I'll be posting a rather long - much updated & consolidated A4 sling & stock pouch write-up down below here shortly. Just waiting on a few items to show up in the mail...
While I wait, however, here's a list of most of the items that I'll be discussing/picturing in the coming days:

Slings:
Specter Gear's SOP 2-point & 3-point (Armed Forces Package) slings
Spec-Op's Sling101-CQB & Sling101-M16 slings
Fire Force Tactical's Alpha-CQB & SWIFT-Action-Tactical slings
USMC (USGI) Combat Assault Sling (AF-4111-style 3-point sling)
DJ Safety's AF-4111 3-point sling
Advance Fabrication's AF-4111 3-point sling
USGI 2-point 'Silent" slings (52" & 72")
USGI M1 2-point sling
Blue Force Gear's standard Vickers & NSN-Vickers 2-point slings
Wilderness Tactical's Giles 3-point sling
Eagle Industries' TAS-1 3-point sling
London Bridge Trading Co. (LBT Inc.) LBT-2500A 3-point sling

Stock Pouches:
Specter Gear's
Spec-op's
Blackhawk's
Fire Force Tactical's
Eagle Industries'
London Bridge Trading Co. (LBT Inc.)

Other:
I'll also be discussing a few pouch & USGI sling-adapters used in association with the above items, as well as the limited use of 1-point slings & mounts with the M16A4.
While it is not an end-all-be-all list of everything ever used, it does cover the vast majority of items that were/are used, and hopefully - you, my fellow M16A4 compatriots, will find it both useful & informative once it is completed.


ETA: After learning that any given forum post may only include up to a total of @ 5? pictures maximum, I have decided that whenever the Fire Force Tactical items finally show up, I am going to be making a series of back-to-back posts later down this thread to cover all the sling & the stock pouch items.
ETA 2: (4/13/17) - The last remaining items are slated to arrive this Friday, so I should be able to finally get it all posted by the end of this coming weekend... & Also (since this is the top-of-page post in a picture thread):
(Not sure if this has been posted before - it was snagged from off the general Interwebs)...
Attached File


ETA 3:The Fire Force items have finally arrived, and thus I should be able to get everything wrapped up by the end of this weekend...
ETA 4:Life gets in the way... My pancreas is apparently on vacation & thus I'm having to deal with numerous medical issues. I'll try to get this done soon.

FlDiveCop71

Consider this post as a kind of Sidebar in relation to A4 Stock-Pouch availability & restoration...

When it comes to AR15/M16 series fixed-stock magazine pouches, It appears that many of the traditional manufacturers of these items have ceased producing them, and thus these items are now rapidly becoming much more difficult to obtain in either "new", or "new old stock" condition, So I though I might share with you all an example of how, with just a little effort, even a well-used surplus item can usually be clean-up & returned to an "as-new" or "like-new" condition for use with your A4 clone/build...

Here are the over-all materials & items that were used (pictured below):
A soft-bristled generic toothbrush;
A bar of "Ivory" hand soap;
A generic hard-bristled gun-cleaning brush;
A long/medium-bristled automotive detail brush;
A pair of tweezers & a fine-tipped sewing pick;
A pair of cuticle scissors & haircutting scissors;
and a "Bic" grill/candle lighter.

[tools photo (tbp)]

The following is a USGI surplus Specter Gear stock pouch (no longer in production) that was obtained for @ $10 from a surplus vendor at a local gun show here in Florida.
It is in fairly good condition, with very few "Irish Pennants" (broken/worn threading),  and appears to have at least been shaken out & had most of the sand & dust brushed off the outside...

[as-is photos (tbp)]

Yet, after first cleaning out/off bits of debris (mostly from the hook & loop material) with the pick & tweezers;
running the pouch under some mildly-warm water;
brushing it up/off with the various brushes (that have first been lathered against the bar of Ivory hand soap);
& rinsing the pouch off under some more mildly-warm water;
& then subsequently letting the pouch air-dry by hanging it under a running A/C air-exhaust vent (cool/dry air) for a few hours...

[After Resto Photos (tbp)]

Once the pouch has mostly dried out (material still slightly damp), you can use the candle lighter to quickly (& lightly) singe away any remaining broken or worn threading.
This not only gives the pouch a cleaner appearance, it also helps to prevent further fraying of the broken/worn threads.
Please note however: DO NOT allow the flame to come into contact with any of the Velcro "hook & loop" fastener material as it will ruin it.
Rather, use the pair of small scissors (with just the very tips of the scissors heated by the lighter) to snip away any loose threads @ these areas...

Thus, even a well-used USGI surplus stock pouch may continue to provide still years worth of functional & effective service.

Attached File


FlDiveCop71

Gosh...I think I have rifle envy...

where can I get some of those buttstock stock pouch\slings?
Do they RIT dye easily?
I am soooo tired of Magpul....

Well... If the mailman ever delivers the packages I'm waiting on (hopefully later today), I'll get the above write-up finished, which hopefully will answer some of these questions. Until then though, here's a dancing banana?...lol.

ETA: Wow... It appears that pretty much everyone has now discontinued production of their stock pouches. Looks like Specter Gear and Fire Force Tactical are about all that are still being produced. Much as I hate sending business their way, looks like FleE-Bay, Gun shows, and local surplus stores are about the only remaining sources left for many of the original pouches. Glad I was able to get what I could when I did, but damn - Saving up bits of history sure sucks at times...

Some detail pics of my all FN M16A4 upper.

- F marked upper receiver
- F marked bolt carrier with MPF marked bolt
- FNMI M16A4 barrel (rifle extension, F marked FSB)

The carry handle will eventually be swapped out for a TA31 RCOA4 and USMC marked KAC micro BUIS.  

Looks really nice!

Sort of kind off on topic, I just finished watching a movie called Whisky Tango Foxtrot with Tina Fey and I enjoyed it.  It was kind of funny and had some A4 action.  She was only embedded with Marines.   And story was set in early Afghanistan.  2003 and after.   Plus there was some shots of real helo action.  God I love seeing that.  And hummer rides / convoy.

Love your rifle. I bought a Vickers sling and was wondering what that Velcro piece is you have on there at the front? I'd like to find a better place to attach my sling up front instead of the sling mount on the fsb.

Bump this thread.

Went shooting today sighted in at 100 yards last 8 round group at 100.... why, I'd waster the other 32 rounds shooting a rotor someone had made into a gong... Cheap American eagle was all I had left
Attached File

Attached File

You need more ammo.  And yours shoots American Eagle better than mine do.....

Rebuilt my clone today since my son took my upper over a year ago.  Finally had some time at home to rebuild it (got home yesterday).  Functioned checked 100% today with M855 ball.  
Couple issues
1.  Missing port door spring which I'll pick up tonight and get installed. Completed
2.  Mag button is a Spikes and not correct.  Which I'll fix later. Need another as it went launching into behind the workbench???
3.  My original M8A1 Scabbard broke in Astan and replaced with a copy (original buried in safe), original M7 bayonet.
4.  M16A1 tear drop Forward Assist (impatient to wait on the one in mail)



Barrel FN 20" 1:7
Upper Anderson with carbine feed ramps.  Need to find a rifle upper.
Lower Anderson
Geissle SSA trigger
LPK Spikes
Stock Colt M16A2 (NIB, DRMO 00'), rifle length recoil spring and buffer
Handguards, A2 (used, DRMO), KAC M5 railed (NIB, DRMO)
Sighting equipment, Govt Detachable Carrying Handle, Matech BUIS, Trijicon TA31
Sling, M16A2 silent sling, hate the contraptions for side slings for the fix stock, got several from Iraq.
BCG- FN carrier and bolt
M9 Phrobis bayonet
Other items USGI collected over the years.
Other items not pictured is a KAC VFG.  Don't like VFGs.  Did mount my old Surefire M951.

CD

It's too ugly without the port door on there.  Take it off!!!!!

JUST KIDDING!!!!  Looks super nice.  You are a dedicated builder man.  You just got home and that's what you do.  Nice.

Sling Post, ...Part One. (Replacement Photos will be added into their respective locations over the next couple of days because - Photobucket sucks )

About those A4 slings & things...

A couple of years ago, and a long ways back in this thread (somewhere @ pg39?), I posted a short write-up of some of the various slings that were known to have been used with the M16A4. Suffice it to say, that post is now mostly nothing but a wall of broken links & "x"s which, try as I might, simply cannot be fixed or reconstituted. Seeing as how the M16A4 is now being removed as a front-line weapon (& thus on the downward end of it's weapon & accessory development), I thought it might be good time to do a far more thorough overview of the majority of slings (among other things) that have been used with the M16A4 up to this point in time. Though before I begin:
Click To View Spoiler
So ...What type, brand, & color of sling do I use for an M16A4 clone/build?

Decisions, decisions, decisions...
Attached File

(above) ...A small sampling of the vast majority of slings & sling adapters that are known to have been either used or issued with the M16A4.

This July 29th (2017) will mark the 20th year that the M16A4 has been in use (in one form or another) with the various branches of our armed services. Over these last two decades, whether through individual preference; mission mandate; command supply availability; or natural selection & circumstance - there have been a tremendous number of different types, brands, and colors of slings that have been used with the M16A4. Ranging in style from 1-point to 3-point designs; produced in a multitude of colors (though primarily in either black, coyote, or olive); and sourced from over a dozen different manufacturers - each of these slings has it's place in the M16A4's history...

Early A4 Sling Use...

[Photo of M1 & "Silent" 2-point slings (TBP)]

First off...

The standard USGI M1 sling (2-point)(Primarily found in olive drab, but also occasionally in black)
- This ever-venerable sling has been the mainstay basic training sling of our armed forces units since @ WWII. It's durable, fully-adjustable, and even today, quite functional even as a competition shooting sling, though it is now most often used by our armed service units for either early rifle training, drill, or ceremonial use due primarily to it's traditional (easily-recognized) appearance & rugged "Recruits-can't-break-it!" (non-snagging/easy-to-use) design.

[Photo of M1 Sling Itself (TBP)]

Attached File




Attached File



& Secondly...

The standard USGI 'Silent' Sling (2-point, black) (found in 52in standard configuration, or 72in for M203 use)
- A carry-over of the M16A2 program, this sling is by far the most basic sling ever issued with the M16A4. It was often delivered alongside the weapon itself directly from the factory, and even today, can still sometimes be seen used in some training sessions as well as with a few reserve units. The term 'silent sling' owes to the fact that it does not use the metal rear hook-type connector of it's predecessor the M1 sling, which was notorious for the metallic jingling sound it made when the weapon was moved while not slung over the user's shoulder (as well as sometimes even when it was slung).  

[Silent Slings & Packaging Photo (TBP)]

Here's A couple photos of DM1975's rifles posted near the beginning of the thread (from the 4th post on pg1 in fact) depicting a Silent Sling in use on an M16A4.

Attached File


Attached File


To be continued... (in Sling Post Part 2)

Sling Post Part #2 spot saver.

Eta: Had some health setbacks. Planning on getting part 2, 3, & 4 done by the end of this coming weekend though...

Sling Post Part #3 spot saver.

Sling Post Part #4 spot saver.

Sling Post Part #5 spot saver.

Sling Post Part #6 spot saver.

Sling Post Part #7 spot saver.

Sling Post Part #8 spot saver.

Sling Post Part #9 spot saver.

Stock Pouch Post ...Part 1A

About those A4 Fixed-Stock Magazine Pouches...

At various places throughout this thread, I have touched upon a few of the numerous aspects of fixed-stock magazine pouches & their use with the M16A4. Suffice it to say, the information in those posts (collectively), is but a small fraction - the: "tip of the iceberg", as it were in regards to the subject. With the (sad) demise of the M16A4's use as a frontline weapon, however, so too has the use & production of fixed-stock magazine pouches also diminished to the point that, as of this posting, only two manufacturers (Fire Force Tactical & Specter Gear) are known to still be producing them. Since the availability of many of these items is thus rapidly dwindling toward zero, I thought that now would probably be a good time to do a far more in-depth overview of the differences between the various A4 fixed-stock mag-pouch designs, as well as of their history & use in conjunction with the M16A4.

Ever more clone-building decisions... (Click on pictures in order to view larger images)

The above photo is but a small sampling of the total number of designs & colors of fixed-stock magazine pouches ever produced (& used) with the M16A4.


So ...Just how did all this A4 Stock Pouch stuff first come about?

The General Gist of it... (because I simply do not have copies of the actual directives, instructions or SOPs from that time)

Sometime shortly after America started sending large amounts of armed troops into the middle east (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, ect.), it was realized by the commands stationed at Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) that while it was necessary (& even prudent) for the majority of troops with certain combat MOS's under their command to keep their weapons with them at all times (in order to be ready to fight at a moments notice); it wasn't necessarily such a good idea (for overall general safety purposes) that those same troops' keep their weapons actually loaded all the time... Rather, it was determined that those soldiers with particular MOS's who would be required to keep their weapons with them, should also carry at least one filled/full magazine for use with the weapon (& in close proximity to the weapon, should the need ever arise to actually use it), though not to have the weapon actually loaded, or the magazine even inserted into the weapon, unless the weapon was actually being fired.
Naturally, this necessitated that the filled-magazine to be used, had to be either: Stuffed into one of the soldier's uniform pockets; worn in a standard magazine pouch somewhere on the soldier's uniform belt; carried in a bandoleer slung over the soldier's shoulder or across their chest; or somehow strapped/taped onto the weapon itself. Since the weapon & magazine were required to be kept within close proximity to each other (even if the weapon was... temporarily, being held or watched-over by a fellow soldier), the most logical & expedient solution was to somehow attach a standard magazine pouch directly onto the weapon itself. Thus was the need for (& subsequent creation of) ...the Fixed-Stock (or Butt-Stock) Magazine Pouch.

A few field-expedient attempts...
Attached File

A standard 5.56 magazine pouch has been zip-tied to the rifle in the photo above.

Attached File

Here (above), a standard 5.56 double-magazine pouch has been partially taped to the rifle using electrical-tape.


Enter... The Purpose-Built, Commercially-Manufactured Fixed-Stock Magazine Pouch.

There are a total of six brands of commercially-produced Stock Magazine Pouches that are known to have been used in conjunction with the M16A4. While each brand has been produced and used in a variety of colors or patterns, there have also been several distinctive changes made to many of the pouch designs throughout their production life. These changes will be discussed later in this write-up under each respective brand's overview. For now, however, let's take a look at the over-all group of known brands' stock mag-pouches...

In no particular order, other than perhaps by general size, each of the known stock-pouch brands are numbered & identified below:

1 - Fire Force Tactical Gear (current production run)
Currently available in ten different colors / patterns.

2 - Blackhawk Industries Products Group LLC (early production run)
Was produced in only three different solid colors: black, olive drab, or coyote tan (that I know of)

3 - Eagle Industries (late production run)
Was produced in only two different solid colors: olive drab or black

4 - Specter Gear
Originally produced in seven different colors / patterns (that I know of)
Currently available (re-released 5/1/17) in four different solid colors: black, olive drab, coyote tan, and foliage green

5 - Spec-Ops
Was produced in five different colors / patterns

6 - London Bridge Trading Company (LBT)
Was produced in six different colors / patterns


Topside/Outside View (closed, w/magazine)


Underside/Backside View (closed, w/magazine)


Topside Open/Interior View (Brands 1-3)
Note: The magazine in item #2 (Blackhawk) has been inserted behind the lid-retainer strap simply to depict the strap's presence. Normally, the magazine would not be inserted behind this strap.


Topside Open/Interior View (Brands 4-6)



______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stock Pouch Post  ...Part 1B

Delving Deeper... A more thorough look into each brand.

Let's start off with:
Eagle Industries (Identified as item #3 above in Pouch Post Part 1A).

(below foreground) Here an olive drab Eagle Industries (type II) pouch is being used along with an AF-4111 sling,
early production Surefire m951 weapon-light, a type II (red-label w/short-style battery caps & covered adjusters) AN/PEQ-2A IR laser, & TA31-series Acog.
Attached File

(Photo Credits) HUSAYBAH, Iraq- Sgt. James H. Harrison, 1st Platoon's platoon Sgt., attached to India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, looks over a rooftop at the source of enemy fire.
(Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Neill A. Sevelius, 2d Marine Division Combat Camera, 11/5/2005)

Originally produced for use with the M16A2, Eagle Industries was one of the first manufacturers to offer an actual purpose-built fixed-stock magazine pouch. While in production, this pouch was most often seen in use with either USMC or USN weapons (both M16A2s & A4s), though it is now virtually impossible to find short of placing a small-batch (25-count minimum) reproduction order directly through Eagle Industries, which as of this posting, I'm not even sure can still be done, what with EI having since been bought out & brought under the Harris Outdoors title. As it is - The eagle pouch is now among the rarer of the stock pouches to find, with three different variants (produced in either black or olive drab) known to exist.

Design Changes:
Type I..... Incorporates only one sling loop (for right-handed mounting) & has a long lid-flap & pull-tabs. (As pictured below in olive drab)
Type II.... Has two sling loops (ambidextrous mounting) & long lid-flap & pull-tabs. (As pictured in the official USMC photo above)
Type III... Has two sling loops (ambidextrous mounting) & shorter lid-flap & pull-tabs. (As pictured in item #3 of pouch post part 1A & below in black)

Here is a comparison view between a Type I (olive drab below) & Type III (solid black below) stock pouch. Note the difference in the length of the lid-flaps. The Type I & II pouches are actually capable of closing on a dedicated .22lr AR magazine (for those using conversion bolt assemblies), whereas the Type III pouches will not. Furthermore, the lid flaps of the Type 3 pouches will only slightly close over a Magpul brand PMAG, creating the potential for a fully loaded PMAG to become unsecured if knocked around. The original lid-flap & pull-tab lengths are said to have been shortened for two reasons. First, to enable the lid to better close over a 20rd magazine (no extra flap overhang), and secondly to help cut down on materials use. Interestingly, while the olive drab pouch below is among the first Eagle stock pouches ever produced, the black pouch below is actually one of the last six...

Note the distance between the pull-tabs on each pouch in the photo above. Also note how the Type I pouch on the left has only one fabric sling loop (for right-handed sling use),
whereas the Type III (as well as the Type II) pouch has two (one on each bottom corner - for ambidextrous sling use).

Principle Brand Design Features/Differences...
Of the six different brands, Eagle's pouches:
- Are designed with two pull-tabs (one mounted at the base of the body, and the other mounted on the end of the lid-flap).
- Uses a rounded lid-flap design.
- Incorporates fabric sling loop(s).
- Constructed as a one-piece, unibody design (all straps &/or adapters are permanently attached to the unit's main fabric body)
- Uses the widest amount of Hook & Loop fastener base to secure it's lid-lap.
- Provides more actual magazine fabric-coverage (has the deepest pocket) than any of the other stock pouch designs.

(to be continued in stock pouch post part 2...)

Stock Pouch Post Part 2

Next, Let's look into:
Spec-Ops Brand (Identified as item #5 in Pouch Post Part 1A).
Attached File


Pic-2.1(Below)Here, a tan-colored Spec-Ops stock pouch is being used with an unknown black-colored sling, a well-used type II AN/PEQ-2A, an early TA31 series ACOG,
and an unknown Surefire weapon-light (you can just make out the mounting screws & tape switch indicating the light's position on the far side of the M5 rail)
Attached File

(above) AR RAMADI Iraq (June 11, 2005) – With M-16A4 at the ready, Lance Cpl. James M. Adkins, an assault man with 1st Section, 5th Mobile Assault Platoon,
Company W, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, posts security from a street corner here for his fellow Marines during a mission in the city. Photo by: Cpl. Tom Sloan.

One of the most widely used (& photographed) pouches of the six known brands, Spec-Ops only recently (@ late 2016) stopped production of these items,
and thus many of these pouches can still be fairly easily obtained in most of the five original production colors (ACU, Multicam, Coyote Brown, Black, & Tan),
though the Multicam variants were never produced in great numbers and are subsequently much more difficult to find.

Pic-2.2(Below) Examples of four of the original Spec-Ops Brand color variants (Tan, Coyote Brown, Black, and Digital ACU). Note the difference in color between the early production Tan & later Coyote Brown.
The early production versions all had black-colored sling loops & drain hole grommets (like that used on the Tan-colored pouch below & as previously pictured in the official USMC photo above)...
Attached File


Pic-2.3(Below) Example of an early (Type I) Spec-Ops stock pouch in use alongside an AF-4111 type sling, TA31RCO-series ACOG, a very early (Type 1B) AN/PEQ-2 (open adjusters, has lens angle sticker
& circular red warning label, & short battery caps), a GPS-02 bipod grip, and M962 series Surefire Weapon light.
Attached File

(Above) U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Orlando R. Sudduth peaks around a corner during a patrol halt in Hit, Iraq, on Sept. 20, 2007. DoD photo by Cpl. Shane S. Keller, U.S. Marine Corps.

Design Changes
Type I:  (See Pic-2.3) Has two metallic sling loops (one on each side of the bottom of the pouch, and uses a single strip of fabric that has been folded & sewn over at the end & attached onto the underside of the end flap to be used as a pull-tab..
Type II: (See Pic-2.1) Has only one black-colored metallic sling loop & black-colored drain hole grommet, and uses single strip of fabric that is sewn into a loop and attached to the end/top surface of the lid-flap to be used as a pull-tab/loop.
Type III:(See Coyote, and ACU pouch of Pic-2.2) Same as Type II except the metallic sling loop & drain hole grommet are now body-colored rather than only black-colored.

Unofficial Field Modification
Like many of the other known pouch brands, the Spec-Ops Brand pouch design incorporates a solid stock endplate strap in order to prevent the pouch from moving forward along the stock during firing. This type design, while effective, also makes accessing the stock's built in trap-door a rather cumbersome affair, necessitating the near complete disassembly of the pouch from the stock in order to do so. Interestingly, not long after this pouch first began to be used, a simple - unofficial - field modification was developed to remedy this. (See Pic-2.4)

Pic-2.4(Below) Occasionally, Spec-Ops Brand pouches are seen to have been field-modified as pictured below in order to better effect access to the stock's trap-door assembly. The modification involves the removal of the pouches' stock endplate strap (by cutting it off), and subsequent replacement by running a short piece of paracord (with a knot tied into the end) through the drain hole in the bottom of the pouch & tying off the other end of the cord to the remaining retention strap at a point slightly higher than where the original endplate strap was cut off. This allows the trapdoor to be accessed without having to disassemble the pouch from the stock.
Attached File

(Above) Note that a separate rear sling adapter is being used along with the Spec-Ops Brand stock pouch in the above photo.
While the Spec-Ops endplate strap has been removed, the rear sling adapter's endplate strap is located in such a way as to not interfere with trapdoor access.

Principle Brand Design Features/Differences...
Of the six different brands, Spec-Ops Brand pouches:
-Incorporate a single metallic drain hole grommet in the base of the pouch body.
-Incorporate a single metallic sling loop mount (joined to the upper portion of the pouches' rear mounting strap.)
-Are constructed as a one-piece, unibody design (all straps &/or adapters are permanently attached to the unit's main fabric body)
-Uses a sharply angled lid-flap design with a single pull-tab/loop.
-It's lid-flap/base material is constructed of a noticeably more course (& sturdy) fabric, and though it technically uses the longest amount of hook & loop fastener material for it lid-flap closure,
due to the shorter fixed length of the lid-flap itself, both Specter Gear's & Blackhawk Industries pouches will close over longer magazines than the Spec-Ops Brand's can.

(to be continued in stock pouch post part 3...)

Stock Pouch Post Part #3 spot saver.

(Specter Gear Pouch Write-Up Location - TBP)

Stock Pouch Post Part #4 spot saver.

(London Bridge Trading Pouch Write-Up Location - TBP)

Stock Pouch Post Part #5 spot saver.

(Black Hawk Industries Pouch Write-Up Location - TBP)

Stock Pouch Post Part #6 spot saver.

(Fire Force Tactical Pouch Write-Up Location - TBP)

Stock Pouch Post Part #7 Spot Saver.

...for just in case I didn't save enough space already.

Don't worry though - I'm sure I'll find something A4-related to fill this all up with...

FlDiveCop71

I've been bitten by the M16A4 clone bug.

Funny how I had little interest in it before, but now I'm chomping at the bit to build one.

Something about a full size M16 flat top with ACOG that just looks so badass...

It's a classic look.  

Pic thread

Attached File

Do it, my A4 is one of my favorites to shoot.

Agreed.

There is something about your rifle/picture that makes me want to remove my ACOG and go back to the carry handle for the A4.

Hmm I do have a DD M4A1 FSP laying around here that I could build up and move the ACOG over to. Guess I'll have to finish my Block II now. Thanks for the motivation.

FlDiveCop71,
You may find this of interest for the sling posts. I (And most of my battery) deployed in 2011-12 to Afghanistan with standard "silent slings" on a mix of A2s and A4s. We were poor and didn't get fancy M4s, just $5 million howitzers.


Same thing happened to me. Now the only AR I shoot is my A4gery. I tossed a Malkoff bulb in the M951 so I have a little more modern lighting, and it's good to go. I still need to track down a correct IR laser/illuminator, though.

Which ACOG model are you using on your A4?

"Officially, the M16A4 was adopted on July 29th, 1997, to replace the M16A2 as the standard-issue rifle for both the U.S Army & the US Marine Corps."

I just read this on Page 1. 20 year anniversary coming up.

When were they actually first issued? I want to say it was around 2001.

TA31f that I got for a very good deal (it's grey)



And yes I know the BUIS on the 14.5 is "backwards". It's like that for a reason and I won't change it so don't waste your breath (or fingers? I suppose)

Got my A4 clone out today.  Still fitting the M5 RAS to the delta ring.  Haven't figured out which BUIS to mount.  Matech and KAC 600m won't fit under.  Could just mount the detachable carrying handle to the forearm, but not a Marine.  Should have never gave away my KAC 300m.   Bottom picture of old detachment plaque from Bad Tolz, West Germany from the 80's.




Can't wait to hit a range with irons, Mk262 and the M1907 sling.  This one was made in 2015.  Still a issue sling with US Army rifles after 110 years!

CD

Awesomeness

Ran this one just a little the other day. Still my "go to" rifle.

Nice ! What kind of sling and stock pouch you have on that?

Thank you, and it's a Specter Gear 3 point sling with their buttstock mag pouch.

M16A4ish AR along with SAM-Rish upper.
Parts may not really worth to be called clone, but it's as close as I can get due to parts availability.
Can't decide whether I'm liking the ACOG or the carrying handle more.

I'm jealous.  I've never had the pleasure of shooting Mk262.  Something I should remedy.  I do have 35 rounds or 77 grain FGMM right now though.  And I keep debating in my head....  Recce?  Or irons and my A2.  Which do I want to shoot them through.  LOL.  Or my 4x carry handle scope on the A2......    I think the irons are going to win too.  But not with a leather sling.  Just a silent sling.  Or maybe I should put that leather one on there...... Hmmmmmmmm....

Looks like this is the next project. very nice rifles

Wanted to try my hand at rattlecanning this morning. First time. Not great but it will work and wear off fast enough and I'll try it again.

Well done.