22 Jan 02

I just completed a two-day Patrol rifle Course with a large PD on the West Coast. Everyone in the class used an AR-15, mostly Colts, a few Bushmasters. Ammunition was generic Winchester. Each student expended nearly one thousand rounds.

We had a few failures to feed which were quickly reduced by the student, but no catastrophic breakdowns, save one. One student, a gunsmith no less, brought a tight-chambered (SAAMI), heavy-barreled, target rifle that started life as an AR-15, although it was difficult to tell by looking at it. It heated up and seized during the first hour of the class. We had to pull it off the line and give him a military surplus M-16, which worked fine for the duration. Any serious, autoloading rifle needs a NATO chamber. Only bolt guns should have SAAMI chambers.

A great contributor to AR-15 reliability is the chronic habits of: (1) keeping the dust cover closed, and (2) keeping a magazine continuously in the magazine well. Those processes, in concert, plug all the holes and keep blowing grit and dirt out of the weapon. It should be standard procedure.

/John