Was the M16 ill suited for Vietnam?

[Dick Cheney.]

I'm in no way an arms expert, but it feels pretty safe to assume that the reputation of the M16 suffered pretty horribly in Vietnam. Some of the layman's criticism of the M16 in Vietnam included:

From Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M16_ri...togenerated5-1

• The M16 was billed as self-cleaning (when no weapon is or ever has been).
• The M16 was issued to troops without cleaning kits or instruction on how to clean the rifle.
• The M16 and 5.56×45mm cartridge was tested and approved with the use of a DuPont IMR8208M extrudded powder, that was switched to Olin Mathieson WC846 ball powder which produced much more fouling, that quickly jammed the action of the M16 (unless the gun was cleaned well and often).
• The M16 lacked a forward assist (rendering the rifle inoperable when it jammed).
• The M16 lacked a chrome-plated chamber, which allowed corrosion problems and contributed to case extraction failures (which was considered the most severe problem and required extreme measures to clear, such as inserting the cleaning-rod down the barrel and knocking the spent cartridge out)

Not to mention some of the performance trade offs of switching to the lighter 5.56 round vs the heavier and more lethal 7.62 round found in the M14 and Ak-47.

Overall then, If given the choice in 1967 between the lighter and fragile M16 (and its early variants) vs. the rugged and more reliable Ak-47, I think I'd have to pick the Ak.

[Common Soldier]

I think the reputation of the M16 in Vietnam was tarnished by clearly teething problems needed to be worked out. Once these problems were resoled, the M16 was a good gun, which is why it remained the standard weapon of the US army decades later.

The lighter weight round meant more ammo could be carried by the soldier, and I don't recall any stories showing it was actually less effective , although that was certainly some's assumption. A switch to the standard NATO round was to be standard with our NATO allies, not necessarily because the round was less effective.

I do know the Vietnamese troops appreciated the lighter weight of the M16 compared to the M14. AAlthough the M16 wasn't as rugged as an AK47, which was a mark against itm especially in an environment like Vietnam. It did require more work by the soldier to make sure it remained functional.
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[hellheaven1987]

We do have to remember M16 is the first automatic rifle issued in mass within US military, it is not a surprise in the logistic hell Vietnam US military was unprepared for its maintenance. Furthermore as far as I remember M16 was still prefer by GI in Vietnam than M14 due to light weight and higher fire rate (you don't see a damned in jungle beyond 30 yards).