VIDEOS FEATURING THE M16A1
|
|
|
|
THE LORE BEHIND THE BUILD
When I was starting my channel, I sought out to clone some kind of rifle from the Vietnam war. I purchased a 12.7” barrel assembly and moderator from Brownells to create an XM177E2. This was in the middle of 2022 so carry handle uppers were hard to come by and very price gouged. I called around to most of my local gun stores in search of some kind of upper before contacting one store that claimed to have an “M16A1 Upper”. I’m usually very cautious about getting my hopes up when people say “M16A1” since some people can’t tell the difference between an A4 with a carry handle and an A1. (I even had one guy think I was talking about an M1A/M14 when I asked him about M16A1’s.)
I couldn’t make it in on the day I called but I wanted to get there as soon as I could to find out for myself. I had my wife go into the store (after coaching her on the difference in carry handle uppers) on Monday morning as I worked. Armed with new knowledge (and a phone for taking photos) she verified this store did in fact have an M16A1 upper so I bought it for $450. It was missing its gas tube, handguards and flash hider. Apparently this store made a trade with the local PD during the Obama years for ammo. Store got the uppers in exchange for hard to come by ammo at the time. It had been sitting there ever since, as if it were waiting for my arrival and the inception of the Agent Espo channel…
Later on I snagged an A1 lower from an old company called Harrington and Richardson that was making its return to the industry after being dormant for many years. I had followed H&R since before they started reproducing retro guns so I was waiting eagerly for months for those lowers to drop and I snagged one as soon as I could. Apparently the first batches of parts are a different grey than what they produce now but I haven’t verified.
I made my M16A1 video and the rest is history.
I couldn’t make it in on the day I called but I wanted to get there as soon as I could to find out for myself. I had my wife go into the store (after coaching her on the difference in carry handle uppers) on Monday morning as I worked. Armed with new knowledge (and a phone for taking photos) she verified this store did in fact have an M16A1 upper so I bought it for $450. It was missing its gas tube, handguards and flash hider. Apparently this store made a trade with the local PD during the Obama years for ammo. Store got the uppers in exchange for hard to come by ammo at the time. It had been sitting there ever since, as if it were waiting for my arrival and the inception of the Agent Espo channel…
Later on I snagged an A1 lower from an old company called Harrington and Richardson that was making its return to the industry after being dormant for many years. I had followed H&R since before they started reproducing retro guns so I was waiting eagerly for months for those lowers to drop and I snagged one as soon as I could. Apparently the first batches of parts are a different grey than what they produce now but I haven’t verified.
I made my M16A1 video and the rest is history.
PARTS LIST
UPPER:
RECEIVER: Colt Grey A1
BARREL: Colt 1:12 Twist (with Non F marked FSB)
HANDGUARD: U.S. Collector Ordnance A1 Triangular
MUZZLE: Colt A1 Flash hider
LOWER :
RECEIVER: Harrington and Richardson M16A1 Grey
GRIP: U.S. Collector Ordnance A1 Grip
STOCK: U.S. Collector Ordnance A1 Type E stock
LOWER PARTS KIT: CMMG (Not clone correct)
ATTACHMENTS:
OPTIC: Brownells 4x Scope (Video on Scope with A1 in different configuration)
RECEIVER: Colt Grey A1
BARREL: Colt 1:12 Twist (with Non F marked FSB)
HANDGUARD: U.S. Collector Ordnance A1 Triangular
MUZZLE: Colt A1 Flash hider
LOWER :
RECEIVER: Harrington and Richardson M16A1 Grey
GRIP: U.S. Collector Ordnance A1 Grip
STOCK: U.S. Collector Ordnance A1 Type E stock
LOWER PARTS KIT: CMMG (Not clone correct)
ATTACHMENTS:
OPTIC: Brownells 4x Scope (Video on Scope with A1 in different configuration)
