Frag Out! Magazine

se it dates from a period when the M16 was still considered a self-cle- aning rifle that required no mainte- nance (or at least, required it very infrequently). It also differs in the sling swivel, which is rubberized and mounted on a hinge, rather than being fully metal and fixed like in the later model. The entire setup was camoufla- ged with adhesive tape—unfortu- nately, modern dark green rather than the "period-correct" seafoam- -tinted variety. I chose to wrap the rifle simply with pieces of tape (wi- der and narrower), which was the most popular method of masking, though in Vietnam there were ri- fles camouflaged "artistically" by wrapping them tightly in tape and cutting out patterns resembling Tiger Stripe camouflage. A simple wrap also gives a good effect, as the goal is to cover the black and break up the regular shape of the rifle. Initially, I wanted to attach a standard M16 sling, but I decided against it because in most photos of the weapon, the sling is simply not there. Not-Quite Mk4 Mod0 Thus was created the "Not-Quite Mk4 Mod0," which looks simply great. Unfortunately, by mounting the HEL E4A replica, the mass in- creased by about 800 g, and the weapon became front-heavy. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. It shoots like an M16 with a sco- pe—remember, this is a replica and at most a multi-functional muzzle device, not a real suppressor. The sound is indeed moderated, there is practically no muzzle flash, and there is no blast of gas to the sides—especially not downwards, which is a shortcoming of the M16A1 muzzle device (which cau- ses dust and debris to rise in front of the muzzle when prone). Felt recoil and muzzle rise have prac- tically ceased to exist. At 300 m, I managed to shoot a 1.89 MOA gro- up using Fiocchi 55 gr ammunition. I consider this an excellent result for such archaic optics, but the rifle itself with a better sight might allow for a bit more. Generally, the idea was to create a so-called vismod (visual modifi- cation) with the functional qualities of a rifle used 60 years ago in Viet- nam, and that was successful. It doesn't really matter whether the HEL E4A replica functions like the original or not (likely not), because it can be fired safely, and the beha- vior of the rifle is much more ple- asant despite its overgassing—the casings fly forward, but the 800 g of additional mass does its job... Regardless, the modification was successful, the weapon looks insa- ne and functions safely, which was the primary goal. Do I recommend similar fun to anyone? Honestly? It's only for fans deeply immersed in the theme of the Vietnam War. To all other owners of a "Malay" M16A1, I recommend buying a sco- pe replica (the one from Brownells is better than the Chinese one), be- cause this old rifle can truly surpri- se you with its results on the target. If someone has the eye for it, they will get results with iron sights too, but the scope, despite its archaic design, does help. As a side note—I came across a video on YouTube of someone shooting a similar configuration with the same HEL E4A replica, but using subsonic ammunition. It was quieter, it's true, but the weapon was unable to complete the cycling process, and it had to be done ma- nually after every shot. Mk4 Mod0 (PRAWIE) – SPECJALNY M16 BROŃ PALNA

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