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
. 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-3A1 Carbine The M-3A1 Carbine features a shorter barrel than the M-3 Carbine, measuring at 10.0 in (254 mm) with a weight of 5.8 lb (2.64 kg) with a 30 round magazine, and an overall length of 30.0 in (762 mm).
- 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-3A2E1 Carbine The M-3A1 Carbine featuring improvements from the M-3A2, notably the inclosing of the accessory rails and automatic fire control group.
- 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 has 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.
- M-3A3E2 Carbine The M-3A1 Carbine featuring improvements from the M-3A3, mainly the ambidextrous selector lever.
- M-3 LEO Carbine A version of the M-3 Carbine requested by the Shenandoah Federal Protective Service in 2012. Features the upper receiver and handguard from the M-3A2 Carbine bto allow for the use of accessory rails, but retains the "S-1-3" trigger group to comply with restrictions placed on fully automatic weapons utilized by law enforcement. This version of the M-3 Carbine is the most common version in service with law enforcement agencies in Shenandoah
Operators
- Shenandoah
- Shenandoahan National Guard: The Grady Repeating Arms M-3 Assault Rifle has been the standard service rifle of the Shenandoahan National Guard since 1967, with the M-4A3 accepted into service in 2012.
- Shenandoah Customs and Border Control -
- Shenandoah Federal Protective Service - The Shenandoah Federal Protective Service standardized on the Redhawk M-3 LEO Carbine in 2014, eliminating its stocks of M-3A2 Assault Rifles, mostly gifting them to the Shenandoah Tribal Police.
- Shenandoah State Police
- Various local and county level law enforcement agencies
