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M4A1 SOPMOD Block II clone picture thread (Page 921 of 925)
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Tracking 2010. This DoD presentation has some info. https://ndia.dtic.mil/wp-content/uploads/2011/smallarms/PM_Soldier_Weapons_NDIA.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com |
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Originally Posted By 71firebird400: Anyone have a good idea of when the Colt ambi safeties started rolling out on Army rifles? FY13 – FY17 timeframe is mentioned here and aligns with my sometimes shitty memory: https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/m4-pip-product-improvement-program-still-lives-after-individual-carbine-program-conclusion/ "In early December of 2012, for example, the Army released a pre-solicitation announcement, on behalf of PM-SW, for up to 325,000 Replacement Fire Control Selector Assembly units to be used in the conversion of existing semiautomatic/three round burst M4 carbines to automatic capable M4A1 carbines between FY13 through FY17." |
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Does anyone have any photos of usasoc block II fsp's using the cqd rear sling plate? I realize it's not super common, and most of the reference photos I have of usasoc fsp guns(when not using standard sling plates), have a magpul asap, or blackhawk center sling loop. Have 1 reference photo of a DD burnsed, but that appears to mostly be an early Marsoc item. I've been going through the older posts in this thread, and I see lots of forum member rifles using the cqd plate on FSP guns, but still looking for an army one. Thanks! |
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The Block II prototype build is coming along very nicely, picked up a surplus SU-231 for it. I'll track down an SU-237 for it eventually but the Eotech looks pretty nice on it, and was about a third of what I see those ACOGs going for. Got a VITAL-2 for pretty cheap, didn't come with a pressure switch but it's mainly just for looks at the moment. I know it isn't clone correct, I'll get an LA-5 after I get a PVS-14 to actually use it with. Next up in the build is gonna be a correct lower, starting to gather parts for it but I'll wait until January for a free tax stamp since I won't be doing a pin and weld on the upper.   |
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Originally Posted By thatARMSguy: The Block II prototype build is coming along very nicely, picked up a surplus SU-231 for it. I'll track down an SU-237 for it eventually but the Eotech looks pretty nice on it, and was about a third of what I see those ACOGs going for. Got a VITAL-2 for pretty cheap, didn't come with a pressure switch but it's mainly just for looks at the moment. I know it isn't clone correct, I'll get an LA-5 after I get a PVS-14 to actually use it with. Next up in the build is gonna be a correct lower, starting to gather parts for it but I'll wait until January for a free tax stamp since I won't be doing a pin and weld on the upper. https://i.imgur.com/iKNuxlR.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/LjnZggj.jpeg Was the ergo group an "official" part of the prototype build? Also, other than the color, is the buis just an arms #40L? Really enjoying watching this come along; if you need an extra set of battery contact replacements for the 231, just IM. Had a set that another arfcommer gifted me, but ended up going with the 231A |
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Originally Posted By ChemTrailZ: Was the ergo group an "official" part of the prototype build? Also, other than the color, is the buis just an arms #40L? Really enjoying watching this come along; if you need an extra set of battery contact replacements for the 231, just IM. Had a set that another arfcommer gifted me, but ended up going with the 231A The rear sight used in the testing was a tan anodized #40L, same as the ones they still make minus minor differences with the markings and color. The one I've got is a very early late 2004-early 2005 version that was actually sent to Crane for the initial testing prior to them being awarded a formal contract for the BIS II (part of the reason it doesn't have a tan clamp assembly, the base and tower were more important to be anodized tan so they just used a normal clamp on this one). As originally designed, the #40L simply had a large aperture and a 300m peephole. The BIS II contract required a way to range out to 600m, so A.R.M.S. modified the apertures to include a notch on the top that technically met the ranging requirements. They got the diagram backwards in the manual, but it explains the general idea. Hold the front sight post at the bottom of the notch and you get a 400m POI, and at the top of the notch you get a 600m POI. It doesn't really work that well, but it'll get you close enough. The notched version would be more correct, but since the one I've got was actually tested by Crane it counts as being clone correct to me.     Also, if anyone's got any photos of one of the KAC prototypes that'd be awesome, I think there might have been one in one of the KAC threads but I don't really want to search through 500 pages to find it. |
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Originally Posted By themissinglink: @thatARMSguy https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/243617/IMG_6990-3614157.jpg Originally Posted By Midazoslam: How was ARMS awarded a BIS II contract when that entire procurement was canceled? A.R.M.S. received over $71k in a series of six contracts bundled under the same PIID number between 2006 and 2007 for "optical sighting and ranging equipment", however given they were providing a lot of mounts and scope rings and other stuff at that time there's no way to tell which if any of those contracts were for the BIS II program. There's a typo in the powerpoint and the PIID contract number for A.R.M.S.' BIS II submission was mistakenly listed as the same number as Daniel Defense's PIID for their RIS II submission, so I can't find the actual contract value of A.R.M.S.' IDVP for the BIS II. I do know that a fair amount of anodized #40Ls have been surplussed from Crane (~10-20), most of them either still in the box or very slightly used, so they seemed to have purchased a decent amount of them before the BIS II procurement was cancelled. Given how I've never seen any surplussed KAC sights, and that the #40L has been used on a number of Navy HK416s and on M4A1s across various branches, I assume that it was the more popular choice of the two |
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| Since we are on the topic of irons what are your preferences? I good friend of mine prefers the matech over KAC but personally it looks like the kac might be a bit nicer to use. I have yet to grab a set. It seems to me the bais from kac were more prevalent. Thoughts? |
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Originally Posted By 7dirtydan7: Since we are on the topic of irons what are your preferences? I good friend of mine prefers the matech over KAC but personally it looks like the kac might be a bit nicer to use. I have yet to grab a set. It seems to me the bais from kac were more prevalent. Thoughts? I actually prefer the MaTech over the KACs 600m/300s for shooting. Easier to adjust the range on a BUIS. Have used them out to 600m. Now if I'm going to shoot irons then throw on a detachable carrying handle. |
De Oppresso Liber
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
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Attached File Attached File |
De Oppresso Liber
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
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Attached File |
De Oppresso Liber
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
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Originally Posted By Combat_Diver: I actually prefer the MaTech over the KACs 600m/300s for shooting. Easier to adjust the range on a BUIS. Have used them out to 600m. Now if I'm going to shoot irons then throw on a detachable carrying handle. Was the matech paired with a flip up front from kac? Not seeing much info on what it was used with other then a fsp |
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What do you guys think? Still a work in progress, keeping the rifle functional as i get parts. Still hunting down a correct barrel and gas block, buis, gasbuster charging handle, and a colt bcg. At some point i will switch to a surefire four or three prong with can when i have the funds but my yhm can will do for now. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By 7dirtydan7: What do you guys think? Still a work in progress, keeping the rifle functional as i get parts. Still hunting down a correct barrel and gas block, buis, gasbuster charging handle, and a colt bcg. At some point i will switch to a surefire four or three prong with can when i have the funds but my yhm can will do for now. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/609189/IMG_1697_jpeg-3617778.JPG Why a Colt BCG? What do you have in it now? Toolcraft, Microbest, and AO Precision are other cheaper options. |
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Originally Posted By WTFShane: Why a Colt BCG? What do you have in it now? Toolcraft, Microbest, and AO Precision are other cheaper options. The bcg i have now doesn’t have any sort of markings so i’m not sure who manufactured it. I had purchased it from one of my local shops. How many other manufacturers were used besides colt and FN? |
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Originally Posted By 7dirtydan7: The bcg i have now doesn’t have any sort of markings so i’m not sure who manufactured it. I had purchased it from one of my local shops. How many other manufacturers were used besides colt and FN? I'm not a SME, but Google AI says Toolcraft and Microbest. |
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Originally Posted By 7dirtydan7: What do you guys think? Still a work in progress, keeping the rifle functional as i get parts. Still hunting down a correct barrel and gas block, buis, gasbuster charging handle, and a colt bcg. At some point i will switch to a surefire four or three prong with can when i have the funds but my yhm can will do for now. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/609189/IMG_1697_jpeg-3617778.JPG I mean how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Because other than supressor(and myabe the optic, that appears to be an xps, and afaik even black variants would have been the exps) all of that was probably installed by "someone" at "somepoint". No one is going to look at your bcg, and C_D can feel free to correct, but I'm pretty sure the only usgi optics are FN and Colt, as that is what would have come in complete rifles. Bolts are replaced based on maintenance schedule, but really not hearing any catastrophic carrier replacements that would've required replacement |
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Originally Posted By 7dirtydan7: Was the matech paired with a flip up front from kac? Not seeing much info on what it was used with other then a fsp Yes, only Front BUIS that I've ever issued or seen issued from SOCOM is the KAC 99051 CD |
De Oppresso Liber
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
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Originally Posted By ChemTrailZ: I mean how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Because other than supressor(and myabe the optic, that appears to be an xps, and afaik even black variants would have been the exps) all of that was probably installed by "someone" at "somepoint". No one is going to look at your bcg, and C_D can feel free to correct, but I'm pretty sure the only usgi optics are FN and Colt, as that is what would have come in complete rifles. Bolts are replaced based on maintenance schedule, but really not hearing any catastrophic carrier replacements that would've required replacement I've 99% Bolt Carrier assemblies have been either Colt or FN. Have only had a few ie 2-3 NOS Toolcraft in the last 11 yrs. Bolts have all been either Colt or FN. |
De Oppresso Liber
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
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Originally Posted By ChemTrailZ: I mean how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Because other than supressor(and myabe the optic, that appears to be an xps, and afaik even black variants would have been the exps) all of that was probably installed by "someone" at "somepoint". No one is going to look at your bcg, and C_D can feel free to correct, but I'm pretty sure the only usgi optics are FN and Colt, as that is what would have come in complete rifles. Bolts are replaced based on maintenance schedule, but really not hearing any catastrophic carrier replacements that would've required replacement I’m trying to be fairly correct with the rifle components, and yes that is an xps. What is your orientation of a clone then? This is my first foot in the water with clones so i have been following info given through clonerifles site and what i read on arf. |
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Originally Posted By 7dirtydan7: I’m trying to be fairly correct with the rifle components, and yes that is an xps. What is your orientation of a clone then? This is my first foot in the water with clones so i have been following info given through clonerifles site and what i read on arf. Page 1 has a good summary, the mk18 thread has good info as well. Keep in mind there is some additional minutia, as some folks want specific markings and variants for specific timeframes, and the various branches do things differently, I would generally categorize the following levels of clonetism For usasoc 1) as issued, this would be just the BASE gunm4(Colt 6920, fn mil collector or equivalent if you don’t care about markings) with RIS ii, FSP or 99051, cqd sling mount, 4 prong or nt4 flash hider(depending on time frame) and matech 2) as issued gun with “official accessories: this would be the base gun using program of record optics, lights, sling mounts, additional bus Number 2 is the most expensive because stuff is old, out of production, low civ. Production, etc. even more if you are going for correct markings and time period variants And number 3 would be “in the wild”. Others consider it to be only if there is photo ref of said accessory being used, but since photo ref is limited to only what was photographed I’d consider it to be almost anything. So it would bai ally be correct base gun, rail, and muzzle device, optional supressor(rc2 is generally accepted as a sub for the rc), and pretty much any accessory you want. This crowd generally seems to fit category 2, and the category 3 guys generally are doing specific guns that have photo reference. |
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Originally Posted By ChemTrailZ: Page 1 has a good summary, the mk18 thread has good info as well. Keep in mind there is some additional minutia, as some folks want specific markings and variants for specific timeframes, and the various branches do things differently, I would generally categorize the following levels of clonetism For usasoc 1) as issued, this would be just the BASE gunm4(Colt 6920, fn mil collector or equivalent if you don’t care about markings) with RIS ii, FSP or 99051, cqd sling mount, 4 prong or nt4 flash hider(depending on time frame) and matech 2) as issued gun with “official accessories: this would be the base gun using program of record optics, lights, sling mounts, additional bus Number 2 is the most expensive because stuff is old, out of production, low civ. Production, etc. even more if you are going for correct markings and time period variants And number 3 would be “in the wild”. Others consider it to be only if there is photo ref of said accessory being used, but since photo ref is limited to only what was photographed I’d consider it to be almost anything. So it would bai ally be correct base gun, rail, and muzzle device, optional supressor(rc2 is generally accepted as a sub for the rc), and pretty much any accessory you want. This crowd generally seems to fit category 2, and the category 3 guys generally are doing specific guns that have photo reference. I’m shooting for category 2). I’m not getting nitty gritty with time period variations just as long as the main markings are correct. Until i collect every correct component i’m falling into category 3) due to me keeping the rifle functional. It isn’t going to be a safe queen so i’d rather not put wear and tear on any “diamond in the rough” parts. |
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Finished one of the high points of my collection. Block II Trials M4A1, with the bid submission versions of the eventual winning scope, rail, and light.    Base rifle is a 2006 Diemaco upper with 14.5 SOCOM barrel, NT4 FH, KAK derp donkey lower. LMT Sopmod circa 2005, flat faced CQD rear sling mount, and Hogue pistol grip.  The Gen 1 Elcan is 2005 production and was rescued from a shop outside of Bragg. The reticle is very close the the adopted SU230.       The rail is DD's predecessor to the eventually adopted RIS II, the M4 RIS Mk1 Mod 0. This is the original light tan color shown at SHOT 2006, my understanding this was the initial color submitted to SOCOM, but the darker brown was requested down the line, but before the thumbscrews were omitted from the design.  The M3X is sporting civilian black labels in line with the VBLIII pictures used in SOPMOD powerpoints, as these were pictures of the light before adoption as the SU233.    The chocolate chip PEQ is somogear as I don't have it in me to drop 4k on a laser I just won't use. Build ruined, I know I know.  Eventually I'd like to find the original dual pad Insight designed that led to the clamp on dual pad we all know, and track down the original tan long gun back plate before the oversized activation button and lockout was added.   
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Originally Posted By 7dirtydan7: Are there specific QC mounts for a sling that are issued or is it more of a case of whatever guys can get their hands on? I have a blue force gear sling and just a misc. qc mount but if there is a correct mount I'll add that to the scavenger hunt. Yes, KAC QD mount and swivel. PN: 98720 NSN: 1005-01-498-4854 Noun: Swivel Mount Assembly  
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De Oppresso Liber
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
Iraq: 91,03,04,05,06,08,09,15,16,22,23,24&25'
Afghanistan: 09,10,11,14,17,18,19,20&21'
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Originally Posted By Midazoslam: Make Pic Threads Great Again https://i.imgur.com/3zwkgQF.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/cDjBBGA.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/MxaIMko.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/ttWJMzh.jpeg Can I ask, where did you find that FN lower? Add: @midazoslam |
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Found one of the photos I was looking for; thought there was another usasoc one that was a non FSP gun, with what I think we some leupold variant(though not the m110 scope), though could’ve been a NF(not an logo though)…now that I think of it it could’ve been 75th. So hard to keep track of all the variants. Attached File |
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Need help identifying this single side sling plate, looks similar to a single side ergo(which I’m not sure even exist) because of the flush bottom, but appears longer in height and narrower in width. It’s not dd or gg&g. Anyone know the manufacturer? Attached File |
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Originally Posted By thatARMSguy: Block II prototype all dialed in for Clone Rifles! https://i.imgur.com/1PBmFPk.jpeg Where the hell did you find that rail? |
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I'm not sure which optic to put on this thing? If I can find one of the dark brown ElcansAttached File , I think that would look awesome |
M4A1 SOPMOD Block II clone picture thread (Page 921 of 925)
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