SmeeAgain
Member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2022
- Messages
- 257
I'm sure this has been debated to death and I'm not even sure if this is the correct area to bring it up... likely again... but here it goes.
I've been an avid M16 fan since the first time I shot one. The M14 well... not so much.
Of course like everyone else I heard the horror stories of the early M16 failures in Vietnam.
Still I couldn't understand why so many "die-hards" preferred that ol' dinosaur M14 over the M16 until I read this article.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1981/06/m-16-a-bureaucratic-horror-story/545153/
I was well aware that the M16 was sabotaged by our own and too many of our own died as a result, but I never knew the depth of it or why until now.
By the time I got to Vietnam, the "issues" with the M16 were resolved.
(I was issued the M16a1 WITH a cleaning kit, and it never skipped a beat.) Meaning those who created the problems were gone or forced to "knock off the BS."
Stoner created a masterpiece. Had it been Browning with the exact same design, I doubt anyone would try discrediting him. But Stoner was the new kid on the block & not part of "the club".
The story I heard & believed all these years was that there was a mountain of surplus powder available and "someone" decided to substitute it... which caused the problems.
The substitute powder was indeed ONE of the unauthorized changes but the reason behind it, wasn't even close to what I thought.
Please, follow the link & read it!
NOW I finally understand why, to this day, some still prefer the M14. And it only took me over 50 years!
One thing that truly amazes me is that Stoner designed the AR-15 around the cartridge AND specific powder.
Because of the Army bearuocrats, they somehow stopped the manufacturing of the original IMR 4475? / 4495? powder. It remains unavailable to this day.
Olin, who subsequently got the monopoly making the "ball powder" is gone too... and rightfully so! No tears from my eyes!
The public apparently doesn't have access to the "secret powder" that "Lake City" now uses for military 5.56 ammo. Unless of course we buy surplus ammo.
Of course I can't prove it but it looks like some were getting kickbacks / bribes from Olin. Too many of our own died as a result!
Anyway, please read the article... see if you suspect the same thing.
I've been an avid M16 fan since the first time I shot one. The M14 well... not so much.
Of course like everyone else I heard the horror stories of the early M16 failures in Vietnam.
Still I couldn't understand why so many "die-hards" preferred that ol' dinosaur M14 over the M16 until I read this article.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1981/06/m-16-a-bureaucratic-horror-story/545153/
I was well aware that the M16 was sabotaged by our own and too many of our own died as a result, but I never knew the depth of it or why until now.
By the time I got to Vietnam, the "issues" with the M16 were resolved.
(I was issued the M16a1 WITH a cleaning kit, and it never skipped a beat.) Meaning those who created the problems were gone or forced to "knock off the BS."
Stoner created a masterpiece. Had it been Browning with the exact same design, I doubt anyone would try discrediting him. But Stoner was the new kid on the block & not part of "the club".
The story I heard & believed all these years was that there was a mountain of surplus powder available and "someone" decided to substitute it... which caused the problems.
The substitute powder was indeed ONE of the unauthorized changes but the reason behind it, wasn't even close to what I thought.
Please, follow the link & read it!
NOW I finally understand why, to this day, some still prefer the M14. And it only took me over 50 years!
One thing that truly amazes me is that Stoner designed the AR-15 around the cartridge AND specific powder.
Because of the Army bearuocrats, they somehow stopped the manufacturing of the original IMR 4475? / 4495? powder. It remains unavailable to this day.
Olin, who subsequently got the monopoly making the "ball powder" is gone too... and rightfully so! No tears from my eyes!
The public apparently doesn't have access to the "secret powder" that "Lake City" now uses for military 5.56 ammo. Unless of course we buy surplus ammo.
Of course I can't prove it but it looks like some were getting kickbacks / bribes from Olin. Too many of our own died as a result!
Anyway, please read the article... see if you suspect the same thing.
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