Colt M16 A1

[CLASSIC12]

Saw an ad for a Colt M16 A1 on Monday. Called the seller and we met today.

He is a soon to be retired 57 y.o. Lt. Col. in the Swiss army. He likes his toys, he also showed me a Thompson M1, a Sig 551 commando, G18, Norinco 56, all full auto, and a multitude of other stuff.

He bought the M16 over 20 years ago, shot it FA a few times at the military range, but hasn't shot it in ages.

Some obvious wear on it, but rifing is strong, doesn't seem to have shot tens of thousands of full auto rounds.

I haven't seen those sights before

One broken tooth

Inside

BCG

Hammer

Furniture

The mag seems quite vintage too, with the metal follower

I think serial number puts production in 1972, although the serial number does not appear

Wonder if it saw action in VN. And how the hell did it land here in Switzerland.

Anyway, seller advertised it at 2500, I offered 2 k round figure. We settled on 2100. The wait for the license begins.

 

[CajunBass]

Wonder if it saw action in VN. And how the hell did it land here in Switzerland.

That's neat.

Perhaps it was captured in SVN, and made it way to Switzerland through the Com Bloc world. But I know nothing about how such a thing might have happened. I'm sure you know more about rather those things are even possible.

 

[canoeguy]

You sure do find some neat stuff over there in Switzerland! Full auto rifles are available here but are crazy expensive, like house buying money expensive.

I'd buy a full auto M-16 A-1 for $2100 any day!

 

[CLASSIC12]

Just noticed these marks, is that a star of David ? Did Israel get US Property marked M16s ?

 

[Dieseltech56]

$2100 for an M16? The thought sounds utterly absurd in my mind

 

[apollo99]

The price of machine guns in the U.S. is unconstitutional. This is due to the amendment added to firearms owners safety act of 1986, which banned any full auto after the signing of the bill into law. If a case was argued in front of the present U.S. Supreme Court, the law would not stand on it's merits. A great argument is that only the rich can afford full auto in violation of the Justices own oath, the second would be "shall not be infringed", but besides all that, great rifle, great price, enjoy the heck out of it.

 

[Rudi]

Very, very cool. Way too expensive for most of us over here. You got a screaming deal.

 

[CptCurl]

Classic12, That's a nice M16A1 and will be a lot of fun for you once you get the license sorted out. Congratulations!

By the way, did you see the Swiss Parabellum carbine I posted several months ago? I thought you might be interested to see it. Here's the link:
DWM 1902 Carbine - 7.65mm ~ S/N 50100

Curl

 

[one eye joe]

Saw an ad for a Colt M16 A1 on Monday. Called the seller and we met today.

He is a soon to be retired 57 y.o. Lt. Col. in the Swiss army. He likes his toys, he also showed me a Thompson M1, a Sig 551 commando, G18, Norinco 56, all full auto, and a multitude of other stuff.

He bought the M16 over 20 years ago, shot it FA a few times at the military range, but hasn't shot it in ages.

Some obvious wear on it, but rifing is strong, doesn't seem to have shot tens of thousands of full auto rounds.

I haven't seen those sights before

One broken tooth

Inside

BCG

Hammer

Furniture

The mag seems quite vintage too, with the metal follower

I think serial number puts production in 1972, although the serial number does not appear

Wonder if it saw action in VN. And how the hell did it land here in Switzerland.

Anyway, seller advertised it at 2500, I offered 2 k round figure. We settled on 2100. The wait for the license begins.

CONGRATULATIONS---THAT'S MY OLD FRIEND. IT LOOKS TO BE IN VERY GOOD SHAPE....

I WISH IT COULD NARRATE ITS INTERESTING LIFE'S STORY......

THANKS FOR THE GREAT PICTURES, AND THE DETAILED INFORMATION.......

 

[Engine49guy]

Very nice, too bad that one cant talk as it likely could tell some interesting stories .

On a side note Colt has recently began producing semi auto copies of the old M16A1 and charging about the same price as you paid for the real McCoy.
Colt's Manufacturing LLC

 

[one eye joe]

Very nice, too bad that one cant talk as it likely could tell some interesting stories .

On a side note Colt has recently began producing semi auto copies of the old M16A1 and charging about the same price as you paid for the real McCoy.
Colt's Manufacturing LLC

AAAAHH, THAT IS SWEET ! ! !

IN CIVILIAN LIFE I GRAVITATED TO BUSHMASTERS, BECAUSE OF THE VARIETY OF MODELS, FROM BULL PUPS TO VARMINTERS. I OWNED BOTH--AND SOME IN BETWEEN. AT THE TIME, THEY WERE MANUFACTURED IN THE ORIGINAL FACILITY IN WINDHAM, ME. BEFORE ITS SALE. I KNOW THAT FORMER EMPLOYEES ARE CURRENTLY MANUFACTURING RIFLES FROM THAT FACTORY, UNDER THE BRAND NAME WINDHAM ARMS.....

IN ANY EVENT, I AM A LONG TIME SHOOTER AND FAN OF COLT FIREARMS. AS SUCH, I APPLAUD ANY EFFORTS TO KEEP IT ALIVE, BY REINTRODUCING PRODUCTS INTO THE MARKETPLACE.......

 

[amazingflapjack]

Remove the hand guard and see if it is stamped "Matel Manufactue Co." or words to that effect. Mine did.

 

[jag312]

The price of machine guns in the U.S. is unconstitutional.....

Unconstitutional? How about disgusting? My son wants me to buy a Thompson. Either a 1921AC or a 1928AC. That will happen when my loving son gives me $30,000 to start looking, and I don't expect that to happen in my life time.

 

[one eye joe]

Remove the hand guard and see if it is stamped "Matel Manufactue Co." or words to that effect. Mine did.

LOL ! ! ! ALL OF THE AK-47s THAT I HANDLED IN VIETNAM, WERE MADE IN CHINA..........

 

[Frank46]

After the Vietnam War ended the captured ar's were sent all over the world. Probably some were sent to the middle east and maybe captured where they aquired the Hebrew markings. How it finally made it to Switerland is anyones guess. Frank

 

[stansdds]

Looks like a genuine Mattel rifle.

 

[samandglove1]

With a machine gun license (takes some time, but surprisingly not too hard to get in this state), a full-auto M16 can be had for $18K -$20K. That collection would put you back ~$150K+. Great score, congratulations.

 

[CLASSIC12]

Classic12, That's a nice M16A1 and will be a lot of fun for you once you get the license sorted out. Congratulations!



By the way, did you see the Swiss Parabellum carbine I posted several months ago? I thought you might be interested to see it. Here's the link:

DWM 1902 Carbine - 7.65mm ~ S/N 50100

Curl

I missed your post, and I am glad you linked it here, absolutely incredible gun and knowledge you displayed there.

As a German living in Switzerland and regularly shooting my mil surp 06/24 Parabellum I can certainly relate.

 

[CLASSIC12]

CONGRATULATIONS---THAT'S MY OLD FRIEND. IT LOOKS TO BE IN VERY GOOD SHAPE....

I WISH IT COULD NARRATE ITS INTERESTING LIFE'S STORY......

THANKS FOR THE GREAT PICTURES, AND THE DETAILED INFORMATION.......

Is that you in the picture? Great photo. Even the sling looks identical.

 

[CLASSIC12]

Very nice, too bad that one cant talk as it likely could tell some interesting stories .

On a side note Colt has recently began producing semi auto copies of the old M16A1 and charging about the same price as you paid for the real McCoy.
Colt's Manufacturing LLC

I saw that, the MSRP is actually 400 more. I find that to be on the high side.

SP1 sell for 1200-2000 here depending on condition and accessories. Paid 1500 for mine.

Same with Thompson, bought my genuine 1941 full auto for 2200 three years ago. The modern semi auto only repro by Kahr is sold 2700 here. Pretty easy decision.

 

[CLASSIC12]

Remove the hand guard and see if it is stamped "Matel Manufactue Co." or words to that effect. Mine did.

Is that serious, or you're joking with me ?

 

[CLASSIC12]

Unconstitutional? How about disgusting? My son wants me to buy a Thompson. Either a 1921AC or a 1928AC. That will happen when my loving son gives me $30,000 to start looking, and I don't expect that to happen in my life time.

I can understand the frustration, bought my 1928 A1 (British lend lease) for 2200 three years ago

 

[CLASSIC12]

I just realised I omitted to post better pictures since it came home last October, so here goes :

I shot in full auto and the barrel took this yellow hue, since there's virtually no finish left on it

Magazine

With its little sibling (XM177E2)

 

[Muss Muggins]

Legend has it that the hand guard of the first M16's was made by Mattel. Some Vietnam-era soldiers vehemently swear that their hand guard was stamped Mattel. Others swear equally vehemently that Mattel had no part in it. It's mostly the stuff of argument on the various gun forums. Snopes has a discussion about it, stating that the first versions of the handgrip were stamped Mattel, and the later versions, while still made by Mattel, were not stamped. I've never seen one stamped, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen . . .

Is that serious, or you're joking with me ?

 

[Rick_A]

Mattel once made a replica toy rifle. People who liked military arms made primarily of steel and walnut called the issue guns Mattel rifles.

M16's are pretty dull guns to shoot in automatic mode, and full auto rifles and carbines in general have extremely limited utility in that mode. That said, in the U.S. people should be able to own guns made prior to 1986. It's flatly unconstitutional.

To own a "post" example one would have to become a machine gun manufacturer paying a special occupational tax. That's a bit ridiculous. These days you need a storefront to do such things.

 

[Rick_A]

The only M16 anything actually made Mattel.

 

[stansdds]

The only M16 anything actually made Mattel.

One of the toys I had as a youngster! I wish I still had it, these things are very collectable today.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

That is quite an early M16A1. Certainly made on US military contract; probably went astray somewhere along the line and ended up in private hands.

At least until 1971 or so production of M16 rifles remained insufficient to meet all military demands. Initial priorities caused nearly all production to be delivered to US forces in Vietnam. It was only later that inventories were sufficient to transition US forces in Europe and elsewhere to the new rifles (and some units in Europe were still armed with M1 rifles, not having received the "new" M14 rifles before those were phased out in favor of the M16). There were certainly plenty of US M16A1 rifles in Europe from the early 1970's onward until the A2 variant became standard issue, and more than a few disappeared through pilfering and black market trading. Probably more were provided to other NATO forces for evaluation and/or familiarization training, and final disposition of those rifles would have been beyond US control.

The 6-pointed star may be nothing more than an inspector's stamp. While most recognized as the Star of David, this was always a popular symbol in other uses.

I trained with the M14 in 1968. Only experience I received with the M16 was a brief familiarization during Infantry AIT before going to Vietnam. US forces in Vietnam had M16 rifles in general issue at that time, and I recall being somewhat uncomfortable with the M16 due to minimal training and experience with the rifle, at least until I acquired sufficient experience and trust in the weapon.

Full auto fire was generally discouraged. We were trained to use semi-auto almost exclusively, both to conserve ammunition and to encourage controlled and accurate fire. The common exceptions were targets at extended range and moving targets, for which full auto can increase the probability of hits.

By my second Vietnam tour the original M16's were being phased out and replaced by the M16A1's. The first A1 I was issued was not a Colt; it was manufactured by General Motors Hydramatic Division. After the learning curve (proper cleaning & lubrication) I became quite comfortable with it, but I was never as confident as I had been with the M14.

The 20-round magazines were the only type available at that time. Interestingly, we found that when fully loaded with 20 rounds the incidence of feeding jams was fairly common. We loaded our magazines with 18 rounds to avoid that problem. Many of us preferred to load our magazines with one tracer followed by 4 ball, then one tracer and 4 ball, another tracer and 4 ball, finally 3 tracer rounds. This served as a signal to the rifleman that he had emptied the magazine and it was time to reload the rifle (something that is not always easy to keep track of during a firefight).

On the OP's rifle I notice that the rear sight aperture is different than any I saw on the rifles I was issued. I am not sure why that would be, as the M16A1 featured a folding two-leaf rear sight aperture designed to provide accurate fire to 250 meters on the primary setting, and "long range" with the other aperture (maximum effective range of the rifle was considered to be 360 meters, approx. 400 yards). I don't recall ever using the "long range" aperture; even at range qualifications with targets out to 360 meters I just used the standard aperture and adjusted my aim for the longer range targets.

Thanks for posting! A little stroll down memory lane.

 

[clang444]

Nice gun. Reminds me of my H&R M203 when I was in the Army.

As an aside - You can see the John Wayne with the Mattell M16 in some sceens of the Green Berets movie. I guess there weren't enough real guns to go around.

 

[JohnZMI]

My father-in-law (Phil Cartwright) was the Works Manager at the Hydra-matic plant in 1961, and was directly responsible for rounding up all the machining tooling and equipment to produce those 480,000 M16A1's, and his team originated the unique bore chroming process that extended barrel life on the A1. We didn't see much of Phil for many months as the production layout for the M16A1 was developed and de-bugged.