M-16 In Vietnam - An American soldier fires an M16 rifle during the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968 in My Lai, South Vietnam. Military veterans and the general gun-buying public are increasingly fascinated by the AR-15, the civilian version of the Vietnam War-standard M-16. Ronald L. Haeberle/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty
WASHINGTON — In 1976, Richard Dyke, a former IRS agent and Army counterintelligence veteran, invested $241,000 in a bankrupt gun company in Bangor, Maine, that made M-16 and AR-15 rifles for the military and military personnel.
M-16 In Vietnam
Military veterans and the gun-buying public were fascinated by the AR-15, a civilian version of the M-16 that was standard in the Vietnam War.
Jg M16 Vietnam Airsoft Aeg Rifle W/ Lipo Ready Gearbox (package: Rifle Only), Airsoft Guns, Airsoft Electric Rifles
Dyke rode a Bushmaster AR-15, if not the fame. He reportedly wore silk shirts, drove a Rolls Royce and built a helipad in front of his mansion in Maine—not bad for a man who never lived in a house with an enclosed bathroom before going to college. In 2006, Dyke sold Bushmaster to Cerberus Capital Management for more than $70 million.
The key to Dyke's success was realizing that a military-style weapon could be modified and sold to the general public.
On December 12, the families of some Sandy Hook victims filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bushmaster, including the distributor and retailer that sold the gun used in the December 2012 Newtown massacre. Like the AR-15, to the general public that an unqualified individual could use for assassination.
Although a 2005 federal law barred liability claims against gun companies, plaintiffs' lawyers argued there was an exception for "reckless transfer" if the seller knew or should have known the gun could be used to harm others.
Database: Colt M16
"This is a fine assault weapon for use on the battlefield and by law enforcement, but selling it to the general public is a negligent choice," said Bridgeport attorney Michael Koskoff, who sued on behalf of the firm. families. This was reported by Hearst Connecticut Media.
The Newtown tragedy was not Bushmaster's debut in the face of negative publicity. In 2002, DC shooter John Allen Muhammad used a Bushmaster to kill 10 random victims in the Washington area. Bushmaster denied liability, but paid $550,000 to the victims' families as part of a $2.5 million settlement.
And a few weeks after Newtown, crazed killer William Spengler used a Bushmaster to kill two firefighters in Webster, New York who were responding to a fire Spengler started.
But Newtown has transformed the Bushmaster from a brand that one gun trade publication describes as "tactical cool" to one synonymous with hunting, target shooting and mass murder.
Cyma Full Size M16a1 / M16 Vietnam Full Metal Airsoft Aeg Rifle
A typical Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle is made of forged aluminum or carbon-15 composite and weighs between six and eight pounds. Its military counterpart has a toggle switch that allows each trigger to fire one shot or multiple shots, while the civilian AR-15 is single-shot by federal law. However, shooters can empty a 30-round magazine in the shortest time it takes to pull the trigger.
In recent annual reports, Cerberus boasted that its Bushmaster, Remington and DPMS brands were the nation's top sellers of "modern sporting rifles," the gun industry's preferred euphemism for military-style weapons.
Richard Feldman, a veteran gun lobbyist who is president of the New Hampshire-based Independent Firearms Association, said: "Did the Bushmaster sell well? Yes. Were there incidents? Yes. Did it work in their favor? Yes." A negative turns into a positive in terms of marketing. No manufacturer wants this to happen. There is a benefit that you don't wish for, but you get what you can. This is capitalism.''
Cerberus, the parent company of Remington Outdoor Inc., in its latest filing with the SEC. - In 2013, net sales were $1.2 billion, which is almost 50% more than in 2009.
M16 Geweer Oorlog In Vietnam Periode Geïsoleerd Op Een Witte Achtergrond Royalty Vrije Foto, Plaatjes, Beelden En Stock Fotografie. Image 43669229
Gun owners' fears about new restrictions on gun purchases fueled a buying spree for AR-15s and other guns after President Obama was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. None of those fears came to pass, and some gun sales cooled last year. firearms industry observers.
The Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun industry's leading trade group, argues that the popularity of modern sporting rifles is reflected in the Civil War, World War I, and historic civilian adaptations of military weapons that debuted in World War I. . II.
"The battlefield requirements of a rifle, such as accuracy, ruggedness, reliability and rapid fire, are characteristics sought by hunters and shooters alike," the foundation notes in a post on its website.
"They're designed specifically for the military to kill people," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Washington-based Violence Policy Center. "We don't buy the idea that you can just copy a military weapon because some segment wants it and that makes it suitable for the civilian market. That makes no sense."
Vietnam War Commemorative \
Post-New York state laws, including New York's SAFE Act and Connecticut's ban on assault weapons, may also contribute to declining sales of the Bushmaster and other AR-15 brands.
But Bushmaster and other gun companies have proven adept at redesigning guns to circumvent these laws. California, for example, has had a statewide ban on assault weapons since 1989 after several mass shootings with semi-automatic rifles.
By law, guns are prohibited if they have removable magazines. But a removable charger with a "tool" is fine. Bushmaster, among others, developed "California-fit" rifles with a "bullet button" - a button activated by a single bullet ejects the magazine and allows the shooter to replace the magazine as quickly as if done by hand.
Gun control advocates say there is no such loophole in New York and Connecticut laws. Both laws "were written with lessons from California and other states in mind," said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center.
Black Ops Airsoft M16 Vietnam Edition
Returning to the Bushmaster spawning grounds in Maine, Dyke and his son Jeff Dyke formed a new company, Windham Weaponry, which employed many Bushmaster employees who had lost their jobs after the company's purchase by Cerberus in 2006.
When asked by a Maine Weekly interviewer what interested him in making guns, Dyke replied, "No."
"I think you can buy a toilet (company) and if you have the right people to fix it and the right group to sell it, you'll sell more toilets than anyone else." to remember: In the summer of 1966, rumors of rifle problems began to circulate in Vietnam, rumors included guns not feeding, firing, or ejecting.
In Part One of this series, we discussed how the US military transitioned from the M14 Battle Rifle to the M16 Assault Rifle. The M16 promised light weight and increased lethality, but was that all it was? In this segment, we follow the rifle back to Vietnam, where the gun gained a reputation for being unreliable—a reputation it doesn't quite deserve.
The M 16 And The Vietnam War
As the U.S. Army began a major engagement with the conflict in Vietnam, it began issuing new weapons to the infantry units of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Designed by Armalite and manufactured by legendary gun manufacturer Colt, its predecessor, the M16 Assault Rifle, was smaller and lighter than the relatively new M14 Assault Rifle. Used by US Special Forces and South Vietnamese Army units, the M16 received rave reviews for usability and lethality. The Army and Air Force received 104,000 rifles in November 1963.
As US Army ground troops began pouring into Vietnam, its infantry were re-equipped with M16s. Units such as the 1st Cavalry Division, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 101st Airborne Division adopted the M16 in its first full-scale deployment with US forces. Despite the caution of the M16, with plastic parts replacing the all-wood and steel M14, the new rifle won over many skeptics, and the Army and Marine Corps ordered another 419,277 rifles in 1966.
In the summer of 1966, rumors of problems with the rifle began to circulate from Vietnam. Rumors included weapons that would not feed, fire, or eject. Complaints increased as the year went by. During the first week of October 1966, the commander of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, reported that his troops were having many problems with the new XM16E1 rifles, which "degraded confidence".
The commander of the US Army in Vietnam, General William Westmoreland, requested that a technical assistance team visit units in the field equipped with the M16, a visit that lasted six weeks. One of Colt's experts, a US Army veteran, reiterated that he had "never seen such poorly maintained equipment." He stated that many soldiers had never held their rifles, had never been trained to hold a rifle.
Cyma Sport Full Metal M16 A1 Vietnam Airsoft Aeg Rifle (package: Add 9.6v Nimh Battery + Charger), Airsoft Guns, Airsoft Electric Rifles
Schools in vietnam, dating in vietnam, health insurance in vietnam, manufacturing in vietnam, volunteer in vietnam, medical insurance in vietnam, vietnam m-16, textile manufacturers in vietnam, mag 16 vietnam, women in vietnam, recruitment in vietnam, foreign business in vietnam
0 Comments