The only reason there is an AR-15 type Rifles is due to the Democrats. Back in the late 50’s early 60’s the US Military held Test Trials to adopt a New Rifle for the Military.

The AR-15 Failed the Army Test Board three times due to Sand Test, Water Test & one other that I can’t think of at this moment. This was during the Lyndon Johnson administration who had appointed Robert S Macnamara as head of the War Dept.

Macnamara did away with the Army Test Board and had the AR-15 adopted as the new Military Rifle for all the services. At the time of adoption it was called Macnamara’s 22 & Mickey Mouse rifle due to the plastic stocks.
Over the years it has been modified so many times to correct all the deficiencies in the original rifle. It was also the reason we lost thousands of GI’s in Vietnam due to jamming & defective ammunition.

Macnamara was formerly with Colt Industries who was awarded the first contract for production of the new Military Rifles.

All this info is available in many sources including the NRA Publication the American Rifleman.

Every time I hear the Democrats go on a rage about passing Gun Laws I think of this.

Really? I just think about the 2nd Amendment.

I remember it as the M16 and it was said to be made by Matel. I think about why there are never mass shootings at cop shops.

I didn’t know that, good to know!!

"Macnamara was formerly with Colt Industries who was awarded the first contract for production of the new Military Rifles."

Robert McNamara (Secretary of Defense - 1961-1968) was NEVER employed by Colt; he was in the US Army during WW2 (Captain to Lt. Colonel) and then employed by Ford Motors (rising to President) until he became Secretary of Defense in 1961. Following his tenure as Secretary of Defense, he became President of the World Bank.

The M-16 was developed by Armalite, a subsidiary of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation of Germantown, Maryland. The M-16 was adopted by the USAF to replace the US M-1 Carbine. The company was too small to produce the volumes of M-16 requited and licensed Colt to make the rifle. The AR-15 was sent to Vietnam for testing by the Special Forces who reported favorably on its performance. Unfortunately, when it was adopted by the military as a universal shoulder arm, the DOD (especially McNamara's statistical "Whizz Kids") refused to chrome line the barrels and they rusted in the humid SE Asia climate, causing jams. Also, the Army did not issue cleaning kits claiming that the rifle was self-cleaning, thus adding to the corrosion and other woes!

Oh, and by the way, Robert McNamara was a Republican appointed by Kennedy and he remained a staunch Republican until 1978 when he switched parties.

The gun they should have adopted was something like a scaled down H&K G3 (91) chambered in something like the Russian 7.62X39.

Better than the 7.62X39mm was the British .280/30, a 7mm intermediate cartridge (7X43mm). It was offered as a NATO standard, but was rejected by the US Army (Col. Rene' Struder) which demanded a full power 30 caliber cartridge (7.62X51mm). The later proved uncontrollable in full-auto in the M-14, thus leading to the adoption of the 5.56X45mm in less than one decade.

in the meantime, all you'z guys that hate the AR platform, go stand in front of me with one, at... well lets say 500 yards for grins and let me fire a few from that underpowered jamming POS...

But why the hell would you worry about the gun, instead of the 2nd amendment.... Geez

AR is one of the most innovative platforms and versatile platforms I've ever seen... crossbow, 22 to who knows what semi, and even bolt top halves in 50 bmg.... anything else that versatile?

The inventor of the AR rifles had it designed for DuPont ? pellitized POWDER and the Army decided to increase velocity by using ball powder which gummed up the works iirc.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1981/06/m-16-a-bureaucratic-horror-story/545153/

The M 14 was an excellent choice to replace the M 1 and I never had any trouble controlling it in full auto as long as three round bursts were fired. The BAR was more controllable only due to its weight.

When Mc Namamara was at Ford, he pushed the Edsel and fought the Mustang

boy o boy! i had to put on my muck boots, the bs in the op was so deep. remember


boy o boy! i had to put on my muck boots, the bs in the op was so deep. remember some of us were around then .

Why is this thread titled "Another School Shooting?" Stupid title for the subject matter!

I'm having trouble connecting the point of the OPs post with the title of thread. Maybe it's just me...
The AR is just a semi auto rifle. Just like the ones that don't look so scary to the left.
ANYONE that thinks that the anti 2nd amendment crowd will try to cut this AR calf from the herd without killing every cow in the corral is sadly mistaken.

Don't fall for it,... putting fish net stockings on a Nun don't make her a whore.... Regardless of what the antis are trying to sell the masses.

In the M-14, which was a piece of finicky crap. Controllable in the FN-FAL which is what all of NATO should have gone to.

djs, that's very interesting. I grew up in Germantown, MD. They recently tore down the old Fairchild building. Thanks for posting that.

There's a difference between correlation and causation.

i do believe johnson's dirty little southeast asian war did introduce a whole generation of young men to the benefits of the m-16 and it's civilian brother version. and that's fine.

but, here we are now. and the ar-15 and kalishnikov types are being billed as the archetype of evil weaponry by the anti-gunners.

i always preferred a bar. but that's personal preference.

what we're seeing on all the media channels now is a demonization of the rifles. one dude on fox said they weren't for hunting they were for killing. i guess he forgot about target practice? anyways we gun owners are under assault again by the msm. no one can breathe a complete sentence without mentioning gun control.

Well color me fooled. I click on a "fake" thread title to find an original post filled with bogus information. At least others straightened out the erroneous information. Just wow.

Do you remember the very short (300') runway between the Fairchild headquarters and I-70S (now I-270) which was used by Ed Uhl (Fairchild President) for his daily commute between Hagerstown (MD) and Germantown? I remember seeing Uhl's Turbo-Porter taking-off or landing several times. The runway was only about 100 feet from the Interstate! I "Google-maped" it and the runway is still in the aerial photo.

I suspect the wife and I have shot more rounds through an M1A than a lot have... we found them FAR from finicky... VERY FAR.

I was astounded by the remarks by both the sheriff and the gov of Florida at the news conference yesterday — “we have to make sure this never happens again!” How do you do that short of a totalitarian state and even then nobody can guarantee anything. Insulting. How does that happen in a republic known for its personal freedoms and its 2nd amendment?

Right back to the indignant, breast-beating, gun-control palaver. We had guns in our cars in high school and our dorm room closets in college but somehow mass shootings by marginalized people of evil intent did not occur. Of course, In the last mid-century, we were a much more civil nation than now too. What changed? Either the left is really stupid or cynical beyond belief, knowing that these occurrences are really a part and parcel product of the valueless world view they have brow-beat this country with the last half century. Nobody wants to seem to ask about a root cause analysis when they can jump right to a gun-control cause.

Another question: what do these sheriffs think they are doing by doing a stand-up, minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow account of the scenario like I heard today? None of this should be that publicized. The next deviant actually get a baseline blueprint from which to tailor his plan. Or the seed-idea from which he will grow one.

And then there is the fact that too many adults in high places knew about this kid and his threats and troubles.

Something is very rotten and it’s not in Denmark.

Right? If history has taught us anything, it's that people will be killing people, so long as there are people to kill.

Cain slew Abel with a rock and there were less people on earth than fingers on my hand.

I think the military was heading in the right direction when they went from the M-1 Garand to the M-14. To me the next logical step would have been something akin to the Ruger Mini 14 firing a 7.62X39 round necked to 6.5 or 7mm.
The first time I picked up an M-16 in Navy Gunner's Mate school I couldn't believe how small the locking lugs were and the need for an assist. IMO, if it needed an assist it was a deeply flawed design.
The current AR platform is proof that if you throw enough time, money and effort at a design you will eventually end up with a decent weapon.

To my point — it’s not the rock, club, or gun, that kills, it’s the heart. Which is why we need a (more) moral-based society which we as a nation subscribed to to a greater degree and jettisoned in the recent past because we were told and taught it is anachronistic and passe’ But laws (gun laws) don’t capture the conscience, morals do.

Interesting you brought up the Bible, the source for divine, moral law.

Yes, divine, moral law. Which shows you that the law means nothing.

What many forget about the Bible is that it also shows the nature of man/

No, the law was/is meaningful. It was/is the “mirror” that reveals our true state — our fallen nature which I agree with you about.
Which is why Christ came.

These people believe the .223 round tumbles through the air and does massive damage because of this.

You're way toooooo deep in the weeds.

I trained 800 Officers on the M14 and of thousands of rounds fired not one stoppage/malfunction! As for full-auto fire and control....the average individual without training won’t be able to control muzzle rise! With training it can be done quite well!

I see that a lot of the opposition is part of the Dumbd Down Society of today. You have been brainwashed into believing all you see in the Media & TV.
I don't judge anyone by their affilliation as that is only used as a coverup for their actions. As with Most Politicians today who go by Republican are mostly RINO"S and that is exactly what Macnamara was a RINO.

I'll leave you to your own misery's to ponder.

1960s Mattel made a toy called the 'M-16 Marauder'
...hence the adopted nickname ' barbie gun' for the real polymer M16.

Hasbro Co. made an M16 accessory to go with their 1960s 'G.I. Joe' Green Beret doll
Hmmm...so why the real M16 was not nicknamed the 'G.I Joe gun'...I don't know..??...

Cops have shot & killed a customer in Walmart for handling a toy rifle he picked up off the retail shelf...

I had one!

405wcf

I suspect you have. Was this an static firing line/target range or an real world hotspot where you and the wife were receiving enemy engagement?

Engagement no, but if you know what rattle battle is, short of full auto, its as close as one can get for aimed fire..... Pretty damn sure that incoming rounds don't scare the gun.... and we have been prone in water and mud doing it at Perry....

I"m just going out on a limb here, that the op rod on the M1/M14 and M1 carbine are and have been used both as the op rod AND a forward assist.... [bleep] designs I suppose.

The particular deficiency you mentioned was caught and corrected quickly. The increased pressure from the ball powder caused the M16 to be over gassed. A heavier buffer was designed and all in country buffers were quickly replaced.

I had very few problems with my M16A1, and a grand total of zero with the various M16A2's I was issued.