Agreed. Who couldn’t enjoy a stock Colt carbine? Hell, I’ve got uber expensive ARs built exactly as I want them, and my next will be a pencil barreled, carry handle upper… Because I miss the simplicity and light weight.
But the most important part: I can appreciate a simple, perfectly functional carbine right out of the box that hasn’t been confused by perceived upgrades and needs. Just appreciate the basic form, and later, grow from there.
edited because I forgot the point I was trying to make
I paid $1070 for my 6920 4 or 5 years ago. I’ve never seen a reason for a second AR, but for $850 it might be worth it. I’m sure I could sell it new in box for $2k after the next election. :rolleyes:
For what it’s worth, I originally came into this forum to ask a question about an AR whose name I will not mention here. It got my thread locked pretty dang quick. I learned never to mention that brand again. I read for a while then posted another question. Eventually, I got the “Get a Colt 6920 and be done with it”. I did. No regrets.
Euro, I am with you on this and bought three Colt 6920s when they first became pretty inexpensive. I paid $950 for mine, but frankly they were worth it. They are slowly being kitted out with rails, optics, etc… I will keep one in stock format and have a spare Colt M4 removable carry handle that replaced the Mapgul buis. As I see it, there is no reason to buy anything else right now. I would love a 6720 from G&R, given that they are $799.
I too have expensive AR’s, but my go to guns are either my two complete Colt rifles or my three other AR’s I built using all Colt parts (the only non Colt parts are the stripped lowers, stocks, grips, and rails) Colts are just accurate and reliable, and although there are very good brands out there such as BCM (which have great barrels BTW) DD, and LMT, I still prefer Colt. My next SBR is a Block 1.5 clone built on a stripped CMMG lower. Hey, it was a spare lower sitting in my safe, had $200 USD, a box full of spare Colt parts, and a Colt upper I built around a 14.5" SOCOM barrel. Can’t wait to get the stamp in!
I dig my 6920, if I was in the market for another carbine with a FSP it would be another 6920. Some are saying they would rather go with a 6720, but if I were to go the LW route I do a BCM middy (which I also have and am completely happy with as well). Both are great guns.
I HAD a 6600 back in the day, and while I like my BCM’s, DD’s, and custom builds, I’m still trying to get BACK to a Colt myself. Too many other priorities in life at the moment, but my NEXT rifle will be…
I believe you need to take off the front sling swivel (I could be wrong on that), but also the SL handguards take a round fore end cap, not a triangle cap.
In the 1970’s I got caught up in the 7.62 Nato versus 5.56 debate and went with the 7.62. I scoffed at all 5.56 users. Many years later I finally tried an AR. I couldn’t believe what I had been missing and how wrong I was to dismiss the 5.56. I had to have an AR of my own to test and found a used High Standard 6551. I did some more research and found the Colt 6920 would be best for me. After purchase I added a magpul trigger guard and the Aimpoint Pro red dot sight. After one more part change - BCM ambi charging handle- the rifle will be set to my liking. I have absolutely no regrets going with the Colt 6920.
If the carbine gas port is sized properly, there is little difference for most shooter. In fact, I am pretty sure I could run a 13" rail over a carbine gas system and people wouldn’t know that it wasn’t a mid-length gas system. The only issue with the Mid-length gas system is that there is no set standard for the Gas Port size (which is set at .063 on the carbine gas system out of a 14.5" barrel). So that means that middy gas ports can be all over the place and from our experience, are typically way over sized.
Grant, do you find Colt’s carbine gas ports to be properly sized? I hear DD’s ports are usually oversized, but not sure if that may hold true for Colt as well.
It wouldn’t matter if Colts were selling for $500 or $1500, there will be AR’s that are a few hundred dollars less and a few hundred dollars more. Just a matter of economics on the manufacturer and budgetary constraints if any on the buyer. Buy the best that you can afford, knowing full well that the cost of the rifle is just a portion of the overall cost of using it. Let’s face it, how many of us AR owner’s are going to keep their carbines/rifles “bone stock” after a year or two. It’s a very small percentage. Just take a peek at the “AR Pictures” and “Custom” AR threads. By the time you add up the “upgrades” like triggers, rails, grips,stocks, BUIS, optics and mounts, slings and mounts, weapons lights and mounts, bipods and mounts, etc., etc., etc., whatever you paid for your weapon will be a moot point.
To get back on track, consumers will buy what they can afford. Some will buy more than they can afford. To each his own. Personally I think a 6920 at todays prices is a great value simply because of the quality/cost ratio, regardless of the gas system used. To someone else, it won’t be, for whatever reason. Bottom line, go shoot it as much as you can afford to. If something fails whether it’s a Colt, BCM, Delton, KAC, bring it to our attention here so we can all put in our 2 cents!
If you have a carbine length gas system and you want to smooth it out a VLTOR A5 setup will do it for a lot less than swapping out barrels to get a middy.
Well I was going to start a new thread about Colt’s recent QC, but it looks like this may be the place to post it. My first AR was a Sig M400. It has been 100% since day one. I’ve since built countless ARs for myself, friends, and family. Anyway, I was on a road trip with the family and stopped by a small gun shop in west TX (will withhold name) to poke around. I found a brand new 6920 for a really good price so I decided to finally add a Colt to my collection. After a quick inspection and transaction, I had it out the door for ~$889 with tax. I kept it in its box until we got home a few days later. After removing it from the box I noticed that TWO roll pins were not punched in all the way. Both the trigger guard and bolt catch roll pin were sticking out ~1mm. An easy fix for sure, but it makes me question Colt’s recent QC. I had to strip the rifle and give it a thorough inspection - everything else checked out. Maybe there’s a reason why 6920s are going for so little these days? I would provide pics but I didn’t think of taking any before punching the pins back in.
Has anyone else recently purchased a 6920 or any Colt with such glaring assembly errors? I have to say, I’m really not that impressed with this rifle. Though I haven’t fired it yet, already out of the box, it was assembled improperly and the trigger makes my old stock M400 trigger seem like a NM. I can’t help but feel as though I could have made a much better AR for less. I was really excited about owning a Colt finally, but now I regret my purchase. Blasphemy?
EDITED TO ADD: I would have probably noticed the roll pins had I had more time to inspect the weapon before purchase - a teenage daughter and wife constantly hounding you to hurry up can be distracting. Also, this is only the second complete factory AR that I’ve ever purchased: I always roll my own, at the very least the lower.
