The M-16 is the only rifle I have ever shot that I put all 10 rounds in the same hole with. I was getting “battle sights” at Camp Pendleton for my newly issued M-16Ai on a 1.000 inch range at the start of ITR. (they now use a 50 yard range for this sight adjustment work.)
I drew a crowd of Primary Marksmanship Instructors watching through their spotting scopes after the first 3 rounds....all shaking their heads as I put round after round through the same hole....using iron sights.
The M-16 is a fine weapon for what it’s design purpose is. It has a longer front line service record than any other rifle in US history going on what 60 years now?. Eugene Stoner was a retired Marine commissioned officer. He knew his way around basic infantry weapons.
Still the M-1 family got short shift after WWII. The M-14 rifle is my rifle of choice when push comes to shove. It overcomes all the inherent shortcomings of its parent M-1 and provides good accuracy with minimal training. It’s a fool proof weapon.
The failure of the Army’s training methods (or lack thereof)post WWII on into the Korean War led to the search for a lighter, easier shooting select fire weapon eventually culminating in the adoption of the M-16.
Studies post Korea showed that the Army troops failed to fire their weapons during combat and contributed to the unusually high POW rates. That experience resulted in the M-16 and the spray and pray training in the Army. The limited success of spray and pray fire techniques is now curtailed by the 3 round burst in lieu of full auto, and better marksmanship training.
I’ve used both weapons during my time in the Marines. Overall I shot better with the M-14. Its my preference in spite of the load weight penalty.
Building/assembling an AR-15 is a great experience. Don’t miss out on it! It’s easy to do with minimal manual skills, and the modularity of the platform results is a large selection of custom choices. I prefer the M-16 A4 version of the weapon (AR-15A4). There are many instructional videos on U-tube for assembling a AR.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8sY5CQmlHI
Have a (solved) problem with the M-16 and one with 5.56.
Lost 2 friends in ‘65 due to feeding malfunctions. One was a failure to extract completely and the spent round case jammed with the one feeding off the mag. It was during a shi storm and the 4 second delay was all it took.
Another was a round where the extractor tore the rim and bottom off the case.
Personally, my xm177 was fine.
Re 5.56, why not just “Bite the bullet” and just go to the 6.5 Grendel or the 6.8 SPC?
With your results, you’re a better shot than me.
BTW, one of the biggest problems in RVN was to train new guys to NOT spray and pray.