Don’t worry, I’m not about to do anything reckless. Like virtually all of my GQ posts, this has to do with my novel-in-progress. Here’s the context:
One of the story’s two protagonists is Andy, a 14-year-old boy whose father, Andrew Senior, was a Marine gunnery sergeant. Andrew Senior dies at the beginning of the story, when Andy is 10; Andy idolizes his father, believing that every bit of honor and virtue a man can have is captured in the word “leatherneck.” Four years later, Andy’s mother, Beatrice, remarries. Her new husband, George, is a former Marine, and was in fact Andrew’s CO in Vietnam; George is the only one of his mother’s suitors Andy has ever unreservedly liked. In a scene I am currently rewriting, Andy comes across his stepfather while he is in the midst of maintenace on the rifle in question, which he “liberated” in some fashion or other when he left the Corps. The two of them talk while George works, and possibly George – who has a great deal more confidence in Andy’s intelligence than Beatrice does – lets Andy handle the components of the rifle, or do something else in the breaking down/cleaning/reassembly process.
I want to be able to describe George and Andy’s actions during this scene. So, if anyone can walk me through what they’d be doing, I’d be grateful.
Here is a copy of the “comic book” version of the manual issued to new GI’s a long time ago. It will at least give you proper terms to use, if nothing else.
Once George has broken down the weapon, he would clean the bolt assembly, run a brush through the barrel (is this after shooting, or just regular upkeep?) followed by an oiled patch. He would lighty lube what needed lubing, then reassemble the piece. Overlubing an M16 is a Bad Thing, especially in a sandy, dusty environment, as our troops in Iraq are discovering. An after-using cleaning would be a bit more detailed than an upkeep cleaning. George could hand Andy the bolt assembly and let him clean it, or have him pull the patch through the barrel, telling him not to drag the cord over the crown of the barrel in the process, or getting it caught in the flash-hider.
Well, it’s the middle of the night–Andy’s just gotten home from a party, so it’s around 10 p.m.–so I assume regular upkeep. How long would he wait to clean if he’d just been to the range?
You want to clean the weapon as soon as practical, if for no other reason than you might forget and let it go for a few weeks. If George had been shooting that day, it would be appropriate that he would be cleaning the piece as a way to relax before bed.
That works well, as Andy would have been gone most of the day; this is the first time he’s seen George since the previous day, I think. So if George went shooting in the afternoon (shortly after taking Andy to the party), it’s not unreasonable for him to have waited till 10:00 or so at night to clean it–is that what you’re saying?
Also, do you know anything about cleaning AK-47s? I understand that many Vietnam soldiers preferred them to M16s and confiscated them from fallen opponents, so I might use that. (I haven’t decided yet because George’s use of a specifically-Marine weapon is a plot point later.) If George took the rifle from a Viet Cong soldier during the war, it might be simpler to explain than his somehow managed to keep a M16 after resigning his commission.
hey, -its not just the jpg scans.
I have the original “comic book manual”–and yes, it is really hard to read, because the type is very,very small. But it’s an interesting document, geared for its audience. It’s full of outdated 1960’s slang, too. And lots of very politically uncorrect references to dames and babes.
If you have some time to spare, check out ar15.com, step by step, plenty of discussions. I built my last M4 using only instructions from that site.
As far as the AK in Vietnam stories, I’d check that out a little bit. While I’ve heard the rumor, I’ve also heard it vehemently denounced as pure nonsense by vets. Something about the distinctive sound of the AK making it likely you’ll receive unwanted attention from a neighboring M16. I missed out on that conflict by a full decade and I have it all third-hand, just maybe check it out before you put it in your book.
Maybe some vets on the SDMB might know?
Hardly worth the effort. Since Andy will decide in a pivotal scene that George doesn’t deserve to use a marine’s weapon, the M16’s the better choice anywhistle.
Sorry about the quality of the link. It was just the first thing that came to mind.
As the family member of several Marines I’ll say that none of the Marines that I know would wait any longer than it took to come home from the range to clean their weapons. Regular maintenance depends on the climate, but once a month is a good choice, but it doesn’t take very long. AR-15’s are really pretty simple machines.
That’s what I was thinking, but I only ever use shotguns. But I think I can justify it by having George comment that he should have cleaned it earlier; he can mention being busy with his son, whom I need to mention inthe scene anywhistlel.
BTW- It would be highly unusual for anyone to actually have an M-16 in their own personal possession. Sure, it can happen, but most would have a civilian variant (the AR designation) that does not have the 3 round burst function.
I know this. In fact I originally planeed for it to be one of the ARs. But then it occurred to me that the point of introducing the rifle is that it will in a few chapters signify a weakness in George’s character; Andy decides that his stepfather is in no way worthy to wield a Marine’s weapon. For that purpose it had to be an M-16, and the fact that the rifle is both extremely rare (in the civilian world) and stolen is actually a plus, not a minus.
