Both still include M4 feed ramps for an increased level of confidence. The AR-15A4 is strictly a semi-automatic. Primarily, the difference between the M16A4 and the AR-15A4 comes down to the former’s capability for automatic (three-round burst, actually) fire-i.e., a three-position selector switch. This article’s focus is Colt’s non-military version of the M16A4, the AR-15A4. And, these characteristics also make it a good choice for law enforcement officers.Ĭontinue Reading: Colt AR-15A4 5.56mm Rifle | Gun Review Round polymer handguards with double heatshields cover the rifle-length gas system and the Parkerized and chrome-lined barrel. Why such a bias for the M16A4-pattern rifle? Marines believe the increased sight radius from the longer 20-inch barrel, over the M4’s 14.5-inch barrel, provides for greater shooter accuracy using iron sights, improves the velocity and lethality of the 5.56mm NATO round, and increases its usable range. The best figures I could find indicated the Corp has around 300,000 M16A4s and M4s on hand, with the latter accounting for less than 30 percent of the total. Of course, the Marines still believe “all Marines are riflemen,” providing their focused viewpoint on the purpose of individual weaponry.
Over the years, the USMC seems to have been a driving force behind many of the platform’s changes-the M16A2 and M16A4, for example. Far from being obsolete, a rifle with a fixed stock is still valued by a number of military customers, including the U.S. There are differences, of course, but the general outline is there. Colt ships ARs that fall into just about every group.Ĭolt also ships quite a few rifles with a close resemblance to the ones Eugene Stoner developed and the guys of the Vietnam era carried-today’s M16A4.
And the result is a highly refined weapon system that has also found a home in the domestic law enforcement community.Īccepted today as one of the finest rifles used in modern warfare, the M16/AR-15 platform can be had with collapsible stocks of all varieties for any need, differing barrel lengths, swappable barreled upper assemblies, handguards with more rails than a train yard or more traditional polymer versions, and just about any accessory anyone might want to add after the fact. But, as mentioned, the rifle has changed over the years, with the most recent modifications initiated during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 45” and “ 1911.” Love it or hate it-and there are a lot of people who have used the M16/AR-15 family at some point that fall into either camp-the platform has morphed a lot since the first rifles left the Colt plant and landed in Vietnam.įollowing an ignominious beginning, abused by a number of missteps that led to the rifles’ less-than-stellar introductory performance, the M16A1 overcame it all to gain wide acceptance. military’s M16 in the late 1950s, the names Colt and M16/ AR-15 have been connected in the minds of most folks, in pretty much the same way many interchange “Colt.
Since Colt bought the rights to produce the U.S.