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Old April 11, 2008, 02:36 AM   #3
USMCGrunt
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 27, 2000
Location: Somewhere in 14T NT
Posts: 730
Well, for starters, we are actually preaching cleaning them rather than telling people they are so advanced they don't need to be cleaned and are issuing out cleaning kits as well. Seriously, look at the pre-A1 stocks and there is no butt-trap for any cleaning gear.
Another thing that has appeared over the years is the M-4 feeding ramps in the upper receiver and barrel extenstion as well. It's a little larger and improves feeding. Think of it as a throat job for an M-16 and you'd be pretty much right on here.
Of course the heavier barrel, tighter twist, better sights, brass deflector, and interchangable handguards on the A2 are an improvement but one change that oes unnoticed by a lot of people is the reinforced lower receiver areas around the front pivot pin and extension tube areas also strengthen the rifle in these areas as well.
You still have the dirty direct gas impengement system that has to be cleaned but in the bolt area you are also looking at better ejector spring buffers (the current ones are black) whereas the early M-16s didn't have a buffer at all so this serves to strengthen the pressure the extractor puts on the spent casing to improve extraction. Also, original barrels and chambers weren't chromed lined and combined with the heat and humidity of south east asia as well as being told the rifle didn't need to be cleaned, today prevents a lot of the corrosion, rust and pitting that also plauged the early M-16's extraction of fired cases.
Really, the M-16 today isn't all that bad of a rifle. Yes, it's dirty with the gas being pumped back into the bolt carrier which means you do have to clean it more often (when I was in the Corps, I cleaned my rifle daily weather it needed it or not) but if you keep it cleaned and propperly lubed, it's not as unreliable as a lot of people make it out to be.
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