The M-16 fires the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge, while the AK-47 was chambered for the 7.62x39mm. Both feature iron sights. The M16 has superior range, with the AK-47’s 300-meter range bested by the ...

The AK-47 is several pounds heavier than the M16. The Soviet 7.62 mm M43 cartridge used in the AK-47 is much smaller and less powerful than the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge used in our M14 rifle.

The M16's adaptability and performance have made ... the rifle’s direct impingement operating system is very reliable. Lastly, the 5.56 cartridge is quite lethal but is also lightweight, which ...

Actually, both back then and now, the M16 (like most AR-15s) fires the relatively-underpowered 5.56 mm cartridge. It has very little kick. And while obviously the 5.56 can be lethal ...

Or as the military referred to it as, the 5.56×45 — based on the .222 Remington. The U.S. Military adopted the 5.56×45 cartridge, along with Armalite’s M16 rifle in 1963, laying the groundwork for the ...

When the Army ordered its now standard M4 carbine in 1993 from firearms maker Colt, it saw the rifle as a lighter, more agile alternative to the Vietnam era M16 with similar punch at short range.