Shot my first AR-15... and hated it

[buxbandit]

Count me an as well, not a fan of ARs or 1911s. I trained with an M14 and had one throughout my first tour, and coming back for the second I was issued an M16. Hated it, and realize that the ARs are different but would still rather have an M14.
Bigger is better. And when you smack someone upside the head with the stock of an M14, they stay smacked.

[Pilot321]

Count me an as well, not a fan of ARs or 1911s. I trained with an M14 and had one throughout my first tour, and coming back for the second I was issued an M16. Hated it, and realize that the ARs are different but would still rather have an M14.
Bigger is better. And when you smack someone upside the head with the stock of an M14, they stay smacked.

Did guys mind the extra weight of the M14, and the ammo? That seems to be the justification for the change. Also, as you said, the current crop of AR's are much better than the original version of the M-16.

[Emptymag]

Did guys mind the extra weight of the M14, and the ammo? That seems to be the justification for the change. Also, as you said, the current crop of AR's are much better than the original version of the M-16.

Ummm... you get what they give you and if you whine about the weight your life will be hell. LOL

[Pilot321]

Ummm... you get what they give you and if you whine about the weight your life will be hell. LOL

You mean you can't bring your guns from home?

[RenoV8]

I enjoy shooting all platforms...but lately prefer the 20" barreled Colt AR's...they are tack drivers and a lot more rifle than some of the carbines. Full size vs. carbines...variety is the spice of life...a little of everything for someone.

[Hodgie]

Did guys mind the extra weight of the M14, and the ammo? That seems to be the justification for the change. Also, as you said, the current crop of AR's are much better than the original version of the M-16.

I never heard any combat soldier or marine say having less ammunition is more. They also switched over because scores drastically improved with the 5.56 round which still holds true today.

Regarding the original M16’s and their quality, the government bean counters can be thanked for that. Between the incorrect powder used in early Ammo and slight corner cutting in chrome lining in the rifles that both Stoner and Sullivan said NOT to do along with “no need to clean myth” it ended up screwing a lot of service men and lead to 50+ years of bad rap folklore that keeps getting parroted today by users who don’t know Jack shit about an AR15. Once the M16A1 hit the hands of the soldiers things changed drastically.

I come from a military heavy family with 3 career soldiers two served from the tail end of Vietnam until the start of the latest war and one still currently serving for the last 21 years with at least a half dozen deployments that I know of.

All pretty much have fond things to say about the M16 all the way through to the M4 as well as the now retired M9. Now the condition of some of the weapons kept in inventory well that’s a different story all together.

[cdi]

I have never owned an AR. I am more a wood and steel kinda guy so when an opportunity came up the other day, I tried one at the range. First, my initial impression was quickly confirmed. It is a short gun and was horribly out of proportion to my build. It feels like a kiddie gun. Why is the stock so short? It was so bad that the ear muff kept hitting the stock if I wanted to sight the target. Couldn't finish the two boxes of ammo fast enough and get out of there. At least I got it out of my system.

That's because you're doing it wrong...

The modern version of the AR is based on the the concept of fighting with a rifle. Very different from how a traditionalist might handle a rifle.
If you were to study a little of the modern technique for employing rifle, you might see the versatility of AR type rifles. They really are lightweight and adaptable to many sporting environments.

[Statkowski]

And don’t let your DI find a spec of dirt after you got done cleaning it.

That "speck of dirt" in the bore resulted in "knock out twenty-five and clean that fucking rifle."

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

You mean you can't bring your guns from home?

That aint your daddys shotgun son !

[buxbandit]

Did guys mind the extra weight of the M14, and the ammo? That seems to be the justification for the change. Also, as you said, the current crop of AR's are much better than the original version of the M-16.

We were young, strong and stupid, never even thought about the weight to be honest
And this was in 100+ degree heat. Keep in mind that even with the lighter rifle and lighter ammo, we still had guys humping ammo for the M60's plus claymores, grenades and C rats. IMO the weight is something that office pogues worry about more then the grunts.