We had a “ can” on 1 M-16 in our ORD. unit in Vietnam. Guess you could say it served its purpose in sort of masking the source but the crack of the round was still heard.

 

The crack is from supersonic boom, only subsonic ammo can eliminate that. Now, main benefit is when using supersonic ammo, like you stated, it distorts source of sound. Also, you don't kick dirt and debris up as when regular muzzle devices are used close to the ground.
And Thank you for your service!!!!

 

Very impressive! I have never seen anything this good when the Colt 3x20 scope is used on a standard A1 rifle at various distances. Thanks Rob Ski!

 

In 1969 the engineers at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD came up with a suppressor for the M16. They brought a dozen to our shop at Long Binh, VN. I put one on an clean M16 & took them to the test fire pit and shot it. They each took turns shooting it and as they did I backed away about 15 feet & listened. I kept hearing a twang after each shot. So I motioned one of the guys over and had him listen. He got a puzzled look on his face and asked me what that was. I told him it was the recoil spring sliding back & forth in the aluminum recoil tube after each shot. About that time the rifle began to jam after a shot or two. They had only gone through one full 15 rd magazine & had just started on another when the jamming began to happen. He tapped one of the other guys on the shoulder and motioned them to stop. He told what I said. I took the rifle inside to my work bench and took off the suppressor and put it back in the cardboard box it came in. I took the upper off of the lower & pulled the bolt and looked at the gas tube. It was filthy, like it had fired 3,000 rounds without cleaning. I showed that to the guys. So the determination was that 1. They had to find a way to dampen the noise of the recoil spring & 2. They had to develop cleaner ammo.
Regards
Dan on the Texas coast

 

Nice shooting.
Interesting M16., I never saw one in VN.
I wonder how many were set up and issued?
Only saw the M14 set up when a sniper was assigned to our company, off and on.

 

None of the M16 rifles were set up with the silencer that I tested. They were all returned to Aberdeen & I think the project was eventually abandon. A sniper must have total control over the environment they are in, most especially noise.
Dan

 

Lots of Vietnam era photos of M16's with Sionics MAW-A1 Suppressors, not necessarily set up sniper rifles. speaking of sniper rifles in 1969 I was attached to Project Delta, running Recon for the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force, and our FOB was across the airstrip from the A-Team at Mail Loc in I Corps. MAJ Aiken sent me over to the Marine Combat Support Base Vandergrith to talk to their Intelligence Section. The LZ was right outside the 4th Marine Regiment TOC, and sitting there waiting to fly back to the FOB I saw a Marine with a M40. I asked him if that was the new sniper rifle I had read about, and how did he like it? His reply was: I would rather have a M14". I asked him why? He replied "I cannot protect myself with it (the M40).

John

 

Very cool and great shooting Rob..'Get some!'

'

 

Here are photos of my scoped clones.

 

 

Here are photos of my scoped clones.

Beautiful! Thank you for posting! Absolutely Bad ass!

 

I found the counts of all the Army Sniper rifles in Vietnam by year and Division. I did not go back and look but I think they called it the M16 with Realist scope.

The really interesting thing is they also had M16's with M84 scopes. I don't think I have ever seen this in a book or online but I have counts of them in pretty much every Division early on before the M14 NM's with M84's were first fielded.

 

I found the counts of all the Army Sniper rifles in Vietnam by year and Division. I did not go back and look but I think they called it the M16 with Realist scope.
The really interesting thing is they also had M16's with M84 scopes. I don't think I have ever seen this in a book or online but I have counts of them in pretty much every Division early on before the M14 NM's with M84's were first fielded.

 

The M16 assault rifle with scope and mounted bayonet knife looks interesting. Did anyone really go into bayonet attack with such a weapon? Miracles. One can still understand why a bayonet or bayonet knife was needed for rifles like M1891. But why such weapons as M16 or AK need a bayonet knife is not clear at all. In case of any problems in the operation of the rifle, a person is more likely to try to repair the weapon and make it fire again, than to run into a suicidal bayonet attack like a Japanese samurai.

 

The bayonet on a rifle is for "last ditch" personal defense. When you run out of ammunition in a battle and the enemy is closing in you still have a deadly weapon. That's why armies around the world have bayonet training almost since the beginning of long guns in war.
Regards
Dan on the Texas coast

 

1969 Advanced Infantry Training at Ft. Polk, La. There was zero training of bayonet use on the M-16. Bayonets were issued in Viet Nam, but I don't recall even carrying one in the field.

 

I went through basic training at Ft. Polk in late 1967 & that is when we were given bayonet training. In 1970 when the 25th infantry & the Airborne troops were sent home from Viet Nam we got all of their weapons at Long Binh to refurbish for storage. I had a Conex full of bayonets for the M16 and most were still in their arsenal wrap. Those that weren't came mainly from the Engineers.
Regards
Dan on the Texas coast

 

Great video Rob, as always!.

Here's my only contribution to this topic. No idea how many of these were made circa 1967:

Colt 656 “Sniper”. Heavy barrel, fixed stock, forward assist, modified gas block with hooded front sight. The second version of the M16A1 sniper was modified for the job. It had a new upper receiver without a carrying handle, which lowered the Leatherwood scope considerably.

Source: The World's Assault Rifles (2010), by Gary Johnson and Thomas Nelson, page 1065.

 

Great video Rob, as always!.

Here's my only contribution to this topic. No idea how many of these were made circa 1967

View attachment 4244113
"Colt 656 “Sniper”. Heavy barrel, fixed stock, forward assist, modified gas block with hooded front sight. The second version of the M16A1 sniper was modified for the job. It had a new upper receiver without a carrying handle, which lowered the Leatherwood scope considerably.
View attachment 4244114

Source: The World's Assault Rifles (2010, by Gary Johnson and Thomas Nelson, page 1065.

Where did you find a photo of one? Is it a real one or a clone?

 

Am I correct that the Colt 3x scope was never purchased and issued by the Govt in Vietnam but bought by troops themselves? Some of both maybe?

 

I'm still wondering how or even if they were able to dampen the noise the recoil spring made going back & forth in the aluminum recoil tube when firing it? That still seems like a liability to me in a sniper rifle.
Regards
Dan on the battered Texas coast

 

The recoil buffer spring noise would not be noticeable or consequential compared to the sound of the M16 being fired.
In viewing the video in post #1 will show this.
Supressors work pretty well on rifles., but with full power ammunition which is supersonic., the dampening of sound is not complete.
Subsonic loads are the best for sound supression., but also limit the range and effectiveness of the cartridge., and not particularly useful in any longer range targets.

The supressor will dampen sound and reduce muzzle flash to a degree but not fully or undetectable like in some movies.

 

Where did you find a photo of one? Is it a real one or a clone?

I don’t know if it’s real or not. Just an image I found, but it sure looks real. I doubt it’s clone as no one makes that upper, but I think there was a Japanese AirSoft version based on some googling. Anyhow, that’s all I know.

 

Here is one of my clones with a vintage 1970 Redfield 3x9 with Weaver rings on a reproduction Cook scope mount, such as is pictured in the Peter Senich book The Long Range War Sniping in Vietnam.

 

Yesterday, President Trump was almost brainwashed with such a rifle. A miracle saved him. He suddenly turned his head. The ear was only shot off. Lucky so lucky.