Early XM16 photo in Viet Nam

[RCS]

Early XM16 photo from Viet Nam, note all the early features46136

[Bill E]

Nice picture, good for reference. Thanks for posting.

[RCS]

Found this some years ago, do not know the date nor the place. The XM177 in action46170

Note the BAR belt

[m1ashooter]

Carry mags in a BAR belt

[gpb]

In the first picture, what color would the stock and forearm be? Black, Brown, Green?

[PWC]

The not so good nickname for the M16 among the enemy was the "black rifle" as in "take the M1 and carbine and leave the black rifle".

[barretcreek]

Found this some years ago, do not know the date nor the place. The XM177 in action46170

Note the BAR belt

Hope that guy had the chance to show his grandkids that pic.

[Bill E]

+1

[RCS]

The man holding the XM177 was wounded in the hand right after the photo was taken and was alright

[Sandpebble]

why does he have his finger in the trigger guard .... and why does his buddy have his muzzle pointed at his head ??

That ain't everyones cammo he's wearing.....

[togor]

Combat photo?

A guy I worked with spent his tour leading patrols in the Mekong Delta. Ambushes were frequent and muzzles pointed every which way. He says a M16 going full auto next to your eardrum is good for causing tinnitus.

[Griff Murphey]

Partial answer: the straight trigger finger was never taught on any military or sporting range I fired on until I stated shooting three gun about 2003. It's a pretty recent innovation.

[lyman]

why does he have his finger in the trigger guard .... and why does his buddy have his muzzle pointed at his head ??

That ain't everyones cammo he's wearing.....

as mentioned common stiff finger is a modern thing,

pic angle may just look like the muzzle is pointed at his head, may be feet off,


and the camo,, Tiger Stripe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigerstripe

[BlitzKrieg]

Those are indeed tiger stripe camo pattern on the uniform. We wore tiger stripe in Vietnamese Rangers as did US Special Forces, Vietnamese Airborne and Vietnamese Marine Corps. Off and on, some SEALs wore tiger stripes.

For the areas we operated in, they were a superior camouflage and a tougher material ...far tougher than rip stop cotton on ERDL camo uniforms issued to US troops. You get on an operation, ya need trousers that can take hard abuse !

We used BAR belts to hold CAR 15 / XM177 E1 or XM177E2 magazines.

As to the trigger finger comments: Duly note the position of this troops thumb. He's got his safety and he's ready to go HOT if necessary. We often did the same when things required fast shots at close ranges. In this photo, the practice as viewed in photo is perfectly safe. Of note also...he is rather exposed and we did not do that if it could be avoided.

[Art]

why does he have his finger in the trigger guard .... and why does his buddy have his muzzle pointed at his head ??

That ain't everyones cammo he's wearing.....

I guess you'll have to excuse him and his buddy since they are being shot at at the time. Griff is correct until the 1990s at least there wasn't the prohibition on finger in the trigger guard there is now which is why LEO holsters back then usually didn't have the trigger guard covered. In fact most LEOs accessed the trigger on the draw stroke. When I was in the military (Viet Nam era) nobody ever told us to keep our finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

Times change you know.

[Ltdave]

only early feature i see is the slick sided upper...

its got the t-shaped charging handle vs the triangle charging handle and its got a regular 3-prong flash hider vs the duckbill...

to answer one of the questions, id say its more than likely got black furniture on it. not many made it ANYWHERE with brown and the early early "issue" model 601s had green but not for long

[RicM]

Thanks for posting up the pic. I've been looking to complete my clone for 8 months now. Problem is all the uppers and parts are back order with unknown dates. You have to call them all cause their websites are not updates. Finally found Fulton Armory has complete A1 and A2 Uppers period correct. They make them there, prices are a bit higher but no insane amounts. They gave me a 5 week return this month, but I got it in had in 15 days!!!!! Fits and looks perfect. I already had my lower built months ago. The Bayonet is an original I found (lucked out in a surplus store for $75 about 3 years ago

Only HUGE $$$$$$ difference is having a Colt Lower way out of my price range instead I used an Anderson Lower. All together complete as you see it ready to use, my M16A1 cost me under $1,500 to build. Forget about buying a complete one from Brownell they are out of stock discontinued and I would bet when and if they are available they will be up around 2 grand.

I compared mine in B&W to the one posted. Pretty darn close I would guess50090

[Ltdave]

it has an A2 lower as evidence by the raised 'fence' around the magazine release. m16s and m16a1s didnt have that feature and the lowers were 'slick side' also...

[RicM]

Yup thanks thats the big difference, Need a Colt lower and a vest too. The vest would be for me to wear after my wife finds out what I would pay for a Colt Lower when she shoots me with it. lolol Also in the pic had I had since replaced the stock with the shorter proper M16 stock, got an original complete for a very decent price. Checked with Brownell for replica proper lower, they along with everyone else is "out of stock" May try the gun shows maybe I'll will luck out

[Scott Wilson]

A hard chromed bolt and carrier would also fit the bill.

[RicM]

Got it. 👍 The complete Fulton Armory upper did come with the the: GI Chrome M16 HPT/MPI Bolt with HD Extractor Spring, Early Slip Ring.

Its the proper lower I have to forage for now.