Key Points - The M16 rifle's introduction during the Vietnam War was deeply controversial despite its "on-paper" advantages over the M14—lighter weight, higher ammunition capacity, and lower recoil.

To gun enthusiasts, it is an effective, lightweight weapon. To anti-gun advocates, it's a symbol of mass shootings. Experts estimate approximately 16 million adults in the US now own at least one of ...

In the 1980s, the U.S. Army found itself grappling with a startling problem: under the stress of combat, soldiers armed with ...