I’ve had an M16A1 in my collection since 1992.We’ve put about 35,000 rounds through it over the years and it never fails to function properly.We have shot as many as 1500 rounds in an afternoon and the rifle continued to fire with no jams.It seems like the early problems were fixed by the time my gun was built.
I’m sure. They function just fine at rifle ranges - but Vietnam with its 100% humidity, temperatures consistently above 100 degrees, dust, mud, and the aforementioned cruddy ammo reduced reliability a bunch.
The latest versions of the M16 work fine and are reasonably accurate. But if I was called to return to combat (like they’d ever be that desperate) I’d ask for an M14.