Colt M16 A2

[CLASSIC12]

During a gun show in December last year, I got to chat with a gun shop owner from the Italian part of Switzerland (called Ticino). He mentioned he had several full auto weapons for sale and I should shoot him an email to get the list (full auto weapons are not allowed at gun shows in Switzerland).

Here’s the list :

Plenty of nice weapons, but for me the Colt M16A2 was the most exciting item (well I ended up buying three weapons, but that’s another story).

I already have an A1, so it’s nice to have a pair. And I have never seen an A2 for sale so far.

After some negotiations, waiting for the owner’s responses (guns are on a consignment basis), then waiting for the special license, the rifle finally arrived. Cost me abt. $ 2500

I guess it’s an export model based on old A1 forging for the lower. It has a burst position.

 

[6518John]

That gentleman could well-arm a Platoon with a few rifles to spare!

 

[-db-]

While not as "sexy" as others, some say the best overall iteration of the M16. Nice rifle.

 

[Steve912]

Now, compare how the A2 and A1 handle...

 

[31FordA]

I’d really like to have a M16A2, but they’re a little pricey here in the USA. A local dealer had one for sale last year for $25,000. That was a little much to pay for nostalgia. However, if anyone runs across M16A2 serial # 6531473 give me a yell. I would pay $25,000 for that one. I spent three months carrying that rifle all over Parris Island, I’d love to see it again.

 

[Sistema1927]

With that many full auto guns, the valleys and ravines of Switzerland must be running knee deep with blood, right? Has Lake Geneva turned red yet? [/sarcasm]

(Just a little bit jealous here in the US of A.)

 

[6518John]

^^^^^I bet you could not find that many automatic weapons at a lot of our military bases!

 

[old tanker]

Very nice. As a collector, it is a splendid example. There were many interesting temptations to be seen during trips to Switzerland when stationed in Germany in the Seventies.

From a user's standpoint, I did not like the changes from A1 to A2. While it simplified matters for supply clerks who could not tell left from right, I felt the flat bottomed handguards were better for ensuring the rifle was not canted, especially from hasty or awkward firing positions.

The burst was simply a mechanical substitute for proper training. It also made the trigger inconsistent from shot to shot. So the marginally trained soldier had to contend with crappy trigger too. Additionally he was provided with a set of sights they would never really reach him how to use.

The original, soldier proof iron sights, properly set with a good battlesight zero, will let you hit anything you have any business shooting at out to three hundred meters. Besides, if you are smart you will never shoot at anything you can get someone else to shoot for you, there is no need to alert the enemy to your presence. Targets beyond three hundred meters are why there is a push to talk switch on the radio. Remember Frederick the Great's admonition.

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

That's a nice find and it looks just like the A2 that I carried for many years in the Army. I started with an A1 in VN and then the A2 in the 80s and finally the M4A1.

I never got along well with the burst device on the A2 and Old Tanker's comments on the trigger are spot on. I liked the round hand grip stock much better than the A1's triangle affair though.

You now have a very nice rifle capable of good long range accuracy. Its rifling twist will stabilize even the Sierra 80 grain bullet for across the canyon shooting, although I've come to like the 75 grain bullets (magazine friendly) for match shooting out to 600 yards here in the USA in my semi-auto HBAR A2.

 

[old tanker]

... a very nice rifle capable of good long range accuracy. Its rifling twist will stabilize even the Sierra 80 grain bullet for across the canyon shooting, although I've come to like the 75 grain bullets (magazine friendly) for match shooting out to 600 yards here in the USA in my semi-auto HBAR A2.

The Distinguished Badge surely attests to your ability to get the most out of the A2's sights. Unfortunately, during my time in the Army most soldiers I met, regardless of MOS, who could REALLY shoot, learned on their own time and dime. The fast twist and optics make the long shots possible, even with the M-4's 14.5 inch barrel but I prefer the "terminal effects" of M193 and a slow twist.

As a tanker, my assigned weapon was not the rifle.

 

[SLT223]

A1’s marked A2 and A2’s marked A1 are seen from the early and mid 80’s. Not sure anyone in Hartford cared what bin they took parts from for filling contracts, so long as the markings matched the contract. Maybe there’s a better reason?

 

[Retiredguns]

That is a really cool rifle to have. I had 1,777 of them in this shop!