Building an M16 look-alike AR in MD?

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  • Feb 28, 2013
    28,953
    Hey guys, been waxing nostalgic about my ol' GI Joe and plastic army man days and I've got an extra lower here - was thinking about the possibility of an M16-looking build. Fixed stock, carry-handle upper, throwback handguard, etc. Obviously it'd have to be an HBAR. I dunno - seems kinda silly on one hand but I feel like I wanna give it a try anyway.

    Anyone here done a build like this before? Some inspiration pix would be nice, or info on parts choice. Thanks! :thumbsup:

    Aint nutthin silly bout that at all

    I built one out of a Vietnam war M-16 surplus kit I got from member antco. Just had to buy a lower and a barrel
     

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    Feb 28, 2013
    28,953
    Here’s the last one I put together. Used a Colt M4 marked lower and an A1 upper with magpul furniture.... makes for a nice combo of old and new :D
     

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    135sohc

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 27, 2013
    1,157
    Here’s the last one I put together. Used a Colt M4 marked lower and an A1 upper with magpul furniture.... makes for a nice combo of old and new :D

    I like that :thumbsup:

    A 'stubby' M16 is what I had in mind for my upcoming Frankenstein creation.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,881
    But no , the OP is in Maryland , and will be using a post '13 Lower , so he can NOT use a pencil bbl .

    I Like 20 inch fixed stock iron sight rifles ....With a G'ovt profile bbl . But a 20in HBAR is significantly muzzle heavy . Try one before you buy one , if only shouldering in the store . Do that first . If 20in HBAR's balance is acceptable to you , then come back here to start the discussion about historical cork sniffimg
     

    135sohc

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 27, 2013
    1,157
    But no , the OP is in Maryland , and will be using a post '13 Lower , so he can NOT use a pencil bbl .

    I Like 20 inch fixed stock iron sight rifles ....With a G'ovt profile bbl . But a 20in HBAR is significantly muzzle heavy . Try one before you buy one , if only shouldering in the store . Do that first . If 20in HBAR's balance is acceptable to you , then come back here to start the discussion about historical cork sniffimg

    Why I proposed using the 'proto' upper (if one finds its unique quirks acceptable to them). The charging handle difference complies with the 'copy cat' bs of 2013.
     

    lawrencewendall

    Been There, Done That
    Oct 10, 2009
    1,744
    Did this before everything went crazy back in 2013. Put a heavy barrel on a 80% lower. It required a little bit of dremeling of the handguards but fits nicely.
     

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    rog951

    Active Member
    Mar 6, 2018
    301
    Not far from Frederick
    Okay, got my forged paperweight now - project M16 is back on. Its priority has dropped as I feel like a couple of small "plastic projects" are currently a little more politically pressing at the moment, plus it's been really frustrating trying to find an easy MD compliant upper solution. It's looking like there won't be an off-the shelf assembled upper. I'm not afraid of doing barrel swaps on ARs but I don't want to mess with the front sight. I'll figure something out ad you guys have provided some resources I hadn't heard of. Thanks to everyone who replied so far!
     

    rog951

    Active Member
    Mar 6, 2018
    301
    Not far from Frederick
    Aint nutthin silly bout that at all

    I built one out of a Vietnam war M-16 surplus kit I got from member antco. Just had to buy a lower and a barrel

    That looks amazing - did you build it before 2013 or is that a heavy barrel? Or are you not in Maryland? If it's HBAR that came with the front sight and the triangle guard fits, I'd love to know the source!!! :thumbsup:
     

    rog951

    Active Member
    Mar 6, 2018
    301
    Not far from Frederick
    But no , the OP is in Maryland , and will be using a post '13 Lower , so he can NOT use a pencil bbl .

    I Like 20 inch fixed stock iron sight rifles ....With a G'ovt profile bbl . But a 20in HBAR is significantly muzzle heavy . Try one before you buy one , if only shouldering in the store . Do that first . If 20in HBAR's balance is acceptable to you , then come back here to start the discussion about historical cork sniffimg

    I hadn't really thought about the balance on the heavy long barrel but yeah - I expect it would be an obvious factor. Only issue is finding one to try...can't even find one online, much less in person! I'll keep lookin. Thanks!
     

    rog951

    Active Member
    Mar 6, 2018
    301
    Not far from Frederick
    Why I proposed using the 'proto' upper (if one finds its unique quirks acceptable to them). The charging handle difference complies with the 'copy cat' bs of 2013.

    Unfortunately I'm not into the looks of the prototype but that's interesting. I hadn't noticed that the charging system was materially different from the regular ARs. I'll have to go back and look again.
     
    Feb 28, 2013
    28,953
    That looks amazing - did you build it before 2013 or is that a heavy barrel? Or are you not in Maryland? If it's HBAR that came with the front sight and the triangle guard fits, I'd love to know the source!!! :thumbsup:

    Pre ban lower so I could use a .625” barrel. I bought the parts kit off a member here

    Otherwise you need one thats .750” from the barrel nut out to the gas block with no taper
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Man, this looks great. Would love to see it after the bleach job. Thanks for the info!


    Here is a shot after I bleached the lower then took some fine grit sandpaper to add wear to it and blend with the upper
    b5b1d755bdee78b5a0fa2de17ea503c5.jpg



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    The 03 is between the garand and the 1917 ;)

    Aint got a krag cuz its an oddball caliber

    That is an 03A3. :D

    You need both to be complete. :D

    To really cover the 20th century, you should have ARs in A1, A2, A4, and M4 patterns. :D :D
     

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