and now for something completely different
or is it
this is the keltec su16
its a gas operated semiautomatic rifle in 5.56 and using ar magazines
it was not designed for the military
and yet we will see this civilian rifle is in many ways a modern incarnation of the m1 carbine
so our story starts with george kellgren
he was born in sweden and worked on gun designs there for husqvarna and interdynamic
perhaps you have heard of the tec9
kellgren helped design that
then he started his own company in florida called keltec
hes a very innovative designer and keltecs weapons are characterized by being very light and incorporating a lot of polymer
he is also big on designing guns for the civilian market
the first few designs were subcompact handguns for civilian concealed carry
now theyre making unorthodox things like bullpup shotguns with double feed magazines
but his first real rifle was the su16
su stands for sport utility
this is designed to be a gun you can easily carry with you all day
it only weighs 4.7 lbs unloaded
even with a decently thick 16 inch barrel
it does this by having a bunch of polymer
like dude even the receiver itself is polymer
its pretty hardcore
yet it also has cool features like a built in bipod
mag storage in the buttstock
it also folds in half to take up less storage space
plus the operating system is all based on proven concepts from successful designs like the ar and ak
and even though its not designed as a military weapon the disassembly is still really easy
pop out the bipod and you can even use that to help
so to disassemble you remove one pin
this is one of those just use the tip of a bullet type things
i prefer zero tools but this is really close to zero
so you break open the weapon
twist the gas tube 90 degrees
then pull back the charging handle
let it drop down slightly and remove it out the side
then the bolt carrier comes out the back
slide off the dust cover
and the bolt comes out very similarly to an ar
push cross pin out with the charging handle
pull firing pin out the back
turn and remove cam pin
bolt falls out
boom
the recoil spring is contained but you can clean it by removing one little pin in the gas tube
so what we end up with is a reliable very light compact handy rifle shooting an intermediate cartridge
sounds very familiar doesnt it
in wwii intermediate cartridges were just starting to be developed
and the .30 carbine is at the weak end of intermediate
so the su16 has a longer range
say 500 m
the su16 is half a pound lighter
both have detachable box magazines
same overall length
much easier field stripping
very reliable operating system with few parts
guys if this had been entered into the m1 carbine competition it would have blown everything away
thats the benefit or newer technology i guess
the su16 has a few variants
theres an su16a with an 18 inch barrel and front sight block
but honestly im not a huge fan of the extra length and having the plastic front sight out there
theres an su16b which has a lighter barrel
an su16c with 16 inch barrel and skeletonized stock
it cant store extra mags but can fire while folded which is neat
theres an su16d with short barrel
an su16e which is a pistol
and an su16f with longer barrel and no folding capability because canada
oh and there is the su16ca
personally i think thats the best
thicker 16 inch barrel like the c with metal front sight attached to the gas block
super durable
but with the storage in the stock like the a
its the toughest and most useful all around design
keltec sells some accessories if you want to swap things around a little
and they all have a picatinny rail molded into the top of the receiver
tho honestly im not sure how well you can trust the plastic to hold zero
its everything you could want in a rifle to have while youre doing something else
and a fun gun to take to the range
people often suggest a 20ga shogun for home defense use by wives and teenagers
but might i suggest the su16 is a better choice
if you want to get an su16 nowadays
hell go get one theyre still making them lol
its maybe 750 bucks at your local gun store
i think they come in black green and tan
overall its a great reliable rifle that has mild recoil but hits pretty hard and can be carried all day
i think its really cool to see that in a modern designed rifle
everything you could want in a modern day m1 carbine
pew pew
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IanTheTerrible ago
Honorable mention, the SU-16’s pistol-style cousin, the PLR-16.
The PLR-16 is basically what you get when you decide that your SU-16 would be more comfy for you if it looked and felt more like a bigass TEC-9. Same system, same AR mags, same 5.56mm caliber, just with a short barrel and no stock.
clamhurt_legbeard ago
truth its a closely related gun