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| XM16E1 serial numbers run 40,000-199,999 and 500,000-6xx,xxx. The X in XM16E1 is not a serial number prefix it was DOD assigned nomenclature and represents experimental. The XM16E1 was the standard US infantry rifle for use in Vietnam, for a time. Once offically adopted as the US Standard A rifle it was renamed the M16A1. |
Colt probably has staplers or carpet stains in their building that have been there far longer than RRA has been in business. new-arguy, 2005
| I was just considering buying one as you say in the 8000xxx range that has the 3rd burst but along with it is a ten minute quick change so FA can be shot...the FA may have been installed in yours and then the seller kept the 3rd burst components//... it is a Colt and the seller doesn't find anything that would suggest aftermarket change-over components... |
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Hi Tony, I just purchased an factory new M4 that is marked M16A1. It is in the serial number range 9XXXXXX. I see you have no data beside this serial number range, why is that? What I know about mine is that Colt took an old transferable M16 and "repaired" it into a brand spankin new transferable late model M4, full auto, beefed up receiver, flat top, 14.5" barrel. I added a heavy barrel to it as well as a 4-way selector to add burst mode. Is there any more you can tell me, or I can tell you? ArJuna   Now all we need is a Revolution!  |
Pleased to meet you. Hope you guess my name...
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Congrats! The info listed above is just from the examples I have come across, and info sent to me from owners. So there is no reason other than that -- I just haven't come across much info on those. |
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Here's mine. Marked M16A1, serial # 9547xxx   Not sure if the upper is what originally came on the gun, but I do know that it is an all colt upper. Anyone able to tell me anything about this gun? tony? |
Damn $75 just for her? What the fuck did she eat? When the waitress took the order...did she just say "page 3"? --No_Expert
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That upper appears to be A2-spec, and AFAIK, Colt never catalogued an A1 lower with an A2 upper as a production model. (The first A2 prototype was 9587500, which was rollmarked M16A1 and built on an A1-forging lower but had A2 upper features.) FWIW, the highest number transferable 9-million series, A1-rollmarked receiver I've seen is 9602338. Since Colt produced and numbered them out of sequence, it does not mean that all examples under that number are automatically transferable, or that there aren't higher-number transferables out there that I haven't come across. And since yours is a pretty high SN, it may have left Hartford at a time when they were producing and selling both A1s and A2s, thus it is possible that the A2 upper was installed when new. Most of the 95xxxxx numbered A1s I've seen were shipped in the 1984-86 period. |
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With tony_k providing a probable date of manufacture, then we just need to know details on the upper (specifically barrel) to see if it is from the same time frame. |
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I physically handled XM16E1s with the following serial numberas at Ft. Lewis this year, 109843 113197 118358 118788 124789 126742 634479 I also had my hands on a Model 02 serial number 028680. I also saw some marked M16A1 MOD; 040616 042826 And a M16A1 serial number 045502. |
كافر
Good stuff. The 04XXXX rifles were originally Colt M16 Model 604's. Converting older rifles to M16A1 is standard US Army practice, but these are unusual in that they are former Air Force rifles. |
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Don't know if you have this or even want it, but here go's. This is from a Colt manual and the gun was used as the demo gun in the manual. Colt Manual No. CM101 M16A1 Operation and Maintenance Instructions Revised January 1980 S/N 9,280,647 Standard issure 20" bbll Full Auto  |
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I recently got 2 RRs An M16 A2 8002xxx , burst , with the original upper ,an A2 20 inch 1/7. Also got an AR15 SP1 pre86 full auto TTI conversion, SP206xxx , A1 upper. However , this one has the large hole front takedown pin. Tony, Is there anyone you trust to do a small hole conversion? |
boom.
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I trust M60joe. Instead of welding up the holes (and running the risk of weakening the surrounding metal), he installs bushings and pins them permanently in place. www.m60joe.com/ Here's one he did -- there are more pix on his web site: 
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Ink isn't dry, but... Colt AR15 #406176, 1974 New In Box, orginal box, accessory packs, unopened, and wick still in the bbl. i18.tinypic.com/2powtb9.jpg i19.tinypic.com/2ef23w7.jpg i19.tinypic.com/4bp4x0z.jpg i5.tinypic.com/2vx4ocz.jpg Shipping from OK, should be to impact by...fri? |
God make squirrels & rabbits so Man would have moving targets
Is it a 9,000,000 series? Looks like a mixmaster to me, not that it would effect the value, in the 99 percent or so is tied up in the lower. Handguards appear after market. What is the forge code on the upper? Is the bolt marked MP C or M P C? What are the barrel markings? |
How was I to know she was with the Russians, too?
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Yours is right in the middle of a batch of 653s (14.5" Carbines) made by Colt. So logic would say that that is not the upper it was wearing when it left Hartford. Howver, logic does not always apply to Colt, as noted in the beginning of this thread. Colt often had overruns from large contracts, and reconfigured these leftover '16s to meet the specs of later contracts. Since Colt did not file Form 2's until the M16 actually left the factory, it would be prudent to file an FOIA request and see what the Form 2 says before assuming the upper was switched after it left Colt. Yours does not meet the spex for any official Colt model ... but that doesn't mean Colt didn't build it that way to meet a contract request. HTH! 
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What Tony said. If you got the date that it was sold then we would determine if the components were available at that time. For example, if the barrel has a "O" stamped on the breech, and the paper work shows that the firearms was sold by Colt in 1986 then we know it is not faoctory original in that the barrel dates from a later time. |
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I have a second M16A2, 8 million, 4 thousand range. Dark grey finish. Funny, serial number ends with a letter. Story goes Colt would stamp things out in assigned ranges and occasionally have overruns. Post 86, when they were rooting around their warehouse they found some dupes and added letters to the S/N and papered them with ATF (Colt had a very liberal deal in registering MGs). Which explains why the letter is not snugged up as tight as the numbers in the S/N . And helps to explain why it is in such good shape. |
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Originally Posted By Justice23:
My work (LEO) gun has a serial number 13113XX. Can anyone tell me the history on it? The roll mark says Colt AR15 and below it says M16A1 Cal 5.56 MM I cannot find anything on the serial number lists. The 1-million indicates it is a U.S. military contract gun, a continuation of the series that began with 01, and before Colt started reserving particular serial-number ranges for specific end-user classes (like the LE agency 9-mil SN series that this thread principally addresses). Given the low number and the dual rollmark (both AR15 and M16A1) I would say it's a fairly early gun, produced shortly after the XM16E1 was accepted by USgovt. and officially type classified as the "US Rifle, 5.56mm, M16A1." That would put production in the late 1960's –– maybe '68 or '69. I'm surprised that yours doesn't have U.S. Property markings –– some got through without them, though it may also have been one of the early guns first diverted to LE. But I'm not an expert on those –– mostly I study the 9-million SN series. 
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Originally Posted By tony_k:
Originally Posted By Justice23:
My work (LEO) gun has a serial number 13113XX. Can anyone tell me the history on it? The roll mark says Colt AR15 and below it says M16A1 Cal 5.56 MM I cannot find anything on the serial number lists. The 1-million indicates it is a U.S. military contract gun, a continuation of the series that began with 01, and before Colt started reserving particular serial-number ranges for specific end-user classes (like the LE agency 9-mil SN series that this thread principally addresses). Given the low number and the dual rollmark (both AR15 and M16A1) I would say it's a fairly early gun, produced shortly after the XM16E1 was accepted by USgovt. and officially type classified as the "US Rifle, 5.56mm, M16A1." That would put production in the late 1960's –– maybe '68 or '69. I'm surprised that yours doesn't have U.S. Property markings –– some got through without them, though it may also have been one of the early guns first diverted to LE. But I'm not an expert on those –– mostly I study the 9-million SN series. MY bad....it does have the Property of U.S. Govt marking. I forgot to put that in. Thank you. |
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Originally Posted By greenwheless:
Just received my first transfer. I purchased a M16A1 SN 9310894. Is there any way to contact the ATF to see what the transfer history is on this or where it originated from? Yes –– you can file a Freedom of Information Act that should give you the entire history, though with the names/addresses of the owners blacked out. There is a sticky about the process, and a sample letter, here: FOIA request Also, I would appreciate your emailing or IMing me the info on your gun so I can add it to the 9-mil Colt serial number database –– I need the SN (which you have already provided); whether it is engraved "M16" or "M16A1"; the upper style and barrel length, and the buttstock type, and of course if you know whether the upper and stock are original. And once you get back the results of the FOIA request, the "date of birth" –– the date Colt filed the Form 2 –– would be a great help, too.
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Thanks for the help. I thing that the history of these things is interesting. I know that some department had this several transfers before because there is some other serial number that has been stamped into the mag well. Here are some answers to your questions: Stock - old style 2 position folding; upper - 11.5" A1 w/ older tear drop forward assist which should be consistent with the date it was manufactured; M16A1 stamped into receiver; Selector stamping - safe/semi/full. The gun is registered with the 11.5" upper. The dealer that I purchased it from thought it was all original, but could not confirm. If it is all original, it might even be a commando. I am hopeful that the history search will provide more information on the original barrel length if it changed through out its lifetime. I am also hopeful that the information will disclose the original date of birth. Let me know if you have any more ?'s.
I will see if I can post a picture tomorrow night of the gun. |
How was I to know she was with the Russians, too?
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Originally Posted By greenwheless:
Thanks for the help. I thing that the history of these things is interesting. I know that some department had this several transfers before because there is some other serial number that has been stamped into the mag well. Here are some answers to your questions: Stock - old style 2 position folding; upper - 11.5" A1 w/ older tear drop forward assist which should be consistent with the date it was manufactured; M16A1 stamped into receiver; Selector stamping - safe/semi/full. The gun is registered with the 11.5" upper. The dealer that I purchased it from thought it was all original, but could not confirm. If it is all original, it might even be a commando. I am hopeful that the history search will provide more information on the original barrel length if it changed through out its lifetime. I am also hopeful that the information will disclose the original date of birth. Let me know if you have any more ?'s. I will see if I can post a picture tomorrow night of the gun. Cool! 
If you do file an FOIA request, the original Form 2 by Colt will list the barrel length that it was initially made and shipped with. |
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I remember that the M4A1s that we recieved in 1995 all had W prefix as stated but the next numbers were 303xxx or 304xxx (If I remember correctly they were six digits) I try and check some of my team files this evening.
CD ETA: Just check one of my teams serial numbered item list and the lowest to highest were W301510-W304997 |
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Good question. Used to be, it was two or three months .... today? Who knows?
Last I heard, FOIA requests are still being done in D.C., by anyone they can convince to go down to the basement and pull the files. If so, it may not be as bad as any request moving through W.Va.'s backlog.
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Some SN info if you're interested: I sold SN 9243177 in Dec. of '07, just before leaving for Asscrackistan. I bought it in '88 (for the princely sum of 1,800.00). It came from a N.J.pd. It was a plain jane a1 with a 20" bbl. The last time I saw it, it had a 14.5" crotchmaster bbl., Colt m-4 flatop upper, YHM rail and a c-more tactical sight. The internals were Np3. Had a brief dalience with serial #609. I remember it being marked as an Armalite AR15. It had the open prong suppressor and the early selector switch, chrome bolt, etc. It must have been a 1/14 twist bbl. as it could not reliably hit a standard Q target in sub 0 temps at 100M. When it did hit, it punched keyholes. This gun was a police dept gun that they had since '66. Just got SN 9586145- Thought it was a refinish because it looks too good. It's marked m16a1 and has the usual a1 features but it has a an a2 type grip. The seller says he bought it new from Colt and only put 200 rnds through it. I bore scoped it and I believe him, a little copper in the bore but no burning or cracking. |
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