Novekse N4 Light Carbine Review

[Eric]

The Noveske N4 Light Carbine isn’t just another “me too” M-4 style carbine that everyone and their brother cranks out. What really sets the N4 apart from most carbines is the barrel, which does not have the usual notch forward of the front site. Let’s face it; most of us won’t be attaching an M203 grenade launcher to our weapons. The barrel thickness appears to be a bit more substantial than a lightweight barrel, but obviously less than an HBAR. The 14.5” barrel is cold hammer forged with chrome lining that is reported to be twice as thick as standard chroming. No other manufacturer has this configuration. The Vortex flash suppressor is pinned and welded in place to get it just over the 16 inch required minimum.

Noveske uses an M4 style barrel extension with feed ramps milled into the upper. The feed ramps appeared to be somewhat less pronounced than some, but they are properly anodized, unlike many manufacturers that simply grind away with a Dremel.

Noveske has assembled the N4 Light Carbine with a TangoDown Battlegrip and Vltor buttstock. Troy flip-up front and rear sights are in place.

The barrel is freefloated with a slick handguard rail system that covers the gasblock. The 10” rail has two quick release mounts on the left and one on the right. Rail positions are numbered. The finish is a perfect match to the rest of the weapon and machining is clean. This is one nice rail.

Both the upper and lower receiver are uniformly finished and cleanly machined. “Fire” and “Safe” markings appeared on both sides of the lower. The Noveske logo is engraved on the right side straddling the upper and lower receiver. This proof mark clearly indicates that it is a factory weapon and no one pieced together. The receiver extension plate is properly staked in place and a mil-spec type extension is used.

Looking inside I found that an M16 carrier is used and the gas key is solidly staked in place. The bolt is marked MP and the extractor has an o-ring in place. The trigger resembles that of a typical military weapon; heavy and not the smoothest.

I tried a variety of magazines (USGI 20 and 30, P-Mag, Thermold, C Product SS) and found that all fit and dropped free without binding.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, the Noveske N4 Light Carbine is built for heavy use and that’s what I planned on doing. Prior to hitting the range, I gave the N4 a thorough cleaning and lubrication, using the new Weapon Shield CLP. I then topped it off with an EOTech 512 optic.

Ammo used consisted primarily of 55 gr ball. Also included was some M855, 55 gr soft point and 64 gr soft point. I started out at 25 yards and dialed in the EOTech with 5 rounds. I then confirmed my zero at 50 yards. All brass was clearly ejected about 6 feet out at the 5 o’clock position. .223 and 5.56 both functioned without issue.

My plan was to get the N4 dirty and hot, then see if it would still keep going. I’m not a benchrest shooter by any stretch of the imagination and most of my shooting was at 50 yards and closer. Such distances are more realistic for law enforcement engagements.

At about the 300 round mark, I decided I needed to do some mag dumps. I unloaded 4 full thirty round mags as fast as I could. I then loaded them up again and did some more quick shooting. Needless to say by that point, the weapon was getting rather hot and uncomfortable to hold. I did several more mag dumps later in the testing as well. I fired exactly 1020 rounds (34 thirty round mags, all loaded to capacity). There were ZERO malfunctions. Accuracy was similar or better than my other AR15 type weapons. I didn’t observe any point of impact shift as the weapon heated up.

There was only one odd thing that cropped up during the testing. Some of the finish on the inside of the upper receiver flaked off, not from wear but from poor adhesion. This had no affect on the functioning of the weapon at all. The tested N4 was a prototype and I have learned that this has already been rectified and is a non-issue. It would not prevent me from buying one.

The bottom line is that the Noveske N4 Light Carbine is a first rate fighting weapon. It’s apparent that a lot of thought was put into the configuration and parts that were used. All the user needs to add is a sling and optic. I wonder if anyone would notice if I “forgot” to return it.