h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There are actually several variants, and they've been proliferating lately. The M16-A1 was the original widely issued weapon in Vietnam. It was fairly notoriously unreliable, primarily because of the ammunition issued for it. (They changed it to a new formulation without bothering to test it first.) After the ammo was modified and they introduced a chrome-lined chamber and barrel it did OK.

The M16-A2 introduced better sights and a different barrel twist rate to stabilize newer tracer rounds. This is the primary issue weapon today.

The M4 has a shorter barrel--14.5" vs. 20" on the A1 and A2. It also has a telescoping buttstock. Some versions have a flattop upper receiver in place of the carry handle, so you can bolt all sorts of gee-gaws onto the thing, like red dot sights, telescopic sights, and night vision scopes.

There are a few other versions floating around--there used to be a very short barrel "commando" version. But the A2 and the M4 are about all you'll see these days. The A1 is mostly in reserve units and so on.

It's a great little rifle. Excellent ergonomics; the safety and selector are right there on your thumb, the magazine release in
right by your index finger, and the sights are very good. The lack of a piston in the front of the rifle makes it very pointable and about a pound lighter. Recoil is negligible and the rounds are very lethal inside 200m for the A2. The high velocity rounds (over 3000 fps) make it easy to shoot at ranges under 250 m, with no real adjustment for bullet drop needed. The trigger is...military, meaning heavy and mushy. The reliability is very good, despite the press. The main weakness is the magazines, which can be picky.

Sorry to butt in on your conversation, but if
Researcher "200553"
would go back to there own page and then click on the "EDIT PAGE" button and then write a little something about your self then a ACE can come and welcome you there properly
Sorry for interrupting your conversation

Manda