.. In large measure, the US experienced "problems" with the M16 in Vietnam for three basic reasons. The first being that it was touted as being virtually maintenance free, just look at the comic book type of instructions that were issued with the gun. The second reason, and one that was out of the "Grunts" hands and beyond the control of the M16s designer and the manufacturers, was that the powder used in the ammunition was changed without there being proper testing and evaluation. The powder produced much more fouling and fouling that was harder to remove in actual jungle field conditions. To over come in part at least, the problem, the "Forward Assist" feature was added. Until that point, a swift kick was the method used to chamber a round when the chamber was fouled. The third contributing factor was the tight chamber. In later models/versions, the chambers were fractional enlarged, which went a long way to solving the problem. ...... Development and constant evaluation is a logical step, and what better testing program than actual field testing in combat? ..... David K
