Talk:IMFDB Info: The History of M16s in Film and Television

M16A1s

The page says the following:

"So all Slab sided rifles are Colt. All correct A1 style rifles are probably going to be some other's manufacturer's gun."

Is this really true? I do realize that it would be easier and cheaper for most armories to buy civilian ARs and convert them to auto, but didn't some of them actually purchase large numbers of transferable LEO/mil-spec M16A1s in the 1970s and 80s? The M4A1 used by Colin Farrell in S.W.A.T., for instance, was assembled on a transferable M16A1 lower, and if you look at the picture at LMO's site, it appears to have Colt markings. So there must be at least some genuine Colt M16A1s circulating around the industry. -MT2008 20:43, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Right. This page needs more refined wordsmithing. All correct A1 style rifles that are not true M16A1s (i.e. all converted full auto rifles from semi auto rifles, WILL be other manufacturers. Colt never made a correct A1 for civilian sales until they JUMPED to the A2 style of rifle). But in the same page you quote from, I wrote that Full Auto M16A1s which were property marked U.S. Government were sold to Title II dealers and manufacturers or sold to Law Enforcement, who then later sold them to private individuals with Title II paperwork (All before May 1986 of course).

"quote: The only real M16A1s in movie armories were Law Enforcement Sales Models, which could be acquired if the Armory had a Title II sales or Manufacturing License with ATF."

The Army would not sell their old M16A1s, but Law Enforcement dealers or police departments or federal law enforcement agencies sold U.S. property marked M16A1 rifles all the time to Title II dealers who sold them to the general public (with Class III clearances of course). I've seen US Property marked Full auto guns in the collections of gun enthusiasts who had their Class III Tax Stamp, etc. (always in gun free states, that are NOT like California). MoviePropMaster2008 23:48, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Ah, OK, I missed that part you quoted. Out of curiosity, do you know how many transferrable Colt M16A1s there are in the industry? (I don't mean an exact number, but are they relatively common in circulation?) Also, since you saw the Scarface M16A1 up close, was that a genuine Colt specimen? -MT2008 15:48, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Typo

In the Development of the M16A2 entry in the Movie Use section, it says remember Colt still insisted on continuing the slab sided lower receiver of the SP1. Shouldn't it say slab-sided upper receiver? Spartan198 11:41, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

No, MPM got it right. The early Colt AR-15 A2s (the ones with the M16A2-style upper receivers) still had the exact same slab-side lower receiver as the AR-15 Sporter models. My uncle's AR-15 A2, which he purchased brand-new in 1987, has a slab-side lower (no fencing around the magazine release button) but an A2 upper. I believe that around 1989 or so, Colt did actually start offering AR-15 A2s with the correct mil-style lower and the fencing around the mag release, but then shortly after that, the anti-AW crusade began and Colt chickened out and discontinued the AR-15 A2, replacing it with the "politically correct" Match Target rifles. So there wouldn't have been very many Colt AR-15 A2s with that style lower receiver available to civvies. -MT2008 15:52, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

We need more of these pages

I think this is a good page that teaches readers about the history of a particular gun and its place in movie history. I think there should be a page on other popular weapons like the MP5 or the 1911. Excalibur01