As in all Small Caliber Book Reviews here at TFB, I will be covering the area of relevance and strengths and weaknesses of the book, as well as whether it is more introductory or advanced. To write my ongoing series of posts on the Light Rifle, I first had to hit the [Read More…]
Complete with corny acting and a Garand-type ping to each fired shot, below is the Annual Training video from the US Air Force circa 1967. The video showcases original M16s (not even the A1s were mentioned). Interestingly, it showcases the original detachable bipods and [Read More…]
Not content to showcase only the insides of an M2, Range Hot has posted pictures of a cut-away M-16, showcasing the entire internals of a short-barrel XM177 carbine. The rifle is fully cut-away showing all internal workings and is accentuated by a plethora of nail [Read More…]
Vietnam saw the introduction of the M16 rifle – the US Army’s first rifle of caliber smaller than .30, and its first automatic rifle issued to every man in the rifle squad. What was advertised as a huge step forward, however, has become one of the most [Read More…]
In my ongoing research effort on the 20th Century infantry rifle, I found an interesting training film from the 1960s. The USMC video is not quite 22 minutes in length, and covers marksmanship instruction on the M14 rifle: The film teaches very traditional techniques [Read More…]
Colt Defense got in hot water recently; there was some uncertainty over whether the manufacturer would default on its outstanding loans. The firm recently announced good news regarding their financial troubles, however, as they were able to secure a loan for $33 [Read More…]
Following up on their previous interview segments with AR-15 designer Jim Sullivan, Forgotten Weapons and InRange have posted a video on Full30 of Sullivan describing his view of what went wrong with the AR-15 in Vietnam. Sullivan’s view essentially boils down to [Read More…]
In discussions about the suitability of the M4 rifle for combat, the Battle of Wanat comes up quite a lot. To some, Wanat represents the continuation of past mistakes; more dead soldiers with jammed rifles, of course of the faulty AR-15 pattern. Does Wanat really [Read More…]
The AR-15 family of rifles was accepted into US service under strange circumstances. In 1962, Ordnance – previously in charge of rifle and ammunition procurement – was abolished by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and the offices themselves [Read More…]
Is the M16A4 worth the extra weight and length it brings? Howard of LooseRounds has weighed in with an article relating some of his experiences with the rifle. His conclusion is as follows: I have often told people that the M4 is a jack of all trade, but master of [Read More…]
WeaponsMan has begun a project that I personally find very interesting: Recreating a SOCOM M4A1 from the initial 2002 Afghanistan campaign. Hognose’s goal is to recreate with as high a fidelity as possible the weapon he served with during that period, using a [Read More…]
Tromix posted up this video of a dual mag dump out of their twin M16s. The camera angle is poor. At first glance, it looks like the red dot is inline with the magazine and trigger group. But if you looks closely, the rail is fully exposed. So it looks like Tromix is [Read More…]
TFB’s serial adventurer Claymore sent me this photo of the M16A1 Carbine he purchased in the early 1980s. Claymore writes … This was one of the first NFA firearms I bought after getting my S.O.T. Had to be about 1983 or so. At that time dealers could get one [Read More…]
According to user “RebelRouser” on AR15.com, the Canadian C7 rifle is a markedly different from the standard M16 issued to US armed forces. While the C7 is built off of the Technical Data Package from Colt, the Canadians claim to have made over 150 [Read More…]
Thanks to USMC03Vet for this photo of his patrol loadout … Picture of my OIF Fallujah patrol loadout with a very worn M16A4 and aluminum mags. Certainly not high speed low drag compared to what is available today, but thought showing well worn weapons of war [Read More…]
An observant reader noticed that the Palestinian Militant in the foreground of the above photo has an Israeli-manufactured FAB Defense Magazine Holder Foregrip attached to his M16. Ironically photo appeared in a recent Stratfor article about the guns that Iran and [Read More…]
The Daily Mail has published a few interesting photos of guns used by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF … who did you think the title referred to?) in the Philippines. One of the guns, an M16, caught the eye of a TFB reader. The barrel is a little strange, [Read More…]
Knight’s Armament is close to shipping the 5.56 MAMS muzzle brake kit according to a post on the company’s site. The brake is said to reduce felt recoil by up to 67% depending on the length of barrel. MAMS stands for Multi-Axis Muzzle Stability. The [Read More…]
The Ma’ariv newspaper reports that the The Israel Defense Force has begun transitioning their reserve units from the old M16 rifle to the Tavor, the standing army’s primary service rifle. The transition will take a number of years because the reserve units [Read More…]
Retronaut has published a scan of the Army M16A1 Maintenance Comic from 1968. It is a wonder they found time to fight the Vietnam war between all that cleaning. I wonder how many of the M16A1 problems were caused by over cleaning and how many bores were ruined by [Read More…]
[ This guest post was written by CanadianSoldier ] The M-16 rifle is one of the most iconic firearms of all time, becoming well-known as the standard service weapon of the United States and its allies. But few know about the M-16′s close relative, the [Read More…]
Fred Ray went to some lengths to find and obtain a legible copy of a 1959 Department of the Army research paper entitled “Operational Requirements for an Infantry Hand Weapon”. The author interviewed 602 veterans on their use of the M1 Garand during the [Read More…]
Dan Lamothe at Marine Times reports that Marine command are keeping an eye on the Armys carbine competition … Marine officials still plan the service’s infantry weapons around the 5.56mm M16A4 service rifle, but “that doesn’t mean we can’t be getting [Read More…]
In the upcoming November issue of Esquire, there will be an article entitled “How They Were Betrayed”. It is an adaption of a chapter from C.J. Chivers new book “THE GUN” … The unnecessary bloodshed and lives lost were tied to an American [Read More…]
I always get a laugh from reading the Army maintenance comics. [ Many thanks to Sven (Defense and Freedom) for emailing me the the info. ]
The KitUp blog quotes Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Conway … Marines like that M4 carbine because it looks cool. And I’ve had some Marines complain to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff saying ‘you know, the officers are getting [Read More…]
This cartoon encourages soldier to upgrade to the Army’s new “tan” M16/M4 magazine. [ Many thanks to Concerned_Soldier for emailing me the cartoon. ]
An interesting piece of intel I picked up at SHOT was that C-MORE are considering civilian sales of their M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System. The pistol and underslung version would have NFA requirements (destructive devices AOW or Short Barreled Shotgun) but the [Read More…]
I came across Imperial Defense, a British company, who manufacturer M16 and M4 clones. According to this post at the MP.net forum, the guns are manufactured in Vietnam! This makes Vietnam the second communist country to manufacture M16s. I would guess that the guns are [Read More…]
Issuing pressing a press release is one thing but actually selling to the Army or Marines is another! The press release, dated 15 December 2009, infers that their product can deliver 10,000 mean rounds between failure (emphasis added)… SARASOTA, Fla., Dec. 15 [Read More…]
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