M1A and M1 Fail Spectacularly

They knew the firing pin was protruding and he still let the bolt slam home on a live round (3:46). He's as smart as he looks.
 
??? From any newsreel or photos of soldiers storming and beaches that I have watched, they held their rifles over their heads to avoid getting water,sand or seafood in their weapon. IF, the rifle was in the condition shown in the wheelbarrow, the grunt who was holding the rifle would likely have much more serious problems to attend to.

While this is true and it helped when shells start landing and sand and whatever is thrown in the air it can land on the gun. At Normandy the Americans wrapped their Garands in plastic bags until they were well ashore as they had known problems with jambing if they got dirty. Much as I love historic firearms if my life depended on it I would prefer a modern design as they can handle poor conditions better than the old semi autos. The new M16 derivatives have been vastly improved when it comes to performing in crappy conditions. Look back at WW1. Canadian soldiers ditched their Ross rifles because they kept jambing in the mud while the SMLE didn't. Snipers loved the Ross as it was very accurate and they were in a better position to keep them clean than the average soldier. Every gun will fail if you abuse it enough but the longer it goes before that happens the better. In combat you can't necessarily clean the rifle after every 50 rounds. This is one of the reasons the AK47 series is so popular they can take incredible abuse and keep working. So yes this particular test is not exactly what happens in combat but it is not necessarily as far out there as you might think.
 
When I did my SQ I realized how finicky the AR plateform is (C7 in that case) and its humid outside sand gets on the magazine and receiver and jam the action if you are not careful. It has to be kept very clean or it starts malfunctioning.
That beign said I dont have the same kind of experience with another rifle but the US troops doesnt seem to compain about the EBR in the sand.

This was not my experience with the C7 at all. I found it utterly reliable (though the horrifically abused training weapons given to the BMQs and SQs were definitely less so.) If my rifle got sandy during a maneuver, not to worry, all you had to do was shoot it. The more you shoot, the better it shot. The DI system re lubricates the internal mechanism and blasts debris out the ejection port.

If you guys bothered to check out their channel, and you really shoud, it's one of the best gun channels around, you'd see they performed that test on a wide variety of rifles, the vz58, the AK, the RDB, Even a Fench MAS49. They are the first to admit it is a catastrophic worst-case-scenario test that will end nearly any rifle. But the point they were trying to make was that roomy interior designs don't matter as much as the ability to keep gunk out of your rifle's internal action. To make that point, they targetted all the rifles typically touted by the internet forum-goers as legendary wood-and-steel ol' reliables.

Unfortunately for rifles like the M1A, sensitive key components of the rifle's action are located on the outside of the rifle.

M1A's are gorgeous looking firearms that make for great target rifles, but there are legitimate reasons why it was so swiftly replaced by the American Military. Stop taking it so personally.

Also, if you watched their channel, you'd know that they asked the CMP for the most beat up, worst-shape rifle they had.
 
Last edited:
This was not my experience with the C7 at all. I found it utterly reliable (though the horrifically abused training weapons given to the BMQs and SQs were definitely less so.) If my rifle got sandy during a maneuver, not to worry, all you had to do was shoot it. The more you shoot, the better it shot. The DI system re lubricates the internal mechanism and blasts debris out the ejection port.

If you guys bothered to check out their channel, and you really shoud, it's one of the best gun channels around, you'd see they performed that test on a wide variety of rifles, the vz58, the AK, the RDB, Even a Fench MAS49. They are the first to admit it is a catastrophic worst-case-scenario test that will end nearly any rifle. But the point they were trying to make was that roomy interior designs don't matter as much as the ability to keep gunk out of your rifle's internal action. To make that point, they targetted all the rifles typically touted by the internet forum-goers as legendary wood-and-steel ol' reliables.

Unfortunately for rifles like the M1A, sensitive key components of the rifle's action are located on the outside of the rifle.

M1A's are gorgeous looking firearms that make for great target rifles, but there are legitimate reasons why it was so swiftly replaced by the American Military. Stop taking it so personally.

I'd take a modern M16/M4 or a couple modern AR10 offerings over an M14 or Garand any day.
 
arm-chair quarterback Friday's I see .....

so you don't agree that a soldier will do what is necessary to keep his gun working during battle? Like trying to keep it out of the mud and water?

Hitting the sauce a bit early are ya today? Or maybe you think JT already legalized that which he said he would and have been celebrating.
 
so you don't agree that a soldier will do what is necessary to keep his gun working during battle? Like trying to keep it out of the mud and water?

Hitting the sauce a bit early are ya today? Or maybe you think JT already legalized that which he said he would and have been celebrating.

#### happens no matter how well you plan for it ....
 
They knew the firing pin was protruding and he still let the bolt slam home on a live round (3:46). He's as smart as he looks.

And as part of the test, pointed it in a safe direction and attempted immediate actions to clear the malfunction, as a soldier would in the field.

Why does everyone think soldiers go around throwing their rifles into mud, swamps and sand pits, lol. I'm not a soldier but I never drop my rifles in sh!t
??? From any newsreel or photos of soldiers storming and beaches that I have watched, they held their rifles over their heads to avoid getting water,sand or seafood in their weapon.

You take all precautions to keep your rifle from getting unnecessarily dirty, of course. But it's not always up to you! You say "Oh if I were conducting an assault through mud, I'd just keep it out of the mud!" as if it were the easiest thing in the world.


This deserves a f:P:

what a dipstick

Watching that video was a waste of time... I'm fairly certain that idiot could make ANY rifle fail spectacularly.

I'm not sure what's more spectacular, these attitudes or the number of people who apparently don't watch forgottenweapons or inrange videos. They're the best gun-related channels out there, by far.

They actually first did a test where they literally crawled through natural mud, and got similar results.

https://www.full30.com/video/9eef6b3a4eb6c8846a4c8dc4b8968bc4

They were inundated with comments about how the AR15 somehow got off easy (which is a patently ridiculous notion).

This resulted in the wheelbarrow tests. It's my understanding they were all done on the same day in the same mud to make the testing as consistent and fair as possible.

The fact is these guys are subjecting their own AR15s, M1As, Garands, AKs, etc to horrific abuse for your benefit. How many of you would do something like this just to find out what happens? There's a lot of talk about how the test is "obvious and predictable" but if asked yesterday which rifle would fair better in a test like this, how many of you would say the Garand would beat out the AR15 hands down? Near all of you, I'd bet. I thought the AK would do way better than it did, myself.
 
The M1 Garand was noted to have functioning problems when wet virtually since it entered service. The US Army invested a lot of effort trying to find a grease that would stay in place on the op rod notch and bolt cam when fired in the rain, they were never entirely successful. That critical area is just too exposed. The M14 used a roller that was better, but still not great.

In other words, this is not a new finding.
 
Just ask the first generation of soldier who used the M16 in Vietnam. Oh wait a minute a whole bunch were killed because their M16 jambed so you might have trouble finding them.

Of course, considering the US Army ordnance board deliberately sabotaged the rifle in a desperate attempt to save the M14.

http://anarchangel.########.ca/2007/02/whos-at-fault-for-m16.html
 
so you don't agree that a soldier will do what is necessary to keep his gun working during battle? Like trying to keep it out of the mud and water?

Hitting the sauce a bit early are ya today? Or maybe you think JT already legalized that which he said he would and have been celebrating.
Don't know about you, but I've been there. Individuals often have very little direct control of their immediate situation when in uniform. You do what you can, but it's not always enough. Different if it's done online though.
 
Don't know about you, but I've been there. Individuals often have very little direct control of their immediate situation when in uniform. You do what you can, but it's not always enough. Different if it's done online though.

Exactly.

Don't know whatcha don't know and hope ya never have to find out.
 
Last edited:
Because when bullets or artillery start flying around you dive for cover, usually low lying, low lying is often full of water and mud. Oops gun covered in mud. Or you land on the beaches of Normandy and wade through water onto a sandy beach, gee wiz what happens when sand touches wet objects? Or you are in a sandstorm in Iraq and the sand gets into the mechanism and sticks to the gun oil. Combat conditions can be very different from range conditions. I love my 1911 for the range but I would prefer a Sig or a Glock or Beretta in combat conditions. Less prone to jamb in crappy conditions and easier to clear if they do jamb. Just ask the first generation of soldier who used the M16 in Vietnam. Oh wait a minute a whole bunch were killed because their M16 jambed so you might have trouble finding them.
.. 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
 
Last edited:
Lol I find it hard to believe that some people on here have to argue their side about how modern guns handle "tourture test" better than fifty year old designs and get butt hurt when others do not agree with them. Cars of today are much better designed than those in the sixties but what I wouldn't do for a mint 60's muscle car. It's all about what you like.
 
Back
Top Bottom