Heavy lubrication shown to improve M16, M4 effectiveness

[riverider]

Heavy lubrication shown to improve M16, M4 effectiveness - Military News, news from Iraq, photos, reports from the war - Military Times

Heavy lubrication shown to improve M16, M4 effectiveness

By Matthew Cox - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jul 16, 2007 1705 EDT

Army weapons officials might have found a way to improve the M16 family’s performance in the desert.

“Dust chamber” tests at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., last year show that M16 rifles and M4 carbines perform dramatically better when the weapon’s bolt assembly is heavily lubricated.

During each phase of the two-part “system assessment” at Army Test and Evaluation Command, testers fired 60,000 rounds through 10 weapon samples of each model.

Treated with light lubrication, new M16A4s and M4s, performed poorly in the extreme dust and sand conditions of the test, according to a January report from ATEC.

But when testers applied a heavy coat of lubrication to the weapons, the test results showed a “significant improvement.”

Out of the 60,000 rounds fired in each phase, the M4 stoppage-rate dropped from 9,836 with light lubrication to 678 with heavy lubrication.

The M16A4 stoppage-rate dropped from 2,124 with light lubrication to 507 with heavy lubrication, results show.

For years, Army weapons officials have preached to soldiers to virtues of applying a light coat of lubrication during weapons maintenance.

But the test results reinforce a recent change in weapons maintenance guidance Army units are practicing in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Col. Carl Lipsit, project manager for Soldier Weapons.

At the request of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., the Army will conduct a similar dust-chamber test in August, pitting the M4 against the Heckler and Koch 416, the H&K XM8 and FNH USA’s Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle.

All of the participating weapons will be treated with a heavy coat of lubrication during the test, Lipsit said.

[ArkansasHunter]

Everybody round these parts use hog lard on the bolts of there semi-auto hunt'in rifles.

[ezearln]

What a waste of perfectly good hog lard!

[Big Dog]

Bet that'd draw the bears in . . .

And I like the idea of hog lard in the Middle East . . .

[billy]

Originally Posted by Big Dog

Bet that'd draw the bears in . . .

And I like the idea of hog lard in the Middle East . . .

Ive always liked the idea of aerosol pork grenades

[SilverRun]

Naa, lube the bullets with hog lard.

[ArkansasHunter]

If'in you want to burn up the barrel on your semi-auto rifle to fire full auto you can lubricate the acton and fire'in pin with Slick 50.
Once you pull the trigger you best be hold'in on tight !

[samuel]

Lets go back to the hog lard,I havnt digested that yet. sam.

[billy]

Originally Posted by samuel

Lets go back to the hog lard,I havnt digested that yet. sam.

thats because lard is hard to digest

[A-10]

During the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghaniatan the russian soldiers would dip their bullet tips in hog lard as a type of psycological warfare on the Afghanis.

[Full MeTal Jack]

That test just cost us $30,000 in ammo alone. Heck I could have told em that!
History repeats itself. The Army in 1939 spent $50,000 to develope an oil lubrication system for the M1 Garand. When they approached John C. Garand with the lubrication success test, his comment was, "Why didn't you just use grease?"