In 1968 the US Govt finally reached a licensing agreement w/Colt (which they had been trying to obtain since the first 601/M16 purchases) which enabled the Govt to sign contracts w/2 other makers to produce M16A1's for the Army, General Motors Corp (GM) & Harrington & Richardson (H&R), both of these manufactured M16A1's for the Govt from approximately 1969-1971. Very little concrete info is available on these rifles regarding parts markings, suppliers etc which would enable replica builders to build accurate replicas. The info provided here has been supplied by numerous people & is ongoing, H&R has been a bit easier to obtain info on GM rifles are proving very difficult!
Album by willyp. Photos by willyp. 1 - 42 of 42 Total. 39642 Visits.
H&R M16A1 right H&R (Harrington & Richardson) was one of the 2 other US makers of the M16A1 for the US Govt, the other 2 being Colt & GM. This is a semi auto replica of an H&R M16A1 using as many original H&R parts as could be identified & found.
H&R ejection door closed This rifle uses an original H&R upper, barrel, FSB, bolt carrier group, trigger, hammer, selector, & bolt catch, FCG parts are modified to semi-auto configuration.
Right butt stock view This rifle is fitted w/"D" type buttstock w/rubber flat buttplate, no trapdoor & articulated swivel, same as early Colt's. It appears most if not all H&R & GM production rifles were fitted w/these stocks although it's possible that some of the very last made may have used "E" type trapdoor stocks but at this point I've found no evidence to support this.
H&R action right side Externally, other than markings, H&R production A1's are very similiar to Colts, the uppers on H&R guns appear to have flash left on the front or rear (or both) of the carry handle & have no forge codes or proof markings.
Action right side door open Same view w/ejection port door open. Finish on the H&R (& GM) guns is an open question, some are reported very similiar to Colt's others are reported to be very dark, approaching black, as are some of the small parts obtained from subcontractors.
Rear of carry handle Here is the flash left on the rear of the carry handle on this particular upper, this one is smooth in front but I have another that has the flash both front & rear. At this point in research uppers w/flash can be id'd as definitely H&R mfg, possibly GM also but most info at this point indicates GM uppers were probably smooth like Colt's.
H&R upper rear sight markings A pic of the rear markings on the upper w/flash in rear only, the other H&R upper I have w/flash front & rear has this same style of marking. There have been 2 other "styles" of rear sight markings reported, 1 is recessed like the Colt 602's & another is very sharp & well defined, they may be H&R &/or GM or may be an aftermarket maker, not enough known at this point to ID them.
H&R right side, muzzle The barrel on this rifle is 1 of "odd" style marked barrels, it has MP between the FSB legs but it's on the left & upside down & has a C (indicating chrome chamber) near the muzzle. All H&R & GM production rifles used chrome chamber barrels as far as is known at this point. There are 2 marking variations for these barrels, the one shown here which is a definite H&R barrel, the other has MP between the FSB legs on the right side w/C near muzzle, the same marking as reportedly used by Colt from about 1967-1969.
H&R front sight base There are no markings codes etc on this base although the bayonet lug has a bit of flash left on the rear, it has flash left front & rear & has a drain hole.
Rear of bayonet lug Here you can see the flash left on the rear of the bayonet lug. Other barrels that I have seen/have info on that can be attributed to H&R &/or GM production have FSB's with a letter or number on the right, some have a forge mark on the bayonet lug & most appear to have flash on the lug.
HR barrel C marking Here's a pic of the C indicating the barrel has a chrome chamber near the muzzle. All H&R & GM production rifles would have the standard A1 "birdcage" flash hider & A1 style lock washer.
HR bolt group Right side view of what I believe to be an original H&R carrier/bolt group, this is based on observations of a few surviving original H&R rifles. These carriers have no markings but have a raised vertical "ridge" behind the FP retainer hole similiar to the ridge reportedly found on later Colt carriers post 1992. Compare this & the following pics of the carrier to the one at the end of the album which is from a surviving original H&R rifle in mint condition.
Closeup view of the "ridge" Also note the style of staking on the key & the fact that the hole for the FP retainer is a smaller diameter like the later Colt's. Earlier Colt's & GM's appear to have had a larger diameter hole for the FP retainer relief.
HR bolt mkg Both H&r & GM used MP as a marking on the bolt, this marking indicates "magnetic particle tested" & was probably a test required by the military for acceptance. Early Colt's also used MP but once H&R & GM received their contracts Colt began modifying their markings to indicate Colt production, ie: carriers were marked w/C on right side, bolts were marked MPC (C indicating Colt mfg) etc.
Left side of H&R bolt/carrier group
Left side of carrier A view of the FP retainer hole & the ridge just behind it, this appears to be an H&R "type", the GM carriers do not appear to have had these ridges & had very obvious longitudinal machining marks on their sides, neither H&R or GM carriers had any markings.
Staking "style" on H&R carrier
Mag floorplate marking H&R & GM rifles were purchased & delivered w/o magazines, magazines were seperate contracts, H&R & GM rifles could be found/used w/any US issue mags, the one shown here is Colt, marked 5.56 (post 1970 mkg).
Left view of muzzle On this particular barrel the MP marking is on the left side, upside down between the FSB legs, these barrels appear to be an uncommon variant & have been attributed solely to H&R.
Rear of FSB The flash left on the rear of the FSB tower.
H&R MP barrel marking Here you can see the upside down MP marking (indicating the barrel had been magnetic particle tested), most H&R & GM barrels were marked in the "standard" location between the FSB legs on the RIGHT side.
Closeup of MP marking A closer view of the upside down MP marking on this particular barrel. Barrel identification for H&R & GM production is an open question, the barrel shown here is a known H&R ID but is fairly scarce. It appears that most H&R & GM barrels were marked the same, MP between FSB legs but on right side NOT left w/C near muzzle, I'm beginning to believe that H&R & GM may both have purchased barrels from a subcontractor & quite possibly the same subcontractor.
Front of carry handle Note the front part of the carry handle on this particular upper is smooth, the flash has been removed. The uppers are found w/flash on front or rear or both.
Left side action The replica markings were done by Ident Marking & their work is excellent!, note that this rifle has dimpled pins & a no dimple selector, H&R's have been found w/dimpled pins, dimpled on 1 side only & no dimples so there doesn't seem to be any pattern, whatever the subcontractor provided was apparently used!
Closeup of replica markings
HR bolt catch H&R bolt catches have an obvious identifying marking, a number in a circle on the flat above the lower "knob", this one is a 3, 1,2,3,4 have all been seen/reported.
Left side of buttstock The buttstock is a standard "D" non-trapdoor stock, the handguards have drain holes, no L or R markings, both the stocks, handguards & grips are another subcontractor supplied item.
Left side of H&R This rifle is fitted w/a nylon "seatbelt" M1 sling.
H&R carrier This is a pic provided to me of a carrier in an original H&R registered rifle, it's shown here for comparison w/the carrier used in the replica, my thanks to the sender of the photo!
H&R bolt catch A pic of an H&R bolt catch removed from a demilled H&R lower, actually this may be the catch on my replica?
H&R hammer marking Again, this hammer was removed from a demilled H&R lower
HR trigger A trigger removed from a demilled H&R lower, all the FCG parts in the replica are actual H&R parts that have been modified to semi configuration.
H&R selector mkg This pic & the previous 4 were all provided by MX56 & TGUS, they along w/dawg180,weapnsmn,quiet, ekie,m1sniper, a number of people who wish to remain in "secret" & a number of museums & private collectors have provided loads of info & help so far & I thank them sincerely!!!!!
