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Question
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. ONE LAST QUESTION . WHAT DOES AN DISCONNECTOR DO IN A SEMI-AUTO OR FULL-AUTO ACTION ? I HAVE HEARD OF A DRILL WITH THE M16 THAT INVOLVES PUTTING THE M16 ON BURST THEN CYCLING THE ACTION MANUALLY WITH THE TRIGGER HELD BACK . IS THIS A DISCONNECTOR DRILL OR JUST A MYTH ? CONGRATULATIONS TO YOUR PRESIDENT       THANKS OWEN

Answer
Owen,

"Disconnector" is a term with multiple meanings in the gun world, though most of them have to do with some sort of safety catch. For instance, almost all automatics have what's known as a "slide out of battery disconnect safety," which simply prevents the gun from firing unless the slide is fully forward, in the "battery" position. Smith & Wesson 3rd Generation auto pistols have a "magazine disconnect safety," which prevents the gun from firing unless a magazine is locked in place in the grip.

As for the drill you describe with the M16, I've never heard of it. Only military M16A2 rifles can be set to "burst" (the M16A1 has three settings, "safe," "semi" and "full" compared to "safe," semi" and "burst" on the M16A2). When it's on that setting it fires three rounds for every pull of the trigger. As such, I don't know why anyone would cycle the action manually since there's no way they could do it without interrupting the cycling of the gun. The bolt and bolt-carrier group move during firing while the charging handle remains locked in place. Pulling the charging handle to the rear, which you'd have to do to cycle the action manually, will hang the bolt-carrier group up on the charging handle. I'd be inclined to say the drill you describe is just a myth.

Hopefully I've been helpful, if you've any other questions please feel free to ask.

Kyle