We are not going in chronological order with these posts, as some of you might have noticed. There is no order in chaos, but that is beside the point here.
This article is about the M723 carbine that I have, presented in the configuration as it was used by US Army Rangers during Operation Just Cause in Panama. Specifically from photos of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in Rio Hato, you can see some of the Rangers using the M723 carbine.
The majority of the Rangers are seen using the M16A2 but there are also some other interesting weapons, including an MP5SD6, used by one of the Ranger officers.
Towards the end of the 1980s the Rangers trialed the M723 carbine, before opting for the M727 carbine. They leaned towards the M727 due to the fact that it had A2 style rear sights, like their M16A2s. This is all according to my own research in the subject. At the same time, Delta Force began receiving the M723 carbines and started switching over to it from their M653 carbines. I will discuss this specific carbine in a future article.
I understand that the high-speed low-drag build are very cool and draw a lot of attention, especially since we are talking about Delta Force. Currently, for the sake of this article, my replica is in Ranger configuration but I will dig into the subject of The Unit as well in future articles. At the same time I will go through my Delta kit that is slowly but surely receiving the attention it deserves.
The M723 carbine here features the same external specs as the M727 Ranger carbine, but it has the A1 style rear sights instead of the A2 style rear sights that are present in the M727 carbine. Making this specific replica might seem like an easy task at first, but getting the correct upper receiver can be a tedious task. The upper that is correct for the M723 has the shell deflector and A2 style forward assist in addition to the A1 style rear sights. Getting your hands on one is difficult (at the time I am writing this, at least). I use G&P externals on just about every replica that I have, since I am accustomed to their quality.
In addition, the replica also has the slimmer hand guards with the 6 holes on the top and bottom, an M4 profile outer barrel and the reinforced stock. The sling I am using is the old school nylon US Army M16 sling in black, which is attached with paracord. The metal parts are taped, as is the flash hider (reference photos) and the back of the stock. The tape at the back prevents anything unnecessary getting into the stock, since I run my Lipo batteries in the buffer tube.
Internally, the replica has an updated hop-up system (G&P hop-up with a Maple Leaf bucking), with no other internal modifications. I have not had the reason to dig deeper into the gearbox as of yet. I feel I am jinxed in regards of gearboxes, since every time I open one without something being broken, they tend to not work at all after I put them back together. For this reason, I am not pushing my luck with my replicas.
Youtube video is also available at:
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