The standard 16-inch carbine is popular, and the first flat-top rifles for mounting optics followed. The original Colt Sporter and the HBAR were popular rifles. The HBAR is still a viable, useful and accurate rifle.ĭuring this time, Colt continued to offer the AR-15 rifle for civilian sales, and they were the first to do so. This rifle is simpler to the Colt HBAR released for civilian sales. The M16A2 features improved sights and excellent performance. Heavier than the original 55-grain loading, the 62-grain bullet offers greater penetration against heavy web gear that might be encountered in Europe. This rifle features a different barrel twist to stabilize the 62-grain load. The universal adoption of the rifle as a front-line rifle rather than a special-use firearm for jungle combat led to the M16A2. The 5.56mm load was found to offer excellent wound ballistics against lightly clad Viet Cong. Some of these were related to ammunition performance. In between the M16 and the M4, the AR rifle went through several modifications. The 16-inch barrel carbine is the shortest legal length for civilians without jumping through a lot of hoops, paperwork and expense. Today, the 14.5-inch barrel M4 is a fast-handling rifle that has proven reliable in action. SIG Sauer ammunition gives shooters the edge in a modern AR-15 rifle. The XM177 rifle, however, used the first telescoping stock on an AR. The XM177, as an example, demonstrated stupendous muzzle flash. The short-barrel designs, such as the CAR 15 and others, demanded more development and did not work as well as the later short barrel rifles. The M16 was developed into a reliable firearm, but at one time was not as highly regarded as it is today. Probably not, but the system was castrated by the poor choice of ammunition and insane lack of cleaning gear. Was the Colt AR-15 that was designated M16 sent into combat prematurely? In some cases, the cartridge case would stick in the chamber-sometimes during combat operations. They also increased extractor tension to help in extracting the cartridge. The problem was met with a recoil device with an “internal plurality of masses” that was geared for the ball load. Modifications and ImprovementsĬolt was asked to modify the firearms to function with ball powder-loaded ammunition. One was to issue cleaning kits and a comic book-type cleaning manual. The Army entered into several knee-jerk fixes. The AR was not originally issued with cleaning gear! Even the original low-maintenance rifle, the M1 carbine, needed cleaning frequently. Worse, after the problem was identified, the Army did not withdraw the ammunition from service in Vietnam. The result was a different pressure curve and clogged gas ports. The Army specified that the same ball powder used in the 7.62mm NATO cartridge be used in service ammunition. The original 5.56mm loading was developed for a clean burn and high energy. Soldiers on long patrols could carry a lot of ammunition.īut Army Ordnance made a grievous error (that Congress later concluded verged on criminal negligence). When the rifle was issued in Vietnam, the lightweight, accuracy, controllability and easy firepower were greatly appreciated. The gas doesn’t operate by a piston-at least in the vast majority of the rifles-but the gas is led directly to the bolt in this gas impingement system. This young Major is firing the Colt AR-15 carbine and finding it good. Low recoil, longer range than pistol caliber carbines, and control in fully automatic fire were important parts of the Stoner design. The AR cartridge was developed from a high-velocity varmint round, the. The M16 was designed as a counter to the fully automatic AK-47 rifle. The rifle was developed by Eugene Stoner and the contract was awarded to Colt to produce the rifle. Those of us that have a choice of any weapon system most often choose the AR rifle. Note the Israelis have their own Galil and thousands-perhaps hundreds of thousands-of captured AK-pattern rifles. The rifle is the first choice of top-notch security teams and armies. (Rifles on the front line are a different matter.) Yet they continue to serve. Many of the rifles in use in training our young warriors are older than the soldiers using them.
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