The Caracal Assault Rifle 816, or CAR 816, is a piston-operated M-4 type carbine that was introduced earlier this year. Â The gun uses a two-position gas port for normal operation and suppressed shooting. Â Rate of fire is listed as 850 rpm. (Ed. note: Â See the September 2013 update at the bottom of the article regarding the gas port and rate of fire.)
The CAR 816 is chambered in 5.56 NATO and comes in three barrel lengths:  10″, 14.5″ and 16″.  The barrels are chrome lined and cold hammer forged from chromolybdenum steel.  The barrel uses a 1:7″ twist.
The barrels are threaded, and come with a “standard muzzle break [sic].” Â From the photos, it appears the muzzle device is a standard A2 type birdcage flash hider. Â Of course, with so many different muzzle devices on the market today, it is hard to say for certain from the photos alone.
According to Caracal, the rifle comes with a magazine release on the right side of the receiver, but an ambidextrous option is available.  The gun uses STANAG-compliant magazines, and ships with a 30 round mag.  The rifle is shown with a PMAG, but it is not known if Magpul magazines ship with the gun, or more pedestrian USGI mags.
