Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: nuchat!steve@uunet.UU.NET (Steve Nuchia)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: M16 Rifle
Message-ID: <10501@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 23 Oct 89 23:09:00 GMT
References: <10405@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Organization: Houston Public Access
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Approved: military@att.att.com



From: nuchat!steve@uunet.UU.NET (Steve Nuchia)

In article <10405@cbnews.ATT.COM> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
>>...The problem was pretty much cured
>>when the right kind of powder was prescribed...

>Can you cite a reference for this?  My understanding is that the problem
>has *never* been cured because the powder has *not* been changed back.
>Various other little changes, and heavy emphasis on cleaning, have only
>controlled the problem somewhat.

In the summer of '82 they still jammed fiercly.  I was on 2nd class
cruise that summer, spent a week getting intimate with an M16 at
camp Pendleton, home of the world's hardest dirt.  Even with live ammo
on the practice range the most commonly heard sound was

	"bang ... (expletive-of-choice) ... (bolt-manipulation) ... bang"

Memorable experience:  The culmunation of our "combat" training was
an ambush patrol.  We snuck out with our M16's fitted with BFA's
(blank firing adapters -- more later) and found a good spot along
the road down which a patrol of "real marines" was to come.  Sure
enough, here they come.  Right down the middle of the road, in a line
just the right length for our deployment.  I had point on the end
they came from, so I got to give the signal, by firing the first shot.

So, when the last guy was in my sights I squeezed off a round.  Bang.
Bang.  Bang Bang Bang.  Bang.  Bang.  Shit.  Crap.  #$%^&*(  )*%^.....
Every one in the patrol had a jam after the first shot.  Most of them
cleared with a little forward assist, but listening to it was *very*
dramatic.

Earlier in the day we had assaulted a "village" held by marines.
Needless to say we didn't do too well, but we went through a whole
lot of blank ammo.  The M16 is a gas operated automatic, meaning it
needs some pressure to work.  For that reason and perhaps for safety
as well they are fitted with a gadget (BFA) that mostly plugs up the
barrel when firing blanks.  I don't know for sure but I suspect this
contributes to general fouling of the weapon and may account for the
uniformly poor performance in our ambush.

I did learn something there -- there was a very good reason a lot
of people used AK47s in Nam.  I have no doubt that the M16 *can*
be reliable under some conditions, but I wouldn't choose one as *my*
principle weapon.
-- 
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