What does anyone know about the M16 Rifle?

Question

My nephew loves anything military. He wants to join the army and be a scout. He is eleven and this is the question he wanted to put on here. Any military guys, or girls, out there have any info at all on the history or logistics of the M16, please let me know. Thank You!

Just wanted to let the anti-gun nuts on here know that my nephew is actually home schooled and they don't allow uneducational television in their home! His interest in the military comes from a long family history of military members, Air Force, Marines, and Army, so if you are offended just don't answer. He just wants to be educated on something that has been a part of his family for generations!!

Answer 1

The M-16 started out as the AR-10, invented by Eugene Stoner of the Armalite company, a division of the Fairchild Aviation Company. The AR-10 fired the traditional 7.62x51mm NATO round that the M-14 also fired. The weapon made heavy use of alluminum and plastics, making it far more lightweight then contemporary firearms. The recoil however was found to be too much for the light gun to handle, and thus Stoner redesigned the firearm to become the M-16. The M-16 is a gas operated assault rifle firing the intermediate 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge. The first versions were issued to military advisors stationed in Vietnam, the weapon soon became standard issue. While reliability question arose over the course of the war, training with maintanence and some modifications resulted in the M-16A1, a more robust and reliable weapon that served our troops through the Grenaden conflict. The current M-16A2, A3, and A4 models look somewhat different from the early models.
The fully automatic feature has been deleted from most models, as it was deemed a waste of ammunition by the military, as the weapon is difficult to fire accurately at its full rate of fire. Now most versions have a 3 round burst option in addition to the standard semi automatic capability. The Canadian C8 retains the fully automatic setting and its mechanically identical to the M16A2 save for the full auto setting.
The M16 is more accurate then its main rival the AK-47 and its derivatives, and is overall a better weapon. The only main drawback is the lack of stopping power, sometimes the 5.56mm bullet passes through a target without releasing all its impact energy, which means multiple hits may be required to neutralize the target.
The original M-16 gave rise to the current M-16A2, the M4, the Colt Commando, the Canadian C7 and C8, the AR-15, and numerous other derivatives, and the 5.56mm round is now the NATO standard for all member countries assault rifles, from the M-16 to the futuristic looking F2000 bullpup rifle.
I hope I answered your question.

Answer 2

Eugene Stoner you should Google. He developed the AR-15 for the Army, couldn't sell it to them, and wound up getting a contract with the Air Force, later getting in through the back door to an Army contract. Armalite couldn't handle the volume, and licensed the manufacture to Colt (not Mattel, though it made a good joke that some took to be truth at the time). This annoyed our NATO allies, as we had only a few years before rammed the 7,62x51 cartridge down their throats, and here we were unilaterally switching to the 5,56x45. Even before it got to Vietnam, it had to go through some changes, and it's been upgraded periodically ever since. The current M-16/A2, M-16/A4, M-4, and other variants are about as good as you can get with a rifle shooting a .224 ball. (Let me pre-emptively say here that though the civilian designation is 223 Remington, its groove diameter is .224".) One recent variation uses a necked-up (.277) ball, the 6.8 SPC. This is as much cartridge as the rifle can handle dimensionally, and it comes close to the 7mm caliber that's been known for about a century to be the best compromise caliber for general military use, though few militaries have actually adopted one.

Answer 3

The M16 first appeared in the 1950s for the US Army as its answer to the Russians AK-47. It was the first rifle to use the 5.54mm bullet, which went against the NATO standard 7.62 round.

Orignally the stock and furniture of the gun was made of plastic, which was not popular among the troops who first used it. Many felt that such a gun was too light to be used as a club and that plastic grips made it seem too toylike.

The M-16 remains in use by the military today, although the Army is looking to phase it out around 2010 to make way for its new OICW rifle.

Answer 4

I went through Army Basic Training in 1966 with an M-14 and was issued an M-16 upon arrival in Quan Loc on Highway 13 in Combat Zone D, which means I had to train with it, in country. It was not a very dependable weapon and it was made by Mattel, the toy people. I didn't have it very long before I managed to get my hands on an M-14 and a Remington 12 Ga. pump shotgun and that's what I carried for the rest of my tour.

I understand that the modern M-4s are much improved.

Answer 5

The M61 didn't do very well in Viet-Nam; The humidity shortened the life of this gun by 75%; then the mfg changed some parts and included a repair kit.

I learned to use this rifle 21 years ago. It's very easy to use: is light and you can set it up to shut 1 to 4 rounds or 30 at once. This is way the call it semi-automatic.

Answer 6

James M. nailed it and good for you for posting your nephews question, never mind the anti-gun nuts on here. In the beginning the weapon was not real great, but with the addition of the looser tolerances, forward assist mechanism, better sights and an improved flash suppressor the reliability improved 100 fold and so did it's accuracy, Most old soldiers I know hate the 3 round burst addition, however in theory it is justified. The civilian version is called the AR15 and is sold in semi- automatic only by various manufacturers. If you can't find a military version for him to see, call your local gun shops and take him there to see one of the civilian versions.

Answer 7

Only that it is arguably the best modern rifle in the world. Light weight, durable, accurate. Some say it is not as good as the old M-14, but it is much lighter and a soldier can carry roughly twice as many rounds for it at the same weight as for the 7.62 or .308 rifles.

It was produced as a lightweight replacement for the M-14 during the Vietnam war.

Answer 8

"I'm joining the chAir force" is an idiot. The longer you've been studying something, the better you know it. As long as the parents have a good control on their child teaching him/her about weapons isn't bad at all.

Anyway, it's not like the kid can go to the store and buy an M16.

Regardless, a few of the previous entries have good and correct answers. Id tell your nephew good for him on wanting to learn about history.

Answer 9

Try this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M16_rifle

In most states you can get the Semi-auto version in either the 5.56 NATO or .223 Remington. If he's interested in shooting I would look at getting one. They make an excellent coyote gun. The thing that bugs me about the AR-15 is the low recoil. It makes me wonder how efficient the M-16 or the M-4 is for our troops.

Answer 10

We use the M-16A2 rifle.
It weighs 7.78lbs
muzzle velocity 3100feet per second
max range 3600m
max effective range area target 800meters
max effective range point target 550meters
It is a 5.56mm, shoulder fired rifle, gas operated, air cooled and capable of firing from a semi automatic mode or 3 round burst.

Thats the main stuff, but if you have more questions, you can email me.