Colt M16A2 Commando

The M16A2 Commando in it's factory configuration with A1 upper with tear drop forward assist 11.5 .625 gas block (not .750)

We didn't shoot it in this configuration because.. well because it costs more than my truck. I'm not kidding I just looked up my truck, and if I were to buy it today Chevy would want a little over $16,000 .. this M16 is worth half again as much as my truck. To keep it value intact we decided to shoot the full auto lower on other uppers. We also wanted to test the function of the gas piston upper, and most of our shooting was with the Land Warfare Resources Corporation (LWRC) 10 1/2" gas piston upper.

We tested the full auto rate of fire through a Land Warfare Resources Corporation (LWRC) 10 1/2" gas piston upper. It worked very well, no problems except with lacquer coated steel cases which tended to create malfunctions

We used a few types of magazine, the Beta C-Mag, the new Magpul P-mag, new Browenlls Mag w/ tan coating and our favorites the HK mags. All these mags worked well. We used three different loaders to keep the M16 fed. The LuLa which is faster than loading by hand, and makes unloading a magazine easy as flipping on a light switch. The Beta Mag loaders are even faster and they got the most use

A full auto 'Mag Dump' kept a good size group with the aid of the HALO and Gas buster charging handle. PRI designed their gas buster charging handle to diffuse the gasses generated by use of a sound suppressor and direct them away from the shooter when using the Gemtech HALO suppressor.

The HALO suppressor keeps muzzle climb under control and it was possible to 'hot dog' a bit. Here is a fairly good attempt at writing the letter 'S' with a 30 round full auto 'mag dump'. Slip 2K extreme weapons lube throughout the testing, it's real good stuff

A few pictures of the Gemtech HALO and the Surefire 910 la Rue #17 upgrade mount with IR filter. Note the group from a full auto 30 round 'mag dump' from about 10 yards with the HALO. This not only reduces sound it reduces recoil and makes the rifle very controllable

The Tango Down Rail panels were important, shooting full auto rally heats up the barrel and rails. Clear backs on the Beta C-mag are worth their weight in ammo. They really make it obvious how much ammo you have left

100 rounds Full Auto, non stop with a c-mag

Full (100 rounds)	About half way through	Approx $50 and less than a minute later

Close up of the target after the 100 round full auto mag drop from about 15 yards. Not bad at all and it must have been fun to pull the trigger judging from the shooters reaction.

A few more pics of this awesome combo. M16, EOtech, HALO Suppressor and 100 round Beta C-Mag. Hard to beat, however we didn't shot more than a mag or two (30 round mags) before removing the HALO suppressor and letting it cool down a bit

Without the EOtech I am not a fan of optics, so I shot this Colt M16 a few times with just the Centurion Arms "HK style" diopter style iron sights. The rear drum has four different apertures, front sight uses a standard fixed blade. We also added an LMT dark earth SOPMOD Buttstock Assembly. Still easy to aim and keep on target, and no batteries to fail

The Colt A2 receiver is stamped burst cause it's an A2 but the rifle is full auto and was made that way at the Colt factory. Commandos were often made from spare parts, and this is a symptom of that. Full auto also tends to make magazines loose their contents. Here are a few of the 'empty mags' that were produced this day of shooting a full auto Colt M-16 A2

Illustrating the muzzle rise of a full auto 'double tap'

Shooting a controlled two round burst is a good technique for saving ammo while utilizing the ability of the full auto firearm. This lets just two quick rounds head down range without much muzzle rise and the ability to get back on target fast.

Before shooting	At the high point of the double tap	Both images together to see the amount of muzzle rise

In a still frame from one of our videos I was able to track 6 empty cases in the air from a long burst from this Colt M16

We shot some XM 855 (SS109) ammo. this is the rejected stuff we civilians are forced to use while the 'good' ammo is headed overseas. We had just one problem with the Beta C-Mags, this round jammed on a type three malfunction (a double feed). The round was bent and quickly removed and we continued shooting.

We save and reload the brass when we shoot. this also keeps our shooting areas clean. An improvised brass container, this old tissue box, worked well, just kick it around as you pick up brass and empty handfuls into it quickly. Once finished it's easy enough to pour out the collected brass

EO tech 552 which is Night vision compatible and waterproof to 33 feet, although we didn't test these features. LeRue mounts are used for both the EOtech and Surefire. Some stickers have been placed on the EOtech to aid in sight adjustment, and to calculate distance shots

The stickers will not stay on this EOtech 552 for too long however. They are too shiny and reflect our bright Arizona sun like mirrors.

The Semi Auto (SBR) version of the M-16 is this AR15. Most people wouldn't know any difference, but you could easily buy 10 of the semi-auto version with one full auto thanks to the inflated prices caused by federal legislation on full auto firearms

AR-15 approx $2500	M-16 Approx $25,000