Been working on this one for awhile, and the Form 4 finally came through.

A while back, I bought an excellent complete parts kit for a Colt M16A1 in the same 9-mil-SN series as my beloved Suzy Q. It was from an M16A1 which was exported, then the receiver was demilled for reimport. Then I bought an 80% TM Machine lower and sent it off to John Brace, with closeup photos of my transferable M16A1's roll markings.

John reprofiled the receiver to A1 configuration and engraved it exactly like my Colt M16A1, down to the identical serial number. He normally adds a mock autosear pin hole, but I deleted that -- makes it easier to see at a glance which one I pull out of the safe.

Since I have a pretty large collection of uppers for my M16A1 and wanted to use them all, I decided to SBR it, and sent everything off to SouthEast Arms for milling, tweaking and finishing. SEA's gunsmith, Alex Cioppettini, modified the FCG so it moves into all three positions, but the third ("auto") position is also "safe". SEA assembled it, filed a Form 2 as an SBR, discreetly put their maker's marks on the right side of the receiver, then everything went off to US Anodizing for finishing in the correct Colt gray.

I love the results. Whatcha think?

As far as the Colt logo, roll marks, etc., this is a one-off made for personal use, not for resale. If I were going into biz making them in bulk for resale, Colt probably would launch a trademark infringement lawsuit -- but this is a unique work of art, IMHO. (Besides, I sure can't afford to build another one!)

Go over to the retro forum and you'll see many, many, many people are making clones with 80% receivers roll marked as factory Colts.

The serial number is simply a seven-digit number. The manufacturer of record is the company that took the pre-engraved 80% receiver I supplied them, and milled it into a complete firearm, and then engraved their maker's marks according to federal law. The $200 transfer tax is an excise tax, so that has been paid, too. Manufacturers have no exclusive right to a single serial number -- I'm sure there are many serial numbers which over the years have identically been used by Colt, S&W, Remington, Winchester, etc.; while model numbers are protected, serial numbers are unrestricted: The only caveat is that one manufacturer cannot make two guns with the same serial number. This is the product of a different manufacturer than Colt.

At least, that is my research, but I am not an attorney. When it comes to both civil and criminal law, do only what you are comfortable with, no more.

As always, Your Mileage May Vary.

I need to take more pix tomorrow, but when I had SEA build it, it was as a complete M16A1 rifle mated to the correct dedicated rifle upper.

However, to qualify it as an SBR for the Form 2, I used this 11.5" Colt upper that I bought back in the '90s and swapped the hand guards to shorty triangular, because they just looked "right."

I'll be using the lower with everything from a Colt LMG upper (with this stock) to my 7" 9mm DOE upper with a correct 1970's-era Colt two-position collapsible stock (my original M16A1 was Form 2'd on March 7, 1978, so I'm keeping everything period-correct for the clone). I'm not quite ready to pull off the fixed stock yet -- I'm still reveling in the "I have another M16A1!" celebration.

FWIW, when I bought my transferable '16 in 1994, I paid $2,000 for it ... and this semi clone cost me almost as much today. How times have changed!

I like retro stuff -- and I remember when A1s were the latest thing, so they are not old to me.

I mostly did it because I could: IMHO, it's pretty cool to have two with the same serial number. Plus, I have 14 uppers, and needed another lower ... this beat yet another Anderson build.

I haven't shot my transferable M16A1 in years. Got so many SOT friends that nowadays, I just shoot my ammo in their posties. 'Course, I'll never sell it, because my son would never forgive me. He plans on inheriting it!

Added more pix to the original post.

I'll see your bayonet, and raise ya a bunch of manuals. Yes, it is the exact same factory-issue bayo that Colt shipped with LE/Export 9-mil M16A1s -- reimported from Europe. I also have two of the USGI comic books buried somewhere in the safe -- originals, not repros.) I am way, way too dedicated to Colt M16's!

Thanks for the compliments, guys!

Now my only problem is I almost don't want to shoot it ... I've never had a perfect, unfired M16A1 before!!!