AR Sponsor
Posted: 12/7/2004 3:16:48 PM EDT
| Does the Colt SP1 rifles have a .223 chamber or 5.56 chamber? Was there a difference in chambers between the SP1 and the first M16 used in the military? |
Close.....but I think theres a little more. My 1964 Colt SP1 is marked .223 on the receiver and the original mags that came with it are marked .223 Yes, you can fire 5.56mm through it though, however I don't believe the chamber is different than the M16 5.56mm chamber, I think it was just marked .223 for the civillian market. (It was 40 years ago) |
I don't think Colt was trying to confuse anyone or be PC. The semi-auto rifle was called the "AR15 Sporter". It was marketed to the civilian market aka the sporting market. When was the last time a Remington or Winchester was marked ".30 USGOVT" or ".30 US ARMY"? I know Winchester did mark some pre-war model 70's with the ".30 USGOVT" but I'm not sure about rifles for the ".30 US ARMY." BTW, .30 USGOVT is the .30-06 and the .30 US ARMY is the .30-40 Krag. The sporting names were sometimes used before WWll, but used exclusively after the war. Remember the rifle was introduced in 1964. If Colt wanted to confuse people it would have stamped the caliber as "5.56mm NATO". That would have reduced sales because there was NO surplus 5.56mm ammo available. But .223 Rem. was easily available. |
That does seem reasonable. BTW, I have an ancient Win M-54, from the '30's, chambered for ".30GOVT06" |
AR Sponsor