This video delves into the history and shortcomings of the M14 rifle, often criticized as America's worst service rifle. It details the military's requirements for a new rifle post-WWII, aiming to consolidate multiple firearm roles into a single platform. The M14, adopted in 1957, faced significant production issues, including quality control lapses leading to lug shearing and receiver breakage. Furthermore, a substantial number of M14s failed to meet the required accuracy standards. Production concluded in 1963, with the M16 ultimately replacing it. The video also touches upon competing designs like the FN FAL.
This video explores the McClean Automatic Rifle, a firearm designed by Dr. Samuel McClean, a physician from Iowa who experimented with various firearm designs starting in 1889. While McClean's initial concepts were later developed into the successful Lewis Machine Gun by Isaac Newton Lewis, this particular automatic rifle, tested and rejected by the US Navy in 1919, represents a final attempt by McClean to produce his own weapon. The rifle features a unique bolt system with dozens of small lugs and an exceptionally large gas piston. It is believed to be the only existing example of its kind.
This video delves into John Garand's 1924 primer-activated trials rifle, the precursor to the iconic M1 Garand. It highlights the rifle's innovative design for its time, including its handling, sights, and trigger, and its success in early US military trials against competitors like the Bang and Hatcher-Bang rifles. The description explains how a change in .03-06 ammunition loading with staked primers in 1925 rendered the 1924 prototype unusable, forcing Garand to completely redesign the rifle into the gas-operated rotating bolt system that would become the M1.
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