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After over five decades of faithful service, the M16 series, an icon of American military might and a direct descendant of the AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner will be succeeded by Sig Sauer's advanced XM7 rifle. The M16, first introduced in 1964, has been the most-produced 5.56x45mm weapon, marking a significant chapter in the annals of U.S. military history. The latest variant, the M16A4, known for its three-round burst feature, will soon yield to the cutting-edge design of the XM7, a testament to the relentless pursuit of small arms excellence.

This video is one of many in a series created from an interview conducted by Edward C. Ezell with Eugene Stoner in 1988 at ARES Inc. in Port Clinton, Ohio. All the footage is courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives. All I have done is cut some of the waiting time between tapes out and tried to fix the audio. Otherwise, what you are seeing is entirely unadulterated. Feel free to ask any questions about the various topics of the video in the comments. I will do my best to answer them.

The Biden administration refused to sell American weapons to Israel unless it provided guarantees the guns would not be given to civilians living in the West Bank, the Washington Free Beacon is exclusively reporting. The Jewish state urgently requested the United States sell it thousands of M-16 rifles following the Hamas terror group's Oct. 7 slaughter of more than 1,400 unarmed Israeli citizens. But the Biden administration would not approve the sale until Israel guaranteed the critical weapons would not reach civilian outposts in the West Bank, which the Biden administration and its Democratic allies view as occupied territory. The...

You must have seen a movie in which the protagonists empties their entire magazine through automatic fire and hits the target every single time. And if you’re a fan of video games, you must have played at least one first-person shooter that made you believe that automatic weapons essentially turn you into a god of war. Unfortunately, that’s the literal opposite of what the truth is, as automatic firearms aren’t used like that in real-life combat, and here’s why. Automatic fire is inaccurate In real life, if they have the option to choose their rate of fire, professionals like to...

Ladies and gentlemen, make sure your blaster is secure because hot dog are these takes hilarious! HAAAAAAA! Checkmate right there! Problem solved! (By the way, I have to show you screenshots because Twitter considers this too "sensitive" for you to see, since guns are yucky and evil to the nerds paid to censor us all from SoCal.) It's a testimony to America's greatness that people this unaware and this idiotic are still alive. Bless the gun owners around this woman that allow her to live in ignorant bliss of how crime, ethics, and self defense work. This next one is...

The head of MI6 has apologised for the “misguided, unjust and discriminatory” ban on gay spies, 30 years after the restriction was lifted. In a message on Twitter, Richard Moore, the head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, apologised for the treatment of LGBT staff and potential candidates before the government-wide security ban was lifted in 1991. Same-sex relationships were decriminalised in Britain in 1967. However, it took more than two decades before the security bar to LGBT individuals serving in any of the UK intelligence agencies was rescinded. Mr Moore said this was down to a “misguided view that they...

There are numerous debates that will likely never be resolved – Coke vs. Pepsi, rock vs. country – but when it comes to firearms, the debate goes deeper than mere opinion, especially when it is the AK-47 vs. M16. Both were developed during the Cold War, and while Soviet soldiers and Americans never actually met (fortunately) on the battlefield, the weapons have been used against one another in countless other conflicts. Unlike ongoing debates over whether a Glock is better than a SIG Sauer or if 9mm is superior to .45 APC, the assault weapon debate is one where soldiers...

Though the M16 rifle had a rocky start, it addressed a crucial need in the United States military: a fully automatic rifle that was both lightweight and controllable. Origins After the conclusion of the Second World War, drawbacks to the iconic M1 Garand design became apparent. Though the rifle benefitted from the powerful .30-06 cartridge, it was hindered by its low 8-round capacity and could fire in semi-automatic only. Though the rifle also served on the Korean Peninsula, its shortcomings were affirmed. What the United States needed was a new, fully-automatic rifle.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.Like the M16 and many other rifle arms since the early 1900s (and a few pistols, most notably Israel’s Desert Eagle), the AK-47 is gas operated.Here's What You Need to Remember: There is a relevant cultural and historical legacy at work here. American arms are informed by a history and a legacy in which a colonial farmer could shoot down a squirrel or a British officer with a rifled musket from a hundred yards. Russian arms, meanwhile, are informed by a history of a lot of peasant soldiers slogging through the mud to engage. No wonder, then, that...

Which Duty AR is King? – Nick Perna, a former soldier and currently a cop, weighs in on whether the M16A2 or M4 is a better overall weapon system. Age equals experience. One of the few perks of getting old is that you get exposed to more things throughout the course of your life. This includes weapon systems. I’ve been making a living with a firearm since the late 1980s. In jobs ranging from the military, bounty hunting and law enforcement, I've carried a wide variety of handguns, long guns, crew-served weapons and other things that go "Bang!" I've personally...

John Kerry endorsed Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden on Saturday, praising him for being willing to do something about an “AR-16 with a long clip.” He was speaking at a Biden campaign event in North Liberty, Iowa. Kerry began by addressing the “courage” Biden showed in pushing gun control as an elected official from Delaware. …. Kerry said, “You heard from Joe about the things he did with the NRA, that took courage, Delaware’s a tough state. (emphasis mine) I’m a hunter, I’m a gun owner, been that all my life.” But he stressed he is the last person who...

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who has played a leading role in investigating the Trump-Ukraine scandal, is facing questions about his own connection to a Soviet-born businessman who has raised money for his campaign and whose company has received lucrative defense contracts from Ukraine's government. That man is Igor Pasternak, the founder and CEO of Worldwide Aeros Corp., which makes blimps for military and commercial customers. His business has also been involved in weapons manufacturing, working with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to produce a modified version of the M4 and M16 rifles, according to reports. ...

I generally oppose gun control, wrote Donald Trump in his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, “but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun.” It was an uncontroversial view for a freewheeling New Yorker, who moved in the same circles as Bill and Hillary Clinton, and liked to speak his mind. Twelve years later, even after he had begun his shift to the right, Trump endorsed Barack Obama’s push for tougher gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting that cost the lives of 20...

Guns commonly available on the consumer market in 43 states are banned for ownership in California, a prohibition upheld this week by a federal judge (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)A federal judge this week upheld California’s ban on many popular semi-auto firearms, saying they were “essentially indistinguishable from M-16s.” The order, in a case brought by several gun owners in 2017 seeking to declare California’s “assault weapon” ban unconstitutional, saw U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton side with the state’s point of view. Staton, extensively citing briefs in the case from anti-gun groups such as the Brady Center, Everytown and Giffords, found that...

The Army adopted its battle rifle in 1963 and has spent 55 years looking for a replacement for the M-16 and its variants. They might have found it in Martin Grier’s Colorado Springs garage. Grier, a self-described inventor who has worked at a local bed and breakfast, built the new “ribbon gun” with a hobbyist’s tools. It looks like a space-age toy drawn by a fifth-grader. But goofy origins and cartoon-looks aside, this could be the gun of the future. The Army is studying Grier’s gun and has ordered a military-grade prototype. ... The specifications are incredible, four 6 mm...

Joe Scarborough often touts his deep roots in the gun culture, growing up in the South. But either he never knew as much about guns as he’s claimed, or his passion for gun control has made him forget or ignore what he once knew. On today’s Morning Joe, Scarborough repeatedly claimed that the AR-15, used in Parkland and in other mass shootings, is “more lethal” than the M-16. H/t FReeper SnuffaBolshevik. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

A half-century is a long time for a standard-issue weapon such as the M16 to remain 'standard.' Here is a quick look at three M16 variants that saw service.The M16 has served as the United States’ primary service rifle for nearly half a century, and in that span of time, many variations of the rifle have been created. Some were prototypes that never went beyond the testing stages, others represented improvements to the original design, and some simply defy easy description. While a complete history of all the unusual M16 versions could fill a book (and probably have), here is...

It is public knowledge that the tropical jungles of Vietnam turned the M16 from space-age assault rifle to unreliable junk which got good men killed. The specter of dead servicemen clutching jammed rifles looms large in the cultural consciousness. It is certainly true that the rifle’s issues in Vietnam are taken to hyperbole, even to the extent that they are thought to affect the M16/M4 family almost 50 years later. Seeking to address these deficits, it is beneficial for us to address each issue which plagued the rifle in turn, and its corresponding solution. In so doing, we shall both...

A gun specialist and a trauma specialist gives us an answer by reproducing a scene from the 1986 war film, Platoon. With the assistance of a fast camera, we will get a good idea on the degree of harm. The M16 slug 5.56 (.223) is known for its “tumble” which is essentially what causes the harm. Nonetheless, while most lead center slugs do this after they enter the tissue, the M16's speed also adds to the injuries. From a distance of 30 feet, what will happen to the ballistic gel mannequin? What will be the impact to the imperative organs?...

M-16 assault rifle with US Navy SEAL insignia on it found near town where Nashat Milhem was given aid after his shooting spree.