AK-47 vs AR-15 which one is the better assault rifle M16/AR15 The first M16s had all kinds of problems, most of which have been resolved. The remaining problems mainly amount to jamming due to dust or sand during long periods in the field. Since civilians almost never spend weeks in the field, a civilian owner will almost never see one of those problems.

The M16 is different from other military rifles in the following respects: The 223 ammunition it uses. The rifle has enough power to kill humans or deer if not bears and cape buffalo, is accurate out to several hundred yards and, with heavy (75 – 95 grain) bullets and quick-twist barrels, can shoot to 800 – 1000 yards. It is accurate and allows rapid, well-aimed fire. The M16 does not use a piston; gas blows back through a very small tube straight onto the bolt carrier. This eliminates the movement of the piston inside the rifle increases accuracy. * The bolt locks into the barrel rather than the receiver, simplifying several kinds of things, not the least of which is cleaning. * The lower receiver with the serial number totally detaches from the upper receiver and barrel, meaning that somebody who owns one lower piece of an AR16 / M16 can buy several differrent uppers, cheaply and with no further legal requirements. * The barrel-upper receiver connection does not involve high torque as with some other military rifles. This makes M16s basically easy to work on. The US switched to 223 caliber rifles during the Vietnam war; the M16 and civilian variants of it are the closest thing there is to a real assault rifle which is also a believable rifle and can hit things at significant distances. In particular, in a gunfight at 500 yards between a guy with an M16 and a guy with an Ak47, the guy with the AK would most often be SOL. The US switched to 223 caliber rifles during the Vietnam war; the M16 and civilian variants of it are the closest thing there is to a real assault rifle which is also a believable rifle and can hit things at significant distances. In particular, in a gunfight at 500 yards between a guy with an M16 and a guy with an AK47, the guy with the AK would most often be SOL. “The M16 is by far the more superior weapon. It’s lighter, more accurate, more versatile, and with proper maintenance it is very reliable. Indeed, it might be less sand proof then the Galil/AK47 series. However, all you need is to clean it once a day and it will work properly. Since modern armies clean their small arms on a daily even during combat deployment this is a non-issue. In fact, most of the myth regarding the M16 unreliability date back to the Vietnam War when the M16 was first issued. The 5.56 ammunition given then to the troops used a low quality sticky powder that caused massive buildup of dirt in the M16 mechanism and eventually to jamming problems. When the ammunition was changed, the misfire problems disappeared as well.”