XM16E1

[Sir Henry]

I know most of you think all I have is Henrys but that is not true. I also have several AR15's. I see them every time I reach for my Henry. I built this rifle from a Colt SP1 and it is like the rifle I carried in Vietnam. I was artillery and a rifle is a secondary weapon for red legs. When I got to nam I was issued an M14 which I trained on but after about three months we were issued M16's which I was never trained to shoot or clean.

All the M16's we were issued were used as the infantry received brand new firearms and we received old beat up ones. Each of us received a rifle that was rebuilt and it seemed all ours were different and not necessarily rebuilt to original configuration. Mine was an exception and was what I later learned an early model XM16E1.

So I built my SP1 to match what I had in nam. Some of the differences between an XM16E1 and an M16 or M16A1 are: three-prong flash suppressor, no "gate" around the mag release, no brass deflector, tri-grip forearm, early rear sight, chrome lined barrel, chrome bolt (without notches), no forward assist, no finger grip hand grip, and no cleaning kit in the buttstock. The buttstock and forearm were also the shinny ones and not matte.

The rifle I now have is semi-auto only but mine in nam went full auto or semi-auto only. It did not have the three round burst function.

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[Deadwood Dutch]

Thanks for the informative post. You have a nice rifle there. So, do you know exactly or approximately when they started issuing M16's to the troops that had chrome lined chambers so they wouldn't jam while under fire from the enemy? Isn't this what they did to rectify the situation, which was a real problem when they were first issued over there? The tropical climate being the culprit and causing continual corrosion, if I remember correctly.

[Sir Henry]

The problem turned out to be the powder the Army was using and not the rifle. Gene Stoner designed the rifle using a specific powder but the Army had Surplus WWII powder which they used. Once the correct powder was used the problem went away. When the Air Force ordered M16's they did not order them with the forward assist because they thought you were better off ejecting the jammed round and not jamming it further.

I never had a single problem with my rifle but I was shooting the correct ammo.

[Deadwood Dutch]

Thanks very much.

[JCN]

Interesting thought about the forward assist. My AR has obviously never seen combat conditions or even bad weather so it's no surprise I've never had an issue with mine either. I've never needed the forward assist to chamber a round.

I really enjoy my rifle and flexibility I have due to the mil-spec dimensions and readily available components.

[Sir Henry]

As a lefty I sure enjoyed the A1 with the brass deflector.

[daytime dave]

That's a nice build. I have to agree with the airforce, eject the problem and keep going.