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Posted: 7/29/2004 7:55:51 AM EDT
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Hey - who is that guy here who is the expert on early Colt M16's/AR15's? I just received my M16 upper that I won on an auction - but the set-up is strange and I was wondering if anyone had any info on it's history. It has: A1 rear sight no forward assist no deflector triangle handguards "C MP C" marked barrel bird cage flash suppressor both pins small hole What gives? A slabside (implying M16 orig.) with a birdcage & chrome barrel (implying M16A1)!? Can't be an SP1 because of the small pins - right?  Beetle |
Military M16s would have been maintained at the depot level unless new. The Air Force used slab sided uppers (for training etc.) until just recently (actually I have heard reports of them still being issued). They can put serviceable parts of any age on these older weapons so an A1 flash hider on an M16 would not be unusual. Your barrel should be chromelined if I interpret the stampings correctly. If you see a lighter gray at the mouth of the muzzle, and at the chmaber, it is chrome lined. this is a good thing. Colt was also notorious for putting together rifles with whatever appropriate parts they had in inventory at the time. not necessarily bad, it just drives M16 technical historians nuts. Enjoy! |
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It's an Air Force issue M16 upper, and the barrel is NOT chrome lined; only the chamber is. The upper/barrel combo is probably original, and with a C MP C (chrome chamber) barrel it would befrom the second big AF order. The first batch's barrels would have been marked only C MP. The birdcage suppressor may or may not have been original, but I would guess that' it's a replacement; installed when the three prong type was removed from service. The correct bolt/carrier combo would be an un notched carrier and chrome plated totalassembly. BTW, I've got one just like it; except I put a three prong on it. Waiting for the end of the ban to build it. Paid almost as much for an original chromed bolt.and carrier as I did for the rest of it 
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What do you think? 
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I've got one exactly like it, with the same barrel markings. You have an Air Force receiver with an A1 barrel, which is chrome lined, 1 in 12 twist. FWIW, I also added a 3 prong hider to mine, just for looks. It is not unusual for these uppers to have the A1 barrel since the early M16 barrels were part of "the problem" with reliability in the jungles of Vietnam. If you suspect it is not an A1 barrel, you can check the twist rate, which was 1 in 14" for the very early barrels.
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