Hello all, as the title states.  I  was hoping to get everyone's input on the do's and don'ts on this platform...  

Kinda like... with my m11...

do not shoot +p out of the platform
always bolt back
if you have a failure bolt back first
never drop a loaded mag on a failure to fire or failure to feed, or any failures
dont take out the trip to prevent damage to the sear pin in front of the sear... etc...

any input would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks!

If youre familiar with the AR15 platform then you are good to go with the M16, that's one of the reasons its so popular, its plug and play for most firearms owners as they already have a AR15 collection.

is your referring to having the bolt locked back for safety reasons, ie like going down to change out targets etc..  yeah, that is good idea.

but if you mean to lock the bolt back to insert a magazine, that isn't really  necessary. but if you want to do that, then you can




never to take out the trigger group/sear for routine cleaning. I was issued a M16 when I first came to a unit. the soldiers before me had to have done that, because the first time on the range a trigger pin "walked out" and caused a major malfunction. the trigger hole in the receiver was "egged". the immediate remedy was to slap some 100 MPH tape to both sides of the receiver  so I was able to finish the zero and  qualification range.

Best to avoid reloads.

If it's an original Colt/H&R/GM, don't shoot the original upper and replace all the internals for range use, as they'll be more valuable down the road with less wear on them.

Other than that, it's a battle rifle, and everything on it is pretty easily replaceable, except the serialized lower receiver. If you like mag dumps, you'll wear the barrel out faster and have to replace it or get a new upper.

I can't' think of a lot of don'ts, while in the military, I would just about everything we did on a daily basis would be considered a don't on another type of gun.

You want to make sure an keep it clean, I always lube mine after shooting them.  I do a few mag dumps every once in a while, but, while fun, it gets damn expensive quick.

The platform is a very rugged platform and there have been millions of them made over the years and many of those old rifles from the early 60's are still in use by different elements around the world.

If you want to do mag dumps, the as suggested, get another upper to do them with and that way you don't damage the original upper and barrel.  I know guys that have a few different uppers they shoot on their 16 lowers with various options and barrel lengths and their original uppers sit in the gun safe.

Have fun with it.

Since you're a new M16 owner you might find this useful/interesting:

Everything is pretty much straight-up AR, except:

When closing the upper and lower receivers together, make sure that the selector switch is set on either "SAFE" or "SEMI". If it is set on "AUTO", the receivers won't fully close together. If you are boneheaded and try to force it at that point, you will break something, most likely the top of the auto sear.

Later sears (and RDIAS trips) have a beveled top edge to allow closing even with the b/c in battery. I've come across multiple configurations over the years.

Definitely something legit to watch out for.

Hmm, I never realized that was a possibility. Guess I always have it in safe when opening and closing the upper.

The comic book format "The M16A1 Rifle Operation and Preventative Maintenance",  DA Pam 750-30, 1 July 1969, on page 2 at Assembly Step 15 advises, "Be sure selector lever's on SAFE or SEMI-AUTO before closing upper and lower receivers."  Again on page 9 the soldier is warned in no uncertain terms, "Always - like Always!-point the lever to SAFE or SEMI before closing the receivers.  Here's why: If you jam the receivers closed when the selector lever's in the AUTO position, you'll force the automatic sear down and damage the automatic sear, and the sear pin, and will likely rough up the bottom of the bolt carrier."

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