I recently bought an unfired M96 Carbine from a friend, and we had fun taking the gun to the range for its "break-in procedure."  

He has also introduced me to several other M96 owners, so it was inevitible that I would ask one of them why they preferred the M96 over the AR15. (The only *compaint* I have about the M96 BTW is that it is heavy.  I will have to get the "Recon Kit" eventually, just to cut down on weight.)  Anyway one of the M96 owners said the primary advantage of the M96 over the AR is its gas system.  The M96 uses an "operating arm" that is pushed back by the gas from the ignition of the round... this "operating arm" then pushes the bolt carrier back, etc.

The AR, he said, has a "dirty" system whereby the bolt assembly is directly connected to the gas tube, which lets residue from the burning powder come back into the upper receiver, thus dirtying it up faster.

While it is true that the AR's bolt assembly reacts directly from the gas, I haven't heard of or experienced any extreme fouling in AR's due to this design.  What do you guys think?  It *does* seem, in theory, that the operating rod arrangement would be better, but I am an AR fanatic... and although I like the M69, it will never be my favorite... my AR's are.

Thanks,

ARnSC  

The gas systems make a difference in reliability, but not one you or I will ever encounter in normal shooting.  

There is a trade-off for the reliability when using a gun with an op-rod setup: accuracy.

Let's not forget wieght. A few of my friends have the M96 and I have yet to see one as accurate as my HBAR. They are nice though. I would site what Gungho said as well as the detachable barrel.

BTW a dirtier gun does not mean an non-working gun. So my AR gets dirtier due to its gas system, big deal. It still runs.

Yeah... I guess that's why the guys in combat clean theirs a lot.  But you guys are probably right... We don't shoot enough for it to be a problem.

BTW.. ArmaLite is jumping into the "clean gas system" thing too.  I can't seem to find it on their website, but I saw it in Shotgun News.  I think it is an AR-180B or something like that.  And they too claim the gas system doesn't dirty up the receiver like a "regular" AR does.



ARnSC  

Alot of problems is caused by dirty burning ammo. Shoot enough of it without cleaning and it can cause a reliability issue.

BUT, most good quality ammo and milspec ammo does not use these "dirty" burning powder so the failure rate is reduced even if shooting lots of rounds.