“Here’s an article from 1981 explaining how the Pentagon’s failure to use the AR-15 in Vietnam cost American lives. The AR-15 was proven to be lighter & more lethal than the M-14 or M-16. It was designed exclusively by Eugene Stoner to kill people in war.â€
Say WHAT?
Special Forces were being issued AR-15's in VN in 1964. I was issued one at Bragg in 1964. Had AR-15 stamped on the receiver,and no forward bolt assist. By the time the regular army started getting issued AR's,they had morphed into M-16's and CAR-15's.
In 1964 to PROBABLY sometime around 1968 conventional US troops in VN were issued the M-14,and anybody that thinks the .223 M-16 round has more killing power than the .308 cartridge used in the M-14 needs to take a look at both cartridges. The switch was made purely due to terrain travel issues. The M-14 was longer than the M-16,and more prone to get hung up in vines and bushes,making a soldiers response time to enemy fire slower. Also,most soldiers couldn't handle a M-14 on full-auto,and would run through a 20 round magazine of ammo and mostly shoot holes in the sky. These same soldiers could handle the recoil of a M-16 on full-auto,and only shoot holes in maybe 50 percent of the sky. Plus the M-16 ammo was MUCH lighter when meant the typical soldier could carry more ammo on him.