M16 and AR-15 - How firearms work! (Animation)

[Music] this animation will explain the basic principle of ar-15 style rifles such as the m16 the standard m16 was equipped with a carrying handle and iron sights [Music] the rear in the front sight could be adjusted with a cartridge to zero the rifle a low light level sight system for the m16 was also available it featured a rear sight with a larger aperture of seven millimeters and a front sight with radioactive tritium for visible light at night newer versions have been equipped with a low light level system and an elevation knob for a better target [Music] today a lot of accessories are available for ar-15 style rifles fluted barrels save weight and dissipate heat diesel let's have a look at the m16s trigger mechanism initially the m16 assault rifle could fire in semi-automatic and fully automatic mode when in safe mode the trigger cannot be pulled because of the selectors shape when the selector is moved to semi-automatic mode the recess and the bottom of the selector allows the trigger to move when it is pulled as soon as the trigger is pulled it releases the hammer when the bolt carrier pushes down the hammer the disc connector locks it in place before another shot can be fired the trigger must be released so that the trigger sear engages the hammer again in fully automatic mode the trigger can move freely whereas the disconnectors stays at its position the selector has a recess for the auto sear the auto sear catches the hammer when the bolt carrier moves backwards when the bolt carrier moves forward to chamber a new cartridge the bolt carrier pushes the Auto sear foe releasing the hammer now let's have a look at the bolt carrier the bolt carrier houses the bolt that has several locking lugs which are also called foe plugs and a campaign when the hammer strikes the firing pin the firing pin is pushed forward the firing pin it's the bottom of the cartridge which consists of the case of propelling the bullet and the primary the case of the cartridge is filled with the propeller at the bottom of the case is the primer the primer holds the priming mixture when the rifles firing pin strikes the primer cap the priming mixture explodes resulting in the ignition of the propeller [Music] the propellant is available in different shapes and mixtures it is usually smokeless powder that reaches temperatures above 2000 degrees Celsius the pressure in the case pushes the bullet out of the case through the barrel to the target with a velocity of around one kilometer per second the gas block and the gas tube connect the barrel with the bolt carrier the pressure provided by the propellant is transmitted to the bolt carrier consequently it is pushed back the bolt is unlocked and moved backwards by the bolt carrier by means of the cam pin the extractor removes the spent case from the chamber plow the spring-loaded ejector ejects it [Music] the buffer spring is compressed and ready to release the stored energy consequently it will push the bolt carrier back to its initial position the bolt chambers a new cartridge [Music] when the cartridge is fully seated in the chamber the bolt is locked through the rotation let's see it again from another perspective the bolt pushes the cartridge into the chamber when the bolt cannot move any further the bolt carrier rotates the bolt through the camp in that way the firearm can withstand the high pressure created by the propellant when the gun is fired [Music] let's see again the locking mechanism in fully automatic mode the rifle would release the hammer and fire because many soldiers would fire in fully automatic mode and waste ammunition the burst mode was introduced when the trigger is pulled only three rounds are fired this is possible through a spring clutch the diameter of the spring clutch gets smaller or larger according to the direction of the force so when the trigger is pulled the hammer strikes the firing pin when the hammer is pushed back by the bolt carrier the disconnect er cam rotates thanks to the spring clutch this is done three times until the burst cam follower reaches the stop notch because the stop notch is deeper the disconnect er holds back the hammer so the trigger must be released to fire again let's see it again from the sight [Music] the civilian ar-15 can only fire in semi-automatic mode it does not have parts and recesses needed for fully automatic firing furthermore the lower receiver does not have room for the auto sear and only a full auto bolt carrier can tripped the auto sear the m16 and other ar-15 style rifles usually use direct impingement to cycle the action so when the bolt carrier moves backwards residue can enter the upper receiver and other parts this gunshot residue can become a big problem when the rifle is not cleaned regularly let's have a look at the upper receiver [Music] when the rifle is not cleaned regularly deposits can be found on the walls of the firearms upper receiver over time this can lead to increased friction between the upper receiver and the bolt carrier so that the bolt carrier gets stuck and a new cartridge cannot be changed here the forward assist can help pushing the forward assist plunger will move the bolt carrier forward thanks to the notches this can be done until the bolt is locked and the rifle is ready to fire flash hiders are common on military rifles [Music] flash suppressors hide the flash so that the soldier is not blinded in low-light shooting conditions they do this by dispersing the burning gases so that they cool much faster when the magazine is empty the spring-loaded magazine following which pushes the cartridges to the top of the magazine pushes up the bolt catch by this the bolt catch locks the bolt the operator can change the magazine by pressing the magazine catch [Music] pushing the bolt catch will release the bull the firearm is ready to fire annually charging the gun is also possible the charging handle allows the operator to move the bolt carrier to the rear releasing it will chamber a new cartridge [Music] subscribe now and never miss a new animation [Music]

Channel: Thomas Schwenke

Views: 6,545,625

Rating: 4.8980913 out of 5

Keywords: m16, ar-15, how it works, firearm, how a gun works, weapon, rifle

Id: wMIBUIN30yU

Length: 11min 11sec (671 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 23 2019