#Car-15

The Battle of Mogadishu, also known as the Black Hawk Down incident, is a pivotal event in modern military history that took place in Somalia on October 3-4, 1993.  This battle, part of Operation Gothic Serpent, was a mission aimed at capturing key lieutenants of Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. As U.S. and coalition forces found themselves in an unexpected and intense firefight, they relied on a range of firearms and equipment to navigate the urban warfare environment.

As hard as it is to believe, the film Blood Diamond came out 17 years ago, and while most gun nerds immediately think of the Colt CAR-15 as the defacto firearm from this movie, I’m here to show off it and a few others. This film is actually stuffed to the brim with guns, (23 to be exact) so let’s look at a few of them.

Broad River Tactical make a handguard for the AR-15 that they call CAR-15. This allows you to use an MP5-SD handguard cover over their handguard. They also make a CAR-15 SD kit that comes with a ported barrel like an MP5-SD.

During what was probably a weekend landscaping chore, some Phoenix homeowners got more than they bargained for when they started digging a hole for a tree. To their surprise, they dug up a duffle bag that contained a hidden stash of 4 guns and several magazines. This is all according to a post by the Phoenix Police Department who currently has the contents of the duffle bag under investigation.

At TFB we’re devoted to finding the best and most interesting firearms-related photos together with a short story. You’ll find them here, every day. Today we’re looking at an interesting build of a Colt 733 Commando.

Colt’s Manufacturing Co., LLC, announced at the 2016 National Rifle Association Annual meeting that they would be introducing new semi automatic reproductions of their previous military AR-15 and CAR-15 offerings to the civilian market. According to representatives, the company hopes to release 1500 each of every model of AR-15 made during the Vietnam era (which I assume means 600 series rifles only). If the company lives up to this promise, it means the chance to own everything from the first Colt AR-15, the classic 601, to the rare 605 carbine that was the first rifle in the series of short Colts that eventually led to today’s M4 Carbine. Hopefully, all variants through the special low profile 656 sniper will be made available, although I cannot confirm what variants will actually be produced. When I asked Colt’s representative, he simply said “we plan to make everything”.

At the 2016 SHOT Show, Troy introduced their first retro AR-15 replica, the Air Force’s GAU-5A/A Colt carbine as used by the Sơn Tây raiders in Operation Ivory Coast. Now, at the 2016 NRA Annual Meeting, Troy has introduced its US Army counterpart: The XM177E2 model, with a forward assist.

Old promotional videos and literature aren’t just entertaining for their nostalgic qualities, but also as important tools for the historian. Features being marketed in a video or pamphlet give the viewer decades later a marker for when those had been introduced, and the characteristics emphasized in such articles give a window into the way the winds were blowing at the time it was made. This weekend, we take a look at a Colt promotional video from 1993, on the then-new M4 Carbine:

I remember as a wee kid playing “war” with friends.  We’d spend our summers running around the open space area near the river and stage mock battles.  A few of the kids even had some old “army surplus” gear which of course made them the “experts”.  I eventually got an old ratty web belt with canteen (and cover) and an ammo pouch.  None of us at the time really knew (or understood) what that gear represented.