M16 now seen as 'the weapon of choice' for Iraq's army

GeoStrategy Direct ^ | 1/14/2010 | GeoStrategy Direct

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

There’s no such thing as a brush buster. Every bullet can deflect in brush.
~~~
LOL,,,That “Brush Buster” came from you not me,,,

Yes any bullet will “deflect”,,,

I think you know as well as I do that the lite/fast .22

types will just come apart when they hit a twig or three,,,

Let’s go up to a 12ga. 1 oz. slug,,,

That will “deflect” even less,,,

We can carry this out to a 6 pound gun with solid shot,,,

As the weight goes up there is less deflection...;0)

[RC one]

The M16A1 was plagued by problems which were resolved in later models. It’s only drawback, IMO, is the reciprocating gas piston. The full auto feature on the M16a1 was pretty incompatible with such an operating system. It was supposed to be a one shot one kill semi automatic firearm. In that role, it functions well. My M16A2 did well enough. I put 200-300 rounds through it in the space of 15-20 minutes on more than one occasion. It was hot enough to burn you. I don’t recall it jamming. I have a few AR15s in the vault. I still like it but I’m excited about the gas piston variations coming on the market such as that Ruger SR-556 or the FN SCAR. I want one of each.

[I Buried My Guns]

I get the feeling that we are bequeathing to them our old and worn out rifles, as we are phasing in a newer version that sucks less.

Also, what is the feasability for our troops using the AR-10? I think it fires a .308 round, but is still an AR platform. I know a guy who uses one to hunt pigs from a helicopter, and he loves it.

Another query: Is there not on this planet a company that makes an AK-style rifle, firing the 7.62 round, that is built to tighter tolerances? It seems to me that the loose tolerance is the main complaint against it, and that looseness is not necessary in the Western world, we we not only clean our gear, but are more educated about maintenance type issues.

For the record I own two ARs, one of which I built up myself (having absolutely zero firearms experience previous to that) and I love them. There are tons of customizing options; it's almost like playing with Legos.

[ansel12]

that idiotic flash supressor with the 3 prong fork design was collecting weeds, vines, leaves and all sorts of other crap when we were on patrol

[Iron Munro]

They'll end up on the black market.

Even more likely.

[darkside321]

I get the feeling that we are bequeathing to them our old and worn out rifles, as we are phasing in a newer version that sucks less...

---

quite possible!
for the 7,62 mm round...
Of course the 7,62 has a higher penetration power but it has some major drawbacks (personally i like the 5,56 mm round) too. it has in generall a lower muzzle velocity than the 5,56 (of course this depends on the rifle too) ,recoil is serious ;-) wich makes quick follow up shots at bigger range near impossible, you can carry a lot more ammo in the smaller calibre then in 7,62... So for me penetration power is the only thing where the 7,62 is superior to the 5,56 (but then again when have “we” fought an enemy that wears body armor? the 5,56 has enought penetration power to easy pass trough a body at 300 yards too so no big deal).
For the M16 well its hard for me to judge it (i only shot a few mags through it when we changed weapons on the shooting range in Kosovo) it was quite accurate and it didn´t jam but as said this was too short to really judge it. Normally i used the steyr AUG which fires the same 5,56 round.
greetings

[valkyry1]

//It was supposed to be a one shot one kill semi automatic firearm. In that role, it functions well.//

Damn right it does.