...But then again, the M16 is a hard act to follow.
Not disagreeing, just funny how things turn out. When the M16 first came out and well into the 80's or even 90's, you couldn't hardly open a gun rag without some article telling what a POS the rifle was and how ineffective that puny round was.
If my math is right it has been the standard service rifle for longer than anything else the military has ever used, surpassing even the 1903 Springfield. (Maybe some musket was in use longer but my knowledge of late 18th and early 19th Century military arms is rather scant.)
