Springfield Armory has been producing AR-15s for more than a decade, starting first with its Saint line of rifles, then enhancing its offerings with the Saint Victor lineup, which received a refresh in mid-2025. However, for one of the company’s more recent updates, it decided to go retro, and the SA-16A2 is the result. Watch our “American Rifleman Television” Rifleman Review segment above to see the details on this truly retro rifle.
“ This is a semi-automatic rifle really built with the 1980s in mind. That’s when I started competing in High Power, and it’s when I got my first AR-15,” NRA Media Editorial Director Mark Keefe said. “And so this gun has some features you just don’t see much anymore.”
The most prominent feature of the Springfield Armory SA-16A2 is the fact that its 7075 forged aluminum upper receiver features a fixed carry handle, harkening back to the designs from when the AR-15/M16 platform first came into prominence. The A2 configuration of the front and rear sight allow for adjustments to windage and elevation, unlike the earlier Colt SP1 variants that also featured a built-in carry handle.
”When it comes to the barrel, you’ve got a 20″ barrel. This is not, you know, an M4gery-based gun,” Keefe said. “This is based on the original A2 version of the M16 AR, and you have a fairly heavy contour out front. And then you also get the glacier handguards. You know, you don’t see these much anymore. Everybody wants rails. They want this, they want that. This is old-school.”
In keeping with the A2 design, there’s a basic A2 mil-spec pistol grip, as well as a fixed A2-pattern buttstock, complete with the textured “meat tenderizer” pad at the rear that also features a trap door that allows for the storage of cleaning implements. Controls are, understandably, mil-spec, meaning there’s a single-side, 90-degree selector switch that has Safe and Fire markings, as well as a single-side, push-button magazine release and bolt release. Markings on the left side of the lower receiver mimic those found on original M16A2 rifles, with “Property of U.S. Govt.” appearing just below the company’s crossed-cannon logo.
”It’s just the lines of this gun that I love so much because it takes me back to when ARs all looked like this,” Keefe said. “Very seldom do you see a gun that looks like this anymore. There’s no Picatinny rail. There’s none of the things that we associate with the AR. It’s just old-school cool. And I like it.”
Springfield Armory SA-16A2 Specifications
Manufacturer: Springfield Armory
Action Type: direct-gas-impingement, semi-automatic, centerfire rifle
Chambering: 5.56 NATO
Barrel: 20″ 4150 chromoly-vanadium steel
Lower Receiver: forged; hardcoat anodized
Upper Receiver: forged; hardcoat anodized
Magazine: 30-round detachable box
Sights: adjustable A2 pattern
Stock: A2-pattern synthetic, fixed
Trigger: mil-spec
Overall Length: 39.5″
Weight: 7 lbs., 8 ozs.
MSRP: $1,249
To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/videos/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.
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