The difference between an M4 and AR15 - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

**PackerfanXD** · 12-30-2006, 08:25 PM

My brother in law is a deputy sheriff for Maricopa County. He bought an 'M4' for his patrol car last summer and that inspired me to get an AR15. I was under the impression that in order for a rifle to be an M4, that it has to have the short barrel, collaspable stock, and a burst fire setting or maybe full auto. Is that about right? He keeps refering to his rifle as an M4 but it's the same damn thing as my M4 wanna be. I told him today that it was an M4gery and he got defensive and told me that it said it was an M4 on his paperwork. Who is right? And how do I gently explain the difference if I'm right?

Apdl · 12-30-2006, 09:02 PM

yea as far as i know 16" barrel collaspable stock bout it i think youre right b/c he sounds cocky!

this is what Wikipedia says

"The M4 Carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 made by ArmaLite. The weapon is a shorter and lighter version of the M16A2 assault rifle, achieving 80% parts commonality with the M16A2. The M4 has selective fire options including semi-automatic and three-round burst (like the M16A2), while the M4A1 has a "full auto" option in place of the three-round burst. The M4A1 is sometimes also found with a heavier barrel to withstand heat from sustained fully automatic fire."

**agalindo** · 12-30-2006, 09:15 PM

The military M4 has a 14.5 inch barrel.

Krackels · 12-30-2006, 09:18 PM

Technically, only Colt rifles can be M4s because it's a registered trademark.

The barrel should be 16" or 14.5" in length and have a M4 profile barrel (light under the hand guards). It should also have a 6 position collapsible stock.

Krackels · 12-30-2006, 09:22 PM

Did it look like this:
http://www.colt.com/law/m4.asp

I stand corrected according to the Colt website M4s come standard with 4 position collapsible stocks.

I always thought they were 6 position.

JakeUSA · 12-30-2006, 09:36 PM

M4 is simply the military nomenclature for the carbine configuration of the AR15. The entire M16/M4 family is fathered by the AR15 or Stoner Rifle, designed by Eugene Stoner.Generally the M-series nomenclature is associated with the select fire variants of the weapons, as these are unavailable to civilians without special permits/stamps.

Odin · 12-30-2006, 10:18 PM

Yeah it does get confusing with all the terms and style of AR15s out there. They also have other models like the SPR, Mk11, Mk12, CQB, A1, A2, A3, A4 and what have you.

sharpstick · 12-30-2006, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krackels

Technically, only Colt rifles can be M4s because it's a registered trademark.

The barrel should be 16" or 14.5" in length and have a M4 profile barrel (light under the hand guards). It should also have a 6 position collapsible stock.

Colt lost that battle as well as the name commando

The military M4 is burst fire, 14.5 in 1x7 twist, Improved slideing stock, Barrel profile that allows use of a M203, Finally it has special cuts in the upper reciver and barrel extention to allow better feeding.

M4gery actually refers to the company that made it seeing as colt TRIED to clame that name, Any rifle built in the same configuration not made by colt was an M4gery. Now it seems to mean barrel profile, and a slideing stock, or in the civilan world anyway.

The gun was orginaly built by colt for some far off third world nation, the military named it the M4.

12-30-2006, 08:25 PM	#1
PackerfanXD XDTalk 5K Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Ground zero of the invasion Posts: 7,052 Blog Entries: 1	The difference between an M4 and AR15 My brother in law is a deputy sheriff for Maricopa County. He bought an 'M4' for his patrol car last summer and that inspired me to get an AR15. I was under the impression that in order for a rifle to be an M4, that it has to have the short barrel, collaspable stock, and a burst fire setting or maybe full auto. Is that about right? He keeps refering to his rifle as an M4 but it's the same damn thing as my M4 wanna be. I told him today that it was an M4gery and he got defensive and told me that it said it was an M4 on his paperwork. Who is right? And how do I gently explain the difference if I'm right? __________________ The wealthiest nation in the world with the mightiest army man has ever assembled could not stop them. http://www.break.com/usercontent/200...00-358890.html PALIN/McCAIN '08 An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject. -Author unknown.

12-30-2006, 09:02 PM	#2
Apdl XDTalk 2K Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Burnsville, MN Posts: 2,354	yea as far as i know 16" barrel collaspable stock bout it i think youre right b/c he sounds cocky! this is what Wikipedia says "The M4 Carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 made by ArmaLite. The weapon is a shorter and lighter version of the M16A2 assault rifle, achieving 80% parts commonality with the M16A2. The M4 has selective fire options including semi-automatic and three-round burst (like the M16A2), while the M4A1 has a "full auto" option in place of the three-round burst. The M4A1 is sometimes also found with a heavier barrel to withstand heat from sustained fully automatic fire." __________________ "He took off running, and we caught him, and he just kept resisting. So we just kept whipping his ass." -HulkXD "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein If you are not part of the solution you are part of the precipitate Springfield XD-9 TOTAL COUNT 8206 Daily Carry Springfield 1911 Loaded Target 9mm Walther P22... needs bigger mag Ruger 10/22 Carbine Remington 700 SPS Tactical .308 Win EBR Build in progress Last edited by Apdl; 12-30-2006 at 09:12 PM.

12-30-2006, 09:18 PM	#4
Krackels XDTalk 15K Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 18,992 Blog Entries: 5	Technically, only Colt rifles can be M4s because it's a registered trademark. The barrel should be 16" or 14.5" in length and have a M4 profile barrel (light under the hand guards). It should also have a 6 position collapsible stock. __________________ "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." --Benjamin Franklin America's Third Parties --- Duping the Foolish and Idealistic since 1832. PA Roll Call .................... My Blog

12-30-2006, 09:22 PM	#5
Krackels XDTalk 15K Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 18,992 Blog Entries: 5	Did it look like this: http://www.colt.com/law/m4.asp I stand corrected according to the Colt website M4s come standard with 4 position collapsible stocks. I always thought they were 6 position. __________________ "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." --Benjamin Franklin America's Third Parties --- Duping the Foolish and Idealistic since 1832. PA Roll Call .................... My Blog

12-30-2006, 10:18 PM	#7
Odin XDTalk 500 Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 555	Yeah it does get confusing with all the terms and style of AR15s out there. They also have other models like the SPR, Mk11, Mk12, CQB, A1, A2, A3, A4 and what have you. __________________ MK12 Mod1 SPR XD45 Tactical XD9 Service

12-30-2006, 09:36 PM	#6
JakeUSA XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CO Posts: 436	M4 is simply the military nomenclature for the carbine configuration of the AR15. The entire M16/M4 family is fathered by the AR15 or Stoner Rifle, designed by Eugene Stoner.Generally the M-series nomenclature is associated with the select fire variants of the weapons, as these are unavailable to civilians without special permits/stamps.

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