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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