| #2 I checked this on Global Security. This part is an interesting idea: This improved reliability can be credited to differences in the XM8‘s operating system from the one in the M16. For instance, a thin gas tube runs almost the entire length of the barrel in all of the M16 variants. When the weapon is fired, the gases travel back down the tube into the chamber and push the bolt back to eject the shell casing and chamber a new round. The XM8‘s gas system instead is connected to a mechanical operating rod, which pushes back the bolt to eject the casing and chamber the new round each time the weapon is fired. So there‘s no carbon residue constantly being blown back into the chamber, reducing the need to clean the weapon as often. You don‘t get gases blowing back into the chamber that have contaminates in them. The XM8 also has a much tighter seal between the bolt and the ejection port, which should cut down on the amount of debris that can blow into the weapon when the ejection port‘s dust cover is open. |