I want to avoid diving into a long history lesson. Instead, I’ll try to keep it short for you. To connect all the dots leading to the emergence of the Colt AR-15 rifle, and consequently the Colt M4 carbine, we need to start with the history of post-WWII army rifles’ development, particularly the AR-10.
ArmaLite AR-10: The Beginning of the AR Era
The AR-10 rifle, chambered for the 7.62mm NATO cartridge, was designed by ArmaLite as part of military efforts to replace the outdated M1 Garand, which was no longer suited to the realities of modern warfare. During testing, the AR-10 proved itself to be one of the best semi-auto rifles thanks to its incredibly lightweight design and modern features.
Facing the Superior AK-47
Unfortunately, the new rifle wasn’t adopted. Instead, the military chose Springfield Armory’s T44 as the new M14 military rifle. Soon after, it entered the Vietnam battlefield and was pitted against the AK-47, which was lighter, more controllable in full-auto, and allowed soldiers to carry more ammo.
ArmaLite AR-15: The Perfect Balance Found
Once again, a replacement was needed, and that’s where the Armalite AR-15 rifle came into play – a scaled-down (carbine, if you will) version of the AR-10. It struck the perfect balance between large-caliber rifles and lightweight carbines.
Colt ArmaLite AR-15
So, how did Colt come into the picture? In 1959, ArmaLite had to sell the rights to the AR-10 and AR-15 to Colt due to financial pressures and production capacity limitations. Colt modified ArmaLite’s design and quickly secured several US military and law enforcement contracts for the AR-15. In 1964, the Colt AR-15 was adopted by the military as the M16. In 1977, Colt’s patent rights expired, opening up a whole new marketplace for manufacturers to produce variants of the legendary design.
M4 Carbine: The New CQB Rifle
Before the development of the M4 began, the US military had adopted carbine variants of the M16, the most notable being the Colt CAR-15 – an M16/AR15-based 5.56 rifle with a 10-inch barrel. However, this design wasn’t successful, and in 1982, the Army requested that Colt develop a new carbine version of the M16. That’s how the Colt M4 carbine came about.
Quick sum-up
As you can see, Colt’s name is deeply woven into the fabric of military rifle engineering and the entire ethos of the AR-15 platform. Without the company’s modifications and design efforts, we might never have known the AR-15 and M4 carbine as we do today. Now, let’s dive into the Colt M4 review.