ORIGINAL: HEAD0001
First of all. HighDesertWolf-I thank your father for his service in Vietnam-what he thinks is paramount.
I come from the post Vietnam era-my brothers served. There opinion was throw the M-16 in the garbage, and spend a month's pay for an M-14.
The M-16 is a spray and pray weapon. The M-14 is a shooter's weapon. I realize the amount of ammo carried is an important factor. But I feel the M-16 will never attain the lore of the M-14, it will just fade away while our guys are still using M-14's.
The problem is that America is no longer turning out shooter's. It is now Politically incorrect to train a child to shoot and handle a weapon. I graduated high school in 76. We took our shotguns on the bus so that we could go squirrel hunting with the basketball coach after school. Try that today.
The first thing the military does with a real shooter is take the M-16 out of his hands, and puts are real weapon back in those hands(not the M-16). I have a friend whose son is a Marine Corps Sniper-he does not carry an M-16, andbelieve me his job is not toWOUND AN ENEMY COMBATANT. If you want to learn more about these weapons just go to Camp Perry and watch the old timers shoot. Leave your rifles in the trunk, or be prepared to have your clock cleaned-those guys can do it. And by the way-leave your charts, and ballistics, andenergy calculations in the truck. Or be prepared to be laughed at. Tom.
How come all the top guys in high power matches are using that "spray and pray" weapon for 600 yd shoots then? Yep, mighty inaccurate...you can buy a MOA AR-15 for about $800, you probably have to spend that much in acessories/gunsmithing for the M14
after you buy it in the first place.
You can like the M14 over the M16 all you want, but you can't say the 14 is a more accurate rifle and the 16 is a "spray and pray" piece of junk.
I believe your post reeks of trying to justify whatever biases you have heard or tend to believe...