Was the M16A1 bad?

The M16A1 solved many of the design and manufacturing problems inherent to the M16 family. Although it was by no means perfect or immune to failure, this version of the M16 was far more reliable than its predecessors, especially in the field. Unfortunately, the M16A1 would not enter service until 1967.

Why was the M16A1 unreliable?

The ammunition that accompanied the rifles sent to Vietnam was incompatible with the M16 and was the principal cause of the failure to extract malfunctions. The result was the M16 often jammed, making the rifle “about as effective as a muzzleloader,” in the words of one officer.

Was the M16A1 unreliable?

During the early part of its service, the M16 had a reputation for poor reliability and a malfunction rate of two per 1000 rounds fired.

Was the M16A1 a good rifle?

The M16 had a higher rate of fire, 700-950 rpm compared to the 600 rpm of the AK-47, and most shooters — including those that have used the weapons in combat — have tended to agree that the M16 is the more accurate. A trade-off is that the accuracy and range don't equate to penetration.

How bad was the original M16?

In its early years, the M16 fell short of expectations for a number of reasons. Its unreliability in combat situations could often be traced back to mechanical malfunctions, namely “failure to eject.” This issue could have been avoided if men had been given tools and instruction on how to maintain their equipment.

Why the M16 Actually Sucks

Why did soldiers hate the M16?

Vietnam War troops hated the M16 and dubbed it the “Mattel 16” because it felt more like a toy than a battle rifle. “We called it the Mattel 16 because it was made of plastic,” said Marine veteran Jim Wodecki in the video below. “At that time it was a piece of garbage.”

Did the M16 ever have a 3 round burst?

The M16A2, adopted by the U.S. military in the early 1980s, replaced fully automatic fire with a three-round-burst capability that was intended to increase accuracy and reduce ammunition consumption.

Is the M16A2 better than the M16A1?

Background: The M16A2 rifle is a product improvement of the M16A1 rifle. The improvements are: Heavier, stiffer barrel than the barrel of the M16A1.

What issues did the M16A1 have?

The Army had declined to chrome plate the chamber and the rifle suffered chamber corrosion problems as a result. The rifle stock had a tendency to crack. Barrel, bolt carrier group, and other steel parts rusted. Brass ammunition casings were too soft, leading to ripped rims during the extraction process.

How bad was the M16 in Vietnam?

They found that the M16 with stick powder had 3.2 malfunctions and . 75 stoppages per 1,000 rounds. The same rifles, loaded with the army's ball powder, faced 18.5 malfunctions and 5.2 stoppages per 1,000 rounds—a failure rate almost six times as high.

How old is M16A1?

development of M16

…the rifle, now designated the M16A1, was adopted as the standard infantry weapon for the U.S. military in 1967, superseding the M14 rifle.

Why did the M16A1 only have 20 rounds?

20 rd mags were more reliable and easier to fire prone. It has to do with the extra ammo putting more stress on the spring,the extra weight of the magazine in the rifle and getting the curve of the larger mag right.

What was the original M16A1 twist rate?

The early M16A1 utilized a rifle twist rate of 1:12 to stabilize the 55 grain M193. After the adoption of the M16A2, the military started using a 1:7 rifle twist, which was faster.

Does M16A1 jam?

The M16A1 is the successor and the finalised production model of the original M16 assault rifle, a weapon that was heavily plagued by reliability problems during the Vietnam War, such as gun jamming due to failure to feed, dirt entering the weapon or the usage of Olin Mathieson WC846 ball powder bullets.

Did the M16A1 have a pencil barrel?

The notable difference is that the M16A1 used a pencil profile barrel specifically to help reduce weight, whereas the M4 uses a government profile barrel, which is significantly heavier due to a desire to be able to fire more rounds without losing precision due to the barrel heating up, as well as improving the ...

Are M16A1 legal?

Owning a fully automatic M16 is legal for civilians, but the government paperwork required to acquire one takes more than a year, and the purchased M16 must have been manufactured prior to the 1986 ban.

Is the M16A3 a real gun?

The M16A3 is a fully-automatic variant of the M16A2, issued primarily within the U.S. Navy.

Which is better AK 47 or M16?

The standard U.S. military rifle (M-16) is substantially more destructive than its Russian counterpart (AK-47) when fired at short range into clay blocks, despite the fact that the AK-47 is of larger caliber and fires a much heavier bullet with a kinetic energy (muzzle) 25% greater when compared to the M-16.

Why was M16 replaced by M4?

The M4 came about when the U.S. Pentagon began a competition to replace the M16 Rifle with a carbine design using a shorter barrel for close-quarter combat. Although M16 variants with shorter barrels were in widespread use, they were noisy, difficult to handle, and had poor accuracy.

What rifle do Marines use?

The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) is a 5.56mm select-fire assault rifle, based on the HK416 by Heckler & Koch. It is used by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and is intended to be issued to all infantry riflemen as well as automatic riflemen.

Is M16 a failure?

The ammunition that accompanied the rifles sent to Vietnam was incompatible with the M16 and was the principal cause of the failure to extract malfunctions. The result was the M16 often jammed, making the rifle “about as effective as a muzzleloader,” in the words of one officer.

Do Navy Seals use M16?

The M4A1 carbine is the primary weapon used by SEAL operators. A shorter, more compact version of the M16A2 rifle, it was specially designed for U.S. Special Operations Forces.

What was the best rifle in Vietnam?

Ask many a gun expert or history buff to name the best semi-automatic rifle used during the Vietnam War and one answer will almost certainly be the M14.

What does M stand for in M16?

What does M in M16 stand for? It's part of a nomenclature that US army adopted after World War II. M prefix denotes that the firearm is a standard model. XM prefix denotes that the firearm model is in development and hasn't made it to standard production.