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Old May 7, 1999, 11:00 AM   #9
James K
Member In Memoriam
 
Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
Good morning Art,

I admit that I always called the forward assist a jam maker, since it forced a defective round or excess crud into the chamber. But I am puzzled by your remark that it was put on when dead GIs were found who had been trying to clear their weapons with cleaning rods. The sticking case problem was caused by lack of maintenance and by a high cyclic rate created by use of ball powder, but I am not sure I see how the FA would help that problem.

Ball powder also caused a blockage of the gas tube, but again, the FA would not have helped that problem. The FA was intended as an emergency measure when the bolt would not close normally and the soldier felt that closing and firing the weapon would help. The army made the comparison with the M1 and M14, but forgot that those rifles have good primary extraction, which the M16 does not.

(I could spend all day listing the design deficiencies of the Ar-15/M16! The later AR-18, which I thought was also by Stoner, but which I now believe was designed by a fellow named Miller, was better but too late.)

Jim
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