User:Spartan 501/M16A8 Assault Rifle

The M16A8 is the 26th century model of the classic 20th century weapon. It is produced by Colt Firearms.

Appearance
The M16A8 is a snapping bolt, closed ejection port weapon with a 36 round magazine that does not fit flush into the receiver. The weapon is arrayed in a standard layout, with the trigger behind the magazine. The M16A8 is constructed with multilayered composites and alloys, and is laboratory tested to ensure top durability and quality of construction. The M16A8 lacks the signature carrying handle, and in it's place, features a attachment rail with a 1x tactical sight as standard. The M16A8's stock has been shortened and the grip has been altered and shortened for better maneuvering. The pistol grip has also been modified. The M16A8 fires at 10 rounds per second per second on full automatic, and can fire three bursts per second on burst. It can also fire 5 rounds per second on it's custom stutter fire mode, which was introduced to be a middle ground between aggressive full automatic, burst fire, and semi-automatic.

Conception
In 2547, Colt firearms beginning seeking to return to some of it's older roots. Understanding that it's M16A7 (introduced in 2476, almost 70 years before) was incredibly ancient. While Colt had for some time worked on new projects on entirely fresh designs, the majority of these had been failures. As Misriah surged ahead in weapons contracts, Colt, competitive and strangling without a solid contract, began working on a plan to return the venerated M16.

"The Project" as it was called within Colt's ranks, involved the development of the XM273, unofficially called the M16A8. Assembling a team of their top weapon techs, Colt used modern methods in creation and redesigned the internals to meet the bar set by Misriah's bran of advanced weapons. Colt spent almost two years in research, development. and brainstorming before even designing the M16A8, stressing the importance of making it a high quality weapon.

In 2549, production of the weapon itself began. While the designs were indeed based off the original M16, the weapon departed from the original in many aspects. During early production, it was decided to remove the trademark carrying handle, and replace it with a rail that came (standard) with a 1x telescoping sight. Weapon development continued into early 2552—when Colt finished it’s designs and readied themselves for mass production. Then, with the weapon ready, Colt went to the UNSC to present their five-year-in-the-making design.

Production
The UNSC, searching for a new rifle to replace the MA5B, started a competition to earn a contract to produce the next generation rifle. Eager and willing, Colt entered this competition, feeling very confident. With the M16A8 already completed and ready, Colt should have had a clear advantage—but their rival Misriah still had a trick up it’s sleeve: the BR55 Battle Rifle.

Misriah had outdone Colt on a grand scale. The BR55 had been in the works since 2510, and had already been used in combat in the form of the BR55X Battle Rifle, during the Battle of Harvest and several small deployments since. And Misriah now had their final model; a weapon that had corrected the few flaws that the BR55X had had.

After only six days of negotiation, the UNSC decided to order the BR55 en masse, as well as invest in future variants and models. Colt argued that the decision was biased, but it was final—and Colt received next to nothing. Undeterred, and with the fear of wasting five years of research, they inserted themselves into a new, smaller negotiation, winning it, and putting the M16A8 in the hands of a small group of soldiers, a far cry from the massive sales Colt had expected.

Usage
The small group of units were generally pleased with the M16A8, but found it heavier, larger, and harder to service, with a less effective sight, than the BR55 and the BR55HB SR. Because the BR55 was the preferred weapon, the M16A8 began slowly fading into the background, and Colt soon found itself being absorbed into Misriah. Desperate, they began to wildly sell the weapon to whoever would buy it, and rebel and pirate gangs armed with M16A8s became a common sight very quickly.

Changes from the 20th and 21st Century M16s

 * Shorter front grip
 * Redesigned and shorter stock
 * 36 round magazine
 * Redesigned internals
 * No carrying handle
 * Stutter fire mode

UNSC Remarks
“Tears apart Bravo Kilos a tad bit better than the BR, but its way harder to keep working.”

“Stutter fires interesting, good for suppression if you don’t want to have to pay attention and you don’t want to reload every three seconds, but it’s no war winner.”

Other Remarks
“Damn glad we finally have something to beat back them marines at mid ranges, we don’t have to retreat at first sight of a HB-SR now.”

“I’m glad the UNSC didn’t buy these—takin out marines with em is a dream, long as none of em have a SRS.”

Flaws
While an overall high quality rifle, the M16A8 did boast several flaws. Some of these include:


 * Sight that did not match up to other rifles magnification wise
 * Relatively complicated servicing
 * Heavy Weight
 * Relatively Large