DPMS Firearms is now offering a new AR style rifle called the Lite 16M. This new gun comes at a time when there is an abundance of AR rifles on the market.
The new rifle is chambered in 5.56 NATO, the standard AR caliber. Of course, these guns will also run the .223 Remington cartridge without a problem. Both the upper and lower receivers are forged 7075-T6 aluminum which is standard in the industry. DPMS uses a black anodized finish on them.
The company uses a 16” barrel on this rifle. It is made of 5150 chrome moly steel and has a carbine length gas system. It is threaded and has an AAC Blackout muzzle device for flash suppression. The muzzle device is not compatible with the quick attach sound suppressors.
DPMS elected to go with a 1in 9” twist rate in the barrel. In general, this will stabilize the shorter and lighter bullets better than some of the long and heavy ones that are now on the market. If you spend most of your time shooting the ubiquitous 55 grain bullets, this twist rate is just about perfect for you. If you are planning on shooting longer and heavier rounds like the 77 grain Sierra MatchKing, you might want to look for a rifle with a faster twist rate like a 1:7”.
According to the company, the gun gets its name from the M-111 hand guard used on this rifle. It is designed to be both lightweight and modular in nature. Lengths of Picatinny rail can be added as needed instead of the shooter having to lug the extra weight of a full quad rail system.
The gun has a low profile gas block instead of an A2-style front tower. No sights are included with the gun, though the Picatinny rail on the top of the receiver and hand guard allow for the easy addition of sights or an optic.
Although the gun is called the Lite 16M, the gun is pretty middle of the road when it comes to its weight. Unloaded, the gun tips the scales at 7.5 pounds. There are a lot of 7 pound (and lighter) AR rifles on the market, so I don’t see 7.5 pounds as being noteworthy enough to generate the Lite name. Clearly, DPMS feels differently.
DPMS includes a single MAGPUL 30-round PMAG with the rifle. I strongly recommend buying at least a half-dozen more to go with the rifle.
The gun has a suggested retail price of $869. This makes it more expensive than similar options in both the Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport II and the Ruger AR-556. Both of those guns have sights plus a number of other features. Both also weigh less than 7 pounds.