M16A4


 * For the earlier variant featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops see M16. For the variant seen in Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nintendo DS), see M16A1.

The M16A4 is an American assault rifle, featured in Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Single Player
In singleplayer, the M16A4 can only be picked up during War Pig(also known as the song by black sabbath). It is dropped occasionally (sometimes with the M203) by dead Marines, and always has iron sights. If the player finds a grenadier version and has found all the intel items, the M16 fires faster than any other assault rifle in the game; if also found with a Grenadier attachment, with the Infinite Ammo cheat enabled, the Grenadier attachment will become a fully automatic never ending explosive launching machine; this is really fun when messing around in the campaign, especially since it has the highest fire rate of any launcher. The M16A4 in singleplayer has a fully automatic firing mode, though the multiplayer version has a three-round burst. It is also used by Lt. Vasquez.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, the M16A4 is available at level 1, in a default class. It can be fitted with a Silencer, Red Dot Sight, ACOG Scope, and M203 Grenade Launcher. It is worth mentioning that it has one of the fastest draw times of any primary weapon (barring the equally speedy G36C), rivalling even the speed of sidearms. This means that switching to an M16A4 is nearly as fast as switching to a handgun, with inarguably much more killing power.

It is often recommended to use this weapon from a distance as it is not considered effective in close quarters combat. When fired from the hip while moving the M16A4 is wildly inaccurate. The M16A4 has a forced delay between bursts. This delay effectively lowers the rate of fire in terms of adjusting aim meaning that at close range if the first burst misses the user will be dead before getting off a second burst. However, Steady Aim shrinks the hip fire reticule to sizes comparable to SMGs making the weapon fairly accurate from the hip even while moving. Thus, even at close range, an M16A4 with Steady Aim and Stopping Power can still be very effective.

The M16A4 is exceptionally powerful because each bullet in the burst does 40-30 damage, meaning most of the kills will be from one bursts without Stopping Power, if the shooter is within range, or two bursts at farther ranges. When used with Stopping Power, the M16A4 is able to kill in one burst at any range provided that all three shots hit the target (only two are needed at medium and close range) and the target is not behind a wall or using Juggernaut.

Double Tap decreases the delay between the firing of each of the three bullets in a single burst. With Double Tap, all of the rounds fired in a single burst are now fired with hardly any delay between shots. This can be somewhat useful in many situations, as there is a higher chance of all three bullets hitting the target and the shorter time between bursts makes the weapon more effective in CQB. However, Stopping Power is still considerably better as it will almost always kill faster while using less ammo. The only exception to this is Hardcore, where Stopping Power has no effect on the M16A4, as it only needs one shot to kill from any range, assuming the target is not using Juggernaut or behind cover. However, the 3 round burst still compensates for this, making stopping power completely useless in hardcore.

The M16A4 is widely considered to be one of the best assault rifles in the game due to its power, low recoil, lack of sway, quick reload, high rate of fire per burst, and easy conservation of ammunition due to its burst fire.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Nintendo DS)
In the Nintendo DS version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the M16A4 appears as one of the two assault rifles in game. The M16 bears a vague resemblance (though it can still be identified as a M16) to the one in the console versions, though it is fully automatic (like the M16s in Call of Duty 4 campaign mode). It has a much slower rate of fire, but it does more damage per bullet to compensate for this. In single player, the M16 is only found with a holographic sight, as opposed to iron sights in multiplayer. This does not matter, since the iron sights are just as accurate as the Holographic sight, and provide a better peripheral view. In single player, the M16 is most effective at long range, though it is still effective at close-medium range. This all changes in multiplayer, as it is only effective at long ranges. Its low rate of fire prevents it from being effective at close range, unless the enemy does not see the player. The M16 also has the third slowest melee speed, making it even less effective in close encounters.

Singleplayer
In the singleplayer Campaign, the M16A4 is seen in both Rangers and Task Force 141 missions. It can be found on dead Task Force 141 members on TF141 missions as well as dead Rangers outside the Capitol Building. It fires in bursts in both singleplayer and multiplayer, unlike its Call of Duty 4 counterpart which is fully automatic in single player.

Multiplayer
The M16A4 returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It behaves similarly to the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare version with some small differences.

It is unlocked later on, at level 40, and has an identical reload animation to the M4A1. A rail has been added to the carrying handle, but goes unused. The rear sight aperture is thinner than the Call of Duty 4 version, which gives a less cluttered sight picture. Camouflage is now only applied to the rail covers, the stock, the magazine, separate optics, and the Heartbeat Sensor.

The M16A4 damage-wise performs identically to the FAMAS, having the same damage and multipliers, and the same rate of fire per burst. However, it has slightly faster damage drop-off, but has a faster reload time. It has higher recoil, but using a Holographic Sight lowers recoil significantly.

Weapon Attachments

 * Grenade Launcher
 * Shotgun
 * Red Dot Sight
 * Holographic Sight
 * Silencer
 * Heartbeat Sensor
 * ACOG Scope
 * Thermal Scope
 * FMJ
 * Extended Magazines

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 * The words "BLUE4" (a reference to BluFor, the opposite of OpFor, which applies to all NATO forces) and "Property of U.S. Government, Caliber 5.56x45mm NATO, M4A1 Carbine" in bold blue letters is visible on the side of the M16A4. This is because Infinity Ward used an M4A1's texture for the M16A4.
 * If the Infinite Ammo cheat is enabled and an M16A4 is picked up with the M203, the fully-automatic rate of fire of the grenade launcher is very fast and greatly surpasses that of the M4A1, having an ROF of approximately 600 RPM. Curiously, the M203 on the M4 Carbine and the GP-25 on the AK-47 have much slower fully-automatic rates of fire, about 280 RPM.
 * The iron sights on the M16A4 in Call of Duty 4limit peripheral vision and the front sight is slightly higher up than in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * The only level this weapon is available to use in without cheats is "War Pig", but Lt. Vasquez can be seen using it in several, if not all, USMC missions.
 * When attaching an M203 grenade launcher to the M16A4, the gun model looks like an M16A2.
 * The M16A4 is the only 3 round burst weapon in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * The M16A4 has tape on the bottom of its magazine like the M4A1. This is because Infinity Ward used the M4A1's texture on the M16A4.
 * The upper receiver gains a heat shield if an M203 is attached/found.
 * The M16A4 will always have a grenade launcher on the pickup icon in multiplayer. The reason for this is unknown.
 * On the Wii version, the third person firing sound only sounds like it shot two shots in the burst not three.
 * When an optic is attached, the front sight and gas block are removed. This would render the gun unable to fire automatically after the first shot. The shooter would have to manually load a round into the chamber by racking the bolt. This would effectively make the gun a bolt action.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Nintendo DS)

 * The M16A4 is fully automatic in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Nintendo DS).
 * The M16A4 in multiplayer lacks part of its rear sight.
 * The M16A4 is the only primary weapon in DS-download play multiplayer.
 * Some versions of Call of Duty 4 for the DS use a red dot sight reticle instead of the holographic sight reticle.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * Unlike in Call of Duty 4, when the M16A4 has an M203 attached, there is no heat-guard in place of the standard hand-guard.
 * The markings on the side of the M16A4 say, "Made By Infinity, Tool For Victory, U.S. No Refunds".
 * In campaign, the M16A4 can only carry a maximum of four grenades when equipped with a grenade launcher, whereas weapons like the SCAR-H and M4A1 can hold a maximum of 11. However, if the player equips one of these weapons, the launcher ammo will increase to 11. The player can then drop the weapon but keep the grenades.
 * The M16A4 has rail system mounted in the carrying handle to fit sights/scopes on, but when using a sight on the M16A4 it will replace the carrying handle.
 * On the front cover of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a US Army Ranger is seen carrying an M16A4 w/ ACOG Scope.
 * The M16A4 has rail covers covering the unused sections of the Picatinny rails on the hand-guard. The M16A4 in Modern Warfare has rail covers covering the whole of the hand-guard, and an M16A2 hand-guard when fitted with the M203.
 * In certain views of certain lighting, a series of scratchings along the lower part of the "handrail" iron sights can resemble a star.
 * The M16A4, along with the FAMAS and M93 Raffica, are the only guns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that fire in three round bursts.
 * When rotating clockwise with a high sensitivity (10) or aiming through the sight, the player can see that on the right side of the gun there is no rail cover or receiver. This is most likely to save memory.
 * Also, when spinning the magazine is seen, but there is no ammo seen, just a flat top.
 * In campaign, its pick-up icon will always be seen with an under-mounted grenade launcher, even if one is not attached.
 * The M16A4 has black tape on the bottom of its magazine. This can also be seen on the M4A1, TAR-21, and FAL.
 * The M16A4, M4A1, and the WA2000 all have the same reload sound.
 * The M16A4 has a cut-off sling attached at the end of the barrel.

General

 * The windage/elevation adjuster on the M16A4 in Call of Duty 4 is on the left. In Modern Warfare 2, it is on the right.
 * In Call of Duty 4, the M16A4's reload animation greatly resembles that of the G36C. In Modern Warfare 2, it shares its animation with the M4A1.