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USColt/ArmaliteAR15/M16(5.56)
ThisfolderisdedicatedtotheUSColt/ArmaliteAR15/M16&alsoincludesanalbumonit'sattempted
successortheArmaliteAR18/180,mainfocusison"retro"variants,uptotheendoftheVietNamwar.Please
notethatALLriflesinthealbumsaresemiautoonlybutareasclose,cosmetically,aspossibletotheoriginal
militaryvariants,therearealbumsontheModel601/M16,Model603XM16E1/M16A1,Model604,Model
629XM177E2,M16A2&currentM4.Alsoanalbumwithpicsofthepartsdifferencesbetweenallthe
variantstohelpother"retro"builders.Hopefullythisalbumwillsupplementtheexcellentinfoontheserifles
availabletocollectors/shootersonRetroBlackRifle.com&thefantasticsite(&members)oftheretroForum
onAR15.com,thesesites&knowledgeablemembersofthemenabledmetogetasfarasIdidwithmy
builds!,manythankstoyouall!
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1.Research,projectsetc.
There'smanyquestionsre:theM16seriesasfarasparts,markings,
variants,timeframesetc.,thisfolderwillhavetopicsunderresearchw/info
thatisONGOINGnot"setinstone",I'mputtingthishereinsteadofonpublic
forumstokeepitfrombecoming"internetfact"beforethere'sverifiablefacts
orevidencetoproveordisproveit,noteswillbemadeforeachitemasto
thecurrent"correctness"or"probability"ofthetheoriescontainedsoplease
readcarefully&don'trepeattheinfoasfactatthispoint,alsoifyouhave
anyinfothatmayhelpinthetopicspleasecontactmethruemailatthe
bottomofeachalbum.
2.M16replicacollectiongroup
AcollectionofsemiautoreplicasofUSmilitaryM16's,including,Colt601,
XM16E1,72eraM16A1,89rebuiltM16A1,M16A2,M16A4,carbines,Colt605,
Colt607(GX5857),XM177E2,723,727,&M4A1.Allarebuiltascloseto
original(appearancewise)aslegallypossible.Notethateachhasit'sown
albumw/moredetailedpics&infoonthebuildto(hopefully)helpother
builders/collectorsintheirprojects.
3.Colt/ArmaliteModel601(AF&Army)
The601istheoriginalArmalitedesignedbutColtmfg.modelfirstsoldtothe
AirForce&totheArmyinsmallnumbers&usedintrialsearlyinVietNam,
Coltsubsequentlyobtainedtherightstothedesign&developedallthefurther
modelsofM16.TherifleshownisbuilttorepresentaModel601usedbythe
ArmyintheAgileprogramearlyintheVNwar.
4.ArmaliteAR18/180(5.56mm)
ArmalitesoldthemfgrightsoftheAR15toColtwhomarketedittotheUS
Govt,earlyinthisprocesstheAR15wentthrougha"bad"period,Armalite,in
hopeofcapturingmilitarycontractsdesignedtheAR18tocompetew/the
AR15,itusedthesamebasiclockingsystem/actionastheAR15butuseda
pistonassemblyratherthandirectgasimpingementasontheAR15,italso
utilizedstampedsteelfortheupper/lowerreceiversratherthantheAR15's
forgedreceivers&Armalitebelievedtheriflewouldbemorereliable,
simpler,andlessexpensivetobuy&operate.ItwastestedbytheArmyin
6465,atthetimeitwasn'tnearfullydeveloped&was"passed"over,laterit
wasretested,around1969,&foundtobeareliable&accurateweaponbutat
thispointtheM16wasalreadyinserviceinlargenumberssoit'schancehad
passed.ItwasdevelopedintotheAR180,asemiautovariant&built/soldby
ArmaliteinCostaMesaCa,lateritwaslicensebuiltbySterlinginUK&Howa
inJapan.TheriflepicturedinthealbumisanoriginalCostaMesa(USAmfg)
AR180.
5.ColtModel603(XM16E1,M16A1Army)
Afterthe"trial"ofthe601theArmyrequestedanumberofmods,mainlythe
additionoftheforwardassisttotheupperreceiver,thisistheModel603
whichbecametheXM16E1in1964,asmoremodificationsweremade&
neededtheywereaddedduringtheproductionruns&resultedinthetype
being"typestandard"bytheArmyastheM16A1in1967.Showninthealbum
herearereplicasofanearly6567XM16E1,a71eraM16A1,anearlybuild

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ofalateM16a1w/anA2lower(tobereplaced)w/astarlightscope&a
rebuildA18694.
6.H&R&GMM16A1
In1968theUSGovtfinallyreachedalicensingagreementw/Colt(whichthey
hadbeentryingtoobtainsincethefirst601/M16purchases)whichenabled
theGovttosigncontractsw/2othermakerstoproduceM16A1'sforthe
Army,GeneralMotorsCorp(GM)&Harrington&Richardson(H&R),bothof
thesemanufacturedM16A1'sfortheGovtfromapproximately19691971.
Verylittleconcreteinfoisavailableontheseriflesregardingpartsmarkings,
suppliersetcwhichwouldenablereplicabuilderstobuildaccuratereplicas.
Theinfoprovidedherehasbeensuppliedbynumerouspeople&isongoing,
H&RhasbeenabiteasiertoobtaininfoonGMriflesareprovingvery
difficult!
7.ColtModel604(M16AirForce)
TheAirForcedidnotwanttheforwardassistontheirrifles&theAirForce
riflesweremfgwithoutthemresultinginthisrifletheModel604(M16).
Otherthantheforwardassistthe604followedthe
improvements/modificationsoftheArmy'smodel603's.
8.ColtModel605carbine
The605wasColt's1st"carbine"variantoftheAR15/M16line.Developed64
65itwaslistedinColt's1965catalogas"CAR15carbine".Itwasbasicallya
standardriflew/thebarrelshortenedinfrontoftheFSBto15",allother
partsarethesame.Thereappeartobeanumberofvariationsusing,auto,
burst,auto&burstFCG's&evenamidlengthgassystem(believedtobea1
offprototype).The605wasnotofficially"adopted"bythemilitarybutdid
showupinsmallnumbersonanapparenttrialbasis."Delineating"the
"correct"featuresofa605isdifficultastherewereanumberof"variations"
ofit,mostofthesurvivingpicsoftheeraareof"toolroom"rifles&mostof
thesurvivingriflesshowawidevariationin"collectors"features.These
"carbines"appeartohavebeenbuiltasalmost"oneoffs'inmostcases
w/partsonhandatatimewhentherewasalargechangeovertomanyofthe
parts,alongw/thefacttherearedifferent"models"ofthe605,605A,605B
etcw/differentfeatures.
9.ColtModel607
The607wasColt's2nd"carbine"M16afterthe605&wasthefirsttypeto
usearetractabletypestocktoshortenit'slength.The607useda10"barrel
&thefirsttyperetractablestock,theywereinColt'scatalogin1965listedas
asubmachineguneventhoughitfiredthe.223riflecartridge.Theywere
neveramajorproductionmodel&willbefoundinavarietyofconfigurations,
theyweresupercededin1966bytheAFGAUseries&ArmyXM177.There
werereportedlyasmallnumberboughtbytheArmy&USpropertymarked
asGX5857,thisrifleisbuilttoreplicateoneofthese.Thereplicapictured
belowisalegalBATFregisteredsemiautoSBR(ahortbarreledrifle).
10.ColtModel629(XM177E2)
TheModel629wasacarbinevariationoftheM16A1w/retractablestock,
11.5"barrel&largemoderator,itwasthefinalversioninVietNamofa
numberoflowproductioncarbinevariantsusedbyallservices.Theywere
originallyissuedtoSpecialServicestroopsbutsubsequentlyfoundtheir
foundwaytootherunitslateinthewar.

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11.ColtModel705(M16A2)
TheM16A2wasmadetoaMarineCorprequestformodificationstothe
M16A1involvingtherearsight,handguards,heavierbarreletc,itbecamethe
standardarmintheearly80's(USMC)&in1986(USArmy)&isstillin
servicetoday.TheM16A2useda3rd"burst"fireaction,theM16A3was
basicallyanA2w/fullautofire,theM16A4usesa"flattop"upperreceiver
(similiartotheM4carbine).Besidesthesevariantsthemilitaryhasordered
conversionkits,consistingofcompleteA2uppers/barrels,lowerpartskits,
stockgroups/handguards&convertedmanyA1'sintoA2configuration.This
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maybethereasonalgnumberofM16/M16A1styleupperscameonthe
marketwithinthelast2years.
12.ColtModel723carbine
Afterthemodel629(XM177E2),Coltsoldthemodel639whichwasa629
withthe4.5"suppressordeleted&fitw/astandardA1FH,followingthiswas
themodel653whichwasbasicallya629w/a14.5"barrelw/A1FH,allthe
abovemodels,629,639&653usedthe1/12barrel.Thenextcarbinemodel
wasdevelopedaftertheadoptionoftheM16A2riflew/a1/7barrel.This
carbine,the723basicallystartedasa653butusingathinprofile1/714.5"
barrelw/A2FH.The723wasfirstmarketedinthemid80's&somewere
purchasedbythemilitary&usedmainlybySpecialOperationsUnitsbutwere
never"officially"adopted.The723canbefoundinabewilderingarrayof
configurations,somew/earlyA1uppersw/nodeflector,somew/laterA1
uppersw/deflector,somew/A2uppers,thesameforthelowers,theyhave
beenseenw/A1stylelowersmarkedColtM16A2&A2lowersw/thesame
markings.Somelate723'swereevenmadew/theM4profilebarrelw/M203
cut!Trackingthe"correct"configurationfora723hasproventobealmost
impossible&buldingareplicaisprettymuchpersonalpreference!The723in
thisalbumwasbuiltusinganNDSA1lower,lateA1upperw/deflector&16"
thinprofile1/7barrelcutto14.5"&permanentlyfittedw/anextendedA2FH
forlegallength.Thesecarbines(723)&thelater727arethebasisforthe
"BlackHawkDown"carbinesusedinSomalia.
13.ColtModel727carbine
Afterthe723Coltdevelopedthe727,thismodelisevenmoreconfusingfor
collectors/buildersthanthe723!Mostreferences,photosetcof727'sseemto
showacarbinew/A2upper&14.5"M4profilebarrelw/m203cutsbutI've
seenphotos&referencesofcarbinesw/lateA1typeuppers&thinprofile
14.5"barrelsid'das727'salso!,tofurthercomplicatethingsthe727has
beenid'dinacouplereferencesasthemodelColtdevelopedfortheGovt.of
AbuDhabiwhichinturnledtotheXM4seriesfortheUS&eventuallytheM4!
Itappearsthatforacollector/builderthefeaturesthat"make"a727are
prettymuchleftopentopersonalpreferencejustlikethe723!This727
replicaisbuiltusinganNDSA1lower,ColtA2upper,1/714.5"M4profile
barrelw/M203cutw/extendedA2FHpermanentlypinnedforlegal16"length
&astandardnonFmarkedFSB.Thesecarbines(727's)arealsoperiod
correctfora"BlackHawkDown"buildasfarasI'vebeenabletoascertain.
14.ColtModel920(M4)carbine
ThecurrentUSservicerifle,M4/M4A1isa14.5"collapsiblestock
developementfromtheM16A2,it'stheprimaryUScombatarmin
Afghanistan&Iraq.ThisM4"replica"isbasedonaColt6520carbinelower
w/anM4upperw/14.5"M4barrelthathasanxtendedA2FHpinnedtothe
barreltomakeitalegal16",theuseofthe14.5"originallengthbarrel&the
extendedFHfortheextralengthallowsthebayonettofittherifleproperly.

15.M16partsvariations
Inthisfolderarealbums,upperreceiverparts,barrelassemblyparts,lower
receiverparts&furniturewhichshowdifferencesintheparts&an
approximatetimelineintheiruseinmanufacture.

16.M16accessoryitems
Inthisfolderyou'llfindpics/descriptionsofvariousitems/accessoriesforthe
militaryM16's,slings,bayonets,cleaninggear,attachments,etc.Thisalbum
willseecontinuingadditionsasIacquirenewitems&takepicsoftheonesI
have!
Theitemshavebeenseperated&placedintotheirownalbums,ie:,albumfor
bayonets,anotherfortrainingaidsetc.
17.ColtSP1carbine
TheSP1wastheoriginalcivilianversionoftheColtM16,theAR15,itwas
producedinregularversionsw/20"barrel&thecarbine(shownhere)w/16"

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barrel.Theseriflesweresemionly&didnotuseamilitarystylepivotpinin
thefrontreceiverboss,rathertheyhadlargerdiameterfrontupper/lower
receiverbosses&usedadoubleendedscrewtosecuretheupper/lower
together.

18.Colt6520carbine
Thiscarbineis(reportedly)anXPAStatePoliceLEcarbine.It'sanA2lower,
A2upper(noM4cuts),Coltthinprofile16"1/7NATOmkdbarrel,A2FH,
w/laterM4stock&4postube.It'sshownhereasIgotit.it'sbeenusedasa
"donor"gunforacoupleofprojects,thelowerhasbeenusedintheM4
replica&thebarrelwascutto14.5"w/apinnedxtendedA2flashsuppressor
&usedonthe723.

19.Colt6920

20.BushmasterXM15E2S
BushmasterisanotherproducerofAR15'sforthecivilianmarket(&I
understandrecentlyformilitary&lawEnforcementalso).Thisparticularrifle
isaVietNameraXM177carbine"lookalike"inappearancebutusesalotof
newer(A2)features,it'sanexcellentshooting/functioningweapon&hasthe
proper"VNeracarbinelook"butisverydifferentinalotofdetails.

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