What was/is most lacking about your service weapon?

[DGB]

I was issued an M16A2 Service Rifle. I don't remember the weight being an issue, but it was too long for clearing buildings. My biggest gripe was no weapon mounted light. If I could have time traveled twenty five years into the future, I would have secured a 14.5" BCM midlength pencil barrel on a Colt lower with a Geissele g2s trigger. Sionics BCG, BCM Gunfighter charging handle, BCM B5 stock, Trijicon MRO, BCM Keymod rail, Magpul Pro BUIS, Magpul sling, Travis Haley Thorntail mount with Surefire light, BCM Gunfighter grip, and Magpul magazines. It would have made life marginally easier. My sergeant would have never allowed it.

[Ak44]

M16A2, short stock it and butterfly the rear peep sight to turn it into CQB mode...

[fred]

USMC M16A2, never in combat. Weight was not specifically an issue in training or on humps as I recall... Reliability was dodgy on "burst," and it wasn't because it was dirty! Knowing what I know now, the constant overcleaning of those rifles could not have been good, especially when the Staff Sergeant had us put some CLP on the female end of a cleaning rod, stick it in the flash suppressor and crank it around to make the crown shiny for inspection. Again knowing what I know now, our magazines were probably not in the greatest shape either.

M4 in federal LE, never had a bad one. Almost every failure in 20+ years of M4s beating around in the rifle racks whilst off-road, banging into or on ATVs, rocks, etc., carrying into mountains or deserts very dusty or rainy conditions, was magazine related in my experience. This is with a common sense cleaning and maintenance regimen. Had a great class with Mr. Pat Rogers a ways back and remember him saying that it may not have been the best weapon available but there wasn't anything out there much better... Weight has been manageable with just an optic and a light on a VTAC sling for as long as they've been out, GI sling before that. Handling in and out of vehicles and desert hovels has been fine.... we're getting some 11.5s in now, I guess for LE purposes the shorter effective range won't really be a problem... We'll see! EOTechs, 2 power ACOGs and lately the Aimpoint PRO, no problems. Terminal ballistics were not so great with Winchester Q3130 we issued for awhile, but that got fixed with Mk262 and then the Gold Dot loads, according to reports. We do not baby our M4s and they have worked just fine, even the old and worn ones that were recently gotten rid of. I think the guys that routinely take an M4 are generally careful to take care of them, with a few exceptions.

I am glad the military is working on a more effective caliber and weapon system for warfighters, but for now the M4 seems to be holding up.

Thanks to those who took them to war, God bless you all.

[fred]

To answer the original question: training in its use. As in, there isn't any outside of quals and maybe a couple of drills after the quals. Used to be guys could sign up for a two or three day carbine course, based on either Pat Rogers' or Mike Pannone's courses or whichever the instructors got to go to. When I was an instructor you could request a course and get sent to it, the expectation being you would teach the guys when you got back. Not anymore, not for awhile. It's too bad.

[ThirdWatcher]

My biggest gripe was that no matter how many Iraqis I shot at it with I’d still come home and have old guys who served in the USAF during peacetime (or not at all) call me a “freaking millennial” on message boards.

USMC M16A4 w/ PVQ-31A & PEQ-15

It was also long as ****.

Not all Veterans feel that way. While I served in the Army in the Post-Vietnam era, both my daughters have served in the Army for over a decade. You young warriors have a lot in common with The Greatest Generation.

I don’t care what branch any of you served in, you have my respect. If you served honorably, you will never have to prove your courage in any other way.

[03Ryan]

This is interesting. One, it seems like most that have replied here are from the A1/A2 days. Personally, two trips to Helmand province. The first with a NIB M4/RCO/Peq-15. The second with a 2 deployment work up cycles M4/M203/RCO/PEQ-16.

I still have a 10" shot spotter from the 500 yd line with 9 holes in it from the NIB M4. Accuracy? Check

In 10 years I still haven't had a stoppage on a personally issued rifle. Keep track of your mags and lube is your friend. Take care of your sh!t.

Until you mount an M203 weight and maneuverability are about as good as you can get for an infantry carbine. Anything from 10-15k patrols to mounted ops and CQB. The M4 is a good compromise.

Terminal performance is in the eye of the beholder. Most honestly couldn't tell you the difference between a SOST round and MK262. Had a Gunner once that brought us a BN issue of "match" ammo... it was SOST. One guy will say all issued ammo works fine, and the next will tell you 5.56 sucks neither without any context. Most you will find that poo poo the caliber you will find that they shot someone at 400+ yds with M855 and it didn't do much, well what did you expect.

As far as optics. I have no problem with our Night aiming devices. However, I don't know why we bought the peq-16 with its antiquated light in an LED age. It seems that this would have been an easy update before procurement.

Our RCO's, again a good compromise. I don't like a 4x optic in a building, but when you had to fight your way into the building from the open desert you understand the compromise. I used to think that these optics were not very robust until I started paying attention to how the rest of the crayon eaters treat these things. They should be given an award for lasting as long as they do.

Most that has been posted here is true. Ridiculous cleaning regiments based on an inspection rather than function leads to the boy's doing all manner of questionable things to get past the armory window on a late Friday night so they can go drink beer.

Maintenance cycles that are missed for whatever reason. From springs that have been around too long to barrels that you would love to see how large the gas port erosion has become, to mags that look like they may have gone to desert storm.

It's the Indian not the arrow. You cannot blame a system when it's the users and maintainers that are most likely causing the majority of the problems. Is it perfect? Nothing is, but I'll personally not have an issue going on the next gov't sponsored vacation with it.

S/F
Ryan

[OH58D]

In an extreme example from Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, the pilots in my regiment were issued .38 Special Smith & Wessons. I was given permission to carry my own revolver and I carried a S&W Model 66 with .357 ammo in a shoulder rig. Everything in those days were in a rebuilding phase after Carter. Things were still in short supply and SOCOM was still lacking equipment.

[crusader377]

I was a Fire Support Officer in 2002-2003 overseas and I had zero complaints with my M4 with standard carry handle. Yes an aimpoint would have been since the infantry that I supported were issued with them but honestly in a FSO/FO role the carbine serves much more as a PDW than anything else and a FSO/FO should be using his primary weapon which is the radio.

[TactiCool1976]

Marines 95-2000

1- since i was only issues a M16A2, the weight was never a issue vs someone carrying a 249SAW or 240B, But now vs the M4's with lightweight everything..... i can see the issue

2- this is one i do not have experience with beyond using the M16A2 vs my current AR15, While i have not shot my AR at anything long distance... I'd like to think the barrel length difference woudn't make that much of a difference.. i mean i do not think anyone has done a knock down power or accuracy test with a 20inch barrel vs 16 or 14inch

3- i only used iron sights...... so ya lol....

4- this is another one, i don't have any experience with beyond just shooting... I mean i'd like to think the 55gr nato rounds are good enough for combat..... is the 62gr better? IDK , plus is the FMJ round more effective vs hollow point? especially when going thru resistance, like a load barring vest and gear..

5- Reliability issues is where i have some knowledge... so i am not going to lie, i honestly thought the M16A2 was junk... not as far as accuracy... but just being reliable.. all the ones i was issued, would jam up / double feed / and who knows what else... Now that being said, I would bet good money that 99% of the issues came from bad magazines.. i could honestly tell when loading up rounds into a mag, if it was going to double feed, mis-feed- jam up or do something else.. I am sure that it all came from not having the Anti-tilt follower's and old as hell springs in them.. Now fast foward to all the new mags having good springs and anti-tilt followers, and I've had 1 or 2 times when my AR got jammed up...

5 part 2 - I know a lot of guys have voiced their gripes about the excessive cleaning they had to do before the armory would accept the rifle back.... this was one of the things i never understood, was why the rifle had to be completely spotless.... it's like wtf a lil bit of grease or lube isnt going to kill this rifle... plus how many guys would run their rifle thru some type of CLP solution fountain lol... that stuff was corrosive as hell but it got stuff clean.. I mean now, i would imagine everyone has a big bottle of Break Through cleaner that they spray down the internals of their Rifles and call it good...

6- i honestly never thought about the grip, and actually do not mind the stock A2 grip

[kwg020]

I never considered CLP as issued an effective cleaner or protectant. It was a lube only. Maybe a protectant while in the arms room but never a cleaner. Very hot water was a better cleaner and not a protectant in adverse conditions. A milspec isoparifin is a much better protectant in adverse conditions