The Eugene Stoner Tapes

[DustyGmt]

Thought you guys would find this fascinating. Many of you have probably seen it, but for many it will be good first hand knowledge about the countries most popular Carbine from the man who is behind it. Lots of interesting history and facts about the development process and the unbelievable obstacles that stood in the way of getting this gun into the hands of men in the field.

He passed in '97, it would have been interesting to say the least to see what he might have thought about the rifle as it is today with all the aftermarket support and the manufacturers that have squeezed just about every last drop of potential this firearm ever had out of it in terms of accuracy and modularity, etc..., also the fact that it really did become one of the most popular firearms in American history owned by 10's of millions of citizens.

Also, very interesting is a meeting of the two men behind the two most popular military rifles in history, Eugene Stoner and Mikhail Kalishnakov

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOSc8D2U-Hf6i9FT7ZzVpKZVDBsS6b3Ub

 

[Ks5shooter]

Thank you!!!!!!

 

[kcofohio]

Very interesting watch @DustyGmt ! Thank you for posting.

 

[DustyGmt]

Very interesting watch @DustyGmt ! Thank you for posting.

Yeah I thought it was great, I have to admit I haven't seen it all, but I watched all of parts I, II and III as well as the meeting between Mikhail and Eugene, I found it particularly Interesting when they discussed their thinking process on their designs and handled each other's rifles and shot them, even complimenting the other. You can tell they are both very proud of their creations.

 

[entropy]

I've seen it before, but thanks for posting it where I can conveniently find it again.

 

[kcofohio]

Yeah I thought it was great, I have to admit I haven't seen it all, but I watched all of parts I, II and III as well as the meeting between Mikhail and Eugene, I found it particularly Interesting when they discussed their thinking process on their designs and handled each other's rifles and shot them, even complimenting the other. You can tell they are both very proud of their creations.

One of the many comments by Stoner that I hadn't heard of before. He stated a couple times when talking about the early issues with the M-16, that Winchester (Olin) used reclaimed powders that were reworked?

 

[DustyGmt]

One of the many comments by Stoner that I hadn't heard of before. He stated a couple times when talking about the early issues with the M-16, that Winchester (Olin) used reclaimed powders that were reworked?

Yeah, it seemed that there were a few powerful detractors that didn't want to let go of the 10lb .30cal battle rifles for military use. It's been a while since I watched but I recall some serious bull he had to put up with, jetting off on a plane every 5 mins and the nonsense there at the Aberdeen proving grounds, as well as using reclaimed powders that weren't spec'd to work in the M16 (not fast burning enough iirc?).

Gotta take my hat off to him though, he did alot of tap dancing to make it happen, aside from designing the damn thing to begin with.

 

[kcofohio]

Yeah, it seemed that there were a few powerful detractors that didn't want to let go of the 10lb .30cal battle rifles for military use. It's been a while since I watched but I recall some serious bull he had to put up with, jetting off on a plane every 5 mins and the nonsense there at the Aberdeen proving grounds, as well as using reclaimed powders that weren't spec'd to work in the M16 (not fast burning enough iirc?).

Gotta take my hat off to him though, he did alot of tap dancing to make it happen, aside from designing the damn thing to begin with.

Makes me wonder how much bureaucracy John Browning would have had to go through in Stoner's day.

 

[usaral63]

Old John would've just thought screw 'em and gone to Belgium!

 

[RON in PA]

Just remember that Browning designed a lot of the features of the 1911 based on U.S. Army Cavalry requests/demands.

 

[entropy]

Indeed, Keep in mind JMB had been redesigning his auto pistol designs since 1900 trying to secure a military contract, any military contract.

 

[Skeptic13]

Cool videos. Can't wait to watch them all.