After reviewing my blog records, I realized that I’d never
actually reviewed this particular weapon, though I’d mentioned it in prior blog
entries. As such, some of this might
seem repetitive, so if you’re bored, move along, nothing to see here.
M16. In the late 1950s, a guy named Eugene Stoner
invented a new weapon for the US Army, the AR15, to replace the M14, the weapon
which replaced the M1 Garand as its standard weapon in the 50s. Unlike the Garand and M14, the AR15 had no
wood, but a triangular plastic foregrip and stock – some thought this made it
cheap, like a toy (“the Mattel gun”) – though the German WWII submachine gun,
the MP40, came out several decades before and was 100% metal and plastic, a
departure from the Bergmann and ERMA submachineguns the Germans were using
immediately before. Also, unlike the M14
calibered in 7.62x51mm, aka .308, the AR15 had a new cartridge and caliber, the
.223/5.56mm.
After some modification (the Air Force adopted the AR15
without nonsense or cluelessness) the Army adopted the AR15 as the M16. In doing so it modified Stoner’s design
slightly and also changed the formula for the .223 ammunition charge. This caused immense problems when the weapon
was used in combat in Vietnam, prompting a change to the M16A1. Both the M16 and M16A1 are select-fire: they
fire semi-auto OR full automatic, thanks to an auto sear inside the weapon.
They both have the triangular handguard; these used
to be so common but unwanted as to be thrown away, whereas nowadays they’re
difficult to find and in high demand, though they will only fit guns with 20”
barrels, and many AR15s these days have 16” barrels.
Later on, the military ascertained that full automatic was
wasting ammunition, and changed the design to fire three round bursts. This became the M16A2. In addition to that change, cosmetically the
weapon went from the triangular handguard to a cylindrical handguard. All of these are with 20” barrels.
Currently the US military is using the M4 Carbine,
which has a 14.5” barrel and a vertical foregrip under the handguard. The M203 grenade launcher has been a popular
attachment under the handguard, obviously replacing the foregrip. The M4A1 brings back the full auto
provision instead of the 3 round burst.
AR15. In 1963, the civilian, semi-auto only AR15 was
introduced. The internals of the weapon
forgo swapping in the auto sear from the M16 and easily converting it to select
fire or full auto. The caliber is the
same: .223/5.56.
In 1993 I purchased a brand new AR15, this was a Colt
weapon with a 20” barrel and cylindrical handguard, meaning outwardly it looked
identical to an M16A2. I fired it once
at Clark Brothers range in Warrenton, Virginia and sold it, partially in
exchange for the Mauser Kar98K (WWII German, built in 1942) which I still have.
More recently I purchased a Springfield Armory Saint,
a more recent AR15 variant with a 16” barrel, new, proprietary handguard,
collapsible stock, and other goodies, still in semi-auto format. A major cosmetic difference is the absence of
a carrying handle, which over the years came off once owners decided to
fit all sorts of night sights on the top of the receiver, which the carrying
handle interferes with. I’ve fired it
more than once, which puts me ahead of my prior ownership.
According to Springfield Armory, it took its time when
coming up with the Saint, and when it did so, it took an eclectic mix of all
the fancy features which AR15s had developed over the years, in particular (as
identified in Springfield’s marketing materials): mid-length gas system
w/pinned gas block; flip-up sights; M-LOK handguard (plastic, of course – have
yet to see a wood handguard for an AR15); accu-tite tension system (whatever
that is); forged upper and lower receivers (the two major sections of the gun
itself); and M16 bolt carrier group.
Also, by now the standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds, and the
current standard mags are made of plastic instead of steel (Magpul P-Mags).
As noted, the AR15 is semi-auto only, meaning it fires as
quickly as you can pull the trigger. The
M16, M16A1 (full auto) and M16A2 (3 round burst) are legal for civilians but
only as Class III weapons, meaning you have to be willing to pay in the
neighborhood of $25,000 and wait 6-9 months for the BATF to do a full background
check on you. Most civilians are probably
satisfied to pay $500-$1000 for a semi-auto AR15 and leave it at that. I know I am.
.223/5.56. The two are not exactly the same: a gun
chambered for 5.56 can fire .223 without a problem, but a gun chambered for
.223 cannot fire 5.56. I noticed my
Saint specifically says “5.56mm” on the barrel.
FYI, most modern weapons have the caliber explicitly labelled on the gun
itself (e.g. my Beretta says “9mm Parabellum” on the slide).
There are two major types of 5.56mm: in M193 format, this
has a 55 grain bullet, and in M855 format, it has a 62 grain bullet. Supposedly M193 (55 grain) does a nice job
on flesh but a poor job shooting through doors, windows, clothing, foliage,
etc, whereas M855 (62 grain) does a better job of the latter but then simply
zips straight through the person you’re trying to kill, without doing much in
the way of damage. Take your pick.
vs. AK47. I also have a civilian, semi-auto AK47, a
Romanian variant with black stock and foregrip.
Of course it’s in 7.62x39mm caliber.
The Saint has a fairly roundabout way of loading, whereas the AK is
simple: load up the magazine and rack
the charging handle. The conventional
wisdom is that AR15s are more accurate than AKs, but below 300 yards the
differences are far less substantial.
The strange thing is, I keep hearing that the #1 reason
for the .223/5.56 caliber’s adoption was because the rounds are smaller than
.308/7.62x51 or .30-06, and so soldiers can carry more of them. Certainly 5.56 cartridges are clearly smaller
than 7.62x39 cartridges. But when I look
at the 30 round AR magazines and compare them with 30 round AK magazines, they
aren’t a whole lot smaller. In absolute
terms, a 30 round AK magazine really isn’t all that big, at least as far as I
perceive.
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