The M16 Is A Good Rifle, Says A Veteran Of 82 [Vietnam] Patrols

Somebody sent me some old American Rifleman magazines for a morale-boosting walk down memory lane. (Thanks, “Spurs.”) I was only 12 years old in 1969, and the Vietnam War was daily grist for network TV news, with Walter Cronkite mournfully announcing the weekly American military KIA and WIA numbers every Friday at the end of his nightly show. (It took us a lot longer to figure out that “Uncle Walter” was a secret champion of the World Federalist Association, dedicated to global government, and opposed to America’s sovereign superpower status).
I was already a shooter by then, and I followed weapons developments, news, and rumors as much as I could, and I have done so in all the decades since. So I was greatly impressed by this unexpected January 1969 American Rifleman article about the M-16 in combat in Vietnam by a Capt. William A. Smith, USA.

 
In particular, I was impressed by his recommendation for putting a 2X7 variable power optic on the M-16’s carry handle for NCOs and company grade officers, sort of a harbinger of the modern Designated Marksman Rifle. He also suggests adapting 2 issue G.I rifle slings to create a modern over-the-neck “ready carry” combat sling. I was so impressed by this article that I scanned it and formatted it for easy sharing. Please feel free to comment here, or to reformat and repost it anyplace that shooters like to talk about war guns, past and present. The more credit that Capt. Smith gets, the better.

The first “flat top” M-16s I ever saw were being built “unofficially” in the armory at SEAL Team Two in the early 1980s. These were not yet approved for military use, but frogs in the ST-2 armory were grinding the carry-handles off “surveyed,” and hence expendable, (wink-wink) M-16 uppers, and then drilling, tapping, and epoxying commercial Weaver scope rails on top. These were direct forerunners of the modern Picatinny rail. The idea, of course, was to get your face and shooting eye down lower for a good cheek weld, and not an extra couple inches too high up on top of the carry handle. This was circa 1982. I’d love to hear from other military “early adapters” who were making similar modifications around that time.

At the time, the conventional wisdom was that battery-powered electronic red-dot sights would never be rugged enough for combat use, but were just a gimmick used by shooting sports hot-shots. Around 1981 or so I had mounted an early Aimpoint on my personal Ruger Mini-14 with a side-folding Choate stock. It worked great even when shooting while treading water after complete submersion.
Like Capt. Smith suggests, it’s always a good idea to retract the bolt a little first to ensure the barrel is clear of water. (Even more so in the case of the M-16, with its gas tube that can also also fill with water.) My Ruger Mini-14 / Aimpoint experimentation was done circa 1981-83. I still have that old Aimpoint, but it’s proprietary batteries are no longer made, so it’s just a paperweight and conversation piece. I’ll bet if the batteries were available, that original 1982 Aimpoint would still boot up, and still hold zero, in or out of the water.

I know from my own mentorship by Vietnam SEAL veterans in the 1980s that back in Vietnam they were already using the “modern” combat-ready over-the-neck carry slings similar to the one in the picture of Capt. Smith on photo 3/5. (Often they were operator-created from 1″ green tubular nylon or other available strap material.)
And now, in 2021, the U.S. military is going to put a battery-powered 1X6 optical sight on most modern versions of the M-16, however they rename Eugene Stoner’s rifle. Capt. Smith and the others like him in the “Big Army” in 1969 were far, far ahead of their time. It has taken the “Big Army” many decades to finally catch up to what these Vietnam War soldiers (and many other military pioneers in various special ops communities) had already figured out about the utility of modern rifle carry slings and optical sights, even way back then.

The basic AR platform has not really changed all that much in 50 years, all credit going to Eugene Stoner. Now it turns out that “early adapters” had already figured ways to optimize the platform that the DoD .Mil would not accept for general issue for decades to come. And Capt. Smith’s commentary on the optimal uses of semi- and full-automatic fire still ring true down the years until today.
 
 

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About the Author: Matt Bracken

Old frogman, sailor, boat builder, novelist and essayist. Matthew Bracken was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1957, and attended the University of Virginia, where he received a BA in Russian Studies and was commissioned as a naval officer in 1979. Later in that year he graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, and in 1983 he led a Naval Special Warfare detachment to Beirut, Lebanon. Since then he’s been a welder, boat builder, charter captain, ocean sailor, essayist and novelist. He lives in North Florida. Links to many of Matt’s short stories and essays may be found at EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com, along with excerpts from his five novels: the Enemies Foreign and Domestic series, Castigo Cay and The Cliffs of Zerhoun. His essays and short stories can be found in “The Bracken Collection: Essays and Short Fiction 2010 to 2019”. All of his short stories and essays may be reproduced on the internet, in part or in whole, as long as proper attribution is given, and they are not sold for profit without the permission of the author.

42 Comments

  1. Anonymous July 7, 2021 at 18:01

    5

  2. Paraclete July 7, 2021 at 18:24

    Great idea on doubling up on the sling !
    Thank You for sharing this article Matt.

    • SemperFi, 0321 July 11, 2021 at 20:03

      He’s talking about the std issue M-1, M-14, M-16 green canvas sling. Trying to find 2 of those originals to join up will cost as much a a decent modern tactical sling. And they’re a pain in the ass with the compression buckle anyway. I’ve seen 2 M-16 rifles go in the drink when we were descending cargo nets into the boats, the buckle came loose.
      In those days we also had a longer version for the BAR, M-14E2 and M-60 GPMG. I used one on my M-16/M-203 and haven’t seen one for sale in many decades.

      • wwes July 12, 2021 at 09:52

        You can get the canvas slings new, in either OD or black, from the Appleseed store for around $15. The quality on them is on par with the originals.

  3. AmbGun July 7, 2021 at 18:36

    That is such a cool reminder of the Stoner rifle’s history. The M16 was often disparaged as a poodle shooter, but it was light, ergonomic, and accurate. Modern M4/ARs are at the pinnacle of refinement of the platform. I love the BCM RECCE and would choose it for Mad Max societal breakdown (parts everywhere), but if heading out the door to a gunfight, I’ll take the full Ambi, paintball maneuverability of the Keltec RDB or Desert Tech MDR.
    https://youtu.be/31wlbl4Iz3k

    • spaceman July 8, 2021 at 23:06

      have a RECCI 11, but inside the house would use my Saiga 12 ;-)

  4. Luke July 7, 2021 at 19:02

    This presents a good opportunity to ask you Gents a couple questions if you don’t mind. Though I have never fired one what he said about full auto makes sense. Bracken you have become like the Drudge Report for me anymore on Gab. Appreciate all the tips and history lesson. Found you damn near a year ago (around July 4). I stumbled on to your “WMS” Essay written about 10 years prior and it seemed quite prophetic. I have a strong feeling that is coming soon and will probably resemble your essay even more so. All its really going to take is one conservative/patriot type defending himself, family, and/or property. Social media will likely spread it just about everywhere. It would probably be a good idea to remind state and local LE who is putting targets on their back on a daily basis. They need to be thinking about that shit.
    What is your experience with the forward assist?
    What is your opinion on using steel ammo for the AR?
    Is dry firing the AR WITHOUT snap caps ok? I have heard not to pull the charging handle and let it slam without ammo is not good
    Thanks to everyone for the pointers. Always been conservative but never really believed the shit would hit the fan…..until 2020!!

    • AmbGun July 7, 2021 at 19:27

      You’re asking Matt’s opinion in FA, but I’ll butt in and give the reasons I’m not a fan. It interferes with Ambi operation, it can run into one’s body armor/kit and be accidentally engaged to cause a malf. Finally the bolt can be directly encouraged forward with your thumb on the BCG without the need of the button.
      https://youtu.be/jMPu_2-87eo

      • Luke July 7, 2021 at 19:56

        Technically asking anyone that could help. Thanks am watching the video now.

      • Georgiaboy61 July 8, 2021 at 00:49

        Regarding the froward assist, I have heard that it was a solution in search of the problem proposed by Big Green when all of the snafu’s with the early AR15s/M-16s happened in Vietnam. In other words, no knowledgeable gun guy worth his salt should force a cartridge into battery which doesn’t want to go naturally. I am a civilian and do not have near the experience with the platform some military/former military do, but my inexperience is only relative: I’ve used and shot a whole lot of different ARs over the years, and can;t ever recall once needing/wanting to use the forward assist. If you “need” the forward assist to get the cartridge to chamber, your ammo is out of spec, and thus shouldn’t be fired, or the rifle is extremely dirty and needs maintenance, or there is some other problem, such as an out-of-spec feed ramp, bad magazine, or faulty buffer spring.
        Today’s ARs are amazingly advanced compared to their forbearers of fifty or more years ago. Far as the ones back then, I am an agnostic since I wasn’t in Vietnam as a soldier, sailor or Marine (I turned fourteen in 1975), and well-regarded military men have come down on both sides of the pro- and anti-AR15/M16 debate. U.S. Army Colonel David Hackworth against, for example – one of our nation’s finest soldiers of all time, and an expert counter-guerilla fighter- hated the “black rifle” and wasn’t shy about saying so. General (then Lt-Col.) Hal Moore, U.S. Army, of the 1st Cav – which he commanded at Ia Drang Valley in 1965 – on the other hand,singled out the M16 as critical in allowing his surviving men to make it home from the battle (in his book “We Were Soldiers Once (and Young)” coauthored with journalist Joe Galloway).
        Solving which one of these highly-respected men was correct is – as they say – above my pay grade. Maybe they both were right and wrong, in their own ways. I sure ain’t gonna set that one here and now….

        • NC Scout July 8, 2021 at 07:48

          “ In other words, no knowledgeable gun guy worth his salt should force a cartridge into battery which doesn’t want to go naturally.”
          Out of battery is not the same as not properly seating. Previous weapons had fixed charging handles which served the same purpose.

          • KOBK July 8, 2021 at 12:50

            NC Scout,
            No argument here but genuinely curious if you or any combat vet you know had to rely on the FA to seat rounds ? Maybe you’ve mentioned this elsewhere before but not recalling.
            Any vets I’ve asked about the FA have always replied “no, never needed it but glad it was there incase I did”. So it’s always an interesting topic.

          • NC Scout July 8, 2021 at 13:49

            Yes I have. You always hit it after a press check at night.

          • Georgiaboy61 July 9, 2021 at 00:35

            Re: “Out of battery is not the same as not properly seating.” Correct, but a cartridge which isn’t chambering often is accompanied by an out-of-battery condition. All depends on precisely what the problem happens to be. Isn’t it true that the AR15s ordered by the USAF never had charging handles? Did they ever notice the lack of them as a detriment?
            “Previous weapons had fixed charging handles which served the same purpose.” Yes, they did – which is a design I much prefer. I have grown to like ARs fine but I have always considered the t-shaped charging handle and FA combo to be one weak aspect of the design. The charging handle doesn’t provide much leverage at all if you have a stoppage or double-feed jam, something along those lines, and the bolt is difficult to retract. Far as the FA is concerned, maybe I misunderstood its purpose. I must not be alone in experiencing this difficulty, because JSOC personnel have been spotted in places like Afghanistan going into combat with segmented cleaning rods paracorded/taped to their carbines, and with spray bottles of CLP for them also.
            Perhaps it is germane to note that when Eugene Stoner designed the AR-18/AR-180, he omitted the AR15-type charging handle in favor of a more-conventional side-located handle. It was also a piston-driven design. These features were undoubtedly included to avoid infringing on the patents owned by Colt – to whom Armalite had sold the rights to the AR15 – but perhaps also Stoner had cause to reconsider some aspects of his earlier design.

          • NC Scout July 9, 2021 at 09:48

            What exactly are you arguing here?

    • Chris July 7, 2021 at 21:38

      What is your experience with the forward assist? Press Check. Never have used it as “intended.”
      What is your opinion on using steel ammo for the AR?
      I Dont. Extraction system was not designed for it.
      It’ll work, till it dont. And thats faster than brass.
      Steel Expands. Stop.
      Brass expands AND Contracts at a know measure
      Is dry firing the AR WITHOUT snap caps ok? Damn Right ! Do it till the house comes down ! You dont need to piss away rounds to get frisky your trigger.
      I’ll leve my experience out. This is The Internet, haha.
      GET PRO Trianing. That applies to You. Civi I assume, like most of us.
      And dont forget, learning ST6 shooting is fun, cool, gets ladies..in the mood ;)
      BUT
      You aint a ST6 Operational Operay-Tor and The Prosecutor will love to add you his Successful Prosecution Rate on his Resume.

    • NC Scout July 7, 2021 at 23:02

      “What is your experience with the forward assist?”
      Required gear for making sure the bolt seats. An AR is not combat ready without one.
      “What is your opinion on using steel ammo for the AR?”
      No.
      “Is dry firing the AR WITHOUT snap caps ok? I have heard not to pull the charging handle and let it slam without ammo is not good”
      Whoever told you this is an complete fucking idiot. Dry fire is part of a functions check. If your weapon ain’t up to it, it ain’t up to staking your life on.

  5. Milo Mindbender July 7, 2021 at 20:10

    The early production ammo was packed with the wrong type powder, combined with a non chrome lined bore and chamber and a manual that told troops the rifle didn’t need to be cleaned making a recipe for failure. I have been carrying everything from old M-16A1 to the M-4 and if you provide your due diligence they can perform well. I am a fan of a 1X6 optic with an illuminated reticle on the AR platform. I use it with the front scope cap closed as an improvised red dot with both eyes open and can pop open the cap and increase magnification if the situation requires it. I use a 3 point sling on my AR carbine, but a single point on my AR pistol because it is shorter overall length and balances better that way. I also use a clone holographic sight with the pistol as it lines up quickly that way for me.
    Your mileage may vary.

    • rto-jerry July 8, 2021 at 08:05

      Asked my uncle who served Bravo Company of the 506th, 101st Airborne his thoughts on the M-16A1. It served him well during his tour (Dec 68-1 Jan. 70) and he gave it good praise on reliability. He stated the only time he flipped it to full auto was walking point.Great article Matt!

  6. Fergus boone July 7, 2021 at 21:42

    Used it 69 and hated it. Had to be spotless. Used G3, HK-93, Galil, the Korean and Japanese rifles and all were more reliable than the M-16. They might have been heavier but they were left me feeling that they’d jam because I was lazy or forgetful. Still use the Sig 556.

  7. Russell G. July 7, 2021 at 21:46

    A replica of the Colt carry handle 4x scope is at Brownells and places like ebay (for the Colt originals; about 500 bucks). The “Red Star” type replicas will nearly always need some “tweeking” on the BDC/elevation wheel inside so that when you put the cap back on it won’t spin the elevation wheel as you tighten. You’ll know where to peen the wheel (into the threads) when you look at it and figure out how it works.
    https://www.brownells.com/optics-mounting/scopes/rifle-scopes/retro-4x-carry-handle-scope-prod124965.aspx
    Nothing bugs me more than someone sticking one of these up there on a M16A1…but do your own thing.
    https://www.brownells.com/optics-mounting/rings-mounts-amp-bases/rifle-bases/ar-15m16-m4-carry-handle-scope-mount-prod24845.aspx
    The 4x* is fine out to 250 yards (for the intended target) with a good accuracy load in a decent new M16A1 barrel. Some of the knock-off scopes have some pretty fat reticles which are not so hot on the distance. Replacing the pencil barrel with a good NATO HB is also better, and do use the appropriate A1 flash hider instead of the abandoned duckbill or A2. The A2 flash hider generates unequal exit pressures on the bullet as it leaves the barrel because it is “closed” on the bottom birdcage.
    *The Japanese found that there was only a 6% increase in accuracy for their snipers when they went from 2X to 4X over iron sights.

    • Boat Guy July 8, 2021 at 06:12

      The A2 flash hider is closed on the bottom to avoid kicking up dust -especially in the prone position or in an emplacement. The M14 flash nicer is similarly configured for the same reason.

    • SemperFi, 0321 July 8, 2021 at 11:15

      Had the M-14 in boot camp (made rifle expert), then were issued 5 yr old beat up XM-16E1’s (original 1967 issue in VN) in 3rdMarDiv, including the wonderful HydraMatics with all the finish wore off. Most of us barely qualified on the rifle range in Oki with these old vets. Several rifles later I got a brand new out of the box A1 which I shot high expert with. My stateside M-16A1/M203 was also new out of the box and was reliable.
      I have found you can increase the stability of the Colt replica scope by bedding it to the carrying handle, same goes for those other scope bases.
      Spray some mold release on all the parts before applying the bedding compound and they will let go when you need to remove them, have had zero scope movement when done in this manner, if not they wiggle some.
      The barrel can also be bedded for more accuracy.

      • Boat Guy July 8, 2021 at 23:26

        Ah man…hadn’t thought of the HydraMatics in years! Purty sure we had some in my first Armory, but haven’t seen one since. Wonder what happened to them?I

        • SemperFi, 0321 July 10, 2021 at 17:36

          Gave them away as foreign aid? Saw pics of a lot of shiny M-16’s in Nicaragua., etc.

  8. Anonymous July 7, 2021 at 21:55

    4.5

  9. Boat Guy July 7, 2021 at 22:52

    Brother,
    Great articles both the one you saved and your comments. We are of an age, you and I; I was in the first Recruit Series to go through Boot Camp with the M16A1 ( the San Diego Marine contemporaries still used the M14). I gotta say my Senior Drill Instructor (3-tour Grunt) wasn’t thrilled but he drove on and we took the Rifle range (good thing, we’da paid had we not).
    My first MOS was Armorer (2111) and I will say in 32 years in uniform I saw ONE mechanical malfunction -a loose hammer pin walked out of a National Guard loaner rifle. As an O-5 I carried an M16A3. I transitioned to the M4 as a “civilian”.
    Now fully retired the AR is the family standard; flat-top but fixed front sight; wife, sons and daughters-in-law all have identical carbine as do most of my students. My hunting rifle is a .308 AR with an ACOG.
    I still like and can shoot, the 1903, M1 and M1A, but those carbines are first and foremost for many reasons.

  10. […] Bracken writing at American Partisan citing a 1969 American Rifleman […]

  11. Papa July 7, 2021 at 23:39

    America lost it’s last two wars to peasants in pajamas carrying AK-47s.

    • Matt July 8, 2021 at 13:08

      “America lost it’s last two wars to peasants in pajamas carrying AK-47s.”
      And your point is . . . . ? There is a whole lot more to winning/loosing/indifferently prosecuting a war than the rifles carried by the soldiers.
      Matt

    • Johnny Paratrooper July 8, 2021 at 13:23

      We lost?
      2 million to 5,000 is losing?
      7 million to 50,000 is losing?
      Pretty sure simply fighting back is winning.
      Not fighting is called “losing”.
      You really think the Purple Haired Pantifa in Pajamas Brigades stand a chance?
      I think you need to stop reading enemy propaganda.

    • spaceman July 8, 2021 at 22:50

      wasnt the soldiers that lost the war(s), was the politicians, convinced by the the banksters, that ordered the loss.

    • Georgiaboy61 July 9, 2021 at 00:49

      Saying that the U.S. “lost” the Vietnam War to peasants in black pajamas carrying AK47s” may be an appealing sound bite, but it is not the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about that conflict. Technically, the war ended in the Paris Peace Accord signed in 1973 in the French city of the same name. Therefore, the war officially ended as a draw. The Nixon-Kissinger administration, which which was Republican and took part in brokering the agreement, stipulated that American aid to South Vietnam would be forthcoming if aggression by the communists made it necessary. However, following the Watergate debacle, a Democrat-controlled Congress stabbed Saigon in the back, by withholding promised aid to South Vietnam when the Hanoi ramped up operations against the South in 1975. NVA tanks rolled into Saigon as the last U.S. choppers lifted off our embassy roof.
      The communists attained their strategic goal insofar as they got the U.S. to withdraw from SE Asia, whereupon the way was left open for them to roll into Saigon more-or-less unopposed. To that extent, they can be said to have won that part of the chess match. However, at no time did the U.S. commit the full weight of its entire military against the North Vietnamese. What is striking to me fifty years on is the restraint the U.S.showed. We could have nuked the NVA back to the stone age, but did not. After the war, a number of memoirs of high-ranking NVA generals were published, which stated how close we had come to forcing them to surrender outright, during the height of the strategic bombing campaign against the North by our B-52s. “Operation Linebacker” and the rest. Our troops also won every major battle and campaign during the war, and inflicted outsized casualties upon the enemy in comparison to our own.
      If the war can be said to have “been lost,” it was lost by fifth-columnists right here in the U.S. who betrayed our fighting men – and many South Vietnamese as well – to the enemy.

  12. Johnny Paratrooper July 8, 2021 at 12:15

    “Once Forgotten; Twice Remembered”
    Also, any Rumint that our weapons aren’t serviceable is plain old Enemy Propaganda.
    A classic tactic.
    I have shot 5 inch groups at 500 meters using $500 AR’s.
    Ya’ll have no idea how well armed we are.
    You just need some training and piece of mind on the subject.
    Contact Brushbeater@tutanota.com for help with this.

    • wwes July 8, 2021 at 12:40

      Not to mention that that even a lot of the AK’s that were selling for under $500 a couple of years ago can shoot pretty well, even with stock AK iron sights. And the average AR is way more reliable in this day and time than they get credit for with a lot of folks.
      You’re right, we’re well armed, I believe the big holdup is going to be the amount of folks out there who aren’t willing to spend the time, effort and money to get training and practice with their weapons so they can actually use them effectively.

  13. Sean July 8, 2021 at 12:39

    I am damn sure glad NC Scout haunts the internet like he does, he knows his stuff about the use and care of the AR-16/15 platforms. I got experience too, but listen to him.

  14. Anonymous July 8, 2021 at 13:15

    0.5

  15. Georgiaboy61 July 9, 2021 at 22:50

    Re:”What exactly are you arguing here?”
    I don’t see a problem here, do you? Or are you not used to having your opinions differed with or challenged? Maybe you ought to try the decaff next time….

    • NC Scout July 10, 2021 at 09:36

      “Opinions challenged”
      Dusts off CIB.
      Ever carried one in combat? No? Then your opinion means jack shit. Its always funny hearing the laity comment on things they have zero qualification to comment on. And they’ll always, to a person, mention a high speed unit they saw in a picture somewhere as some sort of validation.
      We’ve done it bud, you ain’t. People don’t come to my site to read you.

      • 91B medic, circa 1975 July 11, 2021 at 02:37

        Gawking at smoking hole in the ground with singed eyebrows. That’s why we come here Sensei. The main course is excellent and the topping is S*P*I*C*Y. You never fail to deliver and it gets better with age Thanks

  16. Anonymous July 10, 2021 at 22:12

    3.5

  17. Coop Willis August 31, 2021 at 03:33

    Not sure how I missed this article when published. Good stuff here and the comments are priceless! Thanks Matt Bracken and NC Scout.

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