eldeguello

I agree with you. I notice that now, when the military really needs a rifle that will kill something that is not a mere 50 feet away, many M14's have been taken out of the cosmolineand re-issued to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan!

WARNING!! WAR STORY AHEAD!!

When I arrived in RVN in 1967 as an "advisor", MACV issued me an M2 carbine and 90 rounds of ammo (three banana clips). When I got to where I would be "advising", I found a Special Forces "A" team not too far away. So I went visiting them to see what kind of real weapons I could "requisition". There were some things I had that they needed, and vice-versa. So I managed to acquire an M1911A1 and an M14 "on loan".

So I "goo'ed up" that ancientM2 carbine with LSA, and stored it in a wall locker. When I left country a year later, I returned the carbine in pristine condition. The supply sergeant looked at it and said "no-one has ever returned a weapon as clean and nice as this one." I said "sarge, take care of your weapon and it will take care of you." Little did he know that I had never used it ONE TIME! The same cannot be said for that M14, however..........

We have Curtis LeMay to thank for the M16. He was at a picnic one day, and was impressed by the way a .222 Remington that someone had along blew up watermelons, and decided he wanted a rifle in that caliber to issue to the USAF (if it could penetrate a steel pot at 500 yards with FMJ ball ammo). The rest, as they say, is history!

IMO, there's nothing LeMay didn't know about using airplanes to totally destroy evil countries, but his expertise about what an INFANTRYMAN needs in combat left something to be desired. To me there is little doubt that the M14, in 1960, was a better weapon than the M16 was in 1965! Yes, it takes more storage space and vehicles to keep an M14 in ammunitionthan for an M16, but in those days, that was the M16's only realselling point-easier logistics! Maybe they're better now, I don't know. Still don't LIKE them, however!