[QUOTE=Ranger Jeff]
If you’ll think of the nomenclature M-4 as short for a M-16A4 Carbine, it makes a sort of sense. The CAR-15 (Viet Nam era, same time as the M-16A1 was current) was the M-4 before there was an M-4.
[/QUOTE]
M-4 is not short for “M16A4 Carbine”. That doesn’t make any sense at all. And there were many different types and variations of the CAR-15. Not every CAR-15 is/was a Colt Commando or even a carbine at all.
M4 follows the Army Nomenclature System prescribed by MIL-STD-1464A in that the number 4 is an arbitrary number assigned sequencially within an equipment type. The M4 is not a rifle, it is a Carbine.
There was an M1 Carbine,
an M2 Carbine,
an M3 Carbine,
Interesting question, since the thread’s been revived - is anyone who matters still using a cartridge in the 7.62x51 NATO/.30-06/.303/7.92x57 Mauser range as an infantry rifle cartridge?
As far as I can tell, pretty much everyone seems to be using rifles in 5.56mm or 7.62x39 Soviet nowadays, except for China who have their own proprietary 5.8mm round.
For the bog-standard infantry rifleman, I think 5.56 and similar calibers have pretty much predominated nowadays, but I wouldn’t rule out some oddball military somewhere still using essentially .30 cal for that role.
I’ve been out of the Army for a good while, but I think designated marksmen used something like a Winchester Model 70/Remington 700 in a .30 cal cartridge of one sort or another, most likely 7.62 NATO. I seem to recall seeing some Infantry types walking around with what looked like a hunting rifle, but I didn’t pay too much attention to them; Infantry were beneath the notice of us Armored Cavalry types.
Regular infantry types would be using either the M14 EBR chambered in 7.62 or an SDMR, which is basically a Match Grade M16 chambered in 5.56. There might be one of them in the squad, and probably not even every squad in the platoon unless the mission requires it.
I recall just off the top of my head that H&K, FN, Galil, and Springfield all offered Main Battle Rifles (hereafter MBRs) in 7.62 NATO. I think that military thinking just shifted to the 5.56 Assault Rifle from the MBR. Personally, I’d still rather engage an enemy at 300 meters than at 100 meters. Maybe that’s just me.
Not any more. I got caught in the draft way back and spent some time in the 7th Cav (Dismounted/Airmobile) with a M-16A1 as my closest companion. In those days, we had M-60s, M-16A1s (some with M-203s attached), CAR-15s, and an occasional M-79. Then I got back to the world, got some school, and then enlisted in the Coast Guard for a tour. So I’m not all that current with what’s going on now in these matters.
300 meters? 300 meters is for machine guns, sniper rifles, mortars and rockets. 300 meters is for your base of fire. The job of the rifleman is flank the enemy and engage them at 100 meters and closer. If my enemy has a clear line of fire for 300 meters, then that’s not the route I’m going to use to assault him.
For what it’s worth, I carried an M-16 in Vietnam and qualified expert with it innumerable times over my career. It never jammed, nor did I hear of anyone else in my two battalions having a jam (on the range, anyway). They were a PITA to clean, and the armorers were merciless about it. While I preferred the M-14 for anything over 200 yards (particularly in the offhand position), I could knock the bulls eye out of a target at that range with the M-16. The M-16 was very light, and in the offhand it had a lot of wobble, but over all I thought it an efficient and accurate weapon.
In the past, experimental models were assigned a T (for Test) number which bore no relation to the eventual service designation. By the 1960s such models got an XM (for experimental) designation which, if adopted, dropped the X. Naturally many experiments never got far so there are gaps in the numerical series.
More recently there seems to have been a ‘Year Zero’ approach to resetting the sequence, which has given us the B-1 bomber and the M1 tank.
*In the Fighting Seventh’s the place for me,
Its the cream of the Cavalry;
No other regiment ever can claim
Its pride, honor, glory and undying fame.
*
Ah, my combat zero was set for 200 meters. A SF armorer/artificer sergeant fixed me up with a sight with a smaller aperture which worked well for me. The 5.56 had a fairly flat arc for the first 300 meters or so. You could reach out 500 meters with an M-16A1, but that never really seemed to work for me. I didn’t like adjusting the front sight for elevation and just left it alone.
Russian assault weapon round is the 5.45x39 though 7.63x39 is used in a lot of second tier equipment and current light machine guns. See AK-74. Standard issue for most former USSR countries as well.
Understand your point. I’ve been interested in the M16 vs AK47 debate for some years and accumulated information as time goes by.
The practical effective range for the M16 is 360 metres. The maximum effective range is 550m and the round itself can travel over 3km in ideal conditions. However soldiers are human and conditions are seldom ideal which is why 360m gives the smallest minute of angle to still be reasonably accurate.
I hesitate to disagree with you but in Afghanistan getting within 100m of an insurgent takes a great degree of skill or luck. This is a mountainous country albeit with fertile valleys and the insurgents are on their home turf. Outside the towns, the accuracy and range of the M16 is valuable.
For the moment, on the off-topic of Afghanistan, there are reports saying the insurgents are outshooting the Coalition soldiers at long ranges. The reasons given are that they use heavier rifles (often quite ancient) and that Afghani tribesmen learn to shoot from childhood. Not for war, but its a skill which provides food and safety for their herds and themselves. And its a signature of manhood.
Some Taliban aren’t great shots but they come from cities in Pakistan and we in the West confuse them with Afghanis and mountain Pashtun.
I suppose that depends on who has the initiative. If you’re reacting to enemies taking potshots at you from half a kilometer, then yes, range is important. But if you’re the ones hunting *them *down, then you can engage them at whatever range you want, especially when you have machine guns, mortars and attack helicopters to pin them down and prevent them from running away.
Remember, they’re called **assault **rifles, not **defense **rifles. They’re designed for taking enemy positions, not for holding your own.
