Nikon F and the vietnam war

Disappointed_Horse said:

As they say in the infantry, never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.

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I believe that view was also held by fighter pilots and astronauts

The M 16 was not the lowest bid, as I recall the M 14 was cheaper to make and sell. The Air Force was the early adapter and General LaMay had to justify to congress why he wanted the M 16 vs the M 14.

Paul Howell said:

The M 16 was not the lowest bid, as I recall the M 14 was cheaper to make and sell. The Air Force was the early adapter and General LaMay had to justify to congress why he wanted the M 16 vs the M 14.

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Yes, but I believe the M 14 was not widely loved. Had some problems with build quality. Or am I wrong?

A lot depended on your assignment. Snipers loved their M14 but if you expected to be involved in close quarters combat then most guys preferred the M16. But the reality was most of use were just bullet catchers anyway so you got what you were given no matter whether you liked it or not. It was just one more thing you could complain about.

Arthurwg said:

Yes, but I believe the M 14 was not widely loved. Had some problems with build quality. Or am I wrong?

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You could be wrong. I loved my M14 and had 9 bulls and one just out at 500yds on qualification day. Of course my eyes were much better then and no coffee. I loved it because it was solid, accurate and very dependable. When I got to Vietnam I was issued an M16. I loved it because it was dependable and very short and light. When your hot, sweaty and half dead that light weight was a blessing. Our Marine snipers carried Remington 700 bolt guns and their back up man/spotter carried an M14. My best friend I grew up hunting and fishing with in the countryside of Michigan was a sniper. Just by luck I got stationed with him when I shipped over. Since I had fired Expert Marksman on qualification day in bootcamp and he tried to talk me into snipers school in DaNang when I got station with him. He said since I qualified high I was eligible to go. I decided to stay in communications instead. Yes, dumb-bunny me, I took the safer way to spend my Vietnam vacation. When the M16 was first into country many guys lost their lives because they used chromed plated bolts in the M16 and after being fired for a while the chrome plated bolts would carbon foul and freeze up solid. Now you're in big trouble! They found the problem and no more chrome plated bolts. My sniper friends first issued M16 had an undersized bore and actually had a bullet lodge in the barrel. That was in 1966 so there were still bugs even then. Wow, did I sidetrack this discussion or not.n

The M 14 was well liked, it was more accurate at long distances, the Coast Guard and some Special Ops still use the M14. The M 14 was difficult to handle on full auto. Curtis LaMay wanted the M16 for air base defense, less recoil, more rounds could be carried, on full auto is was lot of fire power as the Air Force, (Air Police later Security Police) had fewer machine guns per unit than the Army and the M16 made up for lack of firepower. The Army and Marine Corps are moving towards a new assault rifle, not the same platform, the Air Force is still using the M16, the new version with bust mode. From I read is not planning on adapting the new Army rifle. Air Froce Para Rescue and other speical ops use the M4, the carbin version of the M16. I have only fired the M14 on one occassion, I thought it was quite nice, but given a choice I would take the M16.

John Wiegerink said:

When the M16 was first into country many guys lost their lives because they used chromed plated bolts in the M16 and after being fired for a while the chrome plated bolts would carbon foul and freeze up solid. Now you're in big trouble! They found the problem and no more chrome plated bolts. My sniper friends first issued M16 had an undersized bore and actually had a bullet lodge in the barrel. That was in 1966 so there were still bugs even then.

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Yes, you're right. It was the M16 I was thinking about, not the M14.