Years ago, I was stopped by a State Cop on Rt. 2 in central MA - while he was running my plate, I noticed he had a sniper badge on his tunic. I'm a shooter, and I asked him what rifle he's use if he were sniping. He announced proudly 'I have a pre-64 Winchester 70!' - to which I replied - 'I've always been a K98 kind of guy.' We argued for about 10 minutes until he got another call - he turned to me, said "I have to go - BUT YOU'RE WRONG' and left. Got out of a ticket lol.

The production value of the intros bro, got a whole ass helicopter this time

Somehow people forgot that Stoner designed the "carry handle" to also serve as both a rear sight and an optics mount. That's why it was the right height to start with.

- "The more things change, the more they stay the same" - General Shepard

Don’t let anyone tell you that larping in full kit with your friends isn’t cool after this

Impressive how you managed to shoot a little movie without shooting a cinematographer and a director.

Whenever we had an IG inspection we would have to get our rifles and take all of our tape/modifications off and clean them until they looked like they just came out of the crate. After the inspection we would take a day to refit and zero. It was some of the dumbest shot known to man.

Apart from the impeccable Travis impression, I love that we, as Americans, can watch a movie, admire a firearm, think about it, research it, build it, or buy it. 💪🏼🇺🇸

Retro rifles are making a comeback for a few reasons: 1. Sometimes to go forward in skill, you have to go backwards in technology. Learning how to use A2 sights is a great skill, since they can be used to determine range, properly lead a target, and dial in bullet drop. 2. Lighter rifles are more mobile rifles. 3. They are cool.

The A2 with M203 is i think the best looking assault rifle ever made. Just has that 90's-00's Marine feel to it.

Mr Thumb, Mike, Flannel Daddy... Your Dad advice this episode was so wholesome. My work/ family balance has been weighing on me heavily lately, and this gives me a nudge to change some lifestyle decisions. Kentucky put a thumb in his neck, but you, good sir, just put a thumb in my heart.

Solid, professional, every American man should have this training and knowledge. The flag patch rocks.

The opening intros are better than anything out of Hollywood in a looong time. Plus the firearm safety is better than an Alec Baldwin film.

Charles, call the sheriff. Those two guys are larping in the back field again.

Garand never ceases to amaze me. His production levels are a cut above. I don't think people realize the amount of time and effort that goes into a 30 minute clip. Kudos Mr. Thumb

Technology is getting to be too much. I want a retro 20 inch for a couple reasons. 1. The older I get the more I am getting into the historical side of things. An m16a2 Vietnam era rifle would be awesome as a wall hanger and a shooter. 2. The unbelievable price of these optics and "tactical" gear for an ar15 are out of hand. 3. If you can't shoot with irons, you don't deserve optics.

If you’ve ever held off on watching a garandthumb video until you went to the bathroom, go ahead and hit that like button!

Dude, don’t ever stop being you. Those intros never cease to entertain.

The two biggest advancements ARs have made over the years is their triggers and gas blocks. With adjustable drop in triggers that are as good or better than you can get in high-end bolt action rifles. Plus the prevalence of easily adjustable gas blocks which allows a rifle to easily run any ammunition you want without problems & makes shooting surpressed reliable.

I'm a younger guy (26) and just built my first retro rifle it's a A1/A2 hybrid dissipator using del-ton's true dissipator barrel, A2 carry handle upper and I have fallen in love with the carry handle and just the old school vibes it gives off I've always preferred the looks of the M16A1 and finally decided to spend the money to build my own version thanks to this video and Garand Thumbs M16A1 videos.

Two actors, live ammo…and nobody died. Amazing.

Hey, there kids, a few note from an old guy. 1) the 550 cord on the front sight will melt 2) there was a "Jungle sling kit" in the system had a wire hanger for the front sight tower 3) when you use the canteen strap you cut off the hooks and put a 550 loop through the sling end 4) M203 side sling mounts were put on a lot of the CARs in my day 5) where is your LBE? The chest rig thing is 2000's thing. Good job guys!

Let’s not forget the fact that the A2 M203 hand guard absolutely screams, “Say hello to my little friend!” Retro rifles have definitely made a comeback. I love the soft shooting rifle length system combined with the (surprisingly accurate at range) classic iron sight picture of the carry handle/fixed fsp pinned to a 20” barrel. Of course, shorty’s are super compact, easily maneuverable and have the uncanny ability to immediately turn keyboard commandos into operators. I’ve been a fan of the CAR-15 since I first saw Val Kilmer’s in Heat(which also was my introduction to the FAL). My mom let me rent it (upon it’s original release to VHS) when I was 13 and well on my way to to gun nerd. Blood Diamond was great and I absolutely the love the Danny Archer setup. Your content is always brilliantly comedic, educational and informative but for me, this video had the added bonus of nostalgia. Doc GT, you are a man among men and I salute you.

The Ron Jeremy subplot gets more and more advanced. There will be historians centuries from now trying to piece it all together.

Travis must be proud to have his 2 older sons showing off there flat range skills

Cool thing about a 20” barrel is the increase in velocity. Really making the most of that bullet. Where it gets interesting is when you start playing with twist and grain. I just switched out a 16” 556 barrel on one of my older builds for a 20” 223 wylde. So far it’s been a fun gun, way more accurate at long distance but the weight took alittle getting used to.

This is the most impressive cinematography I’ve ever seen in a KZfaq video… great job! 🤝

Few months ago, I remember goin to my local Sportsman's Warehouse and hearing a bunch of people gasp and guffaw pointing and taking your picture while hiding behind aisles with their cell phones. Having no idea who tf you were, I asked you why everybody was freaking out. You replied saying you had a KZfaq channel and I asked what the name of it was and when you said "Garand Thumb" I had the most clueless look on my face cuz I thought you said "Grand Thumb". You humbly explained and encouraged me to check it out and gave me some advice on Glock stuff point being, this guy's cool as shit IRL and I've been watching your vids for a while and just now remembered I met you lol

Simplicity of "just make it F-ing reliable" will outlive everything.

My dad passed down his colt sp1 he bought new back in 1981, and ive got a brownells retro carry handle scope and a bayonet lug adapter on it so i can put a bayonet on it, and man does it look cool

Honestly, I was trained on an old carry handle M16 in the Marine Corps, that’s what I used so I just feel familiar with a carry handle AR. I feel they are more robust and from experience a retro rifle does better under heavy use IMO. Great video guys. Remember… The only school is OLD SCHOOL! 🤡

It's not even about guns anymore with Garand Thumb, I truly enjoy him as an actor. The Son of Travis truly has talent. Someone in Hollywood please give him a shot. Ron Jeremy has to be part of the deal, too.

"That one guy with a Colt and Alice gear who smokes you." You're talking about Paul Harrell aren't you Mike? We should all be so wise as to fear that man.

I had to laugh at this one, when I was in we used the old standard M-16A1 in Basic and once I got to my unit I was issued a brand new M16-A2 with the 203 mounted on it, and thought that was like the coolest thing, until I was issued the old “grenadiers vest” that held like 40 203 rounds so now in addition to the full kit Alice pack that I had to hump along with a PRC 77 and spare batteries being a Fister I was blessed with like another 30 pounds of 203 rounds and the extra couple pounds the 203 itself weighed, at the time I only weighed like 155 pounds and had to carry pretty close to that in gear, it suddenly wasn’t too cool anymore 😂😂, it bought a whole new level of suck to 20-25 k rucks…..

I cannot express how much truth is behind your dad advice in this video. Hit me right in the feels, never let your busy life and work get in the way of you being able to spend time with your kiddos. Cannot express how often we may find ourselves doing that.

I like how you point out training over gear. I was a range official in a precision.22 course and the guy that won had a bolt action savage that he had shot so much he wore the bluing off the bolt handle. He out shot guys with $2000 + guns. Shooting Remington golden bucket o bullets. It was very impressive to watch

The most appealing aspect of these early to mid 90's builds is that they were a product of a time of huge innovation. As you alluded to, the industry has experimented with many subtle changes to what was being run then, but for the most part haven't found a solution that is objectively better. What these guys came up with on their own has stayed the test of time and continue to prove that they are among the most optimal setups.

Awesome work guys. I really dig the retro guns from my era. I'm 59 years old Army vet. I have "guccied" out some newer ARs but still keep coming back to the older guns. He'll my favorite is my M1A. Cheers. RLTW

The helo pilot is a buddy of mine worked with him- Good people.

“There is nothing wrong with running an older weapon” is american for “rifle is fine”. I love my AKM, I love retro M16/4’s from 80’s and 90’s action films, it’s just fucking cool.

To quote General Shepherd, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

It's my absolute dream to do something like you did with the helicopter insert, retro style M-16 with 203 grenade launcher but, as I've said before, I live in boring old England. Love you lads, love the content, love the channel........ Great work lads!!🇬🇧🇺🇲✌️

I miss my m16 A2 w/203 So bad. I just feel like nothing can beat that look.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same" ~General Shepard/Garand Thumb

There's a certain romance about simplicity. Modern and tactical are wonderful but it's nice to have a moment of appreciation for rifles like the M16A1.

If you are gonna use a canteen strap, just bend a piece of cardboard and jam it in the hook, then tape that thing down. Been using mine like that for almost 2 years, and it has bent very slightly since i have done that, but im confident it isnt going to break anytime soon

production value alone deserves a KZfaq home page highlight far and wide

Probably because of the KISS rule, simple things are oft more relaible. Retro rifles aside can we appreciate that the M81 Woodland is still one of the best camo's around?

When I did my compulsory military service (in Russia), most of the guys in my platoon ditched their sights pretty much the second they got them. To be fair, our logistics were bad, so many of the sights we got were often low on battery or broken in some way when we got them. I was a Vehicle crewman for a BTR-90 for context.

the classic rifle revival is proof of the old adage; "If it aint broke, dont fix it"

That intro had everything 80s: the rifles, the hip fire, the endless mag dumps, the roid rage, the lack of cover... I legit wish you'd do a feature length film in this style. Not even from an ironic angle like Kung Fury, but totally serious.

Late but I see you at 0:51. trying to hide that fucking grin as the heli dips out.

Nobody cried about the inadequacy of 556, until everyone started carrying short barrels.

I love how admin said "man-eurisms" when describing his Haley impression, really nails the chaotic vibe of it!

I had a SP1 for a while and I absolutely loved that rifle. Retro is awesome. Hard to go wrong with a 20in a1

Excellent video. Love the older style rifles, and I've found their owners to be solid as well. Watched a GenX shooter massacre the range with his new M1A tanker two weeks ago, while two Gucci-gunners with Honey Badgers and a Valmet just stood there agog. Training is definitely the X factor. Cool breakdown; thanks.

"Don't forget about your family" is the most Friday afternoon commander safety brief shit I've ever heard.

Admin is funny as fuck. I'm glad GT and him are finally getting together and making great content.

One of my all-time favorite movie guns is Billie's Masterkey equipped M16 in Predator. I remember seeing it as a kid and always thought a underslung shotgun on an assault rifle looked BADASS!!! And I have to say, i can't pinpoint why but I love the sight on GT's rifle.

The travis impression was spot on 😂😂

Can we give props to Micah (The Cam Op), Admin, and Mike for sticking out in the rain to finish the video? That could easily deter people from continuing the video but it didn't phase them.

An easy explanation: At the end of the day, I am just a kid who was raised on 80s and 90s action movies. "Retro" rifles are my childhood.

About a year ago I re-activated a bone stock A2 M4 type Bushmaster that I've had for like 25 years. I love it all over again. Just an old Acog on a fixed carry handle. Beautiful...

I had an A2 the whole time I was in the Army, some of the time with a 203. We started getting in some M4s while I was in, and swapped out our M-60’s for 249s, but I never had either. I finished my A2 clone not long ago. The first patrol rifles my post-Army department issued were A1’s on loan from the National Guard. I’ve cleared a lot of buildings with a 20” rifle. I don’t understand this idea that if your barrel is longer than 10” you have a musket that’s useless unless you’re in a wide open field.

“Especially now days.” Best quote of 2021.

The fact that you can drop down from a chopper with a rifle attached to m203 as a civilian, just shows how awesome the US is🙏. Much Love from Papua New Guinea❤

When these two work together the comedy is on another level

Thanks for the Dad advice at the end of the video! Really inspiring, especially for us “young and dead dad club” members!

"These guys in the 80's just dropping bodies with a carry handle." "Yeah they did a great job..." Shit just writes it's self.

There was almost enough hipfire in the opening to be a solid remake of an 80's film.

Bro, this video intro was best than any of Seagal movies

At least 10 years ago (before Keymod and M-Lok), I bought a Daniel Defense handguard. It has a retro-ish look to it, and this convinced me to roll with it, adding Picatinny mounted handle and front sight.

The no reload detail during the whole scene is the icing on the cake . 👌

I hope one day that all of the TF-69 and TF-4/20 vignettes are stitched together to make a cohesive film. Absolutely brilliant story telling from you guys.

23:29 the way mike threw his M16 up like a kid with that big smile shows you how much he loves that kickass piece of machinery

That 203 sling set up...money. Ran that for years as a fire team leader.

2004-2005 I was in Iraq and ran a M16A2 during my tour. I didn't change anything on it. The bulk of the soldiers I was there with opted to go with a M4 carbine. The 20' barrel gave me better range and accuracy than the shorter carbines. Old iron sights don't go down because the batteries die. A little bit to white paint and ambient light works great. Just my two cents.

The “Retro” rifles comeback is likely due to those of us that started OEF/OIF with the A2/M9, and are now retiring. Gotta have the old cammies and guns next to the digitals and M4s in the SHTF footlocker.

Additionally, the guys who watched the movies of the 80s and 90s as kids, who heard the stories from operators of those time periods, are now well established in life, and have the money to spend on the cool stuff they always wanted. The more you know 💫

Best thing about retro guns, or retro anything, is that you're not stuck with it as your only option.

My first rifle ended up being a nam era M16 lower… slick sided upper with M-loc… I call it an M16A69… carry handle for best aim… home built

“In case the the bad guys have NODS” “Yea, especially these days…clears throat” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

2:15 really went center-mass there. Nice shot👌😉

Love'em! Have an M16A1, M16A2, and an M4 clone. Not a fan of the musket, heavy, quad-rail M16A4 I was issued in Iraq. But,...I may make one anyway. The light weight of the A1 is fantastic, but the rear sight of the A2 is a bit better. As you said, training is way more important than gadgets.

Back in the day, "cold war era", we relied on the good old FN-FAL to save our butts. They still make them, and they still deserve full respect as an excellent battle rifle.

Wow the editing on this one is top notch, almost thought Admin was a real person.

Ok soooooo.... this is without a doubt the coolest and most cinematic intro video I've ever seen!!!! Amazing work!

The Tom Jane Punisher made me fall in love with the retro look of the M-16 A2 with the m203 attached and iron sights.

Admin's Travis Haley impression is fucking hilariously accurate. LMFAOOOO.

Talking Neck Gaiter has a permanently installed back gaiter because he's afraid Travis is coming after him. You guys bring back some awesome memories with these shenanigans

My father(US Army, 1962-68) just walked by me as I was watching this and said “the reason guys are going back to retro stuff is because we weren’t concerned with what looked cool. We were only concerned with what worked.”

Watching the intro suddenly made me remember one of my old favorite psp shooters the SOCOM series particularly Fireteam bravo 1 and 2😂

I wish I could LARP to that level. It’s the super alpha, gigachad level that cannot be shamed.

back in the 80s i rigged up an extra M60 sling, tied with paracord for a very good patrol sling on my M16A2

Been working very hard on my first ever full build. With zero knowledge of what I was doing starting out, I've been trying to build a M16A2 clone in .308. It's definitely a HEAVY weapon with a 22" barrel, but I am absolutely loving it. The most recent problem I'm running into is what i believe to be a weak recoil spring, and trying to find an affordable scope that can stay zeroed through decent use, while being attached to the carry handle.

Finally, a low budget action flick where they remember to open the dust covers so CGI brass doesn't come flying out of nowhere! These aren't even airsoft guns like many low budget flicks use... two thumbs up. ;)

You take some guy with a Colt 733 and ALICE gear who just smokes you… Paul Harrell has entered the chat. “You be the judge.”

About 10 years ago, I had the privilege of attaching an M203 to my AR and firing chalk and sponge rounds at empty barrels in a rock quarry. Seeing you blast that 40mm projectile straight through the kid's head got me laughing so hard, i struggled to move my cursor over the like button to click it. This brings back good memories.

Admin’s Haley impression is so fucking good and it cracks me up every time I watch this video

13:20 The Haley impression is fucking golden