who prefers old school a2 ar15 to carbine

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i had the bushmaster ar carbine, sold it: went quick, did not the way it handled, the feel of it etc . kept my colt a2 carry handle pre 98 evil features version. classic look, prefer the full size. have detachable scope mount, scope, cheek rest and bipod for longer range work.
 
I have both and like both. For general plinking, I’ll take the Bushmasters. 2 of my 3 Colts have never been fired, so I keep those for collecting. The one that has is a 9mm and that’s a hoot and a half!
 
If I was faced with serious work in a more open (longer-range) environment, I would probably prefer the longer 20" rifle.

But for casual plinking, or a close-in environment the carbine may be handier.

But these are just my basic thoughts on the subject, not really valid beyond the tip of my nose. However I will exercise my freedoms and rights to have both.
 
Depends on the intended operating environment and / or what type of Soldier is using the rifle for military application. For civilians......I guess most prefer the carbine length due to "home defense" potential.

I was a 88m (motor transport) on my first deployment to Iraq. We were issued the A2. Total pain in the ass getting in and out of the vehicles when we had to halt (which was all too often) for a break down or gridlocked traffic in and around Baghdad. I wish to God my guys had been issued m4 carbines. Most army infantry units we worked with had the m4 carbine......ALL Marines in 2003 that I came in contact with had the A2.

My personal experience on range qualifications with both rifles over the years......the ballistics of the shorter barrel don't really come into play until your shooting at 400 meters. With an a2 I could always use a center mass hold from 50 to 400 on popups. When I first used an m4 I found out quick a center mass hold on the 400 would result in a puff of dirt just in front of the target. Adjusted to covering the target with the front post resulted in a hit every time.

All that said.......I do prefer the a2. Iron sights and all. Just nostalgic to me...same reason I liked my bdus and black jump boots and an old lce rather than the acu and lbv I finished my army career wearing.
 
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I really want an FN military collectors M16A4 ( I like the A2 look but what Pat said, "I'm not going back to irons").

Ive also shot alot of fun supressed 10.5's but with my wingspan find them challenging to shoulder comfortably for long periods of time.
 
Love the A2 look and feel all the way. Just feels right and is so simple. I prefer the classic look over a fully railed and kitted out "tacti-cool" setup. I know every setup has its place and purpose though. And maybe a carbine would be more appealing to me if I didn't live in Mass and the adjustable stock could, well, actually be adjustable.
 
Love the A2 look and feel all the way. Just feels right and is so simple. I prefer the classic look over a fully railed and kitted out "tacti-cool" setup. I know every setup has its place and purpose though. And maybe a carbine would be more appealing to me if I didn't live in Mass and the adjustable stock could, well, actually be adjustable.

I can confirm this for you. I loved the A2 and A1 stocks on MA but now that I've escaped... Having an adjustable SOPMOD stock is just so awesome and comfortable.
 
Love the A2 look and feel all the way. Just feels right and is so simple. I prefer the classic look over a fully railed and kitted out "tacti-cool" setup. I know every setup has its place and purpose though. And maybe a carbine would be more appealing to me if I didn't live in Mass and the adjustable stock could, well, actually be adjustable.
mine is preban have all the carbine evil features if i change my attitude
 
Real men use slings so they can have two hands free to drink beer and shoot a pistol at the same time as having a rifle!

Is the author/SOG guy of that National Rifleman article linked above enjoying a cold one? I can’t tell if that is beer or not.
 
A2? A1 is better. I built a clone and it's fun to shoot and it's much more aesthetically pleasing than the A2.
 
Working on an A1 Slick Side (No Brass Buster or Forward assist) in 22LR. Brownells is currently
out of the Black A1 Retro Funiture for it. I picked up a CMMG 22LR Bolt and 20" Dedicated 22LR
Barrel During the 4th of July sales. Also the A1 slick side was 33% off at Brownells.

Malodave
 
The only AR15 I'd ever consider buying would be some sort of clone of the A1. But I'm weird that way. My very first military range time was spent on an M16A1, and I loved the ergos.

Anything but a triangle guard is a dealbreaker for me, and I felt the same way when I was training on real A2s and deploying with real M4s. Now that I can buy my own, I'd have no time for that ribbed shit. As for "rails?" Nope.
 
I have all three types and like them all. I gave a couple of my A2 uppered guns as gifts to family members for birthday and Christmas presents but retained one for myself. Lately my builds are on A3 type uppers and red dots or scopes are being added.

I have one scoped A1 type with the triangular handguards just for nostalgia but I prefer the carbines with the slimmer handguards over the big bulky OEM types that they come with now.

The pistols are all A3 type uppers with the slim handguards.
 
As others have said, it all depends on the mission at hand. I have both!
 
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.
 
A2? A1 is better. I built a clone and it's fun to shoot and it's much more aesthetically pleasing than the A2.
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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