New Rifle-No Sights

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'88Scrat

New member
After spending copious amounts of money and waiting almost 4 months on a distributor to get their act in gear I finally picked up my FN M16 Military Collector Edition AR from my LGS. Got it home, excitedly unboxed and unpacked it, double checked it clear, brought it to my shoulder and...

Saw blank space all the way to the A2 front sight post...

As I understand it this rifle is supposed to come from FN with Matac BUIS. I'll be making a few calls tomorrow to be sure but just wondered if anyone else has had something like this happen?
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
The factory forgot to put it on, or someone stole it before it got to you...:eek:

Personally, I find it rather false to claim M16 Military Collector in the name when the only M16 feature is the basic action and chambering. NO M16 had a flattop, nor a forward assist or rails or any of the other features on that gun.

Its not even an M16A2 clone, despite a couple of A2 parts.

I finally picked up my FN M16 Military Collector Edition AR from my LGS. Got it home, excitedly unboxed and unpacked it, double checked it clear, brought it to my shoulder and...
Click to expand...

To be clear, you accepted the box from the dealer, and took it home before opening it even once?? You accepted the gun, sight unseen??? is that right???

If so, then "bad Scrat!!, no rear sight for you!!!" :eek:

seriously, if you don't even open the box and check how do you even know that the gun inside has the same serial number as the paperwork you're filling out says it does???

Personally, I will not only open the box, in front of the store clerks and check, not only that the ser# matches the paperwork, but also that the gun is complete and has all the accessories it is supposed to have, with it, BEFORE I accept delivery. If anything is amiss, it gets noted, and documented BEFORE I leave the shop.

But, that's just me...
 
8

'88Scrat

New member
Aguila Blanca
This one?

https://fnamerica.com/products/rifle...collector-m16/

If this is it, the specs clearly state that it has an A2-style front sight and an adjustable rear sight.
Click to expand...

Yup that one, and to be clear I did open the box and give it a cursory look over. But I was looking for scratches, bent parts, or obvious defects. The rear sight is something that seemed so obvious (I've never bought a firearm that didn't have one) it never even occured to me it could be missing. That said I screwed up...

I was planning on running a TA31RCO-4ACP ACOG anyway so it's not the end of the world but still...
 
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Z

zukiphile

New member
44, that picture looks to me like what I would recognize as an A4. Depending on when you are at Camp Perry, you'll see bunches of guardsmen carrying these (or rifle with the same style upper and quad rail handguard) around.

88scrat said:
That said I screwed up...
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Which doesn't mean you can't try to address it with the vendor.

Matechs have one neat trick -- that little range change lever. Also, unlike some rear back up sights, the aperture is a reasonable size. It bugs me that it seems to be just a small bump that keeps the lollipop down.

To actually use, I like a cheap bolt on A2 style rear sight better, though it lacks authenticity.
 
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C

Charlie98

New member
Personally, I find it rather false to claim M16 Military Collector in the name when the only M16 feature is the basic action and chambering. NO M16 had a flattop, nor a forward assist or rails or any of the other features on that gun.

Its not even an M16A2 clone, despite a couple of A2 parts.
Click to expand...

OK, then it's not just me.
 
T

T. O'Heir

New member
"...I screwed up..." Only because you didn't catch the missing sight. The seller missed it too though. And the things are designed to come off.
Odd that the quoted link goes to a different page than Aguila's.
"...NO M16 had a..." Yeah! snicker.
 
B

Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
NO M16 had a flattop, nor a forward assist or rails or any of the other features on that gun
Click to expand...

The M16A4 was type classified in 1998 by the USMC and has all those features, so I believe that is the M16 clone FN is referring to, since they built a lot of them.

I know there was a test by USMC using flattop M16A2s with ACOGs to test the DMR concept in squads. The main criticism in that test was that the DMR wasn’t always in the right position to be useful. The other finding was that their best shooters weren’t any more accurate with stainless match barrels than they were with standard barrels, given the ammo limitations. So the USMC decided to adopt the 4x32 TA31 ACOG and the M16A4 as the general issue rifle.

I first read that study after the Iraq war had kicked off and I don’t recall when it was actually conducted; but that might be the genesis of the M16A4.
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
The M16A4 was type classified in 1998 by the USMC and has all those features
Click to expand...
,

Which is fine, for an M16A4, which is not, an M16.

Apparently other some people don't think so, but to me when you say " M16 Military Collector Edition AR" the gun I think of is a semi auto (to be civilian legal) reproduction of the M16. Not the M16A1 or A2 or A4, the original M16.

Carry handle, triangle handguards, 3 prong flash suppressor, no forward assist, no fence around the mag button, pencil barrel, all the features of the M16 in a civilian legal semi auto.

I'm fine with semi versions of the A1, A2, A4 etc, just call them that.
 
K

kenny53

New member
Mr. Scrat looking at the link Mr. Blanca posted rear sight or not that is a nice looking rifle. I hope it shoots well for you for many years to come. I look forward to a range report.
 
T

Targa

New member
If I were a betting man I would bet that FN will get you a sight....no big deal. Let us know how it turns out.
 
P

pblanc

New member
Definitely a MaTech rear sight in those photos. I would make a serious effort to get the distributor to send you the sight. Even if you plan to use a different rear sighting system, you can always sell the MaTech.

But the MaTech is a pretty decent sight with adjustable range compensation and it will co-witness well with red dot sights.
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
I mentioned the problem to a friend, and he asked if you had "looked in the box".

Sometimes makers put parts in the box, under flaps or in compartments one usually doesn't notice unless you look carefully. Alternately, if it had come loose during shipping, it might have lodged itself in some small nook or cranny or under a flap in the box.

Probably not, but it is certainly worth taking a careful thorough look.
 
8

'88Scrat

New member
My LGS got a hold of FN and they are shipping me a sight straight to my door via FedEx ASAP. Gotta give props to FN, when they heard about it, they lit a fire getting it corrected.

Should have the new sight either tomorrow or early next week. Unfortunate since I was hoping to take it out to the range this weekend but at least they are making it right.
 
A

agtman

Moderator
As I understand it this rifle is supposed to come from FN with Matac BUIS. I'll be making a few calls tomorrow to be sure but just wondered if anyone else has had something like this happen?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you got ripped. :(

A rifle like that, boxed and shipped without a pair of proper iron-sights, is presumptively defective. A dude's got to wonder what else they 'forgot' to include in the build (?) :rolleyes: Have you stripped the bolt to see if there's even a firing pin? :eek:

So when you call, be polite at first ... but if corporate static and denials of incompetence are encountered be prepared to switch into elevated 'D.I. mode' immediately.
 
P

pblanc

New member
The first time you go to try to flip up the peep on that MaTech sight, you might feel like you are going to break it off. It takes considerable force. It gets easier over time.
 
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