What options does the US military put on their M4’s?
I’m looking for the make and model for each accessory. No Special Op stuff, just what you see pictured on a grunts M4 based in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Thanks
pretty much just a standard colt m4. some units issue different things. When I was in Iraq I had a cheap no-name vertical grip, sure fire tac light, aimpoint m2, and peq 4 laser.
You might be surprised how many different setups you’ll see in common usage. The SOPMOD 2 stuff that SF has been using for a few years is also used by some of the Regular Army units: Eotech (553 I think, the one that takes 2 CR123’s and has built in arms levers), Tangodown VFG, Insight M3X light w/pushbutton and tape switches, and an LA-5 visible/IR laser all in coyote tan. We also got a bunch of the Surefire M600 lights but I haven’t seen anyone use them over the M3X. Some units purchase those grip pod things and I see a few guys walking around with them. Some Army units are still using the Aimpoint CCO which are fine. The Marines have M16-A4’s with ACOGS. Except for the cool-guy double secret thermal sights it’s all pretty basic, off the shelf kit.
The military is pretty slow to adopt/upgrade equipment. What was the top of the line five or ten years ago has been surpassed. You might be better off buying the newer, better accessories than what the military uses. For instance the EOtech XPS line is way better than the issued EOtechs, the Aimpoint M4 and micros are better than the CCO’s, and the surefire X300 is better than the Insight M3X (although the M3X isn’t too bad). You can get a nice free float rail that’s a lot better than the KAC rails we get issued. If someone gave me a credit card and told me to configure my rifle however I wanted the only thing I would keep would be the LA-5.
oh yeah, we also have quad rails from knights armament. As a medic, i only had the aimpoint, the infantry guys had acogs.there are some eotechs still floating around. Some of us(medics) are getting leupolds for the upcoming deployment. As far as stocks and pistol grips, most were just buying there own magpul gear.
Dude are you in SF?
Isn’t it AMAZING how the goverment will piss endless amounts of (taxpayers) money away on bullshit programs, bankers bonuses, and aid to countries that hate us at the exspense of our soldiers which THEY put into harms way. Is this a common practice for guys that are deployed? Is there away maybe we who benifit from these brave men and women’s sacrifices to help? I’ll have to look into this, I have a friend at work that has a son that is getting deployed and if he can use it I’d strip the Magpul stock and stuff off my AR (live on a tight budget) to give to him . Are guys doing this (modifying their weapons) and its over looked or does the gov. not have a problem with it? Just asking?
I believe the Army stopped allowing soldiers to make individual modifications to their weapons, relatively recently.
well, it depends on the unit. Some units will not allow their soldiers to modify weapons in any way. As for me, the B.A.D. lever and BCM gunfighter ch will be going on my Colt as soon as I get in country.
So your unit allows mods, or small things go unnoticed such as the BAD and Gunfighter CH?
right. They dont mind as long as the pistol grips and stocks are black
There’s de jure and there’s de facto.
De jure, one isn’t supposed to mod weapons, but it gets hazy when you’re talking about an attachment or something that doesn’t involve breaking the thing down past a normal field-strip. If you get some kid that wants to swap the usual receiver endplate for one with a sling attachment, and they manage to get the extension off but don’t notice the safety/selector detent spring go zipping off toward the horizon, you end up with issues of one sort or another. That’s the sort of event on which the policy is based, a non-armorer tinkering with stuff they don’t have detailed knowledge of and without ready access to tools/parts to fix it even if they do. You’re setting yourself up for a possible Article 108 charge (willful or negligent damage to gov’t property, or whatever the verbiage is) if something breaks.
De facto, you have to be some kind of uniformity-only-for-the-sake-of-uniformity prick (let’s face it, no shortage of those…) to gig somebody for changing out a stock, or using personally-purchased Pmags instead of issue mags, or using a BAD…anything that doesn’t require significant disassembly and in no way changes how the gun works. Thankfully, they’re not the norm. Once you’re away from the flagpole, the garrison crap generally goes away, and whatever enhances your operational capabilities or simply makes your ability to operate incrementally more efficient is okay as long as you’re not taking a hacksaw to your weapon.
Thankfully, the needless-uniformity jerks are NOT the norm, so things like charging handles, alternate optics, stocks, non-issue magazines, etc. are allowed.
Inevitably, though, personnel changes over at some point, and you may get that asshole 1stSgt who feels that things like beanies (which IS an issue piece of gear, BTW) are comfort items, so he won’t allow their wear because he hates the way they look, even if it’s under a helmet. Meanwhile, you’re out in the field, losing over 80% of your heat through your dome and incurring mild hypothermia because he’s an empire-building douchecan.
Point being, the problem is usually more local, and less programmatic.
ETA: Buckshot, there’s actually no real way to answer your question, as it is written. Between the different branches, their programs of record, their congressional buys, individual units and their OTS buys, and what individual users are or are not allowed to buy themselves and use…the question is too broad.
Maybe narrow the field a bit? Are you looking for a particular configuration and the options thereof? Example: somebody in a post above mentioned the LA-5, which is a particular laser aiming device. He may find to be common within his community, but I can tell you for absolutely certain that only specific entities within the military have those devices, as they are NOT general issue.
exactly.
I didn’t realize the modifications varied so much. Thanks for replying. I did do some research since the original post and found information on the SOPMOD package and that was what I was looking for.
Agreed, it’s totally unit/ chain of command dependent. I’ve seen everything from my buddy’s camo painted redi-magged, BAD levered, magpuled out M4 to bone stock M16A2’s in country. I’m rocking an ACS stock and ergo grip on my M4 and I hauled off and bought an XPS after our SOPMOD Eotechs started crapping out (battery connectors) and nobody bats an eye. Many leaders have an “whatever works for you” attitude if a modification is reversible and within reason, but some of the real hard-ons still think optics are newfangled gagetry.
Do what you will, but find out for sure if you buddies kid can get away with using your stock before you hand it over. Also, your generosity is commendable but even as a lowly enlisted guy I’ve never been so strapped for cash that I couldn’t afford whatever kit I felt I needed. You might let him shoot your gun and see if he even appreciates it.
I can’t believe how good the government is at wasting money and spending it on the wrong things. The DOD buys new computers for all the pogues every three years but they can’t afford to transition to a 6.8 round? Please.
I dont know about you, but I dont want to walk around with a full combat load of 6.8. The peashooter is fine with me.
The Army in particular is far more concerned with developing an eco-friendly round so that the spotted-dick turtle will not perish from the earth from imaginary lead in drinking water. Once they get THAT solution to a problem that doesn’t exist figured out…it’s on like Donkey Kong.
I just got off my ass and took a quick picture of my and my buddy’s M4’s on our filthy hallway floor. You can see how much longer the ACS stock is than the MOE which I think is a good thing. All the furniture is pretty obvious but what you can’t really make out are the GG&G bolt-on sling mounts and the Gear Sector QR rail mount (thanks blackstone tactical). It’s a big image so I just posted a link to it.
You should try a basic load of 7.62 with the steel MK 17 mags, not to mention the 13.5 lb MK17. That’s no joke.
you carry a mk17?
Lug is a better description.