“The C8A4 unveiled at CANSEC 2024 has been in the works for some time and appears to combine features from Colt Canada’s Modular Rail Rifle (MRR) and Colt’s M5. Available information states that the rifle weighs 6.2lbs/2.8kg unloaded, has an 11.6in/295mm free floated cold hammer forged chrome-lined barrel, the M5 lower’s ambidextrous controls and an M-LOK handguard (which differs from that of the Colt M5). The whole weapon is FDE Cerakoted. In images of the C8A4 released by Colt Canada, the carbine has a a Magpul CTR stock and a MOE pistol grip and is equipped with a HUXWRX Flow 556 suppressor and a SAI 6 1-6x24mm from SAI Optics.”
It looks nice overall, but I can’t help but feel as if the choice of color is dated. Granted that even the new M7 (aka SIG MCX Spear) also shared this anomaly, but nevertheless it seems outdated that firearms manufacturers continue to offer military weapons in Desert Tan or Flat Dark Earth when the Middle East is no longer an active hotzone for military conflicts and it is believed that the next big war is going to occur in Eartern Europe and Asia where FDE wouldn’t suffice as a means of camouflage.
Interesting, but don’t see it being bought unless the Turd needs to parlay it into a political kickback since they can’t sell overruns to civilians anymore.
Pretty cool looking. But I’m not sure why we’re still dealing with Mlok. I mean attaching a pic rail section using Mlok is just so mentally retarded, it’s sad.
Who said anything about Black being superior to FDE? I was merely saying that Desert Tan and FDE seem like dated color choices considering that The Middle East is no longer the combat zone it once was and that it’s believed that the next big war is going to take place in Eastern Europe and Asia, where FDE wouldn’t be very useful as camouflage, obviously Black would be terrible in that regard too.
If Kansas ever gets invaded, (Heaven Forbid) then you’ll be good to go, but Colt Canada isn’t going to sell this carbine anywhere in the United States.
So yeah, unless Colt Canada is trying to sell these to Israel or something, I can’t fathom why they chose FDE for the color.
I don’t attach pic rail sections to MLOK, pic to pic and MLOK to MLOK. For lights I use either Arisaka mounts and Reptilia Torch bodies which are also MLOK.
All my rifles are still black or black n green. I don’t know a FDE or tan firearm yet. If I had to go to the desert, I could camo up a rifle easy. If I had to go to the arctic I could camo a rifle easy. FDE and Tan are associated with the war on terror and by extension make owner feel like operators. It’s no different than the guys rolling black rifles and wearing tigers in the 80s. Most of this is marketing to sell firearms.
If Canada finds themselves fighting in Eastern Europe somehow, I’m sure they will figure out what to do with their rifles.
I still go that route quite bit too. Gear Sector is my favorite when it comes to an offset mount but I also like a light at 12 o’clock and go with a Modlite PDW 350 on my shorter handguards.
While I still have a few, I’ve mostly moved away from black guns because they get too damn hot in summer months from the sun beating down on them. FDE/tan is much cooler (temperature wise)
I guess you missed the point, so let me simplify it: FDE is a pretty good universal color. It is not just for the desert. FDE is the MultiCam of firearm finishes; it might not always be the best option, but it’s pretty consistently a good option. Again, countries that never deployed to the Middle East have adopted similar colors for their weapons. Look at footage out of Ukraine; if you see painted weapons, they usually use tan/FDE as the base color. Since you clearly missed or ignored the point I tried to make with my picture, watch this, and explain why an FDE wouldn’t work just as well, if not better than anything else:
Ukraine, Eastern Europe, with open terrain very similar to my picture, and that’s not even the time of year it’d look best in. Hell, circling it back to Canada, the same plains that picture was taken on continue up into Canada. So, yeah, an OD or greenish finish might work slightly better in certain areas of Canada, or in Eastern Europe, but FDE works better overall, and works just fine on predicted future battlefields.
You mentioned the XM7 being another “anomaly” in this regard, but you seem to have missed that’s been the trend for over a decade. The SCAR, M110, M110A1, XM250, M17, and M18 were all adopted in one type of FDE or another for universal use, not just use in the Middle East. The M27 wasn’t, but it is the outlier, not the norm. (and even there, its suppressor and mags are frequently FDE of one shade or another, and I’ve seen a few with what look to be FDE rail systems)
And, ironically, Israel likely wouldn’t have any interest in this or any other FDE weapon. They have largely chosen to ignore camouflage, and stick to OD even though it’s a pretty poor performer across the board for IFF reasons.