M4A1


 * For the similarly named weapon, see M4 Carbine.

The M4A1 is an assault rifle featured in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare: Mobilized, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
"Fully automatic with low recoil. Effective at medium range."

- Weapon description

Campaign
In singleplayer, the M4A1 is first used in "Blackout" as the SOPMOD variant, sporting a Reflex Red Dot Sight, the AN/PEQ-2A, the Silencer and the M203.

During the campaign, the M4A1 is always equipped with a Tasco Red Dot Sight and the AN/PEQ-2A and the grenadier version of the M4A1 is equipped with the M203, Holographic Sight, & AN/PEQ-2A.

If the player uses the give all cheat in the mission "Ultimatum" (on the PC version), a M4A1 SOPMOD without the Red Dot Sight can be obtained.

The SAS uses the M4A1 SOPMOD in the missions "Blackout", "Safehouse", "Ultimatum", "All In", and "No Fighting In The War Room".

Many Marines use the M4A1 Grenadier in "The Bog", "War Pig&quot; (Level), and "Shock & Awe".

Captain Price will always use the M4A1 with attachments in all SAS missions (except "All Ghillied Up" and "One Shot, One Kill).

It is not possible to find an M4A1 with its iron sights without modding; this also applies to the G36C.

Multiplayer
In Multiplayer, the M4A1 Carbine has an attached foregrip which is held by the player but does not take up an attachment slot due to it having no effect on the gun. The M4A1 can be modified with a Red Dot Sight, ACOG Scope, M203, or silencer. The M4A1 is an excellent weapon in the right hands, with moderate damage and fairly low recoil. However, the M4A1 has fast, large idle sway (4 degrees) making it more difficult to aim with at long range. This was done for balancing purposes, because the M4A1 was incredibly overpowered in the beta, in which it had no idle sway. The M4A1 shares ammo with the M16A4 and the G36C. The M4A1 Carbine is one of the most commonly used weapons in online multiplayer on all platforms.

As stated above, the M4A1 is not particularly effective at long range due to its large idle sway. The M4A1 is ideal in close quarters combat due to its high rate of fire. Steady Aim also makes the M4A1 a fairly decent hip-fire weapon. Double Tap can be quite effective due to low recoil and low damage, but ammo use increases dramatically. Another good perk for this rifle is Stopping Power, which makes it deadly at all ranges.

The weapon's low damage output can be compensated by its high rate of fire, and the very low recoil allows for accurate full automatic fire at short and medium ranges. Because of this, Bandolier can be useful. For these reasons as well, either optics or a silencer are good choices.

Weapon Attachments

 * M203 Grenade Launcher
 * Red Dot Sight
 * Silencer
 * ACOG Scope

Gallery

 * For Camouflage images, see M4A1 Carbine/Camouflage.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The M4A1 returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 , appearing with modern tan furniture like many of the weapons in Modern Warfare 2.

Single Player
The M4A1 is first seen in "S.S.D.D.", (also notably the first weapon used in-game) when the player helps train the locals, and seen in almost every mission after that. The M4A1 is commonly used by the Rangers and Task Force 141, as it is a standard assault rifle for the two factions. In many missions the player will start out and see the M4A1. In right hands the M4A1 can be a very deadly weapon, due to its accuracy. The M4A1 always comes with a vertical foregrip on the gun, unless the player is using an under-barrel attachment. The M4A1 has a high rate of fire, but it also sways 4 degrees making it difficult to aim. The unique "SOPMOD" version of the weapon, found only in "The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday" and in "The Gulag". The SOPMOD M4A1 is equipped with a silencer, Red Dot Sight, and M203. However, in "The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday" it will lose the silencer later on in the mission. However, if the player switches out the M4A1 for another weapon and switches it back after the ambush it will again have the silencer attachment. Although this is very rare, there's also an ACOG and M203 version of this in the level "The Hornet's Nest", "Of Their Own Accord" and "Contingency" off from fallen friendlies.

In "Museum", the silenced M4A1's pickup icon is different than usual. It appears to be the unused M4A1 with a silencer and a Tasco Sight from Call of Duty 4, a theory reinforced by the name "M4A1 Suppressed", which they share.

Multiplayer
In Multiplayer, the M4A1 becomes available at level 4, when Create-a-Class is unlocked. It is very similar to the ACR, firing 50 RPM faster but having slightly higher recoil. This arguably makes it inferior to the ACR since having a firing rate 50 RPM faster is barely noticeable, while the higher recoil and lower range can make a difference at long range. However, even this small increase in fire rate may make the difference at close range, especially with Stopping Power. It is a good idea to use Scavenger or One Man Army with the M4A1 because it uses up ammo quickly due to its rather fast fire rate. The M4A1 is an often overlooked weapon, due to it being one of the first weapons unlocked. Because of this, many players assume it is a poor weapon to use. It has very low recoil and a high rate of fire, making this weapon a very versatile and powerful weapon in the hands of both new and veteran players.

The M4A1's slight recoil forces the user to burst fire at extreme long range, which makes it more suited to medium to close range while the ACR is more accurate at long range when firing full-auto. The M4A1 benefits greatly from Stopping Power due to its relatively low damage, making it kill in 4 shots at even the highest ranges. It has almost no benefits from Stopping Power in Hardcore modes, due to the M4A1 being 1-hit-kill at close and mid-range, and 2 at long range. However, with Stopping Power, it will be able to one-shot players if a headshot is made at long ranges, but the effects are generally useless.

Optics are a good choice for the M4A1 as some players find the flip-up Iron Sights to be obstructive, although others may find them to be perfectly usable. The Red Dot Sight is often seen used with the weapon. The Holographic Sight is seen much less often, but can be be slightly better for aiming at targets at close range. The ACOG Scope is suprisingly effective, though one's ability at close ranges will be effected. When used with a Silencer, the muzzle flash is reduced significantly, making such a setup quite effective. Stopping Power bolsters the M4A1's low damage, making the M4A1 kill in 3 shots at middle range and 4 at long range. If you prefer total stealth rather than power, Cold-Blooded and a Silencer can be effective, but you will suffer in a direct firefight, taking 4 shots to kill up close and 5 outside of range.

Weapon Attachments

 * M203
 * Shotgun
 * Red Dot Sight
 * Holographic Sight
 * Silencer
 * Heartbeat Sensor
 * ACOG Scope
 * Thermal Scope
 * FMJ
 * Extended Mags

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized
The M4A1 Carbine is featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized with two variants, the original 3-round burst M4 Carbine, and the fully automatic M4A1. The M4 Carbine and M4A1 have the same rate of fire, but the M4A1 has much more stopping power. However, even with a full-auto firing mechanism, it has the 2nd slowest rate of fire of all the assault rifles in the game.

The M4A1 is very similar in appearance compared to the console and PC one in Call of Duty 4. It has the same reload animation, and it is only found with a red dot sight and foregrip in single player as well, but that is where the similarities end. First of all, the weapon has a higher damage than the Call of Duty 4 version, as it can perform a one shot kill if it is aimed at the chest at any range. Second, it has a higher rate of fire, and, lastly,like all the weapons of Modern Warfare: Mobilized, it has almost no recoil when aiming down the sights.

Singleplayer
In single player, the M4A1 is a starting weapon in the last few missions of the American campaign, and in the middle of the British campaign. Since it has a high rate of fire, and only 120 extra rounds to start with, it usually runs out of ammo before the end of the level. It only appears once in the American campaign and once in the British campaign, making this rifle extremely rare.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, it is the first weapon unlocked for the Coalition faction, taking 50 kills to unlock. Due to its high rate of fire and low recoil, it is favored by most players. The lack of spare magazines usually is not a problem, since most players die before they use up half of the magazines.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The M4A1 makes it's return in the Modern Warfare series in Modern Warfare 3; the rifle is shown in the mission "Black Tuesday" with a 20 round magazine capacity. The Modern Warfare 3 version of the M4A1 has a new black finish. The yellow object on the rail is a custom charging handle assist. So far, in the E3 demo of Black Tuesday there is still a grip available on the gun. Not much else is known about this weapon at this time.

Weapon Attachments

 * M203
 * Holographic Sight
 * Grip
 * ACOG Scope
 * Magnifier

General

 * When sensitivity is at least six and the player is turning to the right, the M4A1 appears to be missing a rail on the right side of the handguard; this modeling error is most likely for the purpose of saving memory and space.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

 * In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare the lower receiver of the M4A1 has "BLUE4" written in tape; the M16A4 shares these markings. "BLUE4" is a reference to BluFor, the opposite of OpFor, which is applied to all NATO forces. It also says, "Property of U.S. Government, Caliber 5.56mm, M4A1 Carbine" over the magazine well, regardless of what faction for which the player is fighting.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition for Wii, the M4A1 is referred to as the "M4 Carbine" in multiplayer. In campaign, it is correctly referred to as the "M4A1". This is also true for the PC.
 * The M4A1's serial number is "L141583"
 * In both Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the M4A1's fire selector is modeled on semi-automatic, even though it fires in fully-automatic.
 * It has been in every installment of the Modern Warfare series, a distinction it currently shares with the AK-47, the P90, the RPD, the RPG-7, and the M16A4.
 * In Call of Duty 4, the M4A1 SOPMOD has the same pickup icon as the M4A1 Grenadier in single player.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * The emblem received for getting 500 headshots with the M4A1 says M4 Carbine on it, instead of M4A1.
 * The M4A1's foregrip disappears in multiplayer with the FMJ attachment, although the animation still looks like the player is holding a foregrip.
 * The pickup icon for the M4A1 in Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer are the same, despite the actual weapons having very notable physical differences.
 * The M4A1 and the M16A4 have the same reload animations.
 * In the Campaign the firing sound is the same as an M16A4 yet in the multiplayer it has its own sound.
 * Attaching an ACOG Scope to an M4A1 in multiplayer causes the text to change from "M4A1" to "M4 ACOG Sight."
 * Like the AK-47 and ACR, this weapon's designation with a grenade launcher is "M4A1 Grenadier."
 * In the Create-A-Class icon, the gun lacks the grip.
 * The in-game model's selector switch is on semi-automatic.
 * In the level "Museum" the M4A1 has a different pick up icon.