It couldn’t be that the gun was popular with 3 generations of vets because they are used to it? That the army uses the design because it’s ergonomically easier to use? Nope. It’s a plot by evil gun industry!
***the gun was popular with 3 generations of vets because they are used to it?***
I shot my first M-16 in 1966 USAF. Bought my first AR-15 in 1970. $200.00. Wish I still had it.
Back then, no one wanted a .223 rifle and they were a hard sell. Gun editors railed against them as being under powered, inaccurate and basically useless. Everyone wanted deer rifles.
Then Mel Tappan published his book on SURVIVAL GUNS, and wrote a survival column for GUNS AND AMMO magazine. Suddenly everyone wanted a .223 semi auto rifle!
I bought one of the first Ruger Mini-14s and soon they disappeared from the shelves. I had to sell mine to keep from starving, and later found Ruger was sending all they made then to police forces in France.