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So for the XM177E1, I've seen the DOD acceptance stamp on the right side of the mag well. On the XM177E2, I've seen it on the front of the mag well. Is this correct? Is there a time frame when they went from the larger stamp on the side of mag well to the smaller stamp on front? Was this not consistent in the position of the stamp?
What about the M16A1 in the 1969-1972 period....were there acceptance stamps on these and where? When did this practice end?
I can only add a bit ... There was a time that it went from the left magwell to the front. These were quickly worn/cleaned off. There were stamps on M16A1's. I dont know for how long. If you go to the 1:39 minute mark in this video you can see an M16A1 with DOD stamp, this was filmed in 1970 https://youtu.be/BLnImuOzCAE
According to black rifle (I dont know if this is correct as there are plenty of inaccuracies there) :
From 1967-1968 a large DOD stamp was stamped on the right side of the magwell.
From 1968-1993 a small DOD stamp was stamped on the front of the magwell.
Large was .575"
Small was .425"
My current retro project is a recreation of what I was issued at Fort Knox in 1978. It was an M16A1 with a trapdoor buttstock and was marked M-16A1 with the hyphen, Colt Logo but no Colt wording and just Property of US Govt. I am guessing it was a later Colt 603 but I don't recall any DOD Acceptance stamp on it at all. So would a 603 with the trapdoor be a 1970's issued weapon? That same summer of 1978 I also was issued a Hydra-Matic in the 2,000,000.00 serial number range. Fun times.
In 1984-1985 in Central America, I carried a well worn XM177E2 in my aircraft, and it had a faint outline of the DOD acceptance stamp on the front of the mag well. They used some kind of waterproof white ink, but it wore off it seems.
So yes, a M16A1 with only the colt logo (and not AR-15) would be late to post Vietnam era rifle. These markings appeared around late 71/early 72 somewhere near the 4,500,000-5,000,000 SN range . Adding a trap door puts it post 1972 issue IMO as it was very rare to see a trapdoor M16A1 in service with our troops in Vietnam (Pre 1972). Unless you were issued it brand new, the DOD acceptance stamp was probably worn off (they came off after the first few good cleanings). However, its also possible there was never a stamp at all, I dont know that every single rifle made got the stamp.Quote:
Originally Posted by OH58D
Just for added info, during the era just before Desert Storm and into that conflict, I remember many of what is called the Colt 723 having the DOD stamp on the front of the mag well. I was flying into SW Iraq out of Saudi Arabia and I carried such a weapon strapped in behind my seat in a plastic bag. I am guessing these were all mid to late 80's production weapons. Never saw such a stamp on the M4.
Colt did not start using the E type stock (w/trapdoor) until 1971 and continued using through 1982 when production on the M16A1 ended. Also, the fact that it only had the Colt logo followed by M-16A1 and not "COLT AR-15" is indicative of a latter 1970s model. As far as acceptance stamps go, if you are going to build this in an "as new" condition, then an acceptance stamp may be warranted. If you are going to distress it as though it had several years of use, you could apply an acceptance stamp, but distress is along with the rest of the finishes. Al of my M16A1 clone builds do not have acceptance stamps as I distress them to give that battlefield pickup look with the exception of one and it is a clone of a re-arsenaled version.Quote:
Originally Posted by OH58D
https://i.imgur.com/OEb4JOS.jpg
Another thing to pay attention to is the forge code on the upper receiver. No forge code uppers were used up until 1971. In 1972-73, they used CK (and some CM) forge codes. In 1974-1982, they had CH forge codes.
Nice collection of clones. I was an Contracted ROTC cadet in the Army Reserve when I was at Basic Camp at Fort Knox in 1978. I ended up getting two M16A1s that summer due to a mix up in the arsenal. One was a Colt and one was a GM Hydra-Matic.Quote:
Originally Posted by Renegade04
Here is a picture of me from that Summer with my Colt, and how I remember was the number on the buttstock. I was nearly 6 ft 3 and barely met the height limit for Aviation later on. This pic of me getting my weapon checked was from a book they gave to us for our cycle. This was during an FTX and the temps were hovering around a 100 degrees, so they gave us some slack on how we wore the fatigues. Note that the weapon is two-tone anodized so it may have already been to the arsenal for rework. It was already a "battlefield" pickup look:
https://i.imgur.com/nOzYjlXl.jpg?1
Nice. I was issued my first M16A1 in June 1978 at Parris Island MCRD. I still have the SN written down on my notebook from recruit training 42 years ago. When I got to my Force Recon unit, many of the M16A1s we had were Vietnam bring-backs, but were in fairly decent condition and still functioned 100%. I looks like your M16A1 in that pic may have been two different rifles at one time. The upper's anodizing is really well worn and is very inconsistent with the finish on the lower. No telling what the armorers were doing back then. Unit armorers did a lot of swapping of uppers and lowers for one reason or another. The Air Force is renowned for this. They were more concerned that everything functioned and not so much how they looked. Re-arsenaled M16 upper and lower assemblies were usually refinished in a black finish of some sort. Usually, re-arsenaled M16s were stamped somewhere on the lower (usually on the right side of the magwell) to indicate that they went through the re-arsenal process.Quote:
Originally Posted by OH58D