M4A1 vs. M16A2

[daspope 146]

I usually rock an AK47 because of how common they and the mags are, but as a fresh spawn I went to balota airstrip and found an M4A1 +2 mags in the tower, sweet, grabbed it and went to the hangars. in the hangar closest to the tower I found a M16A2 +2 SD mags.

Both guns do the same damage so the only real difference is length and fire rate, M4A1 has semi/full and M16A2 has semi/burst. I was really torn between which one I should keep. I have had M4A1 CCO and M4A1 Holo before and those were nice but these guns both had the same sights, with the exception that the M16A2's sight post was slightly smaller due to the longer barrel.

I ended up keeping the M16A2 based on the fact that it is supposed to be better at range and that it has no full auto(and because I've never found one AND had ammo for it)... full auto generally gets me into bad spots either by using too much ammo or making too much noise.

What would you guys have kept?

the kicker is in the next hangar I found 2 more STANAG SD mags :) now I can shoot people around zombitches since they wont hear it even though people can.

[NavyCuda 39]

It bothers me that the full length M16 doesn't do more damage.

Here is a comparison from my plinking reloads:

AR15 20" Hbar : Average 2931.6fps, 1049.1 ft./lbs of muzzle energy

AR15 14.5" M4 profile: Average 2686.7fps, 881.2 ft./lbs of muzzle energy.

The 20" barrel on the M16 is going to provide more energy to the projectile than the 14.5" barrel. The higher velocity of the 20" barrel is also going to reduce bullet drop over distance. I would really like to see barrel lengths considered as part of the ballistic tables.

[Slide885 59]

If you make the full barrel m16 do more damage you better go for full on realism and have it jam once ever 2-3 mags and you get shot in the face while clearing your barrel.

That being said I would rather have the M4A1. Remember short controled burst and you would be fine. Also can be used as a supresion weapon if you are with a group.

[daspope 146]

It bothers me that the full length M16 doesn't do more damage.

Here is a comparison from my plinking reloads:

AR15 20" Hbar : Average 2931.6fps, 1049.1 ft./lbs of muzzle energy

AR15 14.5" M4 profile: Average 2686.7fps, 881.2 ft./lbs of muzzle energy.

The 20" barrel on the M16 is going to provide more energy to the projectile than the 14.5" barrel. The higher velocity of the 20" barrel is also going to reduce bullet drop over distance. I would really like to see barrel lengths considered as part of the ballistic tables.

Supposedly the M16A2 does get a further effective range than the M4A1 which makes sense.

as far as doing more dmg, I am not sure that would really matter, at the velocities the bullets are traveling and the ft/lbs of energy being transferred into the target either way its going to hit you like a truck. since the mags are STANAG it is safe to say that all of the bullets are going to be 5.56NATO FMJ which arent going to deliver all of their energy anyhow because they will zip right through a human target unless they hit a considerably strong bone. All of that seems like a bit much to calculate just for a game.

I think the main reason for this is the game's damage tables are actually stored with the ammo and not effected by the weapon shooting it, STANG vs STANAG SD, or M9 vs M9SD etc.

P.S. I also reload for my firearms, dont have a chrono yet though so I stick to the recommended load data and make plinking ammo. I have 100 rnds of Winchester .223 Brass, CCI primers, Hornady VMax bullets powered by Varget powder... now I just need to take a long enough break from DayZ to go shooting lol

[daspope 146]

If you make the full barrel m16 do more damage you better go for full on realism and have it jam once ever 2-3 mags and you get shot in the face while clearing your barrel.

That being said I would rather have the M4A1. Remember short controled burst and you would be fine. Also can be used as a supresion weapon if you are with a group.

The M16 is a dirty bitch yes... but I would have to disagree on the jamming every 2-3 mags. If you properly clean your firearms at respectable intervals you should have a very minimal amount of malfunctions.

check this out: http://www.slip2000.com/blog/s-w-a-t-magazine-filthy-14/

its not uncommon to get an AR15/M16 pattern rifle to perform well. If his game took place in Afghanistan and dust/sand was everywhere, then yes I could see issues coming up, but not religiously after 2-3 mags. it all depends on how the rifle was cared for.

[SeanDayz 0]

All things being equal I'd go the M4 - personally I only use them on semi-auto anyway, and seeing it does the same damage, (and good luck hitting something at 300m with iron sights btw), I feel like the M4 is quieter; though I'm probably imagining that.

[Slide885 59]

Edit: I'm removing a large rant about my issue with M16s. I won't force my view on others but if you really want to know do some research about when it got phased in in the Vietnam war. I really hate that gun.

I've fired AR15s and M16s several times and in optimum conditions they are great fire arms. acurate and lightweight. Maybe the latest generation of M16 holds up better in the field, idk. I just have too much hate for the gun. Hell, when we first went to Iraq it wasn't uncomon to have us soldiers with AKs outside of the cities.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Slide885

[kinganthony627 0]

the m16 would probley be the better gun if u dont like full plus it a 2 shot kill people so u put burst on and you should be find

:lol:

[amaROenuZ 144]

M16s are the better option in my opinion. All other things equal, the M16 carries damage better over range, and that can make a difference.

That, and I just like full size rifles.

[SeanDayz 0]

Well the damage is identical and if you're trying to hit something more than 300m away with iron sights you're probly just wasting ammo.

If I want a loud, high damage rifle I'll use an M14 or FAL.

[daspope 146]

Edit: I'm removing a large rant about my issue with M16s. I won't force my view on others but if you really want to know do some research about when it got phased in in the Vietnam war. I really hate that gun.

I've fired AR15s and M16s several times and in optimum conditions they are great fire arms. acurate and lightweight. Maybe the latest generation of M16 holds up better in the field, idk. I just have too much hate for the gun. Hell, when we first went to Iraq it wasn't uncomon to have us soldiers with AKs outside of the cities.

The Vietnam war was terrible, they told the soldiers that the M16 needed no cleaning/maintenance at all, hence why it jammed so much on them.

If you want a gun you can clean with murky pond water, go with an AK, if you want a more accurate rifle and dont mind servicing it, go with an M16 lol.

[Col. Kurtz (DayZ) 91]

Edit: I'm removing a large rant about my issue with M16s. I won't force my view on others but if you really want to know do some research about when it got phased in in the Vietnam war. I really hate that gun.

I've fired AR15s and M16s several times and in optimum conditions they are great fire arms. acurate and lightweight. Maybe the latest generation of M16 holds up better in the field, idk. I just have too much hate for the gun. Hell, when we first went to Iraq it wasn't uncomon to have us soldiers with AKs outside of the cities.

The M16 in nam is not the same M16 in Day Z. Day Z uses the M16A2. I had at most 2 jams in a 2 year period before we went to the M16A4 then M4. Never used the M16A1 so I can't comment on its performance but the M16A2 was great when we used it.

To the OP: I use the M16A2 for the extra 100m range. If you're good you can pick people off at quite the distance.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Col. Kurtz

[Nuke (DayZ) 1]

It bothers me that the full length M16 doesn't do more damage.

*snip*

How dayz works is the damage is calculated by the type of bullet being fired, not the gun that is shooting it.

[Phantasm (DayZ) 57]

If you wanted a solid rifle, you should go for the FAL FN, great range, sick damage (8,000), only downside is it's loud as fuck. Between the two you found, the M4 is superior. It's shorter profile won't become an issue when indoors in CQC, and I believe all the M4's come with some type of scope or attachment. I've had an M16a2 for a week and been looking for an M4 cco sd, finally got sick of toting the thing and switched to an AK kobra.

The M4s > M16s in Dayz imho.

[daspope 146]

Eh, its all irrelevant now, I jumped in a bush to lose zombie aggro, and while stationary some guys saw the zombies running towards the bush and hosed me down with AK's I spawned close to where I died and went back to my body, all my gear was still there so I grabbed it hid my body and logged... logged back in and my gear is gone. But I managed to find a DMR in Balota Airstrip right away so I cant complain, the DMR is a great all around rifle (on servers with crosshairs at least)

[enforcer1975 1111]

I think the main reason for this is the game's damage tables are actually stored with the ammo and not effected by the weapon shooting it, STANG vs STANAG SD, or M9 vs M9SD etc.

100 points...like the weapons have classes the ammo has it's own class, too. So if you shoot a stanag in a M4, M16, Scar-L they do the same damage. The only odd thing is that the AS50 ammo does more damage than the M107 ammo although they have the same bullet ( but i guess they have a different ammo class, but i'm sick and tired to look it up for now ).

[Ajvkorn 72]

Eh, its all irrelevant now, I jumped in a bush to lose zombie aggro, and while stationary some guys saw the zombies running towards the bush and hosed me down with AK's I spawned close to where I died and went back to my body, all my gear was still there so I grabbed it hid my body and logged... logged back in and my gear is gone. But I managed to find a DMR in Balota Airstrip right away so I cant complain, the DMR is a great all around rifle (on servers with crosshairs at least)

Welcome to logging out too quickly :)

[Ajvkorn 72]

100 points...like the weapons have classes the ammo has it's own class, too. So if you shoot a stanag in a M4, M16, Scar-L they do the same damage. The only odd thing is that the AS50 ammo does more damage than the M107 ammo although they have the same bullet ( but i guess they have a different ammo class, but i'm sick and tired to look it up for now ).

As50 used m107 ammo Or NATO rounds. Both ammo do more damage than the m107 for some reason.

[daspope 146]

Welcome to logging out too quickly :)

LOL, yeah I have lost gear like that in the past... I proned under a pine tree and went outside to smoke a cig(4-5min) and when I got back I logged out, guess that wasn't long enough for the server :(

[woots 82]

My new favorite toy is the M4A1 Holo

The first time I had this gun I didnt really like the sights, but when I got a few M203 HE thats when the fun started. I pick a few shots at someone, they go into a church or house, lob a nade in there and they cry

[Nuke (DayZ) 1]

As50 used m107 ammo Or NATO rounds. Both ammo do more damage than the m107 for some reason.

thats not correct, AS50 shooting m107 ammo does same damage as m107 shooting m107 (37k) as50 shooting the nato round does 174k

[rogue246 28]

Eh, its all irrelevant now, I jumped in a bush to lose zombie aggro, and while stationary some guys saw the zombies running towards the bush and hosed me down with AK's I spawned close to where I died and went back to my body, all my gear was still there so I grabbed it hid my body and logged... logged back in and my gear is gone. But I managed to find a DMR in Balota Airstrip right away so I cant complain, the DMR is a great all around rifle (on servers with crosshairs at least)

DMR is probably my fav. gun. Awesome range and ammo can be found everywhere.

[fuck_yea_man 0]

i have a m4a1 cco sd now, because the sight is the best one for me. :)

[daspope 146]

DMR is probably my fav. gun. Awesome range and ammo can be found everywhere.

DMR is gone now because of stupidity... :(

http://youtu.be/1TwuN50qWOI

Now I am rocking a 1911 and AK74Kobra with no mags, gonna go get some gear from sniper Hill now

[Slide885 59]

The bullets seemed to be hitting from a higher altitude. possibley the industral looking tower. Maybe multiple shooters. No gun shots so maybe not even a sniper rifle.