Colt Canada C7 rifle


 * This page is about the C7/C8 rifle. For other meanings, see C7 and C8.

The C7 is a service rifle variation of the M16 rifle that is manufactured by Diemaco/Colt Canada, a subsidiary of Colt Firearms after 2005, and used by the Canadian Forces, Hærens Jegerkommando (Norway), Military of Denmark (all branches), Icelandic Crisis Response Unit, the Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy and Netherlands Marine Corps, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Marechaussee as its main infantry weapon. Following trials, variants became the weapon of choice of United Kingdom Special Forces.

C7
The development of the C7 paralleled that of the M16A2 by Colt. A Canadian Forces Liaison Officer worked with the Marines in the M16A1 Product Improvement Program and relayed information to Canada's Rifle Replacement Program Office.The C7 for all intents and purposes is much like earlier M16A1E1s, rather than final product M16A2s. The earliest C7s were actually manufactured by Colt for Canadian Forces as the Colt Model 715. Like earlier M16s, it can be fired in either semi-automatic or automatic mode, instead of the burst function selected for the M16A2. The C7 also features the structural strengthening, improved handguards, and longer stock developed for the M16A2. Diemaco changed the trapdoor in the buttstock to make it easier to access and a half-inch spacer is available to adjust stock length to user preference. The most easily noticeable external difference between American M16A2s and Diemaco C7s is the retention of the A1 style rear sights. Not easily apparent is Diemaco's use of hammer-forged barrels. The Canadians originally desired to use a heavy barrel profile instead of the M16A2 profile, but Colt denied permission. Also, Diemaco has developed a different mounting system from Colt for the M203 grenade launcher for the C7 rifle family. The C7 family of weapons can fire 150 rounds at any rate of fire without danger of cookoff.

C7A1
The C7A1 (Diemaco C7FT) replaces the iron sight/carrying handle used on the C7 with a modified Weaver rail for mounting optics. Canadian development of rails preceded American standardization of MIL-STD-1913, aka Picatinny rail, so "Canadian Rail" or "Diemaco Rail" slightly differs. There are 14 slots instead of 13 and each slot is narrower. The height of the rail is also lower, allowing usage of normal front sights. MIL-STD-1913 requires a different front sight assembly. During development, the original rails were vacuum-bonded to the top of a bare receiver though for production the rail and receiver were made out of a single forging. The mount can use traditional iron sights or the Elcan C79 Optical Sight 3.4x power optical sight, both of which can be adjusted for individual eye relief. The optical sight was designed for the C9 light machine gun and includes horizontal and vertical mil-bars used for range determination and deflection, and a tritium glow-in-the-dark aiming parapet rather than the traditional crosshairs. The 3.4x is powerful enough to properly see targets at the maximum accurate range of 400 m, though like most magnified optical sights it is prone to criticism for creating tunnel vision in close quarters situations. While the wide aperture helps to speed target acquisition, Canadian soldiers generally eschew the C79 sight in favour of nonmagnified optical sights or backup iron sights when engaged or training in close quarters. The front sight was changed to a round post 0.050 inches in diameter, from the square post.

C7A2
With Canadian involvement in Afghanistan, Diemaco and the Canadian Army have been working on developing improvements to the C7A1 to better suit the operational situations at hand. The result, the C7A2, has a four-point telescoping stock unit similar to that of the C8 carbine and a 3-rail TRI-AD I mount on the front sight triangle. The selector lever, magazine release, and charging handle latch are ambidextrous. Also, the C7A2 is issued with green colour furniture as standard. While rifle-length C7A2s are prevalent, some have been seen with 16" barrels, fitting somewhere in between the rifle C7A2s and C8 carbines. These weapons are often seen with a similar plethora of accessories as their American counterparts given the overall commonalities of the system and the rail mounts.

C8


The C8 carbine is the carbine member of the C7 family, and in outwards appearance very similar to the Colt 653. Colt made the initial C8s for Canadian Forces as the Colt Model 725. The C8 has a 14.5-inch A1 profile barrel like the Colt Model 653 M16A1 carbine, but with a 1/7 rifling twist appropriate for the C77 cartridge.

Diemaco LSW
Colt and Diemaco also paired up to develop a squad automatic weapon variant of the series. The Diemaco Light Support Weapon (LSW) features a heavy barrel suitable for sustained fire. The LSW can only be fired on fully-automatic (the LSW used by the Danish army can also be set to single fire). The LSW has a boxy square handguard with a carrying handle and a vertical foregrip that can be used as a monopod. The LSW was made with no bayonet lug until recently because of the original bipod. Because of a new bipod that attaches to the same barrel yoke as the carrying handle and front grip, current LSWs are made with a bayonet lug. Unlike many M16 variants, it fires from an open bolt, allowing the removal of the forward assist (the LSW used by the Danish army fires from a closed bolt). The Diemaco LSW was originally a license produced variant of the Colt 750, but both Colt and Diemaco have upgraded their respective weapons to include features like a detachable carry handle and other features separately. The Colt weapon likely has a new 900 series model number.

See Colt Automatic Rifle for more information.

Other Diemaco variants
Diemaco's C7/C8 family is completed with two marksman variants, the C7CT and C8CT, with CT meaning Custom Tactical. These variants are designed to provide accurate engagement up to 600 meters, while providing system commonality to other fielded weapons. They have two-stage match triggers and weighted stocks to counterbalance the heavy 20-inch or 16-inch free-floating barrel.

Diemaco makes a training version of the C7 named the C10. It fires .22 Long Rifle, but is only capable of semiautomatic fire. The stock and lower receiver are one piece.

Danish Army
Denmark bought the C7A1 in 1995 and C8A2 in 1996 and these are designated M/95 and M/96 carbine in Denmark. These are to replace the German made H&K G3 (labelled M/75 in Denmark), which has been the main infantry weapon since 1975.

The C7A1 is issued to standard Infantry units, while the C8A2 is issued to units where the physical longer C7A1 can be 'obstructive' to that units primary work, that include logistical, tankers and special units (like Jægerkorpset).

The Army almost exclusively use the C7A1 and C8A2 with the C79 optical sight, while the Danish Home Guard, which have also had this rifle for some years, use the iron sight/carrying handle.

It was first issued (C7A1) to field units of Logcoy/Danbn/Dancon of the Danish International Brigade, in October-November 1995 shortly before the transition from UNPROFOR to IFOR in Bosnia.

Afghan National Army
In December 2007, Canada agreed to donate 2500 surplus C7 rifles to the Afghan National Army along with training and ammunition.