Redhawk Firearms M-3 Carbine

Redhawk Firearms M-3 Carine
Shenandoahan Army National Guard infantry equipped with the M-3 Carbine
Type	Carbine
Place of origin	Shenandoah
Service history
In service	1994 – present
Used by	See Operators
Production history
Designed	1983 - 1991
Manufacturer	Redhawk Firearms
Produced	1994 – present
Variants	See Varaints
Specifications
Weight	6.43 lb (2.92 kg)
Length	33 in (838 mm)
Barrel length	14.5 in (368 mm)
Cartridge	.243 Grady
Action	Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire	700-900 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	2,970 ft/s (910 m/s)
Effective firing range	500 m (550 yd)
Feed system	30-round detachable box magazine

The Redhawk Firearms M-3 Carbine is a selective fire assault rifle chambered in .243 Grady. Currently produced by Redhawk Firearms, it is primarily in service with the Shenandoahan Army National Guard, with some examples being used by the other brahcnes of the Shenandoahan National Guard, as well as various law enforcement agencies across the nation. The M-3 Carbine serves alongside the Redhawk Firearms M-3 Rifle, though it has all but replaced the M-3 Rifle in Army National Guard service. The M-3 Carbine is essentially a lighter and shorter variant of the M-3 Rifle, incorporating features such as a telescoping stock and accssory rails for mounting various accessories to the rifle. Many of these features have since been adopted into the M-3 Assault Rifle, notably on the M-3A3 variant.

Development and design

The M-3 Carbine and its variants are chambered for the standard .243 Grady ammunition, and are gas-operated, magazine-fed, selective fire firearms with either a multi-position telescoping stock or a fixed tactical stock, though the later is not a common configuration for the weapon. The first telescoping stocks fitted onto the M-3 Carbine when it was introduced in 1994 were made entirely of plastic, and featured only two positions; fully closed or fully extended. Later models have incorporated greater adjustability, allowing for up to six distinct positions for stock length. The M-3 Carbine is a shorter and lighter variant of the M-3A2 Assault Rifle, and shares an 80% parts commonality with the M-3 Assault Rifle. The maneuverability provided by the M-3 Carbine makes it beneficial for close quarters battle and thus was of primary concern to the Shenandoahan Army National Guard.

Operational history

Although considered to be a successful firearm overall, consistent complaints about the reliability of the weapon's direct impingement system has led Redhawk Firearms to continue to develop the weapon to address these concerns. In 2012, Redhawk presented a new weapon to the Shenandoahan National Guard for consideration as a replacement to the M-3 Carbine and M-3A3 Assault Rifle. This new rifle, internal designated by Redhawk as the AR-2012, is similar to the existing M-3 series rifle, but utilizes a short-stroke, gas piston system design which is considered to offer substantial reliability increases over the current direct impingement system. In 2016, the Shenandoahan Army National Guard announced it was examining the idea of replacing the M-3 Assault Rifle and the M-3 Carbine with the M-4 Carbine, also designed by Redhawk Firearms. A version of the Redhawk M-4, designated the M-2 Automatic Rifle, was accepted into service in 2019 as a infantry automatic rifle, a weapon niche that had not been filled in Shenandoahan service since the retirement of the Grady Automatic Rifle in 1955.

Variants

Infantry from the 21st Independent Regiment "Roughnecks" during a pracekee[ing deployment to Central Omand in 2010

. These infantrymen were equipped with the M-3A2 Carbine

• M-3 Carbine: Designation given to the original production rifles. Original production rifles feature the same fixed carry handled utilized by the M-3 and M-3A2 rifle.

• M-3A2 Carbine: The M-3A2 is a fully automatic version of the M-3 Carbine designed for use primarily by special operations forces. The weapon features a "S-1-F" (safe/semi-automatic/fully automatic) trigger group as opposed to the "S-1-3" (safe/semi-automatic/3-round burst) trigger group of the M-3 Carbine. It has a maximum effective range of 550 to 660 yards, and the fully automatic trigger gives a more consistent trigger pull, which leads to better accuracy. In addition, the M-3A2 was the first weapon in the M-3 series, including the M-3 Assault Rifle, to offer a removeable carry handle, and include an accssory rail on the top of the receiver and handguard to allow for mounting a variety of optics. This idea would be incorporated into the M-3A3 Assault Rifle and would be standard on the later M-4 Carbine.

• M-3A3 Carbine Improvements to the M-3A2 began in 2012, and resulted in a weapon featuring a heavier barrel to better dissipate heat from sustained automatic firing, something that was needed on the fully automatic M-3A2 more than the 3-round burst equipped M-3 Carbine and M-3 series Assault Rifles. Another improvement made to the weapon is an ambidextrous selector lever for easier use with left-handed shooters, an improvement that ahs not yet made its way to the M-3A3 rifle, despite constant complaint from left-handed soldiers. These changes increases weapon weight from 7.46 lb (3.38 kg) to 7.74 lb (3.51 kg), counting a back-up iron sight, forward pistol grip, empty magazine, and sling.

See also

• ARO FC-15
• Common Service Weapon
• FAMAC
• IAR-60
• M-3 Assault Rifle
• M-4 Carbine
• RD-04