For the sake of consistency, I must insist that you guys continue to use the SpongeBob tape on every single dust test.

FAL and G3 tests are definitely in order.

Little anecdote here. I used to HATE the AR platform and M9 for unreliability. It was pretty much for reasons you said: service rifles/pistols. Qualifying in BMT as a young Airman, we were given franken-16’s, which were a hodge-podge of M16 and M16A1/A2 lowers and M16, A1, and A2 uppers that we’re barely kept in running order and fed no-lead frangible ammo. The rifle I got had a 16 lower with “auto” hand stamped out with X’s and “burst” hand stamped under it, and an A1 upper, however the hand guards had broken and been replaced with A2 style. Good news was it had the old school lefty sheet metal brass hood. Past round 10, however it was a bolt action. Fast forward to Afghanistan, 2012, we were again issued tired, Reagan-era A2’s as we weren’t front-line troops (aircraft mechanics). At least we were given ammo, as the ANA had been shooting about as many Americans as they had their own countrymen. I cleaned my rifle as often as I could and it was never abused (just worn around base and on the ramp), however it was rare that I could drop the bolt and chamber a round after a day or two. A dust storm would make it hard to even open the rifle without mortaring it. Why? We were only given CLP to maintain the rifles, and as much as I tried to dry out every cranny and never use the CLP after the armory-mandated first cleaning, the thing remained a magnet. Combine that with a buffer spring as tired as the Russian “hairdressers” at the boardwalk, the thing was more useful as a brick. My opinion didn’t get better, as each recurring qual was done on equally tired A2s with leadless ammo, until the Camp Bastion disaster. Marines got rekt by Taliban on the flightline due to lack of security and complacent training for non-combat troops, losing a good chunk of Harriers and some good guys. If it happened to Marines, we all figured we were screwed. After some well-deserved peepee smacking by the top levels of the Pentagon, the AF dumped all the trashed A2s and standardized the M4/M68 combo, changed qualification to a tactical course of fire, and started using proper ball ammo for quals. My opinion of the M9/92 was equally bad for very similar reasons. Every encounter with the service pistol, it was trashed and unreliable. Fast forward a few years, and my two go-to guns are a Colt 6920/Aimpoint PRO and a 92FS. What changed? My guns aren’t 30 year old service weapons abused by generations of teenagers. Accepting that EVERY design will be trash when placed in military service allows you to less critical of any of them. Give it ten years, and the P320 will be widely hated.

No lube....Extra sand. Sounds like mondays at my work.

Ugh, flashbacks. No lube or dry lube is the key. All you need is an IED blast to make it 100% legit.

No suprising to me ar15s are usually very reliable as long as nothing gets in the mags or internals. Great video guys

pretty accurate test. In the invasion of Iraq we still put CLP on the inside of our rifles. The taping up the barrel is pretty legit we used duct tape to make shoot through muzzle caps. My rifle jammed our first ambush from the dust inside from the convoy. Switched to my M203 until I could get it back up and running. Thanks for giving me nightmares of the moon dust Have photos of how we set up our rifles if you ever need a reference

I always love the "its not full auto it's not real" in every experience ive had in the military ive never fired full auto unless it was blanks

This just in: Popular and well developed service rifles tend to work. People's minds are collectively blown. Love you guys :^)

This is what i want. Independent tests that are realistic and unbiased. Thank you for your great work!

The action sounded gritty as fuck after the sand kicking test. Impressive that it basically kept going though!

I knew members of Sapper squads in Afghanistan who saw combat on a regular basis. They cleaned their guns, on average, every 2 weeks and lived to talk about it.

It's almost as if they knew what they were doing when they designed them...

In the interest of science, please do this test again with properly lubricated weapons. My M16 and M60 were always lubricated and never failed to work due to coastal sand or highlands red clay dust contamination. as a door gunner, we constantly generated clouds of dust and or sand going into and out of landing zones.

If the platform didn't work in a dusty environment, we wouldn't have been using it overseas these past 20 years. Haters gonna hate. Both the AK and AR platforms are solid designs. Just a fact.

Another problem with the AR design and military issue M16s and M4s is the that the buttstock is attached to the lower receiver and the barrel to the upper, and the upper and lower are attached to each other by steel pins going through aluminum. Due to age, hard treatment, and bayonet/buttstroke drills, the pin holes in the upper and lower receivers get wallowed out, leading to a sloppy fit between the upper and lower. In Afghanistan, I had a fairly new M16A4 but it already had quite a bit of slop between the upper and lower that let moondust in. The outside of the rifle could be spotless but I'd pop the rear pin and the bolt carrier and inside of the receiver would be coated with a decent amount of sand.

You forgot to register that plastic bag to the ATF with a form 2.

The Kübelwagen is running again! Nice!

Would love to see some older WWII stuff put through this test. Put the North African theater into perspective a bit. Maybe even Wild West...

I was counting the days for this video. 👍

I think that over lubrication could cause malfunctions in conditions like that. That fine dust mixed with CLP would create a gritty paste. Chuck Pressburg said when he was overseas in super sandy environments he would carry his rifle dry. He would also carry a small bottle of lube on his kit and if he knew he was going to be in a extended fire fight, he would apply lube the first chance he could.

Worth noting the the sand was kicked into the AK with dust cover open, bolt closed. With the AR, dust cover open, bolt locked open. So the AR actually had it worse for that last part. Impressive results from both guns.

after 2 deployments with an m4, I FULLY trust the system. Other than the beat up old m16's we had in TRADOC, i've only ever had 1 malfunction with an m4 in 10 years, and it was a strange fluke of a trigger not resetting once. I just racked the charging handle once and never had another problem. This video also makes the case for dry types of lube. I use hornady one shot because it has crazy corrosion protection and quickly dries into a dry lube. DI systems will blow a lot of junk out of the action if there isn't wet lube keeping all the dust in.

I did alot of convoy work when I was deployed, this is a very realistic test.

It's just such a great design there's a reason were still using it to this day. Great show guys.

I just realized... This means throwing your m4 on the sand to get some of it stuck on your gun is a valid form of applying camo to it since it's gonna work fine as long as no holes are open.

This matched my real life findings. My coyote calling rifle is a post ban heavy barrel (.950) AR15. We move around a ton on ATVs and dust is a real stopper of even bolt action rifles. I run my guns dry and carry a can of compressed air in my quad bag. Every time we stop to do a stand I blow out my rifle and shotgun. Oil has aways been our biggest enemy with dust.

No wonder the US is still using this thing

Last deployment to Iraq I was in dusty LZ on almost every mission, and out on patrol for days on end. I always ran dry (but pre lubed with Rem Oil) which seems to give it a dry smooth operation.

Holy crap, I wasn't expecting this series so soon. I'll have to go watch the other one as well. Can't wait to see more!

Speaking from some experience, as a 10yr army afghan vet, I think its just that soldiers are taught to use unreasonable amounts of break free CLP-4 Cleaner Lubricant Preservative. It makes the dirt stick in places it probably shouldn't go, and cleaning a weapon in the field just makes it worse. Additionally the under utilization of the dust cover is definitely a factor.

"Didn't need the forward assist" Ian looking smug... "Click"

I'd like to see an L85A2/A3 dust test... It'd probably die but it'd be interesting to see.

I think a K98K and a SMLE dust test would be interesting to see

I see you have the standard issue Spongebob duct tape for this test. Nice job!

The only time I’ve ever had an issue with moon dust was during emv before my first deployment. I had just finished cleaning my rifle and had never thought of not running it wet and when some ospreys came in to land dust went everywhere. We were then flown to conduct an assault on a mount town and my rifle had become a magazine fed straight pull bolt action. After I had time to clean it out with a toothbrush I was left with a substantial clump of wet oily sand in my hands and a good lesson.

MilSpec Issue Spongebob 100 mph tape. Love it.

Upon rewatching this... During the dust kick test, the bolt was locked back, the AK does not lock back, so the AK had the benefit of the chamber being protected by the bolt, the AR did not. So the test was actually worse for the AR.

The bolt was also locked to the rear when kicking dirt on it and the AK was closed. So I’m even more impressed with the AR.

This is a fantastic test to do. Dust is a much more common contaminant around than heavy mud, and much harder to avoid conflict with! Great work!

Totally wasn’t expected Gun Jesus when I clicked on this video. Nice seeing ya from Forgotten Weapons :)

I'd give you a bazillion thumbs up purely for M4gery😂😂😂

Glad to see you kept the dust out before you put dust in it. Lol

Tons and tons of people (including myself in the past) suffer from the outdated stigma that ARs are unreliable; I'll trust my life with a good AR any day.

Did much better than I thought it would

Here's how I envision the InrangeTV gun test battery in a few years; First, convoy dust test (with dust cover closed if available, then open), then dust kick in the chamber to simulate "convoy dismount" or whatever, then BAM mud test cause its "raining". Every gun gets a 30 min. test video that we can argue about for years, It'll be great.

The Army uses primarily a form of government-issued CLP. We're trained to use it to clean the system, then leave a light-thin coating on all working surfaces, so we never really run our weapons dry. That may explain the anecdotal stories of jams due to dust in the field. Commercial CLP is allowed and encouraged, but if the same light residue is left then it would likely have the same result. Keep doing what y'all do gents!

ARs are incredible

Had to mortar my AR today. My cheap reloaded ammunition had a round that looks like it was hit with a hammer (flattened on two sides). Cleared the stuck round and the double feed it caused ans was still able it to tag the coyote.

original M16s and A1 models had problems when we lubed them per spec, mostly to keep them functioning in a very humid environment. We realized early on that minimal lube worked best, but frequent cleaning.

After the first failure from being buried with the bolt open someone, somewhere just said "SEE!?!?! THEY ARE UNRELIABLE TURDS".....

Look up Fajr al Joroud, its an operation launched by the lebanese army in the summer of 2017 to take back 120 square kilometers of barren dusty mountains from isis, their m4s and m16s worked fine

I m russian and i think that the ak is a perfect gun for every situations And i also think that the ar is a perfect gun for every situations

Are we not gonna talk about the fact that the AR had the bolt locked back when they did the "kick sand all over it" test? It still did just as well as the AK which had the bolt forward in the same test.

Ive gotten ny m4 all sorts of dirty running lanes and 5 second rushes in the field and its been all lubed up, with those gi mags and its ran for me just fine, these havent been the best taken care of, these weapons are really sealed up and function well, however if you put them up to unnatural abuse youre going to have issues for the army doctrine you always put your dustcover up, it just becomes habit after a while and even if you dont they still are just fine in those conditions as long as the bolts closed, great video yall

5:20 DUSTY ROAD, TAKE ME HOME TO THE PLACE I BELONG!

Is the sponge Bob tape an homage to carnickcon? The greatest firearm channel that was ripped away from us

There's a reason why most countries field one or the other, they are both fantastic platforms. Excellent video guys keep it up.

I know of at least one story from a Primary & Secondary modcast where it was stated that they would go out with no lube, or as little lube as possible to allow their gun to get through a mag, as 9 times out of 10 they never needed to fire more than one mag (if that, or at all); if a "real" firefight broke out, however, they would "lube-douche" their rifles with as much lubricant as possible right then-and-there, and worry about cleaning up the mess when they got back to base. In other words, the trick to breaking an M4/M16 is to be in a unit where you're screamed at if you don't properly lube your weapon before every trip past the gate.

FAL. Since IDF dropped the FAL for the Galil, I'd love to see how it actually performs or fails in moondust

Not as spectacular as mud tests, but a very great tests. Thanks for driving to moon and back for this tests. ;)

One thing people forget to consider... is the fact the quality of the gun, if it's Colt, it's probably going to jam like hell.

In 1987 in bct at fort dix. I was issued a gm hydromatic m16. I put a round in the mag that had dropped on the sand and had particulate on it. Had a horrendous malfuntion, drill sergeant and i had an awfull time clearing it. He was laughing at the end and said, pvt lee. I hope you learned something. Did not have to do pushups over it. I think a lesson learned is to keep your magazines covered in the pouch on your ta50 gear and aways check your ammo when loading a mag and make sure it is clean.😂

Looking Forward to the Type 38 test.

If you want it to fail, give it to an Afghan.

AK bolt closed and AR bolt open in your final kick dust test. Prevents dust do get into the chamber etc. Guess thats y the AR stopped working and the AK was still running.

While I was serving as a gunner in a convoy security unit in Iraq back in '06, one of our folks left their M4 leaned against a truck after the mission elements had formed up. When the column pulled out, the carbine fell into the tracks in the sand, and was run over by roughly 40 heavy trucks, mostly 6x6 armored 5 tons, tractor trailer rigs, and M1117's. The error was quickly realized, and we returned to recover the weapon. I happened to be the one to find it. The action was packed tight with the notorious moon dust with the dust cover having been left open, and the buffer tube ring on the lower receiver was cracked, but the nut was not loose. The action was completely seized. After separating the upper and lower receiver, and banging the upper against my boot until the bolt carrier freed up, I inspected it for damage, particularly deformation of the barrel and receiver, I found everything straight and true. The rifle functioned properly at the test fire pit without further cleaning. Any autoloader can be forced to failure with the introduction of foreign material into the mechanism, and all rifles have areas of close tolerance. I never would have thought of the AK's lack of a bolt hold open as a benefit, but it clearly keeps dirt out of the breech lock, should someone kick dirt all over it. The M15/M16 series rifle has an inexplicably bad rep. Between a few years on the shooting team, and a long tour in Iraq, I can't ever recall a malfunction or failure that wasn't operator error or a faulty worn out magazine. I've personally fired hundreds of thousands of rounds through M16's, M4's, and my personal AR15's. I have the benefit of advanced small arms training, but these rifles are truly easy to keep running, and have more than enough practical advantages over the AK variants to make the M16 A4, and M4 my personal weapon of choice. Assuming, of course that I can't have my old turret mounted Ma Deuce, or M240B to properly lend cause for pause to ne'er do wells, and put the lead to any foolish enough to play around the boundaries of the ROE.

In your previous test you put dust on AK with bolt closed but in this video you put dust on AR with bolt open, that's unfair.

I remember reading something written by a Marine (Stryker unit?) about the Iraq invasion of 2003. The Marine wrote about the constant weapon maintenance done by Marines during the invasion, and seemed surprised that the Army units he observed did not do the same. He commented on the state of the soldiers weapons that they passed on the road, and the fact that no one was working on filthy weapons. Anyway, I'm sure that everyone has read the story of Jessica Lynch's unit and how their weapons jammed during the ambush due to a sandstorm. I have no doubt that constant weapon maintenance and protection from dust is a must in a sandy environment.

Impressive last part, AR’s are at least as dust resistant as AK’s, another urban legend blown. Thanx!

Awesome video as usual. It's a standard full-semi m4gery . thanks for pointing that out ;-) . a well built AR-15 can be a very reliable rifle if done right. a 'lubed" rifle could bring more dust/dirt into the receiver and possibly cause more malfunctions. that is why both the AKm and the AR-15 were both originally designed NOT to 'require' lubrication.

The one thing I hate about some test videos is they get it so obviously dirty and won’t try to make it shootable as if the soldier wouldn’t try anything to make it run. I like that y’all shake the gun at least

Genuinely surprised conventional knowlage suggests Mud = AR>AK Sand = AK>AR Id say the Ak handled it better but still. All in all, another solid informative vid from inrangetv. 👍

In VietNam in the dry season in I Corps we had failures due to grit and dust with the LSA we used. The muzzles we covered with unlubricated condoms and always checked the dust covers, the Mags were the problem in our web gear the flaps did not keep dust out well enough.

I have carried an AR in a buggy (Chenowth) for many years. I am a girl, I don't want to be out in the desert alone so I always take an AR. I took my most over gassed upper, put an old chromed BCG in it with a heavy buffer and spring. Running it dry it's very resistant to sand/silt. I kind of built it to be my "sand gun" and it has lots of mass in the BCG and buffer so it doesn't shoot as smoothly as my other guns but it is highly reliable in sandy/dusty conditions. Foam ear plug in the barrel, dust cover closed and plastic bags rubber banded over spare magazines and it has never failed me.

Military ammo is poop and mags in supply circulation are salt shakers half the time.

Let’s see the garand next!

Early on in the GWOT the problem was worn out magazines, magazines were just recirculated even if they had “bad” painted on them.

I never had an issue with dust on my M-4 in Afghanistan, but we did a lot of pm on our weapons to keep them clean as possible for the conditions. Trick: Very little lubricant, or dry lube. That dust can get everywhere. Sincerely, a vet, 2/504 PIR. OEF II.

I dunno years of _Vietnam_ _times_ veterans saying the M16 jams if you just even think about a dust mote must be true.

Laughs in Eugene stoner

I was a Marine artilleryman for 6 years and have an interesting story about lubricant and sand/dust at 29 Palms. We were told to disassemble the howitzer's breech and primer feed mechanism and remove all grease and clp from them due to the desert conditions. Four of our six guns, all M777A2, did this. I was one that didn't and while yes my breech turned into a nasty dirty soup it never once failed or seized up. The three other guns with no lube or grease ended up seizing their breech blocks after a week of firing.

This definitely show's the good and the bad. The good - it's a milled, high quality weapon that works fine if it's clean. The bad - imagine hearing that dreaded click during the only moment in desert combat when you have the enemy in your sights.

Any plans to try out delayed roller guns that did so well on the original mud tests?

Wait...You guys kicked moondust onto and into the AR with its bolt locked back, but the AK had its bolt forward sealing up a huge opening into the chamber.

i hate watching these because the guns get ruined but i also like watching em because it shows whats more reliable

every cell in my body began to scream when I saw Ian throw the rifle on the ground and begin kicking sand into it?

When do we get a video of the tactical forward arrow on the magwell. This needs a video explaining the tactical applications of the arrow.

Just for shits and giggles I'd like to see more open guns like say the M1 garand/M14 or SKS rifles do. Maybe some newer rifles like the Scar. AR-18 would be cool, but You'd probably need to go to Canada to fine one that the owner would be willing to strap to Karl's jeep. Then you have the problem of Canada is only dusty part of the year, and not everywhere would have the dust you are looking for.

1:20 the amazing thing is that cars run in the arizona moon dust with thousands of explosions in their cylinders per minute for years

The AR is the finest rifle ever devised.

The drive part would be great with some music.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VZ-52!

This just made me decide to get a BCM upper

Yup. In a dry dusty environment you want the weapon dry as possible and still function. I live in Georgia. So to protect from corrosion I run my guns reasonably wet, but still not soaked. Just a little oil on bearing surfaces and keep the barrel with a think coat to protect it.

Did you guys realize the bolt was open on the AR unlike the AK?

You didn't have the bolt locked open when you kicked the dirt into the AK. Why did you have it locked to the rear on the AR? Seems a little unfair.

I don't even worry about the parts used, it is what it is and you do your best to recreate it, the main difference I find with the AK is if it does get dirty it's quick to clean with just a canteen whereas the AR needs detail strip. It's so funny how bored you get when everything still runs

About time! I've been looking forward for this vid. Thanks guys 👍👍

Could you please link the video of the Swedish special forces with the g3? I haven't been able to find it.