M4 (assault rifle)
The M4 is the fully automatic assault rifle of the 3D-era GTA games. It is labelled M16 in GTA III, M4 in Vice City, San Andreas and Liberty City Stories, and simply Assault Rifle in Vice City Stories. It usually costs about $4,500 to $5,400 and unlocks after a mid-story mission. The HD games replace it with the Carbine Rifle.
What is the M4 in GTA?
The M4 is the top-end automatic rifle that most 3D-universe games hand the player around the middle of the story. It sits in the same slot as the AK-47, so carrying one means giving up the other. The name on the HUD changes from game to game, but GTA Wiki treats all of them as one weapon line, which the HD universe later continues as the Carbine Rifle. For how weapon slots and shops work in general, see weapons in GTA.
Which GTA games have the M4?
| Game | HUD name | Magazine | Price | Unlocked by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA III (2001) | M16 | 60 | $5,000 | Arms Shortage |
| Vice City (2002) | M4 | 30 | $5,000 | Rub Out |
| San Andreas (2004) | M4 | 50 | $4,500 ($5,400 in Las Venturas) | Yay Ka-Boom-Boom |
| Liberty City Stories (2005) | M4 | 30 | $5,400 | Friggin' the Riggin' |
| Vice City Stories (2006) | Assault Rifle | 30 | $5,400 ($4,050 with range discount) | From Zero to Hero |
Figures in the table come from GTA Wiki's assault rifle page.
Where do you get the M4?
In GTA III the rifle is not sold at Ammu-Nation at all. It goes on sale at Phil's Army Surplus in Rockford, Staunton Island, once Arms Shortage is done, and GTA Wiki says it also appears at every safehouse after 90 hidden packages.
Vice City ties it to the story more tightly. Lance Vance passes one to Tommy Vercetti during Rub Out, the assault on Ricardo Diaz's mansion, and the Downtown Ammu-Nation stocks it from then on.
In San Andreas every Ammu-Nation sells it once it is unlocked, and soldiers drop it. GTA Wiki lists free pickups on the Los Santos airport runway, in Palisades, inside Area 69 and on the roof of the Pilgrim hotel, plus one outside the Four Dragons Casino after all 50 horseshoes are collected.
Liberty City Stories moves the sale to Phil Cassidy's gun shop in Bedford Point, with a free safehouse copy after 60 hidden packages. In Vice City Stories it is sold at the Vice Point Mall Ammu-Nation, and finishing Phil's shooting range cuts the price.
How good is the M4 in each game?
GTA Wiki describes the GTA III version as the strongest: a very fast fire rate, most enemies down in one hit, and enough punch to wreck a car in a few bursts. It can be aimed in first person, though the kick makes that hard to control. Vice City slows it and lowers the damage but also tames the recoil.
The San Andreas rifle trades power for control. GTA Wiki says it kills in one shot only with a head hit, has almost no recoil and outranges the AK-47 by about 20 metres, but loses first-person aiming. The two Stories games keep the Vice City balance without the first-person view.
Who uses the M4?
Apart from the Vice City mansion raid, GTA Wiki notes that Lance carries one in a Vice City Stories mission, and that Forelli hitmen and several gang guards use it in Liberty City Stories. In San Andreas it is the standard rifle of soldiers, which is why the military areas are a good place to pick one up.
Trivia
According to GTA Wiki, the GTA III model looks closer to an AR-10 than an M16, and the Vice City model was swapped for a longer-barrelled version in one later PlayStation 2 release. Unused M16 icons are said to remain in the later re-releases of Vice City.
Sources
- GTA Wiki — Assault Rifle (3D Universe) read 2 Nov 2026