Description
This blank forging is the precursor to a forged AR-15 lower receiver. No milling operations have been completed on it. It’s more complete than our 0% Lower Receiver, but less than 80% complete, so we’re calling it a “20% lower receiver”. This blank AR-15 lower receiver is forged from 7075-T6 aluminum. No FFL Needed.
Ben Edwards Designs Product Catalog
Background
The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine.
In 1964, the M16 entered US military service and the following year was deployed for jungle warfare operations during the Vietnam War. In 1969, the M16A1 replaced the M14 rifle to become the US military’s standard service rifle. The M16A1 incorporated numerous modifications including a bolt-assist, chrome-plated bore, protective reinforcement around the magazine release, and revised flash hider.
In 1983, the US Marine Corps adopted the M16A2 rifle and the US Army adopted it in 1986. The M16A2 fires the improved 5.56×45mm (M855/SS109) cartridge and has a newer adjustable rear sight, case deflector, heavy barrel, improved handguard, pistol grip and buttstock, as well as a semi-auto and three-round burst fire selector. Adopted in July 1997, the M16A4 is the fourth generation of the M16 series. It is equipped with a removable carrying handle and Picatinny rail for mounting optics and other ancillary devices.
The M16 has also been widely adopted by other armed forces around the world. Total worldwide production of M16s is approximately 8 million, making it the most-produced firearm of its 5.56 mm caliber. The US military has largely replaced the M16 in frontline combat units with a shorter and lighter version, the M4 carbine.
Technical Information
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1964–present |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Eugene Stoner (AR-10) |
| L. James Sullivan (AR-15) | |
| Designed | 1959 |
| Manufacturer | Colt’s Manufacturing Company |
| Daewoo Precision Industries | |
| FN Herstal | |
| Bushmaster | |
| H&R Firearms | |
| General Motors Hydramatic Division | |
| Elisco | |
| U.S. Ordnance | |
| Produced | 1963–present |
| No. built | c. 8 million as of 2011 |
| Variants | See List of Colt AR-15 and M16 rifle variants |
| Specifications (M16) | |
| Mass | unloaded: |
| 6.37 lb (2.89 kg) (M16A1) | |
| 8.31 lb (3.77 kg) (M16A2) | |
| 7.50 lb (3.40 kg) (M16A4) | |
| 8.81 lb (4.00 kg) (loaded with 30 rounds and sling) | |
| Length | 38.81 in (986 mm) (M16A1) |
| 39.63 in (1,007 mm) (M16A2) | |
| 39.37 in (1,000 mm) (M16A4) | |
| Barrel length | 20 in (508 mm) |
| Cartridge | 5.56×45 mm NATO (M193) |
| Caliber | 5.56 mm (.223 in) |
| Action | Gas-operated (Direct expansion of gas on surfaces of Bolt Carrier), closed rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 45–60 rounds/min semi-automatic |
| 700–850 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A1) | |
| 700-950 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A2, M16A3) | |
| 900 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A4) | |
| Muzzle velocity | 3,150 ft/s (960 m/s) (M855A1 round) |
| Effective firing range | 550 m (601 yd) (point target) |
| 800 m (875 yd) (area target) | |
| Maximum firing range | 3,600 m (3,937 yd) |
| Feed system | STANAG magazine |
| 20-round detachable box magazine: | |
| 0.211 lb (96 g) empty / 0.738 lb (335 g) full | |
| 30-round detachable box magazine: | |
| 0.257 lb (117 g) empty / 1.06 lb (480 g) full) | |
| 60-round detachable box magazine | |
| Beta C-Mag 100-round drum magazine: | |
| 2.20 lb (1,000 g) empty / 4.81 lb (2,180 g) full) | |
| Sights | Iron sights: |
| Rear: aperture; L-type flip | |
| Front: wing-protected post | |
| Various aiming optics | |
Design
The M16 is a lightweight, 5.56 mm, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle, with a rotating bolt. The M16’s receivers are made of 7075 aluminum alloy, its barrel, bolt, and bolt carrier of steel, and its handguards, pistol grip, and buttstock of plastics.
The M16 internal piston action was derived from the original ArmaLite AR-10 and ArmaLite AR-15 actions. This internal piston action system designed by Eugene Stoner is commonly called a direct impingement system, but it does not use a conventional direct impingement system. In U.S. Patent 2,951,424, the designer states: ″This invention is a true expanding gas system instead of the conventional impinging gas system.″ The gas system, bolt carrier, and bolt-locking design were novel for the time.
The M16A1 was especially lightweight at 7.9 pounds (3.6 kg) with a loaded 30-round magazine. This was significantly less than the M14 that it replaced at 10.7 pounds (4.9 kg) with a loaded 20-round magazine. It is also lighter when compared to the AKM’s 8.3 pounds (3.8 kg) with a loaded 30-round magazine.
The M16A2 weighs 8.8 lb (4.0 kg) loaded with a 30-round magazine, because of the adoption of a thicker barrel profile. The thicker barrel is more resistant to damage when handled roughly and is also slower to overheat during sustained fire. Unlike a traditional “bull” barrel that is thick its entire length, the M16A2’s barrel is only thick forward of the handguards. The barrel profile under the handguards remained the same as the M16A1 for compatibility with the M203 grenade launcher.
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