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Posted: 4/11/2013 5:48:35 PM EDT
This is the m16 I just bought. Anybody know any info, year and model? I figure the upper has been swapped out, I'd just like to know what it was when it was shipped.
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Have you read the tacked thread at the top of this forum? http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_23/199902_Serial_number_info_on_Colt_factory_M16s_UPDATED_10_26_09.html
The only way to tell the date and original configuration is through a Freedom of Information Act request letter. Colt did not make the 9-mil series in sequential order -- instead, they made and numbered the bare receivers in batches of thousands, then drew them at random from inventory she an order came in. So you can have two sequential SNs that were manufactured years apart. All of the 9-mil series were manufactured by Colt on A1-forging receivers. They were variously rollmarked M16, M16A1, and a few M16A2's. |
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Quoted:
Have you read the tacked thread at the top of this forum? http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_23/199902_Serial_number_info_on_Colt_factory_M16s_UPDATED_10_26_09.html The only way to tell the date and original configuration is through a Freedom of Information Act request letter. Colt did not make the 9-mil series in sequential order -- instead, they made and numbered the bare receivers in batches of thousands, then drew them at random from inventory she an order came in. So you can have two sequential SNs that were manufactured years apart. All of the 9-mil series were manufactured by Colt on A1-forging receivers. They were variously rollmarked M16, M16A1, and a few M16A2's. Assuming this would have been a LEO gun, not military? I guess it's similar to the 6933 and 6920. Both have the same reciever but different setups. I tried to call colt to ask for info on the model number. I'd just like to know if its a 6XX but good luck getting somebody live on the line. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Have you read the tacked thread at the top of this forum? http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_23/199902_Serial_number_info_on_Colt_factory_M16s_UPDATED_10_26_09.html The only way to tell the date and original configuration is through a Freedom of Information Act request letter. Colt did not make the 9-mil series in sequential order -- instead, they made and numbered the bare receivers in batches of thousands, then drew them at random from inventory she an order came in. So you can have two sequential SNs that were manufactured years apart. All of the 9-mil series were manufactured by Colt on A1-forging receivers. They were variously rollmarked M16, M16A1, and a few M16A2's. Assuming this would have been a LEO gun, not military? I guess it's similar to the 6933 and 6920. Both have the same reciever but different setups. I tried to call colt to ask for info on the model number. I'd just like to know if its a 6XX but good luck getting somebody live on the line. The 9-million (9xxxxxx) serial number range was reserved by Colt for LE/export sales only. You can't say "never" for anything Colt did, but in 40+ years, I've never seen a 9-mil Colt issued to the U.S. military. Background: After they had made a few million AR15/M16-design-family full-autos, they began selling more to LE and for export. Of course, under federal law, Colt had to file Form 2's for LE/export MGs, but did not have to file F2's for U.S. military sales. This led to some in-house paperwork screw-ups, so Colt designated certain serial number ranges for certain uses, and kept some SN ranges in reserve. The 9-mil guns were automatically entered into the NFA Registry via Form 2's, because they were intended solely for LE and export sales. Next, all Colt factory M16-family MGs were shipped in unlabeled boxes. The model number system was primarily an inventory device for semi autos, and an ordering tool for full-autos. Colt kept very, very few complete FAs in inventory, except for contract overruns -- and even those, if an order did not come in fairly soon, were stripped back down to components. That is why there are M16s which were built up in two or three different configurations before they ever left Colt. When an order for AR15s came in, someone went to the warehouse, looked for boxes labelled with the models in the order, and shipped them out. When an order for FAs came in, they went to the parts bins and built them up. But since by policy they only sold FAs to LE or export, they would simply match whatever was on the LE/export contract or purchase order. If the order requested a dozen "M16's", they rollmarked them M16; if they asked for M16A1's, they got identical receivers rollmarked "M16A1.". If the contract asked for 14.5" barrels, that's' what they got. The LE sales catalog did list model numbers, but unless the contact/sales order specified, say, Model 604's, the designation "604" appears nowhere -- not on the Form 2, not on the box, not in Colt's records. And LE/export rarely listed model numbers. So the odds are that your M16 has no official model number. It is configured as rifle-length with forward assist and an A1-design upper, so it most resembles a Model 604/614 ... but officially, it is just an M16. FWIW, decades ago, Colt split into two separate corporations -- Colt's Manufacturing for civilian sales, and Colt Defense for military/LE/export. Colt Defense has all the M16 records, and Colt's Manufacturing's staff does not have access to those records. Unless you are a military/LE/export official, Colt Defense will not give you any info. BTW, all of the above is in the tacked threads in this forum and in the AR15/M16 Retro forum. If you want to find out more about your M16,I urge to to read all of those threads. |
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