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who prefers old school a2 ar15 to carbine

It depends so much on actual use
If we are talking a actual milspec M4 vs A2
Milspec meaning a colt/FN or what ever gov contracted manufacture is pumping out $400-$600 guns for USGI I and over all use would be “combat” give me the M4
Now for a accuracy stand point I see little gain out side slow fire prone with sling where added sight radius will net you “better accuracy”

Now for looks
The M4 with the old cheese grater quad rails .....toss those and put on a decent round or basic plastic guard.

This is also applying that ammo will be of the M195 M855 variety .
I see very little ballistic advantage with the A2 vs M4

IIRC theres about a 225fps swing with M855 20" vs 1 4.5" barrel. Which is about a difference of 30" drop at 600 yards with a 50 yard zero.
 
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Just bought a *NOS* Fabrique Nationale M16a4 upper on GB last week to go with my 'new to me' true pre-ban lower receiver w/A2 stock :D

It's a carbon copy of the upper that was on my M16a4 at basic training on Parris Island at the end of 2011. Kilo Company was the last (to my knowledge) to qualify and train 100% with iron sights through the entirety of basic training. By the time we were on the range (2nd phase), a fresh batch of recruits came in and they all had brand spankin new ACOGS on their a4's during their week 2 of training.

The a4 is an absolute pig of an upper, but I just HAD to buy one for sentimental reasons now that I'm done with my full contract after 8 years. I personally like the flexibilty of the a4...if my eyesight ever goes down the tubes, I can put an optic on it and still have it be 'correct' if i want. That being said, i'm currently saving for both an a1 and an a2 upper to complete the 'collection' at some point.
 
I have a 6921 that I have to figure out what to do with. It’s unfired but it isn’t what I really want. There was a member here very recently that was selling an A2 upper with the integrated handle that I really wanted. The difference in price that we were at was so nominal that I regularly kick myself in the balls on a weekly basis.
 
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The A2 iron sights are kind of cool but c'mon the sight handle thing is just kind of obsolete, there are so many better scope mounting options today. I have a Trijicon 3-9 with la rue quick detach mounts and BUIS on a Ruger SR556. The scope is just the right height for an ergonomic sight picture.

if you want a rifle with great iron sights, m1 Garand, M1A , or M1 carbine are the best ever made :D
 
i have a hbar i bought new before the '94 awb. i honestly have never fired it. however, my lawyer has. marine paratrooper, viet nam '67-68, he wanted to shoot it. i believe the rifle he used was an a1 maybe, triangular forend, etc. but this was close enough for him. shot a box of 20 and proclaimed he had enough fun, back to business. cleaned it and back in the safe it went. [angry] i have been thinking of taking it out myself, we'll see. [wink]
 
hminsky said:
The A2 iron sights are kind of cool but c'mon the sight handle thing is just kind of obsolete, there are so many better scope mounting options today. I have a Trijicon 3-9 with la rue quick detach mounts and BUIS on a Ruger SR556. The scope is just the right height for an ergonomic sight picture.

if you want a rifle with great iron sights, m1 Garand, M1A , or M1 carbine are the best ever made :D
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Darn near same sights take away the carry handle? Can always go with something like the dominator sight rail from RRA
 
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Squib308 said:
once you start shooting rifle length gas system every other autoloading rifle feels clunky. the aesthetics of A2 or A3 or whatever means nothing to me. it's that rifle length gas that I want. 18" or 20" barrel both get the job done for me. i don't think at extra 50 ft/s much matters as I consider the 5.56 to be finished by ~500 yards.
Click to expand...

I also prefer the smoother/softer feel of rifle length to mid length gas systems. The jarring clank of the carbine length system was so noticeable when I was issued my first M4, I thought I had a defective rifle.

I have a couple carbine length, 16 inch ARs now which shoot great, but they're not nearly as pleasant to shoot as my 20 inch with a rifle length tube.
 
Yazz said:
I like heaver firearms. They stay on target.
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giphy.gif


This thread has me hankering for an A1. And I HATE DI firearms.

Like the other military shooters of a "certain era," when you train on the M16 and then move to the M4 the carbine feels weird.
 
I also have an A2 pistol with a 7.5 in barrel and SIG ArmBrace.
It looks like a Miniature AR at about 24 inches long. I put a
Primary Arms MD-ADS Red Dot on the Carry Handle.

Malodave
 
pthomas65 said:
I own an A1 1966 SP1 (4 digit Ser#), sucker is 100% stock and plan on keeping it that way. I shoot primarily clays, steel targets, plastic containers and an occasional full size human silhouette. The rifle is plenty accurate for me @ 100 yds. No forward assist, has the edgewater recoil buffer, 1/12 twist. Not for everybody but sure is for me.
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If you tacticool an original A1 you go straight to gun hell.
 
I own both...20" and 16". I like the 20' for plinking, etc. It seems more accurate for 250 yards and beyond. I have the 16" in case I need it for self defense in the house/close quarters.
 
I like mid and rlfe systems. Don't like carbine length much.

I have an abomination slick side with a mid length sota 1:7 16" which is my fav. Though I'm building a 20" green mountain barrel upper this fall with a carbon tube FF.
 
yep, didn't take much of a shove, i'm planning to take my rifle out to harvard next week at least to sight it in. every build i did was as short as i could go without the paperwork so 14" with a 2 1/4" muzzle device pinned on most of 'em. when i built my first couple, quad rails were king, not so much now. clunky is best i can describe them. i like that round handguard on the a2s. when i scrape up a few extra bucks, i'd like to buy a 20" competition barrel for one build. if i did that, i'd put an a1 stock on it. i like the a1 over the a2 cause it's a tad shorter. a member here i bumped into at the range turned me on to that. i liked being up that one inch closer to the receiver rather than crabbing up on the stock. they were a little scarce but i did pick up 3 when i found a guy selling some take offs.
hminsky said:
The A2 iron sights are kind of cool but c'mon the sight handle thing...
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i'm with you. nice for the nostalgia aspect but not really practical for giant sized people. i prefer the flat receivers. i guess you need the carry handle on your rifle if you want to shoot military rifle matches. anyone, is that correct?
 
greencobra said:
i guess you need the carry handle on your rifle if you want to shoot military rifle matches. anyone, is that correct?
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NRA and CMP XTC highpower is flat tops and optics.

The only match which requires a carry handle AR15 rifle would be the CMP Games "modern military" match.
 
dw617 said:
NRA and CMP XTC highpower is flat tops and optics.

The only match which requires a carry handle AR15 rifle would be the CMP Games "modern military" match.
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Im not sure if thats even the way now. I think A2 style sight works either way now.
When it comes to cmp email (IIRC michelle at cmp rules ) for a clarification of any rules.
Oddly enough I think cmp EIC requires when using Iron sights to be contained in the carry handle? Who knows these days always changing things especially at inspection
 
mac1911 said:
Im not sure if thats even the way now. I think A2 style sight works either way now.
When it comes to cmp email (IIRC michelle at cmp rules ) for a clarification of any rules.
Oddly enough I think cmp EIC requires when using Iron sights to be contained in the carry handle? Who knows these days always changing things especially at inspection
Click to expand...

I wasn't going to get into specifics... there's pages and pages of current rules intepretations on this forum and others :)
 
dw617 said:
I wasn't going to get into specifics... there's pages and pages of current rules intepretations on this forum and others :)
Click to expand...
Oh come on whats one more....hey I will shoot cmp a email since Im basically going to lock myself in in front of the AC
 
enbloc said:
A2, because delivering a "buttstroke" with an M4 just looks silly...

1469939845001_5206602001001_1675081644001-vs.jpg
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enbloc said:
A2, because delivering a "buttstroke" with an M4 just looks silly...

1469939845001_5206602001001_1675081644001-vs.jpg
Click to expand...


I got one of those aluminum hammer stocks just for the buttstroke reason. Its a three position adjustable stock that's built to deliver a great verticle buttstroke.
 

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