Colt 601: The AR-15 Becomes a Military Rifle

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The AR-15 rifle was originally developed by Armalite as an offshoot of the AR-10 rifle designed by Eugene Stoner. How that second-thought rifle became the US standard military rifle - and the longest-serving infantry rifle in US military history - is a winding story. From Armalite's sale fo the design to Colt to sales trips to India and the Philippines to an Air Force general's birthday party, we will follow that story today. We will focus on the Colt Model 601; that company's first export-model AR rifle, and how it changed as it was adopted by the US Air Force and then the US Army.
Many thanks to Movie Armaments Group in Toronto for the opportunity to showcase these early AR15s for you! Check them out on Instagram to see many of the guns in their extensive collection:
/ moviearmamentsgroup
www.moviearms.com
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
6281 N. Oracle #36270
Tucson, AZ 85704

[@sulla175]

"I am against bolt closure devices for this gun." Army: "We forward insist."

[@sulla175]

Marcus woooosh

[@beardoggin8963]

Christopher Whitaker “if a round doesnt want to go into the chamber why in the hell do want to beat it in there?”

[@FIREBRAND38]

@@beardoggin8963 That's an oversimplification of the entire issue. Outside of a rifle range, that forward assist comes in real handy dealing with targets that shoot back.

[@beardoggin8963]

John Simpson how does it come in handy? That is what the little scalloped put portion on the bolt is for. You press forward without serious pressure to get it into battery and if it doesnt go you remediate it. And that quote is a close approximation of what Clint Smith said. But since you are the expert what Branch are you in and how many notches do you have?

[@Turgz]

@@FIREBRAND38 It doesn't come in handy at all when you've just made a problem even worse than it was beforehand. Having a bolt that's just barely out of battery due to cheap ammo or whatever you just press on the cut-out on the side of the bolt, it then chambers and everything's fine. But if you need the extra leverage of the forward assist because the scallop cut didn't work then you're only asking for trouble.

[@RedXlV]

Pretty amazing how the US military has been using AR-15 pattern rifles for 57 years, all because Curtis LeMay shot a watermelon.

[@themastermason1]

Sounds like an episode of mail call or lock and load with Gunnery Sergeant Ermey.

[@jmoney7289]

Scott Mew I love R Lee ermey

[@themastermason1]

@@jmoney7289 I may be a lowly civilian, but even I am compelled to salute the man. I saluted when his character, Sarge in Toy Story 3 departed Andy's house.

[@Muskrat123]

WERLLLL THATS PRETTY COOORL

[@Sandhill1988]

No because it works, and works better than anything. Nothing has made it worthwhile to replace the M16 series of rifles. Speaks volumes about the genus of Eugene stoner.

[@dakkahead517]

It boggles my mind, still, to think the AR platforms earliest iteration was in the late 50s. Truely space age stuff .

[@jonathanferguson1211]

Mid-50s for the AR-10 of course.

[@crominion6045]

My dad was a kid in the '50s and early '60s, and he said when pics of the AR first started coming out, he thought it looked like a "ray gun" from a sci-fi movie. Lol.

[@AndrewAMartin]

@@crominion6045 The open-ended flash hider sure adds to that, looking like electrodes...

[@williestyle35]

To a small degree it still is space age stuff ( when built like the originals ). m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqq7n5d5rdNsgZY

[@marcusrat4466]

@Creeping Death ok grandpa

[@lafeeshmeister]

I'm currently writing my PhD on Curtis LeMay and very much appreciate this video. If Ian is reading this: I've noted your level of care, respect, and precision over the years and just want to register my thanks for your work. Cheers, Will McFadden University of Toronto, History

[@magentuspriest]

How'd it go? I hope the virus hasn't messed anything up for you

[@dr.cummingsoutdoors6092]

Yeah is it Doc McFadden?

[@wolfiethebumpireslyr]

Hope it worked out for you!

[@johnjohnsn7633]

Don't forget his nickname: "Bombs Away" LeMay. 🙂 In the movie 'Strategic Air Command' (1955) with Jimmy Stewart, Frank Lovejoy's character Gen. Ennis C. Hawkes was based on General LeMay when he was head of SAC.

[@hollywood4241]

My grandfather put the original computer system in the Pentagon thanks to General LeMay. He told me that when the "Wiz Kids" ( group of 11 men who were tasked with developing the computer for military applications) that they presented their ideas to the Army and Navy and were basically laughed out of their presentation. My grandfather then told me how they took their system to General LeMay who suggested they might be able to develop it for personnel logistics and the quarter masters and if it worked he would computerize the USAF which he did and was hailed as a genius as a result. After WWII a computer system that once filled the entire basement of the Pentagon now fits in a laptop. I was very fortunate to have met General LeMay as a young boy back in the 60s taking the bus to the Pentagon during summer break to have lunch with my grandmother and grandfather and mom who all worked at the Pentagon.

[@DH-xw6jp]

I actually really like the original green furniture.

[@GuyonaMoose]

D H my favourite part of Canadian c7/c8 the green furniture

[@nickinportland]

I wonder if anyone out there makes replica furniture like this. A quick google search bore no fruit.

[@Doggo1968]

N B Brownells has new production green. But it’s FAR brighter

[@bubblegumbabeface6629]

So the British went with Green furniture as well for their small arm of the 1980s. Triangle format as well. I wonder why that was so popular with people.

[@ICECAPPEDSKY]

I would like a nice wood furniture on it. AKs pull it off, maybe if done right so could the AR

[@TheRogueWolf]

There are some weird people who EAT watermelons instead of using them for target practice. Bizarre, I know.

[@ScottKenny1978]

I save shooting watermelons for the rotten ones. Grocery stores are happy to have help getting rid of old melons and pumpkins!

[@jamesfornili578]

Some people don't know that you have to hunt watermelon!

[@austreborn]

Lol, next thing you’ll tell me is that people eat pork chops and oranges instead of using them to simulate pectorals and lung tissue.

[@Los10221996]

Disgusting!

[@Lowlandlord]

Eat? Everyone knows you drink watermelons.

[@grunt167]

Very interesting and the impression of Curtis LeMay was the best I have ever heard. It was also the only impression of Curtis LeMay I’ve ever heard.

[@doraran2138]

Historical trivia: Curtis LeMay ran with George Wallace in 1968 as a Vice-Presidential candidate, as independents, against Hubert Humphrey-Democrat & Richard Nixon-Republican. With the extreme dissent & frustration of Viet Nam war at time, Wallace-LeMay siphoned off enough of the traditional Democrat Southern vote, allowing Nixon to be elected. In '68, at least, Nixon did NOT win South, as often erroneously stated as his 'Southern strategy'.

[@tristanholland6445]

General LeMay wrote the Core Values of the US Air Force so anyone who served has a great understanding of his work ethic and standards. On top of that he made the Stratgeic Air Command what it was a highly professional and skilled force from air crews to security police and that spirit of professionalism and dedication to discipline still lives on in the USAF today. Or it did when I was in anyway.

[@doraran2138]

Having been born in 1980, this was all before my time, as with most, I was told one thing in schools, only to later find out the facts of situation were much different, with example of the so called 'Southern strategy' a case in point. I thank you for further enlightenment on LeMay, who is not well treated by current narrative based academic historians. Hopefully, one day, more neutral based history will be taught, that will more evenly and fairly deal with historical figures like LeMay.

[@tristanholland6445]

@@doraran2138 I was born in 1980 as well I just know about LeMay because I was in the USAF. On top of that I am an avid student of history.

[@tristanholland6445]

Also LeMay was not ever concerned about his image when he was an active general or when he retired so he never challenged anything negative in the press about him because he literally didn't care. There's a more behind his reasoning for running with Wallace and it had nothing at all to do with predjuce. He never had any issues with black members of the USAF he only cared that people under his command were professional it didn't matter to him beyond that. You cannot expect neutral historic information this is something you have to seek for yourself by reading more than one source of information and knowing what is bais(one way or the other) and what is actually fact. For example in basic training we of course were told only of LeMays good traits and none of his post military life was even mentioned at all. That being said the professionalism that he helped I still in the USAF is very clear to anyone who served pretty much from 1947 to today.

[@GunsNGames1]

I love AR's with triangular handguards.

[@magentuspriest]

Same. It's like looking at the old 60's models of American mustang cars

[@texasPD1911]

Carried one in the AF for years M16

[@gaiusmanus7959]

Reminds me of the service rifle from Fallout: New vegas

[@jakobebryant8189]

hot take but i think they are really ugly

[@nickmerino9440]

I love them. My favorite. The round ones are cool too

[@SCFIII]

"It's 1958 so there's no email" "So he emails Colt..."

[@dakkahead517]

Maybe "He Mails"?...

[@charlesadams1721]

I thought he said "cabled," as that's a more modern (1920's-1970's) way of saying sending an electronic message. The distinction, however inaccurate even in the '20's the new way to send telegraphs was via radio.

[@Shakaleesh]

4:53

[@Mishn0]

Well, he did say DARPA was involved in the promotion of the AR.

[@chubbycatfish4573]

I was like "Did he really just say that?"

[@garymoore8711]

While in Vietnam, as a dog handler in the Air Force, I carried the CAR-15. It had a shortened barrel, collapsible stock and a rate of fire increase to 900 rpm. We used the 20 round mags, but never put more than 18 rounds to keep from wearing out the mag spring. We rigged makeshift slings so that we could carry it across our torso. No forward assist. Taught how to clear stoppages. The first time I saw a forward assist, I thought it to be pretty dumb. Circa 1967-68. Thanks for the history lesson, Ian. Merry Christmas.

[@Kawawaymog]

Thanks for sharing! Always cool to hear from people with first-hand experience in the field

[@lancekilkenny721]

Just out of curiosity, do you remember the story of the canine whose Handler got hit he released him and he killed something like over 20 Vietnamese? The dog was hit multiple times and they operated on him on a flight back to Manila. The dog retired as an officer!

[@randallkelley3600]

We had CAR-15s when I was a SP at Incirlik, 88-89.

[@Gronicle1]

Army taught me in '68 how to use the army version with the assist. By the time I finally retired 29 years later I had never used the forward assist except in training on the range. I wasn't smart enough to think about it, but if I had a problem getting a round in I always wanted to get it out first.

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

@@Gronicle1 even with bolt action rifles, we were taught, if a round fails to feed, eject and try a fresh round. If it failed to feed that round, strip and fix. We were never told to beat the bolt handle, only something else!

[@McRocket]

In terms of why I watch your videos: 75% - backstory 25% - weapon itself Merry Christmas.

[@dELTA13579111315]

But there's no room for the 30% Ian

[@PedroThePanda64]

You forgot the %100 Ian.

[@kingartichokexii7430]

hes ahoy without the animation and voice

[@neuzdost1939]

Thats just sad

[@GoD_Quake]

Pretty amazing that the AR-15 started out as a “temporary” gap filler while the military was “waiting for the impending wonder rifle” that never came.

[@TimperialBroadcastingAgency]

Nothing in the military is as permanent as a temporary solution.

[@pantera29palms]

The “wonder rifle” was the FAL…

[@DeanNickChase]

Maybe the real wonder rifles were the ones we made along the way

[@incoherentrambling3139]

​@@pantera29palmsit's weird how all the countries that used fals threw them out as soon as they could afford an intermediate caliber assault rifle

[@Pat4ever.]

@@pantera29palms No, it was the G11

[@RobotPanda15]

"Fairchild was struggling financially" >Fairchild makes the A-10 years later and makes hundreds of the jets Crazy to think that without the AR-15, the A-10 might not have existed

[@cptTK421]

2 of the biggest icons in Murican armament, making such a notion even more crazy.

[@huntermurphy2148]

Then Fairchild promptly goes under 12 years after that.

[@kadebass6187]

wellll the A10 aint good so ehhh i guess

[@gonkdroid4prez539]

@@kadebass6187 it's good for what it's designed for, it now is mostly good as a light bomber, because we don't have any of those.

[@kadebass6187]

@@gonkdroid4prez539 there's other vehicles that can do what it does; bombing isn't something that's unique to it

[@tetlow2]

I like the green furniture

[@jwnagy]

If that had been designed in the 1970s the colors would have been green and yellow!

[@Skiimin501]

Like current C7 furniture

[@tlshortyshorty5810]

So do I.

[@earlwyss520]

In the late 1980s I saw actively issued USAF M-16s still equipment with green furniture.

[@Clay3613]

Brown or Black only!

[@corybarker392]

You're so right..a watermelon exploding always makes a man smile when hit with a round sent down range!! Ian.2000+ videos is not enough:) but I'm working on em..I love every one so far thank you for you're time and channel.

[@ericketchum4809]

smells so good too

[@frankcamper7318]

I was part of the SAWS (Small Arms Weapons System) test group at Ft Jackson SC in 1965., in the "Colt" Platoon. We had XM16E1's, Stoner 63's, a modified M14 and an issue M14 as the control. I qualified on the Stoner light machine gun before I ever held an M60. Gene Stoner was with us frequently. The Army didn't like the Stoner lmg because it shot like a lazer and had no "beaten" zone.

[@baelint3061]

what is a "beaten" zone? also why is it needed, or rather preferred for an lmg to have one, and not be a lazer. i get that an lmg is not like in video games, and isnt primarily to hit, but to cover fire, but why is it worse when its a laser?

[@frankcamper7318]

@@baelint3061 The "beaten zone" is where the bullets from the machine gun are hitting. When you shoot at something with a machine gun, you want a spread of hits. The Stoner 63 looked like a laser beam at night firing tracers. It had twice the rate of fire as an M60 and virtually no spread. If your target is people coming at you, you want spread. The Ft Jackson machine gun ranger people got mad at us because we cut down and set afire their target houses.

[@rhekman]

@@baelint3061 Note that a "beaten zone" is NOT the cone of fire created by an inherently imprecise firearm. In machine gunnery, it's the distance (or elipse shaped zone when viewed from above) in range at a target area where bullets fired at an enemy's head will still be hits to the body or legs as the bullet drops. It's a property of the system's trajectory and sighting system. Cartridges and rifles with a more arcing trajectory will have a larger beaten zone. Sights that are precisely zeroed for bullet drop at a certain range will require the gunner to consciously "hold over" for closer targets.

[@TimperialBroadcastingAgency]

@@frankcamper7318 "Dammit, Stoner, your gun is too precise." >:(

[@ethanclark6859]

I’m jealous. I’d give an arm to shake Stoner’s hand, even more get to see him multiple times and test his firearms

[@otter22nd60]

Happy birthday gun Jesus!

[@GeneralChangFromDanang]

Seven maids a-milking, six maids a-milking, fiiiiiive maids a-milking.

[@wes11bravo]

1) Your Curtis LeMay impression was spot on. 2) The lower receiver of my mixmaster beat to hell weapon in Army BCT was marked "XM16E1", which baffled me. I now know it was a priceless collector's piece!

[@MarkBrown5150]

I clearly remember the day we got the M-16. Up until that day we were carrying the M-14. This was on the DMZ in S Korea. They provided about 1-hour training and away we went. The rifle (M-16) was so light compared to our customary M-14s that full auto really took some range time to master. The tendency with the 16 on full auto was for the bbl to go to the right (I am a left-handed shooter) or the left (for righties.) And, at first, we did not have a clear understanding of the new maintenance requirements of the new rifle. After a couple months humpin' the 16 around and send several thousand rounds downrange, I began to like it, a lot. In fact, I now have 3 of them (AR-15 style) that I built to resemble the 16 as close as possible. (No - no full auto or 3 round burst. Semi-auto or safe only.) Still a fine firearm. Great for precision target shooting, 3 gun competition and home defense.

[@craigscott5661]

Mark Brown I’m surprised it took you a while to get used to the full auto on the M16 cause it’s way more controllable in full auto than an M14.

[@hailexiao2770]

@@craigscott5661 Maybe OP and his buddies never fired their M14s on full auto?

[@martinswiney2192]

Its just always been my thinking that any military that served in combat for this country should have the option to bring back and keep the rifle and or sidearm they used in combat. Trophies from the enemy too of course.

[@hewhoplugwalks]

​@@craigscott5661By Vietnam, most M-14s had their full auto removed. I'm assuming his M-14 was one of those.

[@theblackprince1346]

Merry Christmas Ian hope your French 75 is long and chilled.

[@porkchopporkerson8182]

The Black Prince that’s what she wanted for Christmas

[@formerpilgrim4934]

I remember back in the 70s and 80s all the haters saying the AR15 was fragile and unreliable and would never last... Well I reckon most of them are dead now and the AR15/M16/M4 is still in service.

[@010203109]

The Army's good old boy's club at the Ordnance Corps is what caused all the issues. Automatic rifles have to work in harmony with the ammo propellant they are based around to be reliable. They have never offered a good reason for insisting on changing the ammo against Stoner's advice and they failed to order enough cleaning kits or the appropriate training to compensate initially, ensuring the M16's big debut as the primary weapon of the military was a disaster. The ball powder they switched to, provided by of course one of the companies in their little club that was prone to cozy exclusive contracts, caused the gun to fire too fast and it burned longer and was dirtier, causing big issues in the gas system. Newer ammo is clean again, but it's not the same as the original. I wonder how well the modern rifles would fire with the original ammo even now.

[@stevepalpatine2828]

@@010203109 I fired a bunch of Vietnam era surplus 5.56 through my Daniel Defense DDM4v7, it works but you have to tweak the gas system to get it to run. It's obvious why the old A1's had a problem with it tbh.

[@motoxray]

@@010203109 "Causing big issues", is probably the understatement of the century. It's the reason behind countless names on the wall. Soldiers were blamed for their perceived lack of or poor maintenance. So the propellant & chamber degradation issues, & the Militaries hierarchy, allowing that to continue at the time, has left a lot of people with soldiers blood on their hands. But, like many other issues of indirect effect for those in power, it's been brushed over, & no accountability has been forthcoming from all those years ago. Ironically, I did not understand what the real problems wereat the time, however, I didn't trust the M16, & in the Australian Army, I was offered the choice between it & the L1A1. Fortunately, I chose the latter.

[@visassess8607]

@@010203109 It'd be annoying enough if they were stubborn about the ammo in regular times but it's even more infuriating that people died because of their hard-headedness.

[@fragmentofself]

I remember when I first stumbled upon this channel I was only interested in looking at the neat guns and didn't care much about anything else. This is the video that completely changed me from just wanting to gawk at the weapons to instead being much more interested in how they came about. Coming back a year later only reinforces that notion. Plus, Ian is a surprisingly good story teller of history. I just wanna say excellent work, man. You deserve these 2 million subs.

[@gdukofficial]

I don't know which member of your team does it but, I want to thank you for putting Subtitles on your videos, I've been getting steadily more deaf over the years but your videos having subtitles is enabling me to passively continue enjoying something I love - Firearms, so thank you, Forgotten Weapons.

[@Dsdcain]

Imagine if they stuck with the green furniture. The anti gun politicians would be talking about the "scary green assault rifles" instead of the "scary black" ones.

[@VndNvwYvvSvv]

"Double barrel magazine assault clips". I think that's an actual quote. But no, someone would have made black eventually because it's cheaper and uniform

[@supertonyjr8903]

@@VndNvwYvvSvv kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3ycg5qXiMmAZ8k it does exist lmaoo LAPD finest XD

[@hailexiao2770]

@@VndNvwYvvSvv They could have made the entire rifle, including the metal, green for uniformity. Green paint isn't much more expensive than black paint.

[@stevenbobbybills]

@@hailexiao2770 wouldn't look as cool with a full green reciever instead of the grey one.

[@thedwightguy]

@@hailexiao2770 and avocado was a trendy color back in the sixties. our fridge was green avocado. and the stove.

[@redram5150]

For a moment I was convinced Curtis LeMay was hosting Forgotten Weapons.

[@terranempire2]

If he was than he would be talking B52

[@williestyle35]

Not enough cigar smoke for old "Bombs Away" LeMay to have been in this video. XD

[@bdh985]

the early history and variants of the AR-15 are some of my favorite Forgotten Weapons videos! Thanks and keep up the good work! Merry Christmas!

[@miketaylorID1]

“Wrrrow! That’s pretty kewl!” - Curtis Lemay, July 4, 1960 An that kiddies is how your AR became a thing

[@robertgutierrez2219]

So that's where AR's come from uncle taylor?

[@broonters2671]

Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well.

[@brucerobert227]

Ian's quote of LeMay @ 7:01 is spot on

[@bikecommuter24]

When I retired in 1995 the USAF was still using the M16, the Security Police were issued the M16A2. My duty weapon the M9 pistol and two magazines. Anytime Ian goes to MAG I'm always looking at those AK's and other Rifles on the wall. Probably some stories there as well. Fairchild also made something else I worked on the A10 "Warthog" now that has a gun. I was an Aircraft Mechanic for twelve years and Combat Arms Training and Maintenance instructor after that. traded my hammer and screwdriver for a M9 and lesson plans.

[@feetpiece_704]

Back in 1999 my AF buddy was issued a 601'ish rifle at Ramstein AFB for our TDY to Kosovo.

[@jayuu8380]

Thats barely english

[@terrywarner8657]

@@jayuu8380 AF - Air Force; 601'ish - early early M16; AFB - Air Force Base; TDY - duty. You are welcome.

[@towtruckmafia]

@@jayuu8380 Military acronyms are not English at all. TDY, temporary duty. AFB, Air Force Base. No SNAFU, you just don't understand the language. You have now been given a short lesson in military language. Very short.

[@jayuu8380]

@@terrywarner8657 thanks

[@gunner678]

@@jayuu8380 NATO Standard!

[@itsapittie]

I served in the Air Force from 1975 to 1989. By that time almost all of the Air Force rifles were mixmasters of one sort or another. I did once see a rifle with a triangular charging handle and green furniture but it wasn't issued to me and I don't recall if it had the duckbill flash hider. In 1975 many if not most of the AF rifles had the A1 style three-prong flash hider but it was pretty much gone by 1980 in favor of the birdcage. Some bolt carriers were serrated and some weren't but none of the rifles had a forward assist or a brass deflector. I never found its absence to be a detriment in any way. Today's M16s and M4s are much heavier and less handy than the original M16/M16A1 and to be honest, I kind of miss that.

[@Siskiyous6]

The most embarrassing member of our Family, Robert. - Richard McNamara

[@lancekilkenny721]

Leader of the"Wiz Kids"!

[@Calvin_Coolage]

Remember that time he approved the creation of a US program to draft people who were well below minimum standard for recruitment, and how said program was abject failure?

[@keepyourbilsteins]

@@Calvin_Coolage McNamara's Morons. It was tragedy.

[@vettekid3326]

I first got my hands on the M16 when I was 9 yrs old when I visited an Army recruiting exhibit at the Heart of Illinois Fair in 1965. They had one you could try set up with a light target like a shooting gallery game.

[@williamsullivan9401]

I went to Camp Perry in 1967 as a junior member of the Connecticut State Rifle Team. At the Small Arms Firing School, we were given a short introduction to the new M-16. We were used to the M-1, and had just been issued the first National Match M-14's. The M-16's on the line were just like the 601 shown. Weighed about 6 pounds, and painted green. Badly worn training rifles, cigarette burns on the stock, and we were told they were Air Force. I got into a tight sling, and got yelled at by the line sergeant, who told me that I could bend it that way. We were only given 10 rounds at 100 yards for familiarization- shoot 5, reload, and 5 more. All I remember is "BOING!", BOING" against my ear muffs. The shooter next to me had flipped his safety off, and it spun around to full auto. Cyclic rate was so fast that he only got 2 trigger pulls. He didn't notice he had popped off 2, then 3. I didn't like them, and went back to my M-14 and 2 silver medals.

[@parallel-knight]

Keep up the good work Ian! You’ve given so much interesting history and content. So coming from a uk citizens who loves historical firearms but can’t own any your channel is amazing

[@UneedAname45]

In my experience with 6yrs in the army, one deployment, and I own an AR-15. I have shot thousands or tens of thousands of rounds out of this weapon and have NEVER used the forward assist.

[@010203109]

Thank you for your service. From what I can find the original AR 15 ammo that Stoner designed his baby to work in harmony with used IMR 4475 propellant. The Army Ordnance Corps and Army in general have never, at least on public record, given any good reason for switching to dirtier, longer burning ball propellant. This allowed still-burning propellant to enter the gas system as the rifles also cycled something like 20 percent faster than they were designed to. This combo turned a reliable favorite among South Vietnamese troops and our Special Forces into a nightmare. I assume the forward assist could have helped with some of the subsequent jams, but obviously not enough to prevent the bloody consequences of the poorly justified ammo change, or many dead US soldiers would not have been found next to disassembled M16s in the jungles of Vietnam.

[@magentuspriest]

@@010203109 Man that's so sad. Being caught lacking while trying to field strip your weapon because it jammed up so much, and unfortunately that was the moment you get attacked. No wonder a lot of Vietnam vets I talked to preferred the M14 or even the BAR

[@sorrenblitz805]

@@magentuspriest My Grampa had an M14 in Vietnam. He said it was fine he just wished he had bullets. His outfit didn't have any bullets on hand after a CO got himself shot at for not responding to a guard one night.

[@tomliemohn624]

Cool vid. Thanks for that. I love the old AR15/M16's. One topic I would enjoy seeing would be the 60's variants of the CAR15

[@nilssjoberg2522]

16:45 One use for the forward assist that isn't related to dirt ingress is chambering a round without a magazine (+1ing)

[@Redmenace96]

He has touched on parts of this story over the years, but this was a pretty good long form, making the history more linear.

[@skarpaz]

The forward assist is like a wort on a beautiful face.

[@rdb8509]

Historically inaccurate, LeMay actually said “That’s the bees knees!”

[@marthaindahouse1010]

@Jen farmer No he was playing the air force song on the electric guitar

[@AshleyPomeroy]

He actually said "I'm a big six and I don't take no wooden nickels from nobody. This thing is just the eel's hips."

[@technicalone6903]

I have in my possession a Webley and son Belgian Constable revolver in .320 if you would be interested in doing a review of it as it is fairly uncommon revolver

[@saltybutsain6348]

Technical One I would like to see that hope he finds your comment’

[@DukeJuki]

"The people running the company at Fairchild are really not convinced that anything's coming here, and they wanna cut strings and just be done with this rifle thing." I cannot imagine getting a bigger egg in the face than this.

[@danielwatters1203]

Fairchild made serious money off of royalties for the rifles and spares until the original patents expired. It is rarely mentioned that Boutelle and two of his successors were fired before Stanley Fairchild came out of retirement to stop the financial bleeding. Armalite and several other under-performing divisions were kicked to the curb soon afterwards.

[@ZGryphon]

I can, because I've seen the C&Rsenal videos about Pershing and Crozier rejecting the Lewis gun. :)

[@cookman08]

I love these deep dives into history through the lens of weapons research and development.

[@evilcowboy]

One of the best rifles ever invented. Anyone who spends even a small amount of time with one can appreciate how revolutionary it was and how well designed it was. It's just an overall good rifle and is really fun to shoot.

[@SkyWriter25]

I would like to propose a moment of respectful silence in honor of those brave watermelons who sacrificed themselves so that Curtis LeMay might say "eah, that's pretty cool" and, as a result, we have another wonderful "Forgotten Weapons" video to enjoy.

[@TimperialBroadcastingAgency]

The M16 as a stopgap between M14 and SPIW: There's nothing as permanent as a temporary solution.

[@krisblunden1642]

So cool seeing the history of the rifle I got to use (c7a2) and the changes that came over time can’t wait for more.

[@therealyooper7548]

New out of the box I was issued a Colt M16 at Ft Lewis Washington in July of 66. Shipped out to VN the summer of 66,came home the fall of 67. 11Bravo.

[@masvindu]

Welcome to Toronto! Merry Christmas!

[@afelias]

"All of these guys loved the AR-15... At one point in the Philippines, he gives away all his 7.62, all 8,000 rounds of it." This is an interesting intersection with Philippine history. In the Philippines, "ArmaLite" is the household name for either all assault rifles or really any modern long rifle. It's been that way for so long (maybe even less now, but certainly a couple of decades ago it was) that I've wondered why. I assumed that, like Israel, it was that the Philippines received surplus M16 rifles at some point, but now it's looking like it was even before that, that ArmaLite was looking at Asian markets.

[@hari1240]

That is incredibly interesting

[@herrmateuss]

Beauty

[@mikecain3134]

The deflector was an outstanding addition. As an Air Force left hander in Vietnam using a slick sider I had an army medic run to me thinking I had been shot in the face. I had emptied 2 mags on full auto. Every bullet had hit my right cheek with the open neck. I had small round cuts all over my cheek. No problem single shot.

[@effincook4176]

I used information on this video in a 25 minute weapon briefing. Thanks for that.

[@AnimeFanatic5602]

I remember seeing a transferable 601 for sale a few years back that was supposedly the rifle fired at Gen. LeMay's birthday party.

[@Nerfhalo1]

Cabling for communication was way before my time, but I always picture Colt setting the tooling for the AR10 on a warehouse floor, and a guy up in an office in the warehouse decoding "no one wants the AR10" out of morse code or something, and he runs out onto the warehouse and just yells "STOOOOOOOPPPPPP!".

[@marianoarri5332]

The M-16 history is so rich and full of twists and turns that is great to see Ian telling it. I'm sure it's gonna be a playlist here in the channel all about this gun like the SA-80's playlist. FW is becoming better and better everytime for those we love History and its tools and facts. Merry Xmas from Argentina.

[@sirilluminarthevaliant2895]

We can forgive the m-16s jamming in Vietnam slightly because they changed the powder type in the round which messed up the psi and led to extraction issues

[@chlebowg]

Forward Assist is very useful for chambering a round when snooping around in bad guy country or hunting. Allows you to SILENTLY chamber a round. Also when coming out of the water with a M16, you pull the bolt slightly to the rear to break the seal to allow water to drain out the barrel. Push the FA to seat the bolt. Do this well wearing wet/dry suit gloves. Been using the AR since my first issued XM16E1 to the new URGI.

[@TreacherousFennec]

Ian: "he calls back up or cables colt, -you know, there is no email, this is 1959-" Also Ian right after: "Emails colt"

[@beardoggin8963]

Arteon Tarchin I give Gun Jesus a pass on that. Maybe he had a mail runner named Ernie or something lol

[@TreacherousFennec]

@@beardoggin8963 he ran from India to US? Must've been a hell of a runner...

[@beardoggin8963]

@@TreacherousFennec haha indeed

[@TreacherousFennec]

@@beardoggin8963must've had sexy legs, this runner

[@iamcondescending]

Thank God for companies like Movie Armament CO, because without them, all these rare historical firearms would be lost to over-zealous politicians.

[@Tunkkis]

Forward assist? No, no, that's the sniper button!

[@dutchplanderlinde4845]

You mean the charging handle?

[@Tunkkis]

​@@dutchplanderlinde4845 What?

[@darthhodges]

As I recall the safety selector positions were changed as during an early test soldiers would carry the rifles through an obstacle course. At least one section required low crawling and it was found that dragging the rifle across the ground would tend to pull the selector off of safe. It was believed that if something could move that lever it could also get in the trigger guard and fire the gun while crawling. In the updated configuration pulling the rifle across the ground would tend to push the lever on to safe, not off of safe.

[@dhananjaychafale6545]

Cool struggle story of most desired gun in world.

[@Warptenlololol]

Most desired? Weeeeeeeeew lad.

[@danielvrana9444]

Enjoyed it!?! I loved it!!! My dad was in the army and was in Vietnam 🇻🇳 in 1968 to 1971. He just passed away Friday and he gave me his AR-15. I want to make it look like the M-16 A1. Thank you Dan PS I like the Green Future. Lol

[@redcat9436]

I'd like to see a collaboration between Forgotten Weapons and SmallArmsSolutions.

[@TheSvrstorm]

I was in USAF Security Police and my first station still had some of these AR-15 when I got there in 1982

[@matteograssi5898]

Merry Christmas and happy birthday Ian!

[@OpenMawProductions]

It amuses me that the wall is lined with Kalishnikovs. The M16/AR15's nemesis of sorts.

[@jeremymitchell9793]

Only a hour old never been this early sweet merry Christmas

[@zackakai5173]

I'm glad videos like this exist for when self-proclaimed "gun guys" try to lecture me about how "the US military doesn't use the AR-15, son." I guess they think the AR-15 is a semi-auto, civilian version of M16/M4 family of rifles, when in reality the M16/M4 are select-fire US military versions of the AR-15.

[@MusicSoundPlayer]

That'd be crazy if the US adopted the FAL and the ar-15 was just some.... forgotten weapon.

[@nitroxylictv]

the US military... adopting a foreign gun...? uh no

[@narcotics-eb3om]

@@nitroxylictv p90,mp5,spas 12,uzi,g36,benelli m4, ak platform

[@narcotics-eb3om]

@@nitroxylictv glock,steyr aug

[@narcotics-eb3om]

@@nitroxylictv mp7 and many others

[@zackakai5173]

@@narcotics-eb3om I was about to say, we use quite a lot of foreign guns xD Although to be fair, none of them are the standard-issue service rifle (other than arguably the M27 but that's still pretty heavily based on the AR-15 platform).

[@truthsayers8725]

when i was in the Air Force, i went on an exercise before separating in 1993 and drew an Colt's Armalite AR-15 (same look as the one they pan over with the green furniture) in an SP 601 pattern with the serial number right around 12,100. the open flash hider is known as a duck bill flash hider, replaced with the three prong flash hider with a taper from the rear to the front. the duckbill was notorious for breaking when GIs tried to used them to twist and break packing bands on c-rat cases. the delta ring is straight but was changed to a tapered ring because it was easier to grasp. the triangle charging handle was changed to the T shape because the triangle required two fingers to unlock it, having tabs on both sides. the take down pins werent captive with the spring loaded pins like on the new style

[@earlwyss520]

Ex USAF Security Police, and I had the chance to carry 601 rifles while assigned to the 3rd SPS at Clark AB Philippines during 1988-1990. I can attest to how hard it is to charge a rifle with the dovetail charging handle, and what a bear it is to lock the bolt back with that bolt hold open device. Ian, would you please cover the 602 next?

[@bobscruggs8886]

Interesting back in 1961 I was stationed at Marine barracks Naval Ordnance testing center we had a class on the M15 not sure if they called that , the engineer was very enthusiastic and said this will be the main battle weapon of the future it looked like a toy compared to our M! Grands . I do recall something being said about special alloys or coatings that the main parts treated and I think no oil was needed and made for any weather conditions. The base engineers and a few sergeants fired the new rifle we never heard of any real testing since we were an MP unit.

[@death13820]

Was that Ian doing Mr. Regular as Curtis LeMay??

[@galenw2339]

Merry Christmas! I’m with Stoner on the forward assist being useless. This message is brought to you by the tap, rack, bang gang.

[@jbloun911]

I’ve never seen any other soldiers including myself use the forward-assist in training or in country overseas. Ugly and useless

[@FIREBRAND38]

Ian, what a great Xmas present (and I didn't get you anything). However, it wasn't so much the 55 grain bullets themselves but rather the old 1:14 twist that made the bullets marginally stable in air and caused them to yaw immediately after entering melons (or people). The Army had a set requirement for Arctic acceptance tests which eventually led to a 1:12 twist to stabilize the bullets in very cold air.

[@idontwanttoputmyname403]

Wasn't it the combination of twist, barrel length, and ammo?

[@FIREBRAND38]

@@idontwanttoputmyname403 No, it was the rate of twist when used with that bullet weight.

[@idontwanttoputmyname403]

@@FIREBRAND38 Hmm.

[@FIREBRAND38]

@@idontwanttoputmyname403 Hmm yourself. OK. Using Miller's Stability formula and all things being equal an M193 Ball round fired at 3250 fps from a 1:12 twist has a Stability factor of 1.26 where 1.4 is the minimum value for stabilization. Looking at the original 1:14 twist and everything being equal we get a Stability Factor of 0.93. To provide context, a value of 1.0 to 1.4 is marginally stable. The 1:14 twist is therefore classified as Unstable. The only change made to the mix was the barrel twist went from 1:14 to 1:12. I mean, the barrel length didn't change between the AR-15 and M16A1 and it was still a 55 grain bullet leaving at 3250 feet per second. The science behind it may be found in Applied Ballistics For Long-Range Shooting by Bryan Litz.

[@idontwanttoputmyname403]

@@FIREBRAND38 I was saying "hmm" because I had nothing else to offer, not to be condescending. However, I appreciate you elaborating further and telling me where I can find the information.

[@curtisk174]

The M16 I carried in BCT was stamped Colt Armalite AR15. I left BCT in summer 2008...

[@filanfyretracker]

I never knew the AR-15 came first, Always figured it was the other way around where a civilian rifle was made simply by making one that was only semi automatic.

[@rackbites]

Awesome storytelling ... thanks. McNamara use to work for LeMay in WWII ... interesting how that relationship intertwines and is critical to the story of this weapon.

[@doraran2138]

An interesting piece for you to consider would be on foreign made AR-15/M-16/M-4 copies, both licensed and unlicensed. A military vet assigned to peace keeping duty, mentioned on a news show about a Chinese clone they'd encountered. Don't know if it was Taiwanese or PRC. I'm certain there are other countries copies around.

[@doraran2138]

I'd heard that, but wasn't sure if was Norinco or Poly-Tech. Thanks for info.

[@doraran2138]

Are any available on US civilian market?

[@doraran2138]

I have some old gun magazines from late '80's (before Papa Bush banned importation of 'semi-automated' rifles) that show the Norinco AR clones. There were also some very unique things they were importing from China at time that must be equally as rare. On side note, some very shoddily made commercial SKSs were also brought in, in some quantity, that literally are dangerous to handle. One common problem was soft or improperly hardened bolts & firing pins, allowing firing pin to 'peen' itself in firing pin channel of bolt, protruding on bolt face, discharging round, sometimes out of battery, when bolt closed on a loaded magazine. There actually a video on an attorney demonstrating this danger as part of a lawsuit against the importers.

[@doraran2138]

Best general advise for the Chinese SKSs, stick with a military SKS, avoid the commercial ones. But have them checked out since I've seen some very worn out specimens.

[@andreahighsides7756]

You can buy a taiwanese t91 upper! Its a piston design

[@michaelhorning6014]

I had an XM-16E1 at Ft Benning, a Harrington & Richardson A1 at one duty station, and GM Hydramatic A1 in the Army Reserve.

[@aljunbelong737]

13:56 quick note: the serial number is 1594, not 1694.

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

I noticed that to

[@NP-ry8hn]

I love ar m16 variants and stuff and experimental ar type guns

[@hafizmakiglalis4380]

4:30 that explains why Filipinos calls Assault Rifles as "Armalites"

[@blackroberts6290]

short-barelled ones as "baby armalites"

[@useyourname210]

@@blackroberts6290 and those bumper stickers "baby on board" with baby armalite in the picture

[@David_Crayford]

Thank you for explaining this important "forgotten" link in the historical chain between the well-covered WW2 era (Garand) to M14, AR10, AR15 and today.

[@575conbon]

*rifle stamped 1594* "serial number is 1694..." Also, the "bump" they added to "protect the mag release button"...is that not actually just to hold the spring and detent used to retain the front strip down pin...?

[@Zane_Endicott_]

I can’t get over the “wow that’s pretty cool.” Genuinely made my night

[@soviet_idiot]

I'm from the Philippines I've never seen a single soldier with an AR-10 and the ones I met who were serving in that era used M14 and M1 Garands.

[@soviet_idiot]

@OverLord 666 Yes, a Christmas cookie.

[@Kupalski0031]

We struck a deal to license to produce the M16A1 in 1977. But, on this era when the AR 15/AR10 is on its early stage. The AFP have a large stockpile of US M1 garands that they can use.

[@Kupalski0031]

@Jake Cain The Philippine Army first got their hands on the AR 15/M16 when they sent a contingent of soldiers to Vietnam (Yes, Philippines sent some soldiers in 'Nam). On the same timeframe we are just introducing the M14 in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. By 1971, the AFP decided to fully adopt the M16A1 as the new standard rifle and we got to produce them locally. Sources even states that the Heckler and Koch offered to us licensed production of the G3 line of battle rifles of which politics made them lose in favor of the M16A1.

[@rnichol22]

Eugene stoner literally nailed it first time

[@STRAKAZulu]

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

[@Grizzly406]

Just bought a 1971 Colt AR-15. Currently building a shadow box for it. 👌

[@jeferflores8665]

MERRY XMAS!!

[@---td4ff]

Army:nah Makes it green Army:you have our attention

[@Treblaine]

Gotta say, that's a handsome looking rifle, modern ARs just got too many bumps and ridges on it, they look like a Xenomorph.

[@Totemparadox]

@@gordo5238 Oh no...

[@billywaltonjr.4176]

I honestly appreciate the corrected subtitles as much as the facts that this gentleman so happily shares with us

[@DeusGladiorum]

Aw man, I was sure that today’s video would be firing the G11 given the post on Instagram a few weeks back :(

[@bill5982]

The forward assist was more useful as something you could take your frustration out on when it jammed. It gave you something to bang on rather than whacking the gun against a tree.

[@DatGameGod]

I am *deeply* amused by the idea of an Air Force Chief of Staff having the same interest in exploding watermelons as modern-day me.