[WKUHilltopper]

I never understood why in the world they changed the M16 to a three round burst and got rid of the full auto feature. Kinda defeats it's sting. Without the full auto, you might as well take a .22 squirrel rifle in the field.

[gopherbaroque]

because new recruits in thier first fire fight would be "sprayin-n-prayin" and be out of ammo in like 3 minutes and didn't hit a thing. Also, after 3 rounds, you are drifting off target and wasting precious ammo. Three rounds of 5.56 in the torso and your opponent is FUBAR. This is not theory, it is first hand observation.

The M14 was, and still is a terrific weapon. I own one, as well as a Garand,that I shoot on a regular basis. The M14 is practicly useless on full auto as I know of no mortal who can keep it on the paper after the first round.

The M14 evolved into a "specialized" weapon by the time I got to Viet Nam in 1967. Since I had a "specialized" job, I used one frequently and I loved it as much then as I do now. I would'nt recomend outfitting a rifle company with them though.

Semper Fi

[GarySpFc]

I never understood why in the world they changed the M16 to a three round burst and got rid of the full auto feature. Kinda defeats it's sting. Without the full auto, you might as well take a .22 squirrel rifle in the field.

They did not immediately go to a three round burst for everyone in a squad. If I recall correctly the squad leader and fire team leader had both three burst and full auto M-14s.

[wingnutx]

I never understood why in the world they changed the M16 to a three round burst and got rid of the full auto feature.

Seabees still use full-auto M-16s. That's just cause they don't give us the SAW :|

M-4s are full-auto.