Wondering what the differences are between the AR-15 vs M4 carbine?
The M4 Carbine used in the military and the civilian AR-15 are extremely similar weapons.
Look no further. In this article, we will go over some of the similarities and differences between the two weapons.
The History Of AR-15 vs M4
To start, we will talk about the history of both weapons.
The AR-15 was originally created by Armalite (as in ArmaLite Rifle ... not Assault Rifle) in the 1950s, but due to financial issues, they sold the rights for the weapon to Colt.
Colt began producing the Colt ArmaLite AR-15. It was designed to be a lightweight assault weapon, so as a result, Colt pitched the weapon to multiple militaries.
After some modifications by Colt, the rifle was introduced in the military as the M16.
The M4 was created as an improvement to the M16.
Once the military realized the need of a weapon that could operate in close quarters, a shorter and lighter version of the M16 was created.
The M4 was designed in the late 80s to early 90s, before being accepted by the military in the mid 90s.
Compared to the M16, the M4 features a shorter barrel and a collapsible stock, as well as a few lighter parts to cut down on the weight.
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What is different between AR-15 vs M4?
To compare the M4 to the AR-15, we will start with the differences because there are so many similarities.
Best Ar Bipod For The Money (For Both Ar10 and Ar15
The differences between the two are extremely small. The M4 has a 14.5 inch barrel, while the AR-15 generally has a 16 inch barrel, although multiple sizes are available.
The primary reason for this is the law in the United States about short-barreled rifles. This law requires that rifles have at least a 16 inch barrel.
As a result of this shorter barrel, the M4 has a shorter gas tube. To deal with the decreased pressure as a result of this shorter gas tube, the M4 also has more pronounced feed ramps to ensure that the next round is seated properly each time.
The barrel of an M4 has an hourglass shape cut into it, which allows for military members to mount a grenade launcher to it. The last big difference between the two is that the M4 has either a three round burst or fully automatic firing option.
AR-15 vs M4: Similarities
As you can tell, there are very few differences between the two weapons.
The internals of the upper and lower receivers are very similar in both weapons.
The bolt and bolt carrier group of the two are the same.
The charging handle is the same.
The trigger and trigger assembly are the same.
Externally, the handguards and rail systems can be the same, dependent on which one you have on your AR-15.
Here is video about the fact you should know before buy an AR-15 or M4:
Which Should I Get, M4 or AR-15?
This is pretty much a trick question. Many people don’t know this, but the only way to get a true M4 is to go and talk to your local military recruiter.
The civilian AR-15 functions the exact same and is pretty much identical, but it is not the exact same as a true M4.
However, it is possible to get an AR-15 with the shorter barrel, as long as you have the proper tax stamp.
You can buy the exact same handguards as an M4, and could find a milspec lower, which would essentially give you the exact same weapon.
As far as the fully automatic feature, another tax stamp is required.
Conclusion
As you can see, the two weapons are extremely similar. There are very few differences between them.
The primary differences are the barrel, gas tube, feed ramps, and fully automatic functioning. In terms of similarities, the two are nearly identical.
If you have an AR-15, rest assured that it is extremely similar to the military M4.
Feed ramps are not located in the lower receiver….
Fixed that error. Thanks for your comment 🙂
” It was designed to be a lightweight assault weapon, ”
This is very Progressive and false statement. There is no such thing as an “assault weapon”.
Pathetic
Talk about design. Ar stand for ArmaLite Rifles
“It was designed as a lightweight assault weapon”…..”which Colt pitched to multiple militaries.” Don’t be so obtuse, it was designed and built to make the warfighter carrying it more effective at killing his/her enemy by…..ASSAULTING them. So when you say ” My weapon sat in the safe all day, it didn’t assault anyone” that’s true, but my Nascar sitting in the garage all day didn’t win any races, but its still a race car.
What does that have to do with the price of eggs?
You make an excellent point. I would just like to point out that primary function of every firearm, no matter the caliber or appearance is to ASSAULT its target. Wether it be the enemy, an animal, or a paper target….
Every car’s function is not to race, that’s why the distinction is made in the name, RACE CAR.
The term ‘Assault Weapon’ is redundant. So depending on the type of weapon used, terms such as ‘Deadly Weapon’ or ‘lethal weapon’ would be more appropriate.
I would suggest then , that you get a Dodge Hellcat instead of a NASCAR.
There for you can legally take it on the street and put the hammer down.
I would suggest driving responsible though.
Also my pocket knife is excellent for carving wood figures.
Although it can be used to assault someone..
And even kill.
What about the granddaddy modern rifles? The StG 44. Sturmgewehr; German for assault rifle. A rifle is a weapon.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck; it’s a duck.
and if it’s a which it will float
According to this translation (https://en.bab.la/dictionary/german-english/sturm-gewehr) it could also mean blow-gun or storm-rifle(*cough* starwars *cough*)
No, I don’t think so. A rifle is a TOOL. How it is used defines what it is “in that instance”, nothing more. You can fight a war with an M-16 and it becomes a weapon. You can drive a car into a crowd of people and it becomes a weapon. You can drive your car to pick up groceries and it becomes an asset for providing necessities. When you drop a deer with an Ar-15 it becomes the same asset. Everything in this world is AMORAL in its nature. Meaning it is neither right nor wrong, good nor bad in and of its own. It only becomes one or the other in the instant that we use it. Defined by the purpose for which it was used. The very same AR-15 that would be demonized and hated by the ill-informed general public for having been used to murder innocent people in a public shooting would be praised and “thanked God for” if used to defend lives threatened by an active shooter. Weakness begins in the mind…
“There are very few differences between them…”
Oh really? The M4 can shoot full auto and the AR-15 is only semi-auto. Don’t you think that’s a pretty big difference?
I believe he said “very few differences” which implies “not many”. It does not imply how significant those differences may be. So yes, there a very few differences. The fully automatic function of M4 being a SIGNIFICANT difference doesn’t change the fact that it is only 1 of VERY FEW differences.
No, as the author and numerous others agreed- semi or full auto, is hardly any difference at all, in design, weight, materials, parts, ammo, magazines, ballistics, power, looks, etc.
Tom, what you think is a ‘big difference” is merely a variation in function.
Whether I drink a Coke in one shot- glug, glug, glug, or sip it for an hour…. it is the same thing.. I drank a Coke!
From the article “The last big difference between the two is that the M4 has either a three round burst or fully automatic firing option.”
So he literally, and not a Joe Biden literally, said full automatic firing was a big difference.
The rifles are remarkably similar, not surprising considering their common pedigree.
Ok… Assault rifle. Wrong terminology.
Sturmgewr = assault rifle.
It seems that the authors of these articles are millennials that are nor very knowledgable or smart for that matter. Readers that are obviously catch the mistakes or blatantly false statements. But I’m guessing the author or the website owner doesn’t really care as long as it attracts readers so the can get compensated by advertisers.
Thanks. I fixed some error in my article. I also reach out to you by email to say thank :). Welcome to my blog!
With regards to the comment hat to get a true M4 you need to see your local recruiter.
That’s not exactly true, I recently purchased a true Mil-Spec M4 from FN arms. Their military series is identical to an authentic issued M4 with the exception that it’s only semi automatic though it has the full auto selector, and the flash suppressor is not removable. It’s an awesome rifle, extremely well made and accurate.
Just this morning, I was comparing my Daniels Defense M4 (Version3, an older one) to my neighbor’s AR-15, and I can’t tell much difference.
Both have collapsible stocks. My DDM4’s switch for full automatic has been modified so it doesn’t work. (Looks like a gun smith could change it back if I wanted to make the gun illegal.) He’s added a grip on the barrel that mine doesn’t have, but I’m thinking about adding one, because the barrel grip heats up. I didn’t compare the barrel length – the M4 is likely shorter – but they look pretty much like the same rifle. Daniels Defense says to use the .556 round only; his uses either that or the .223. And he’s added a telescopic scope; mine has iron sights, but I could add a scope if I felt the need.
Just a thought-and I don’t say this to be combative, this is just my experience and observations: A firearm of any kind is just a firearm. A law abiding citizen doesn’t “assault” people. They use their firearm to DEFEND against assault. Is a hunting knife with a hand guard on it similar to a Bowie knife or a Marine’s K-Bar an “assault knife”? No. It is just a knife. Can you assault someone with a knife as it can be considered a weapon? Sure. A person can also use the exact same knife to defend against an attack, or skin a deer, or carve a stick, as well. Does that make it a “defense knife”? The argument is kind of silly when you think about it. Assault is what a criminal does-that is to say “assault” of any kind is pretty much always illegal. However, DEFENSE against assault is what a law abiding citizen does. In other words, self defense-whether with an AR-15, a glock 9mm, or a K-Bar knife- is perfectly legal. To blanket label whatever is used in those scenarios as either “defense” or “assault” seems silly. As a side note, in conceal carry class, we are taught to refer to our 9 mm semiautomatic, pistol as a ‘sidearm’ or “firearm” not as a “weapon”.
False Statements:
“The bolt and bolt carrier group of the two are the same”
“The trigger and trigger assembly are the same.”
Neither of the above statements are true. The trigger assembly and trigger are what makes the M4 have the ability to have the three round burst or in the case of the M4A1, fully automatic.
The trigger, trigger assembly as well as the bolt are further modified in order to make it more difficult to modify a civilian AR15 to have the firing capabilities of an M4.
Older AR15s used a modified bolt carrier. Almost every AR-type rifle sold today uses the M16 full-auto BCG. It doesn’t make the rifle FA, it just adds weight, which is felt to be an advantage to good operation. All my ARs use the M16 BCG.
“Assault Weapon” is a term concocted by Democrat politicians to make banning certain firearms more palatable to people who don’t know any better.
The M4 has a chrome lined barrel, full auto selector switch, full auto bolt and sear and a Carbine length gas system. All needing a tax stamp and about $20-30k. The AR15 has a chromium lined barrel, a civilian bolt and no full auto selector and can have pistol, carbine, mid-length or rifle length gas systems. All for around 500-1.2k and up. The biggest similarity is the shell that holds it all together. I saw so much bad info here I thought I should share some good info to balance it.
The BCG’s are not necessarily the same in both right? Many AR’s will feature an M16 BCG with the lower profile that is capable of automatic fire if it had a lightning link- but there are in fact AR’s that have very specific semi-automatic only firing capabilities right?
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So in summary except for the qualities of material they are both the same unless you plan on getting and SBR stamp.
i just want a .223 good grouping at 175 yards ;with iron sights
On my back porch I have a stack of Assault Bricks, but in my garage are a similar looking pile of defense brick. I agree with the knife comparison.
I couldn’t help but notice no one here mentioned the “hourglass” shaped barrel” for mounting a grenade launcher. I imagine the author means an M203. This is not correct. The M203 grenade launcher actually replaces the handguards. The shaved barrel of the AR15 & M4 is what makes the rifle “lightweight” in its nomenclature. Lightweight, gas operated, shoulder-fired weapon…If one were to inspect a Brady-era AR-15, one may find the barrel is not shaved (on a lathe, like a baseball bat), and is significantly heavier.
Come to find out, not all M4’s have full-auto capabilities. Some are semi-auto.
The m4 does not fire fully automatic. The m4 is only a 3-round burst. And the M4A1 fires fully auto.
Good training
That’s good to know that you would have to go through a military recruiter to get an M4. I wouldn’t want to have to go through all that hassle if it’s possible to get a similar gun without having to go through the military. I should go with an AR-15 instead if I decide to get a rifle.
A small point to be made. Colt sells M4 carbines in semi-automatic. I have an M4 11.5 inch “Commando”.
The hammer and trigger on the M4 and AR15 are distinctly different. The author is wrong in that regard. The M4 uses the fire control group of the M16A2 while the M4A1 uses the M16 fire control group. AR15 rifles use totally different FCG parts.
Ban all military assault weapons—make them illegal to own as a civilian—punishable as a felony, make high capacity magazines illegal (who needs 100 round capacities?), require universal background checks for every gun purchase, require mental health background checks for every purchase, initiate programs in schools to help identify potential shooters both by things said and things posted on social media, and be willing to take action to stop the awful death rate of 100 people a day in the US killed by gun violence. Oh and two more things: stop wasting your money on an NRA membership, and don’t waste your time responding to me because I know exactly what you hate mail is going to say.
Corrects A M4 Barrel is A 16 inch, while AR 15 is A 20 inch Barrel.
Gentlemen, please be aware that stupid people read your comments, so stick to the facts. You might do well to research the beginning of the term assault rifle. And give understanding to the fact that to assault someone is not a term for an object. It’s an action be it legal or illegal. Is the object being discussed a rifle, gun, weapon or platform? I would hope gun owners would avoid such banter. The libs already think we’re ignorant. And just for shits and giggles. You can purchase a AR15 rifle barrel with M4 feed ramps, shazam!
You don’t post commonsense input like mine but you leave the libtards anti gun rant up. Must be a fuckin Biden supporter!