US military rifle

[Saddlebag Preacher]

This has probably been asked before, but I haven't seen it since I've been on here and I am really curious. Who makes most of the military AR platform rifles? Is it Colt or someone else?

The reason i'm curious (besides being a gun owner) is I used to deal in aerospace contracts and I always told my friends that when they flew, or we went into space, it was comforting to know that the cheapest bid got the contract they were riding on. .

 

[MrCleanOK]

Currently, the bulk of M4 and M16 rifles are Colt or FNH.

 

[TurtlePhish]

Remington currently holds the contract for M4 carbines.

 

[SpentCasing]

Remington currently holds the contract for M4 carbines.

lol, no. Remington has been allowed to make some M4 for .gov but Colt currenty makes the bulk. And Colt is kicking and screaming the whole way on that too.

Check out this link. Colt files a protest.
http://militarytimes.com/blogs/gearscout/2012/08/17/gao-upholds-colts-protest-of-remington-m4-contract-award/

M16 its mostly all FN.

 

[cl4de6]

My Army M4 is a Colt.

I don't think I've ever seen anything but Colts since 1993.

I do know of one company in my Battalion that received a PSD mission in Iraq. They carried HK416s and MP5s. But I think that is a rarity and they had to give them all back.

 

[TurtlePhish]

lol, no. Remington has been allowed to make some M4 for .gov but Colt currenty makes the bulk.

http://militarytimes.com/blogs/gear...s-order-for-24000-m4-carbines-with-remington/

Edit: Oh, hadn't seen that link. Thanks for the info.

 

[gpb]

For the sake of the soldiers I hope Remington produces a quality arm.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

I have rarely seen a Colt M4 in my line of duty. Although I was surprised when I went on my first tour with a Colt. Most of my issued rifles were made by FN. For some reason I want to say the first rifle I got after IADT was made by Bushmaster but I can't be sure.

 

[tahunua001]

For the sake of the soldiers I hope Remington produces a quality arm.

they don't bushmaster, DPMS and remington are all made in the same factory and both DPMS and bushmasters reputations went down the drain when they became cerberus.

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

Thanks and the links are very interesting also.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

The Remingtons are atleast Milspec.... They are inspected and tested. While I despise Cerberus, I beg to differ about the quality. I just bought a R700 SPS a few months ago and it is just as well built and shoots better than my early 90's R700. Its all a matter of opinion. I have had to use customer service for a Bushmaster trigger pin, but had a better experience than normal with their customer service... So at least they have great customer support.

 

[jim243]

For the sake of the soldiers I hope Remington produces a quality arm.

Only time will tell, I am sure they don't want to mess this up. We should all be mad that Colt has been overcharging us all (the government as well) for their rifles.

I guess the price on Colts will go down now on public sales.

Jim

 

[HorseSoldier]

They've got to build the weapons to match the same TDP that Colt build to, so I doubt it's much of an issue.

All the current issue weapons I've seen were Colt or FNH rollmarked (Colt for M4s/M4A1s, FNH M16s). The only different rollmarks I've seen were on some of our SPRs (Mk12 if you're in the navy) that were built on M16A1 lowers (at least one Vietnam era H&R lower) and some of the frankenguns Air Force personnel I've worked with were carrying.

 

[One_Jackal]

Colt got a lot of sweetheart contracts because of their service during WWII. I think 65 years of sweetheart contracts is payback enough.

 

[Ar180shooter]

The Remingtons are atleast Milspec.... They are inspected and tested. While I despise Cerberus, I beg to differ about the quality. I just bought a R700 SPS a few months ago and it is just as well built and shoots better than my early 90's R700. Its all a matter of opinion. I have had to use customer service for a Bushmaster trigger pin, but had a better experience than normal with their customer service... So at least they have great customer support.

The biggest issue I've seen is the QC on their new products. I have a feeling that they'll make sure the M4's they're putting out are up to snuff though.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Yeah, it's too big of a contract to blow...

 

[Auto426]

They've got to build the weapons to match the same TDP that Colt build to, so I doubt it's much of an issue.

This. Part of the Contract stipulates that Remington gets access to the TDP for the M4, and they must build their rifles according to it. What remains to be seen at this point is if Remington can actually produce the rifles in the quantity specified and for the price they quoted in the contract.

 

[HorseSoldier]

Colt got a lot of sweetheart contracts because of their service during WWII. I think 65 years of sweetheart contracts is payback enough.

The M4 was their main lottery winner. Even back when they managed to sell the M16 to the US government, Vietnam production requirements meant that Colt was just one of several people that built them during that era -- and then when the M16A2 rolled out, Colt lost that contract to FN.

The M4/M4A1 was supposed to just be throwing them a bone to help ease the pain of losing the M16A2 (keeping in mind that the M4 was initially supposed to fill the same niche as the M1 carbine in WW2, but with the M16 being much handier than an M1 Garand). Then war breaks out and battlefield lessons on the army side is that the M4 is our new service rifle and Colt discovers that the fat chick that US .gov hooked it up with is actually a multimillionaire super model.

 

[DeadFlies]

DPMS and remington are all made in the same factory

That's not exactly true. They may (or may not, though I think this is likely) be assembled from parts made in the same place but they are assembled in different places.

 

[Uncle Grinch]

When I was in the service (late 60's - early 70's), my M16 was made by General Motors Hydramatic plant.

 

[Zerodefect]

they don't bushmaster, DPMS and remington are all made in the same factory and both DPMS and bushmasters reputations went down the drain when they became cerberus.

When you see "Bushmaster" on the side of a .mil M4/16/MkII etc.etc. It might be just the lower receiver.

 

[crazysccrmd]

All my M4s have always been Colt. In basic I had a Colt M16 in basic that was restamped A1, x'd over, stamped A2 and had the auto ground down and burst stamped over it. It was a loose and sloppy POS. The newer A2s and A4s (seldom seen in my profession) have been FNH produced mainly.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Shoot, I liked my Cadillac Gage "hydrodynamics" - transmission shop - M16
many a pretty pony, few others too, only issued one FN when I was in.

and um, why 'mil spec'
You know that there are quite a few makers who build to tighter tolerances.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

Mil-spec is a buzz word. I went into a shop once who tried to convince me that an AR he was selling me was military issue. When I told him that it was nothing like my service rifles he got mad, threw up his arms and walked away. In my experience, mil-spec isn't mil-spec.

 

[EMS_92]

Colt makes most of the M4/M4A1 carbines, although Remington got a order for I believe around 24,000 M4A1s intending to replace sme M4s in Army service. FNH makes M16s, but no M4s.