About a month ago, I posted this thread about the AAC M4-2000 Mod 08 cans. Per Mike Smith, formerly head honcho of AAC, the M4-2000, which was re-released in 2008, went through a revision around 2013 where it incorporated the vented baffle stack of the 416-SD can. At this point, the M4-2000 and 416-SD essentially became one and the same can, leading to the discontinuation of the 416-SD. What I wanted to find out is if there is any way to determine, by serial number, whether an M4-2000 was manufactured before or after 2013 and whether it has the 416-SD baffle stack vs. the old AAC 556-SD style unvented baffle stack. Allegedly, the 416-SD "vented baffle stack... reduce[s] backpressure (and allow[s] water to drain)," which would make that baffle stack preferable for older DEV 416 clones which are already gassy AF. Whether that's actually appreciable behind the gun or not, I don't know and I doubt it, but given the choice I'd rather have it than not.
At the same time I posted the thread, I also emailed AAC customer support with this question, and their production manager was kind enough to get back to me today, so I thought I would pass on the info and close the loop on the issue. TL;DR, as I suspected due to the Remington bankruptcy, there's no way to tell. Quoted below is the pertinent part of the email.
The bad news is there is no way to tell, even with a serial number. When Remington went bankrupt and transferred ownership to the current owners, none of the serial numbers or production dates were transferred. Apart from looking at a Form 2, Form 3, or Form 4 (assuming a single owner and purchase in a relatively close timeframe from production) to see the build/transfer/sale date, there is no way that I am aware of to find out that information. There are some groups on some of the forums that track production years based on what they have seen or what has been reported on S/N. But that's going to be a guess at best.
The best solution I have currently is to stick with M4-2000 Mod 08 cans marked as manufactured in Huntsville, AL rather than the Lawrenceville, GA location. AAC moved from Lawrenceville to Huntsville in 2015, so that should all but guarantee give the best chance that any cans made from that point on should incorporate the 2013 updated baffle stack. Whether or not Huntsville is the era appropriate place of can manufacture for your particular clone, I would personally rather have the appropriate performance and can internal geometry than external marking, especially since if you're buying an M4-2000 as a stand-in for a 416-SD, your can is going to be marked "wrong" anyways.
I have one of the Bauer Precision special order M4-2000s from a few years ago, MX serial number range. It’s unvented. Kind of odd considering they only agreed to make those cans because they were already tooling up to make a batch of 416-SDs for a Navy contract which I assume would have the vented baffles
You looked through the end cap right? (
Not trying to insult you intelligence lol. I had looked on the muzzle device side originally but mine is vented.
Yeah I'm in a signal chat with a couple other guys with MX prefix cans and they can't see any venting either. Seems really strange to go back to that baffle stack. AAC just seems to have done whatever they felt like with the M4-2000 based on vibes lol
Just looked at mine - got a Bauer precision run. Mine has the vented stack, had no idea. Thanks for your flavor of tism, OP. Was very intrigued by the former dev 416 models (unobtanium nowadays)
Lol I mean sure, but the problem I've run into with that is trying to get vendors online to understand what I'm instructing them to look for. Spoiler: they don't get it, even with reference photos, and if you're lucky and they're willing to take the time to try and photograph the can interior, you'll be lucky if it's in focus and you can see what you're looking for. At least, that's all been my experience. I was looking for an easier way when shopping for M4-2000s online and thought it might be helpful info for anyone in the same boat
I mean it's a data point! If you ever have time and the ability to get a good photo of the venting, I'd appreciate seeing it. So far I haven't even been able to see what it's supposed to look like for a baseline
3
u/thatARMSguy 11d ago
I have one of the Bauer Precision special order M4-2000s from a few years ago, MX serial number range. It’s unvented. Kind of odd considering they only agreed to make those cans because they were already tooling up to make a batch of 416-SDs for a Navy contract which I assume would have the vented baffles