There is a lot of misinformation, FUD and just plain lies out there about the M16/AR15.
Sure are. Suggested reading to get the facts from folks that were there.
IF you are interested in facts read the stuff below, or perpetuate Internet BS. read it:
The Hill Fights: The First Battle of Khe Sanh by Edward E. Murphy (I strongly recommend the addendum about the M16)
Then:
Col. Culver tells the story much better than I can. He has a lot more facts than I do. I was not in the Col's outfit, but our experiences were similar. Our time with 3rd Marines over lapped, I was not IN the 3rd Marines, I was attached Out of SubUnit II 3rdMarDiv in a TACP (Tactical Air Control Party. Ground A/C fAC’s)
Part I
http://www.jouster.com/saga_of_M16/saga_of_the_m16_part_1.pdf
Part II
http://www.jouster.com/saga_of_M16/saga_of_the_m16_part_2.pdf
Friends of mine died because of that rifle, and many were wounded. I bagged and tagged some of them, myself.
I have asked AR kool aide drinkers this question for over 40 years. Not one has had the sack to answer.
How many of your friends and buddies does it take to die and get wounded directly because of the incompetence of a weapon’s system for you to never to trust it again?
What is your answer? I have had to answered that question every night for over 43 years.
Mike Pannone did another test, stripping the lube from an AR and firing it over 2,500 rounds until stoppage. It showed the mythology of the jammomatic is just that, uninformed superstition.
Yup, that’s why SpecOps and Rangers in Afghanistan are going to FN SCARS MK 16 and MK 17
9 million made, still in use, but there are those who still celebrate curios and relics no longer in service.
Very reliable if you get one that has had the sand cuts required to be reliable in desert service, as the British found out.
BTW, Mattel did not ever make an M16 that could fire ammo. They did make some for sale to children, it's rather sad to hear some people still revealing they couldn't tell the difference.
Absolutely. Mattel never made an M16. It was the M16 that behaved like a Matty Mattel. I am sure some folks didn’t know the difference.
Unfortunately the way they actually worked in combat is what earned them that moniker, and why every Marine I met in country who could get the old Mattel decal put one on his M16.
I actually had the option to carry a FAL, at one time when attached to the 42 Commando in Malta. Never needed it in any fighting. I did the majority of my fighting with the 7.62 NATO. It never let me down. Not perfect, just worked every time I need it to.
The 5.56 NATO worked most of the time, luckily when it failed for me, it was usually at longer range, and not immediately life threatening. So I never felt threatened with the old 55gr bullet. I never used the newer 62gr in combat.
I am a two caliber guy. I think a rifle like the SCAR Mk 17 (that is already being deployed) that with a “filler” in the Magazine well could use both calibers. The 5.56 for “URBAN” use, and of course the 7.62 when called for, just put a different upper on it. That way once the optics are set up they can left on board.
Go figure.
Fred
The best part is that its continued hard use over years, not a weekend test. Although a 10k round weekend has been done with a Fal once without any real issues. 
