FN M16s and FN 30 rd mags?

[john l]

Friends,
I heard that all military contract M16s are coming from FN. I heard that all FN M16 parts are also forbidden to be sold to non military outfitters.

I also bought a few FN 30 round mags a few weeks ago, and they seem fine,( I haven't tried them out yet) with 6 welds on each side but they didn't come with the green followers, just the black ones.

So my question is two parts:
Does anyone have information on the FN deal that prohibits the sale of FN parts to civilians, and if that is the case, then why? (the only thing that i can think of is that FN is making m16s, and not ar15s, and maybe it is a BATF thing) Any additional info on FN making m16s would be appreciated - apparently FN has been under contract with the US military for a while, but I don't know how long.
And, does anyone else have any FN 30 round mags and how have they worked for you?

BTW, the Stamp on the bottom indicates that the FN mags are coming from South Carolina.

Closing, I just bought a Bushmaster 14.5 in barrel with the additional AK style brake, A2 stock, and I have been impressed so far. my excitement is reserved, as the last AR I had was a bushmaster also, and it must have been a "Friday gun" because I couldn't get 100 rounds consecutively thru it without some sort of bobble and hiccup. FTE's, Fail to load, Double feeds, etc. and this was with winchester white box and Fed am eagle with the bushmaster 30 round mags. I knew a lot less about rifles 5 years ago, so I am optimistic this time around, and know a lot more about diagnosing problems. I shot some PMC ammo and felt like that was good stuff.
thanks,
John L

 

[Kaylee]

And, does anyone else have any FN 30 round mags and how have they worked for you?

I had one FN mag I got in a pile of used 30-rounders I bought back when I had an AR -- it was the only one of the lot that didn't work. I think the problem was that the magwell hole was a little off, as it locked in *just* too low for the bolt to reliably strip the top round off.

(rifle was a Bushmaster shorty, for the record)

I suspect it was an atypical example though, as my friend in the Reserves was issued an FN M16 around a year ago, and was VERY impressed at how well everything fit together.


-K

 

[Devonai]

Most of the M16A2s that I've encountered in the Guard are A1 lowers converted to 3-round burst, with newer FN A2 uppers. The lowers seemed to be equally Colt and H&R.

I haven't heard a thing about any restrictions on FN parts. Could it have to do with the BATF's rules on imported parts being used with US-made receivers?

 

[Onslaught]

I think we just had this discussion last week...

Yep... here it is...

It started out as something else, but degenerated into this same discussion.

 

[Correia]

Hey John,

I have a friend who is an armorer at Camp Williams, I'll see if he has the scoop on the FN parts.

 

[Al Thompson]

I've been told by employees that FN runs two lines in seperate buildings. One is civ legal, one is DoD stuff and nothing that goes in the DoD building can be sold to us, the serfs.

One of FNs employees posts here, I'll send him a PM and see if he can clear that up.

I imagine those FN mags were stolen from a military base somewhere.

 

[Owen]

FNMI can not compete with Colt on the commercial market by contract. My understanding is that when the USG released the technical data to FN, there were irregularities in the transfer, and some Colt Proprietary information was also transferred. The USG compensated Colt by making non competition a stipulation for holding onto the contract.

I do not know what J&G is selling, but if they are FN parts, they will not increase your foreign parts count as all FN M16 parts are sourced in the US.

FNMI does perform lot acceptance. That means that if any part is rejected, the entire lot is returned to the manufacturer. I suspect many of the FN parts out there may be suppliers selling parts that were returned by FNMI. However, be careful with those parts. They are not AR-15 parts! They are M16 parts! I'm not a Class III guy, but I believe that possesion of some M16 parts can lead to uncomfortable situations.

For instance. FNMI does not make magazines. We buy them. Those magazines you are buying are either stolen, surplus, or quality rejects.

Owen Cramer
Product Design Engineer
FN Manufacturing, Inc.
Columbia, SC

I am sure you all realize that as a lowly engineer, I can not and do not speak for FNMI, FN Herstal, or anyone but myself.

 

[schild]

About 6 or 7 years ago I bought a completely unmarked 16" upper at a gunshow, I was told it was FN. I must say it is every bit as accurate as my 20" Colt, and function has been flawless. I still don't know what it is, but at this point I don't care.