The person who said that the M-16 can be self-cleaned might be one of the worst trolls in the US military. 😂

The British Army bought 10,000 M-16s before the US Army did. They were used by the Gurkhas in preference to the FN FAL as it was shorter and lighter.

It was great to see an interview with a soldier on the rifle. It is uncommon to see such footage.

6:40 Johnny, on the issue of AK's to spec ops units during Vietnam, one other reason was that many of these missions, especially MACV-SOG missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, were conducted at night. The AK has a distinctive heavier sound firing compared to the lighter "pop-pop" sound of the M-16, so acoustic concealment was a reason to use the AK as well, if the teams got into firefights.

Knew a Sea Bee who said his unit never let go of the old M14s. Said the real advantage was that if the chopper went down and the M60 was destroyed, you could rip 7.62 rounds from the belts and load them into the M14s

My uncle had kept his copy of the M16 comic book in plastic and I inherited it from him, great memories and best cleaning guide ever made.

"You're all stupid, see they're gonna be looking for army guys"

I only fired 15 shots from an M-16 during my short time in my country's version of the National Guard. The Army instructor brought us to firing range and told us to shoot with zero prior knowledge. My first and last time using the M-16, a burst of GPMG and a single shot from a handgun.

Pretty good summary of the M16. The combination of propellant change and failure to chrome line the chamber and bore created the vast majority of the M16`s problems. Failure to extract due to cartridge brass sticking in corroded chambers was the most common malfunction.

Fun fact: a lesser-known issue of the Vietnam-era M16 was that Colt's machinery gave barrels the wrong twist, destabilizing the bullets so much they'd fragment on impact. The flip side of horror stories about jamming were reports like "the M16 rocks, I hit Charlie in the shoulder and his head exploded," which the Pentagon did its best to classify because they REALLY didn't want to deal with the PR fallout for something that wasn't even intentional on their part.

My dad was issued an M16A1 back in the late 1980’s his only complaint was it was a pain to clean other than that he had nothing but praise

Carried one in the Marines from 79 to 85. Didn’t shoot anything else. I do remember some old timers from Vietnam saying they hated them.

Building an A1 was the best decision ever. Its to this day the most fun rifle to shoot.

Good and accurate description of the switch from stick IMR powder that Stoner designed the gas system around, to the cheaper (1 cent per round) spherical or ball powder.

My grandfather preferred the m1 .30cal carbine (he was a cook) and my father's favourite weapon was the browning hi power (he drove lavs) but they both used to say that the m16 was the best weapon for frontline troops.

In middle school, a friend of mine has his grandpa came in to speak to our class who was a Vietnam Vet. I think we just read a book about it? Well, as a kid I read about how the M16 kept jamming so wanted to ask if his ever did. Before asking, I was thinking 'don't ask if he killed anyone, don't ask if he killed anyone.' Well, I ended up asking if he killed anyone and he said he didn't want to talk about it and he left shortly after. I think about that day a lot.

I was issued the M16A2 with a 203 attached in the 90's

I like to add this about the ammunition, the ammo was originally produced by Remington with ball powder which was successful in field use without modifying the M16. When the M16 became standardized, the army took over ammo production so propellant was switched to surplus IMR (designed as late from WW2) which was compatible with artillery and 7.62 NATO. The bureaucrats intended the 556 ammo to fail so they could justify re-issuing M14 rifles to meet contracts originally promised to Springfield Armory.

The M16's character arc is some classic Heroes Journey stuff: begin as the red-headed stepchild, grow into a reliable friend, and now these days be viewed as an iconic hero (or villain if you listen to the political talking heads).

I appreciate the run down of every issue the original M16s faced before the A1. I have tried to recall by memory each of those when discussing the weapon, and I always come up a few short.

Awesome video!!! Used only the M16A1 & M16A2 while in US Army from 1981-2001. Must admit, liked the M16A1 way better than the A2 - primary reason was the TRIANGULAR forward handgrips!!! That style of handgrips fit the palm of the hand just right, so was able to have better control of the weapon when firing. Usually qualified as a low expert on ranges due to the M16A1. Sometime in the mid-1980s the M16A2 was introduced. Since we still had a turd-load of ammo left for the older weapon, after qualifications one time we had the mission to SHOOT as much M16A1 ammo as possible for it had to be eliminated. The newer ammo for the M16A2 was just a tad bit too short to properly fit the chamber of the M16A1, thus the reason to get rid of as much of the older ammo as possible. After firing what seemed to be about 10,000 rounds or so (probably not actually, but we were out on the range for a long time) of continuous firing, rodding the barrel, lubing, and firing, and repeat the barrel of my weapon actually became warped. Also, we were told that our weapons were supposed to be sold/transferred to the guerilla's fighting in Nicaragua at that time, so going out and shooting another crap-ton of ammo through the weapon and warping the barrel some more was a good motivator (you could tell the barrel was warped because the cleaning rods would no longer easily go through the barrel like it should). Then came M16A2: round forward hand grip, selector switch for a 3-round burst, slightly lighter, and newer ammo. My qualifications with this weapon went from low expert to high sharpshooter. Really did not like the round hand grip, so the reduction in qualification was most likely mental for me. Then, in the very late 1990s, the Army went out and purchased what was then called GREEN AMMO. Yep - the bullet was actually GREEN (or at least the tip) and supposedly was more ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY to the dirt and trees and whatever else it may happen to hit. The GREEN AMMO was a bit lighter than the older ammo and supposedly did not have the copper coated core of the original bullets. Supposedly that new ammo was a bit more accurate and whatever else stuff we were told. Also, because the new ammo had a GREEN tip, it was supposed to be harder to intermix the older ammo with the new, but it did happen at times. You were supposed to be able to SHOOT the new ammo from the M16A1 but unable to SHOOT the older ammo from the M16A2 (or vice-versa, cannot really remember after 20+ years) because of the slight difference in round size. The Army was into cleaning up their weapons ranges bigtime back in the late 1990s (at least the installation I was on) and actually was digging up decades worth of old expended ammo from the ground/berms. Yep - was on many a detail just to go out to a certain range and pick expended bullets out of the ground for a few weeks at a time (would have an MRE, canteen of water, and a bucket to place the bullets in - that was your main mission for the day). Anyways, enough of that dribble. THANKS!!! for the memories!! Also do NOT forget about that TV shows from the late 1980s called, "Tour of Duty" or "China Beach". Was an OK series that can be seen on the H&I Channel (Heroes & icons).

I was a 11B Infantry troop in Viet Nam. Regardless of who used it be it’s Senior Sargent or a 19 year old new troop the M-16 proved unreliable as the shell casing would get stuck and that made it impossible to eject the round. We used Rifle Cleaning rods to push it down the barrel to eject the stuck casing. We nick named a muzzle loader. Some people should have gone to prison over this tragedy. Sgt. E-5 A Co. 1/26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division-RVN

3:20 R. Lee Ermey is in his element.

Another good video. The M-16A1 was my first weapon in the military and I still have my comic book manuals that would never be issued today.

The A1 has Always been my favorite American Weapon

Loved your comment at the end Johnny when you say ARA stands for "Assault Rifle". Right up there with RPG standing for Rocket Propelled Grenade .....LOL! Great video on history of the M16!

The M16 has become one of my favorite action movie firearms, and the first movie I ever saw it in was Predator where Arnold Schwarzenegger used the M16 with the grenade launcher attachment. To me, that's the best look of the M16.

galvanic corrosion: when two disimilar metals meet and the two metals interact with each other (and thus form a form of “rust”). this rust then “eats” the two metals. In a c141b multiple screws and other things had to be the same metal (thus it is bad for something to go “snap” while in flight. If a major thing goes “snap” while in flight, it may cause the plane to crash. that is not a good thing.)

Just rewatched Full Metal Jacket this weekend, funny coincidence :D

If there's things that pretty much represent the Vietnam war, it's Fortunate son, Huey Helicopters, and the M-16.

since you mentioned movie armorers, a video revolving around movie guns, procurement and alternatives would definitively be something i'd watch

Perfect time to play rising store 2 Vietnam, I hate the 20 round magazine.

Johnny, I am so happy you finally made this video. Very well done love your content

I've always wanted to own an M16 kinda wanna build an M16A1 variant

Ah, the Mattel-16. Thankfully, later variants worked out most of the problems. Too bad for the folks who were killed because of those problems.

Very cool video, please more about the Vietnam War greetings from Germany

Ahhhhh…The video I’ve been waiting for 😀 The M-16A2,A4, & M4…My best war buddies (Iraq-03, 07, & 11)-(Afghanistan 2012-2013 & 2014)

Great video as always

Thanks for the Video!

M16a1 is such an American ass weapon

They also changed the charges on the ammo to make it fire cleaner and the rifle is pretty near recoilless good rifle with many variants.

Some of these movies I watched in the second half of 80's as a poor quality VHS copy

We have a hot comment section! Lay down some covering likes, men!

Its alwayd a good day when Johnny Johnson uploads 🏆👏🏻

superb content as always 🙂

Fun facts, members of Australia army both during and after vietnam referenced to M16 as the Armalite

So good. Thanks for the awesome content

this was a great video! learned a lot of context

My research into why the M-16 had jamming problems when it was introduced is because they loaded the wrong type of gunpowder in the bullet cases. However, they figured it out and have used ball-powder with the right burning rate to address this problem. It has a distinctive smell.

Excellent and very informative video. Thank You so much ✨

I’m glad I’m early to another amazing video!

YOUR VIDEOS ARE AWESOME!

Another great video

FINALLY, HES DONE THE VIDEO!

Nice work JJ. You took a big old subject and got it down nicely there, mate. Good work.

Great video.

Maybe FAL next?

Say hello to my little friend. - Tony Montana. 😅😊 Yes the toy gun industry was strong into the 80s. Had a olive green toy m16.

Great video...👍

Ive been looking foward for this one, also what a way to trigger some with the AR trivia lol

I didn't know about the negative impact during the Vietnam War. That's very sad. Very informative. Thank you.

Nice video as always keep up the great work man! And question will you ever do a video on the fn fal?

I was issued an XM-16E1 when I was at Camp Pendleton in 1977. I never knew the significance of that until years later.

10:30 don't even joke about that. We might have to pull your card.

I walked point in Vietnam in and around the DMZ and Con Thien in Vietnam. I never had a problem with my M16. Every chance I had I cleaned my bore and chamber and my rounds in my magazines.

Always good to see a Vietnam vid from you j

Great to see this come out! Especially with Primitve war film production announcement. Vietnam War x Dinosaurs. What's not to love?

The US Board of Ordinance was responsible for those American deaths by changing powder, not chrome lining the chamber not giving out cleaning kits or proper training. It's done well since they corrected these errors and has become the most modular weapon system out there. I carried an A1 in my four year tour in the Marine Corps Infantry. I believed the bad hype at first but never had an issue with mine.

Loving the bait right at the very end.

Whoever came up with the idea of calling it self-cleaning should be remembered forever, because they probably got too many people killed.

I have a 1971 Colt SP1, LOVE it!

Ha! That trick ending! Almost sent me to places I'd rather not go to! Good one, but on me. Ya got me good-'n-easy ... this time. I'll be watchin' hard, from now on.👀

The M16 Rifles have a rough history during Vietnam war.

I was with First Recon, Chu Lai and was issued an M16 to replace my M14 sometime in early 1967. On Patrol we were going down a hill and stopped to see if we were being followed. I was tail end Charlie. When I rolled over to take out those following us the M 16 jammed after three rounds fired. After our extraction I turned in my M 16 for my old trusty M 14.

Video on the m4 carbine? Btw great videos like always.

l know this war very well.....Thanks Johnny for this very accurate video on the M-16......lt is always good to see one of your video's.... Your friend Old F-4 2 Shoe🇺🇸

I was drafted in Jan 1969 and trained on both the M14 and M16, I had no combat experience but loved the M16 after moving on from the M14.

Yes finally I've been waiting for Soo long can you make an AK or m4 next?

Good video! I’d say it was a good summary of the M16, you should make a video on the M14, i do know it does’t make as many appearances in film, but it is a good topic about the last american battle rifle!

I bought a copy of m16 comic book manual to read last year.

Nice one ,sir....

You forgot to mention that the M16s in movies filmed in the Philippines like Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and Hamburger Hill used real M16A1 and CAR-15 rifles made under license by Elisco Machine and Tool. Thats because the Philippine military contributed military equipment, arms, personnel, vehicles, and even aircraft to the film crews.

Honey wake up Johnny Johnson posted

...the original barrel twist was 1 in 14 which just barely stabilized the 55 grain bullet and when it his flesh the rapid deceleration coupled with its instability, caused devastating wounds...later when the Army decided to standardize the M16, it found that a twist of 1 in 12 was necessary to stabilized the slightly heavier tracer round...and this faster twist reduced the previous 'spectacular wounding properties of the round,leading to further criticism of the rifle/round - especially frtom GIs who'd been trained with - and used the M14...

Haha i remember a comment from another video mentioning to make a vid about the m16 and here we are!

Good video Johnny, you put a lot of research into that and I’m sure you had to sift through a lot of myth and misconceptions. I even learned a couple things from you. My M16A2 with the M203 launcher was my favorite weapon in the army. Lots of fun, you Otta do a video on that next

I carried an an XM16E1 as a Paratrooper of A Co (ABN)3/5 INF in the early 1980’s, but the 3 prong flash suppressor had been replaced with the birdcage type. It had seen a lot of use, but it was an excellent weapon.

This is the M16a1, it jams.

“The plastic gun” I’ve heard some vets call it

Also, the formula for the propellent changed from a clean propellent to a dirty one. this also caused excessive dirty weapons.

Love the Rushmore clip

9:10 Ah yes, the Colt Model 653. Licensed in the Philippines by Elisco, where it popularly became known as "Baby Armalite".

7:27 is there something wrong with that barrel or is it just me?

When I was a kid I had such a hard-on for this gun. I would watch war movies and thought it just looks SO cool. I remember being like nine years old and wanting one badly.

Man a late as 2014 i was trained with the M16A1 for small 5'9ft Asian the gun was very good. I had to compete on a 3 man team assemble disassemble didn't win but had a hell lot fun. So the m16 has a special place in my heart.

I was trained on the T65K2 rifle (the Taiwanese made M16A1) during my military service so I have quite a lot of memories with it haha.

You didn't really bring up the whole ammo sabotage going on with the M16, where they used inadequate powder for its design. The design relied on using a higher quality powder that burned cleaner. This meant the remaining debris could be expelled by the high gas pressures. The AR was designed to pressure wash itself, but bad powder impedes flow through the gas tube. The cleaning kits were unnecessary because Stoner showed if you use the right equipment, the most you have to do is oil the thing every now and then. I haven't cleaned mine in nearly 2 years and it's put a few thousand down range in that time.

thanks for the ISO metrics!

7:27 Is the barrel of that M-16 bent upwards? 🤭

About to make me rage with that last bit of trivia lol