Very nice! Congrats. Care to disclose what it set you back?
Printable View
PM sent
It's easy enough to verify barrel twist. Take a cleaning rod and mark it lengthwise with a Sharpie. Run it down the barrel with a patch or brush so the rod will turn as it's pushed through. Insert the rod into the barrel enough it get s good bite on the rifling and make a mark on the rod at the muzzle. Run the rod down until it makes one complete turn and mark the rod again at the muzzle. Measure the distance between the two marks.
Very interesting Colt! Looks to be in great shape
Even without lawdawg's response regarding rectangular dollars, I'm jealous as hell. A really nice carbine with a buzz switch. Be still my heart!
Enjoy.
Moon
In early 1982-83, Aeromarine Inc out of Birmingham, AL, who was a Colt distributor, had several dozen M16A1 carbines and 11-1/2 Commandos (Model name only). The word was they were left over from a South or Central American contract......probably BS.
I bought one of each for about $700 each and transferred them through Crawford International in Silver Springs, MD back in the day. When the guns arrived there and I was taking the paperwork to the Maryland State police for fingerprints and sign off.....Ken Crawford the owner said that the guns looked like over runs from the contract for El Salvador.
My guns were the same as yours except mine had 1 in 12 twist barrels and the front sight towers had a small bell forged into the side. Stocks were the 1970's vintage plastic dipped alloy stocks and not the lighter fiberlight stocks that your had. The Commando barrels did not have the bayonet lugs, and they were roll marked "C MP CB" underneath the barrel and not on top.
The important thing is your piece has the remnants of blue paint on the stake marks on the receiver extension and bolt hold open.....which usually shows an original carbine or shorty.
Mike Lester, of Class 3 Supply, when they were in Nashville, TN had several M16A1 Colts with 14.5 and 11.5 inch barrels......and I think all of his had the bayonet lugs.......going with your theme that Colts used everything they had in the parts bins........
The late Bob Roy of Colts Engineering and International Military sales explained to me that for export sales, Colt would use up whatever parts were available to meet sales requirements, versus commercial (Police or Prision) and US Military sales (which required everything to be MILSPEC).
When I did a PSD in Panama and El Salvador in 1985 for the US Navy, I carried a Mini Uzi and a Colt M16A1 with a 11 1/2 inch barrel exactly like yours with the bayonet lug.......it came out of the US Embassy cache for security types and it was still brand new when I sighted it in at the Para base in El Sal.
Nice find on a great condition A1 Commando.......
Extraordinary information
If these guns could talk
Thank you for sharing
I have the exact same gun as pictured----identical. I bought it new in the box in the early 90's from Birmingham Pistol Parlor. If I remember right, they had 5 in stock and me and a buddy bought one each.