shooting

M16A4 Clone: Aero Precision Review

June 6, 2019 By Travis Pike Leave a Comment

Aero Precision Review: M16A4 Clone

Smaller is better is the current attitude with weaponry inside and out. The military is loving shorter rifles with the M4 ruling, and the MK18 is the choice for Spec Ops dudes around the military. The Army is even adopting a new SMG in small numbers.

The civilian industry also loves small guns, look at guns like the Scorpion, the MPX, super small ARs, and guns like the Mossberg Shockwave.

Smaller is better according to many, and with good reason. What’s not to love? They’re easy to maneuver, lighter in weight, etc.

However, I’m starting to grow fond of full sized rifles. Not carbines, but rifles.

Maybe it’s nostalgia, but I’ve found the traditional AR-15 to become more and more appealing. I wielded the M16A4 for most of my Marine Corps career, and at the time I didn’t respect just how awesome that platform was.

This was brought about by being out at SHOT Show and my time spent at the Aero Precision booth. They had several full auto variants of the AR, including an M16A4 clone.

When I picked it up and let burst after burst fly down range I was hooked. I relearned some things I had forgotten about the full-length rifle and knew I needed one. Aero Precision was happy to send me their M16A4 clone, sans full auto capability.

After a healthy amount of lead slinging I can report that my lust for a full-length rifle is satisfied.

What Makes the Full Sized AR-15 Great?

Smaller rifles are obviously the more popular choice for the AR-15 platform. The 16-inch barrel MForgery is the standard these days. These rifles are lighter, more maneuverable, and in the civilian world, this is as low as you can get on a rifle without paperwork.

The United States military has more or less settled on the M4 with the USMC holding out until 2015.

The M16A4 is likely still in armories and issued out to troops, especially in reserve units or in non-combat MOSes. However, it’s front line service is likely over for now. But there are still some major advantages to the M16A4, and rifle length ARs in general:

They maximize the velocity and range of the 5.56 round
They are softer shooting, lower recoiling weapons
Higher velocity means more energy downrange
Less muzzle rise means faster follow up shots

Like anything AR-15 related you have plenty of choices in full sized rifles. I like the Aero Precision model because I trust them to make quality parts for one. Second, it has most of the markings of a real M16A4.

If you wanted to go the full M16A4 clone route a lot of the work is already done–including the burst indicator, property marks, and M16A4 markings.

Typically to get these markings you’d need an 80 percent lower, a guy with a laser engraving machine, 100 bucks, and some patience. With Aero, here they are, hot and ready.

The Aero Precision M16A4 Clone

Of course, while it wears the markings of an M16A4 it’s not technically complete. It still needs a quad rail from Knights, an ACOG, and a PEQ 15 or 16. However, this is a solid base for you to start an M16A4 clone.

In my case, I didn’t want to necessarily go full bore M16A4 clone. I wanted a reliable and well-made rifle length AR-15 that’s also affordable.

The Aero M16A4 clone is perfect for that.

It comes complete with a standard M16 carrying handle with all the crazy controls and adjustments that go beyond most iron sights that’re easy to adjust and zero. 25 yard zero targets are very popular and make it easy to get and keep your sights on target.

I found the Aero M16A4 to be near laser accurate. With iron sights, and shooting in the prone position I was stacking 3 shots into one hole on my zeroing target. Sure it’s only 25 yards, but that’s still more consistent than my issued M16A4 ever was.

Soft shooting is an understatement. This is a true poodle shooter. Recoil is nearly nil, as is muzzle rise. You really forget how comfortable a full-length rifle is, especially compared to something nutty like a 7.5 inch AR pistol. It’s nowhere near as loud or concussive either.

While the rifle is longer and heavier, I still find rapid snapshots easy. When it comes to drills like the Mozambique drill I found the softer shooting, lower recoiling M16A4 clone quicker and more precise. The rifle glides between targets with ease and barely moves between shots.

End All Be All?

The M16A4 and 20-inch rifles, in general, aren’t the be all end all of rifles. The M4 has been adopted and appreciated for good reasons. The ability to maneuver the weapon is more valuable than what the full-length M16A4 offers.

The reduced recoil and muzzle rise are nice, but so is a lighter and shorter rifle and I can see why the military has made the switch.

At the same time, I can appreciate the rifle length AR-15 as the warhorse it is. The Aero M16A4, in general, appears to be the perfect mix of quality and price for my goal, and it’s also available and easy to find.

If you are looking for your next project, and are partial to the AR platform, give the rifle length model a chance. It’s not for everyone or every purpose, but I think it would surprise you.

Shop Aero Precision’s store, here.

Brownells also has complete M16A4 Clones in stock.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Sorry, Guns Are Still NOT The Problem

April 28, 2019 By Josh Leave a Comment

Every so often I peruse the internet looking for stuff to talk about, gun industry wise, that would be common sense to the masses but falls through the cracks of misinformed minds throughout the world.

This time around, the headline read as such: “20 years after Columbine, the guns are still the problem.” Let me be clear right now, guns are not now, nor were they ever, the problem.

How can guns be the problem, not just for Columbine but all the active shootings, when there are clearly other methods to kill innocent people?

Let’s dissect this as it relates to Columbine, shall we?

Sure, they used guns to kill a LOT of people. One thing the anti-gun media seems to have forgotten is just how many other means of killing people those skickos had.

They also planted several bombs and were also ready to use knives to attack their fellow adolescents. All of this is well known–or so I thought. It is interesting how the narrative can change when you just want to “ban” something.

Okay, so we’ve gotten that out of the way. There were other methods they had to kill people, and, thankfully, the bombs didn’t go off right or the death toll would have been much higher. But, let’s take a moment to get back to the issue at hand.

The problem, is that the guns they used were purchased by straw–AKA illegally. In case you didn’t know, a straw purchase is when someone who cannot buy guns asks another person who can to buy it for them.

Another problem, is that the two shooters had mental health issues. This, too, is all well known and something that almost nobody is willing to discuss.

To say that guns are the problem because they’re easily obtained, even though they couldn’t buy the guns themselves and also had mental health issues shown by their previous behavior and online presence is asinine.

The real cause, before throwing any punishment at legal gun owners like myself, is mental health. The gun laws on the books usually do work. Do they 100%? I’d be a fool if I said yes they work 100% of the time. They don’t.

They work well-enough that if they’re enforced they’d work even better.

But, in the same vein —

Do speed limits prevent accidents 100% of the time? Do seat belt laws save lives 100% of the time? Does the fact that methamphetamine is illegal mean that people don’t make and use it to get high?

See where I’m going with this? No laws work 100% of the time, so why punish people like myself who have owned guns for decades unless there is some sort of hidden agenda?

We can cover what I believe to be the agenda some other day …

But for now, let’s get back to the issue at hand. Guns are NOT the problem. In fact, let’s take this in a different direction, completely, by pointing out how Columbine helps my argument that guns are NOT the problem, and never have been.

The two sickos were too young to buy the guns themselves. Yet, they still were able to acquire the guns illegally.

Guess what? Making guns harder for me to obtain will only make the guns harder for people like me, law abiding citizens, to protect themselves against the sickos who actually want to hurt people.

Confused? Let me break it down further —

Anyone who is willing to break the law to hurt people won’t be deterred by gun laws, and you’ll NEVER be able to get rid of all the guns in America. You’d be delusional to think otherwise.

And, guess what, a good portion of the the active shooter situations since Columbine have seen the shooters acquire their guns in a manner other than “legal.”

Of course there are exceptions to this, but I can think of some off the top of my head where either the guns were acquired illegally OR the shooter fell through the background check crack somehow, where the shooter should have failed, and still passed.

Either way, it’s not MY fault, and shame on you for trying to punish me.

We are GunnersDen.com, and our stance is “get your hands off my guns.” Period.

Oh, and “go eat a bag of dicks.”

Improve Your Readiness With These Five Defensive Shooting Positions

March 26, 2018 By Terry Nelson Leave a Comment

improvised sitting position — An improvised position such as this one may be your best bet.

You made the decision to carry a sidearm on your person or in your vehicle daily. In addition, you selected a handgun and obtained some baseline training and perhaps shot a qualifying score in a concealed carry class. Your accuracy is good while standing squared up in front of a non-moving target while under little or no stress. The problem is, very few if any confrontations are static. I can assure you they’re all stressful.

So while you continue to add layer upon layer to your training resume, consider adding positional shooting to the mix. It will add to your overall shooting ability and boost your confidence. Because many shooters do not often practice from alternate positions–like the prone shooting position–they find shooting well can be difficult.

These positions can change how you see your sights and grip your handgun, and therefore influence trigger press. But remember the fundamentals are still the same; stance (including alternate stances like the ones discussed here), grip, sight alignment, sight picture, breathing, trigger press, and follow through.

Listed here are the positions I believe are practical and will make you a better defensive shooter.

Whether shooting carbine or pistol, kneeling is a versatile choice.

Kneeling Shooting Position:

Aside from a good standing position, kneeling is usually the first alternate shooting position I teach new law enforcement officers. There are at least four kneeling styles commonly taught, speed, braced, California, and extended speed kneel.

I prefer the California kneeling shooting position (both knees on the deck) for greater flexibility in upper torso movement and shooting around cover. The extended kneel (strong side knee on the deck) is a close second and allows for the shooter to recover from the kneeling position faster. Making yourself a smaller target is also a plus for having the kneeling in your toolbox of abilities.

Supine Shooting Position:

I have seen little training devoted to this position. In reality, it’s not all that improbable that you could find yourself on the flat of your back in a confrontation. It’s s definite disadvantage to be in the position of looking upward at an attacker with a knife, bat or some other deadly weapon in their hands.

You have only a second or two to react. Shooting at a threat standing over you or having to shoot between your knees from your back as a threat closes distance is disconcerting at best. Run some drills with a good instructor while performing these tasks so that your reaction would be: oh yeah, I’ve done this before, if that day ever comes.

Sitting Shooting Position:

Most Americans spend hours sitting everyday, in our vehicles, at work, the café, the movies … it would be logical to devote some training time shooting from various seated positions. Getting your handgun into play from sitting may well be the biggest challenge and something you should not assume will be easy under high stress. How and where you carry your pistol will influence quick acquisition or could prevent drawing it all from a seated position.

Prone Shooting Position:

While not the most likely defensive position to find yourself in, shooting from prone with a handgun is a skill set I want to have. It does, however, present some unique challenges. Most folks would assume because your body is flat on the ground and you can use both arms and elbows to support the pistol, that prone shooting position would be easy to make accurate hits from.

At 25 yards, I see about a 50% miss rate from law enforcement officers in the prone position. Why? It is not practiced enough and it puts the shooter outside their comfort zone. I teach a rollover prone shooting position that gets the shooter more onto their side and off their diaphragm. This method also allows for resting the head on your bicep instead of straining your neck while lying flat and square on with the target. If you have minimal cover or have something you can get under to shoot from (a vehicle), prone may in fact be just the ticket.

cover shooting position — Make use of cover if you can!

Using cover or a barricade:

There is little doubt that if you find yourself in an exchange of gunfire, cover can be your friend if it’s available and you can get to it. Shooting from or around cover, just like the different positions mentioned above, changes how you see your sights, how you grip your pistol, because now you are doing something outside the box, forcing you to become uncomfortable. You must practice it, from standing, kneeling, and prone. Use cover when it’s available and if the situation allows for it.

Adding these abilities to your skill set will boost your confidence and make you a better shooter. Paired with these shooting positions shooting with movement and one handed shooting are also advantageous … but that is for another discussion.

Like this article from Terry? Then you’ll love this one where he talks about the pros and cons of revolvers vs pistols.