The M16 rifle, officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16, is the United States military version of the AR-15 rifle. The rifle was adapted for semi-automatic, three-round burst, and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. The rifle entered United States Army service and was deployed for jungle warfare operations in South Vietnam in 1963, becoming the U.S. military's standard service rifle of the Vietnam War by 1969, replacing the M14 rifle in that role.
Slidin 60s Crips member Whiteman carried an M-16 in his Trans Am.[1] It saved the day when he and fellow Crips Earring, Tiger, and Little Snake encountered the legendary Gilgamesh on the streets of Los Angeles in the early 1990s. After Gilgamesh killed Tiger, Whiteman was able to get hold of his M-16 and shoot Gilgamesh to death.[2]
A hunter and his partner Franktraveled back in time to Laramidia in the Cretaceous period. They made their camp in the area that would be the New Mexico/Texas border. The bog smelled terrible. They encountered turtles, small mammals, and several dinosaurs. When a Dineobellator notohesperus attempted to attack them, Frank fired a three round burst into it from an M16. This knocked the murderbird down but didn't kill it so Frank fired another burst to finish it off. They butchered and ate it; Frank observed that it tasted like chicken.[3]
Like many police forces, the San Atanasio PD had M16s in their armory for SWAT use. When Lt. Colin Ferguson was put in charge of security for a shipment of crude oil from San Pedro to refineries in El Segundo, he made sure to issue M16s to the officers he selected for the detail.[4]