Back to Basic(s)

[rickyrick]

I’ve been putting off doing a clone for decades. Always wanted an M16 clone but got caught up in all the doodads and rails. Shedding all the fluff and going back to basics.
This project stole the lower off of my impractical 24” bull-barrel which I’m going to abandon to the back of the gun safe.
The project isn’t exactly complete, need to find an actual A2 stock, not the imitation. I will also pull the magpul grip, I’m sure I have an A2 grip somewhere, and get a GI sling.
I might get a clone government marked lower someday, jury’s still out.

My little range is an intermittent swamp, and today was a swamp day lol. But I put on my snake boots, filled my pocket full of stripper clips and walked down there.
Ran flawless and had it zeroed in ten rounds.
In basic, we shot rattly A2s, used A2s on active duty but were shortly replaced with M4s. Never used an A4 on active duty.
So this is still a mashup between the A2 and A4, since it’s a flat-top. Anyway, it’s as close to a clone as I can afford, and I want the option to remove the carry handle. This will be recreational, I like iron sights and as I’m in the middle of my 5th decade I want to enjoy iron sights while my eyes are still in good shape.




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[ballardw]

Understand the need. My second AR is as close as I could get the XM16E1 (yes thats an E ) I had in basic. I found a Colt barreled upper, SP-1?, missing handguards so got a fairly close upper after adding some triangular hand guards.

[rickyrick]

During the gulf war, there was a temporary issue where some of us had to carry around one of the extra unissued rifles, the extra I had for a bit was an XM16E1. That’s what the receiver was marked, pretty sure it had been MWO’ed to A2 standards… I don’t remember the reason why we carried the extras, wasn’t long, I think it was because the couldn’t be secured. I’ve wanted the fixed handle version, but they are spendy, and if one did need an optic it’s awkward.

[rickyrick]

Forgot to mention that this is a PSA premium upper. I’ve had good luck with the carbine version. I know it’s nothing fancy, but I’ve got plenty of of fancy lol.

[Shadow9mm]

very cool, retro rifles are awesome!

[rickyrick]

Thanks, I did end up having an A2 pistol grip in my stash of parts.

[Shadow9mm]

Not a fan of the A2 grip, but that's a personal preference thing.

[rickyrick]

Well just for “authenticity” however it will never truly be authentic without ponying up the money for clone receivers

[ballardw]

Originally Posted by rickyrick

Well just for “authenticity” however it will never truly be authentic without ponying up the money for clone receivers

Do you mean one with the full-auto markings? Or the Military model information?

[rickyrick]

There’s some that are sold with select fire and government markings. There’s also some slight differences in the structure of the lowers depending on the era of M16. The fixed carry handle uppers are also available, but spendy. I’d do a fixed carry handle, but that kinda hamstrings the rifle in my opinion, if I needed to use an optic. I have plenty of ARs with fancy doodads.So it can never be a true clone. The A4 is a removable handle and a railed hand guard. I never used an A4, but encountered some marines with them. By the time the A4 came out we had transitioned to mostly M4s.

I’m not an expert, maybe someone could weigh-in, but I don’t think there was an A3. The civilian ARs are designated differently as far as the A1,A2, etc. scheme goes.

[ballardw]

Originally Posted by rickyrick

There’s some that are sold with select fire and government markings. There’s also some slight differences in the structure of the lowers depending on the era of M16. The fixed carry handle uppers are also available, but spendy.

The lower for mine does have a cosmetic full auto marking but not all the other government markings. And The Cold SP1 (if I have the right name) upper is an A1 style fixed handle upper. Don't remember what I paid for the complete upper as over 20 years ago but since it was used and without hand guards was not much different from other "complete" uppers.

[FrankenMauser]

I wanted a basic AR with iron sights last year. Everything else was specialized or scoped.
I wanted .223, nothing special. (Most of my ARs are not chambered in .223/5.56.)
I wanted A2 sights. (I prefer A2 over A1 sights.)
I wanted an A2 stock.
I wanted it to be reasonably light.
But, I wanted triangle handguards.
It did not need to be a clone.

I ended up with mostly Rock River parts for the upper, a threaded RRA .223 Wylde 20" Hbar barrel w/ M4 cuts, an Aero M4E1 lower, a good 2-stage trigger (I forget which), and a set of surplus guards and stock parts.

It looked like a someone got confused and combined an A1 and an A2 for an A1.75.
But it is exactly what I wanted.

It had a 3-prong flash hider for about a week before I put one of my suppressors on it. That suppressor has not come off since. It is just too fun to shoot in that configuration.

[rickyrick]

I’m back and forth on the triangle hand-guards, I like the looks better. My favorite AR to this point has been a carbine with an A2 stock, probably looks weird to many. I really liked how this A2’ish clone in the photo shoots, it does have a fancy aftermarket trigger, as all my ARs do, but I don’t really remember which make of trigger it actually is any longer. I’ve passed this lower around somewhat, but it’s now found its permanent home.

I’ve got several ARs now and have 4 different calibers. Lately I’ve been thinking of packing away all the other calibers except the .223/5.56 ARs and just enjoy shooting them.
I might keep the 6.8 around for piggies as long as the ammunition doesn’t dry up.

[rickyrick]

Well these three is the final bedside lineup. Top is my favorite of all my ARs, the M4’gery/A2 mashup Frankenstein-gun.
Second down is the clone that’s the topic of this thread.
Third is a Mossberg 500a.




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