 rounds) without jamming. Usually more than once.

I have to disagree with this one point. As a radio operator I had the choice of carrying a rifle or a pistol. I chose both. I had three different old and worn 1911's issued to me and never had a jam. To be honest though they were backups and I only fired them for practice.


I joined when I turned 17. I was afraid they'd end it before I could get there. Ha !

When people used to try to give me crap about going over there I would usually respond by telling them "it was the only war I had".

I've always loved my M16's and I wouldn't trade them for any AK made.

I gotta agree with GoldenWings, above.

I can so relate to this. I too joined the Marine Corps at 17 in 1966 fearing I'd miss my chance to be a hero. Guess thats why they say "young and dumb".

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

I can so relate to this. I too joined the Marine Corps at 17 in 1966 fearing I'd miss my chance to be a hero. Guess thats why they say "young and dumb".

I was almost 20, and it was the Army, but otherwise the same basic story, ROMT. When we were that age we were immortal, right?

[ronnzz]

well im gonna wait for the latest updates, thanks for sharing the news..





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[TranterUK]

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

I can so relate to this. I too joined the Marine Corps at 17 in 1966 fearing I'd miss my chance to be a hero. Guess thats why they say "young and dumb".