Why Would You Want a Colt?

[BarryLee]

Ok, several years ago I sold my Colt AR15 and have long regretted it. I decide to get another one and started shopping around today and need some input.

First shop I ask if he has any Colt AR15s his response, “why would you want a Colt?”. The guy goes on to tell me that the quality has dropped and that they are overpriced.

Second store when asked for a Colt AR15 responds, “we stopped carrying them, nobody wants a Colt”.

Third store responds, “we can get them, but they are not worth the money”.

All three stores had nice guns by Windham, SIG, Rock River, Bushmaster and Spikes.

So, is anything wrong with the quality of Colt AR15s sold to the civilian market?

Are Colts so overpriced that it makes sense to go with another brand?

What brands do you like other than Colt?

Would you ignore these guys and just get a Colt?

[customaquatics]

i like the "lower" AR-15's as i mean i love my Palmetto State Armory an im building a Stag Arms.

[Quentin2]

Well obviously they wanted to sell you an AR. They didn't have Colt so they've got to talk you into something else if they want to make a sale. I'd be wary of any salesman who tries to change your mind. Odds are they have their own agenda.

If you want Colt, get Colt. I've come very close to buying a Colt AR over the last few years but intead went with builds using Daniel Defense and BCM uppers because I wanted the midlength gas system. Otherwise I would have bought Colt.

It really depends on what you're going to use the rifle for but for a military style AR with high reliability Colt, BCM, DD, Noveske and LMT are hard to beat. Of the brands you mentioned Spikes isn't too far behind. Anyway, don't believe a salesman who says Colt quality has dropped off or no one wants Colt.

[checkmyswag]

Its still the standard. They may make more off of others though and most others are plenty good.

Watch your lane.

[hodaka]

I sold my H-Bar and bought 2 DPMS rifles (parts that I assembled). I'm happy with the choice. Folks pay a lot for those little horses.

[RT]

I bought a Colt for the 1 in 7 chrome-lined 4150 barrel that was HP tested and MP inspected. And also for the FA bolt carrier and the HP/ MPI bolt.
I don't consider $970 a to be overpriced.
http://www.gtdist.com/ProductDetail....er=COLT-LE6920

[FrosSsT]

So, is anything wrong with the quality of Colt AR15s sold to the civilian market?

No

Are Colts so overpriced that it makes sense to go with another brand?

I believe the LE6920 is priced right at 1k. When you start talking $1500-$2500 there are better options out there then what Colt has to offer. (HK, Noveske etc)

What brands do you like other than Colt?

That is the problem these days with the AR world. Everybody thinks that this brand is better than that brand. 99% of them function flawlessly when kept clean and will shoot as straight as any other. I bet if you covered up the brand and gave them a Colt, then a Bushmaster, than 10 other guns they wouldnt be able to tell what brand they are shooting. People will recommend the ones THEY own. Its like asking who makes the best TV - Samsung? LG? Sony? You'd be happy with any of them because their quality is very similar - with such few differences even the pickiest people have trouble telling.

Would you ignore these guys and just get a Colt?

I have a bushmaster that I am completely satisfied with. If they had the colt there and I wanted another AR and the price was right I'd ignore everyone and get it.

[jmr40]

Colt has a lot more competition now. I still think they are probably the best gun in the $1,000 category. But there are a lot of $700-$800 guns that many would argue are just as good. If the Colt is better, it ain't by much. I chose to go with 3 rifles in the $700-$750 range. At this point it would have been impossible for the Colt to have been any better. All of mine have been perfect. I have a Stag, a Rock River lower with PSA upper, and a PSA. Some day I may regret my decision, but for now I'm happy with my decision.

The biggest argument I can think of for buying the Colt is resale value. It will always sell for a greater percentage of it's original price even if it is in reality no better. I seriously considered that with my last purchase. My options were PSA @ $750 or Colt @ $1100. For just $350 more I strongly consdered the Colt, but I had a FN pistol I wanted to trade. The store with the Colt didn't want to trade. The store with the PSA gave me a very fair price on trade. The out of pocket difference including tax was over $900. I traded the pistol and $250 OTD on the PSA. The Colt with tax would have been $1173.

[BarryLee]

Hey all thanks for the feedback. Yes, I realize these guys were attempting to move their in-house inventory, so I was not really too put off by them bad mouthing Colt. I just wanted to confirm there was no major breakdown in quality that I had missed.

I found another place via the internet about 1.5 hours away that has some nice Colts in stock for just $150 - $250 or so more depending on specific options. I might make the trek down there and check them out.

[mattleegee]

When i was shopping a couple weeks ago i was kind of fed the same information about Colts from workers

"Your just paying more for the brand name"
then trying to sell me a DPMS S&W and Bushy

"We have had this same one for a few months and sold many of these"
then trying to sell me a new Ruger piston and a Bushy

ended up with some other brand anyway

[dave9969]

I own a colt LE6920
its a great gun
can not help but wonder why they would trash talk the LEADER in the AR-15 platform for DECADES.
Yeah, you have a lot of choices now.
Back when I was shopping my rifle I kept hearing:
"this AR is as good as a Colt"
"this AR is just like a Colt"
"they are all on the same platform"

I finally decided to get the one that they all compared themselves to. I have had NO issues with it since then.

[Crow Hunter]

Another thing to keep in mind is that Colts cost more than many of the other brands to the dealer as well.

Unless they are a shop that serves a lot of LEOs or people who want/need Colt quality, they will have to price the Colts close to the same price as they do the other rifles. Because most people think they are "all the same" and will just buy whatever is black and shaped like the rifles they see on the TV and movies. Therefore, they won't make as much profit on the Colt rifles.

There ARE differences whether people believe it or understand it.

If that difference doesn't matter to you, and you are satisfied with a particular rifle, that is what matters.

The TV analogy isn't really accurate. Yes you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the top of the line TV brands. But you could definitely tell a difference between a top of the line $2,000 Samsung and a low end $600 Sanyo from Wal-mart.

Heck, I can see a difference between my Samsung LCD and my Mother's Samsung LCD but her's cost 1/2 of what mine did for the same size TV. That is a more accurate analogy.

By the way. Wal-mart here in town has Colt 6920s for $1,097.

[HKFan9]

I think Colt is matched by a lot of other companies these days.. that do it cheaper.

I sold my 6920 and now own a Stag and a few BCM builds, which even the Stag I paid $600 performs better than my Colt did.

I have no issues with Colt they make a good gun... but mine especially wasn't "the golden standard" by any means.

Like others have stated, most name brands will perform about the same these days if you take care of it.

[Crow Hunter]

I think Colt is matched by a lot of other companies these days.. that do it cheaper.

I sold my 6920 and now own a Stag and a few BCM builds, which even the Stag I paid $600 performs better than my Colt did.

I have no issues with Colt they make a good gun... but mine especially wasn't "the golden standard" by any means.

Like others have stated, most name brands will perform about the same these days if you take care of it.

Can you elaborate?

I would be interested to hear what the Stag does better than the Colt did.

What problems did you have with the Colt?

Colt's aren't perfect nor the end all/be all of AR-15 rifles. They most likely won't be as accurate as a DPMS or have a good "fit and finish" as some of the "lower tier" brands.

If someone is looking for supreme accuracy, they should look for different features than what is available on a 6920.

BCM makes some very accurate rifles that reportedly still retain the durability features of the 6920 in their SPR/DMR uppers. I don't know this personally as I have never taken a BCM rifle apart.

[customaquatics]

colts to me are like kalshinakov's. you'r semi auto version is made in the same plant as the full auto military rifles. its America's "AK-47" if you will.

[BPowderkeg]

you say "Colt AR15", to me that is very generic as there are so many variations made by Colt, which model exactly are you wanting ?

my first Colt AR-15 was and still is an early 1970's vintage.

[Sinlessorrow]

Colt 6920's(civilian M4's) are $1000, that is inline with every other brand of AR that is decent.

The main thing Colt has over every other company is the TDP. Colt own's the TDP thus they can use the TDP on their civilian rifles. They are the only company allowed to do this.

[chadio]

Originally, I wanted a Hartford Horsey. The benchmark, the industry standard, 'you can't go wrong'

Then, after:
- being patient
- taking a really good look at what I wanted to do with a rifle
- looking at what my expectations were
- talking with engineers at rifle manufacturers

I decided to spend an extra $400.... and got what I REALLY needed

[Auto426]

It seems that every time a dealer doesn't have any Colt's on the rack to sell suddenly Colt's quality is in the gutter. That same goes for their handguns as well. The quality of Colt's AR-15's has been pretty consistent and it most certainly isn't in the gutter or dropping off.

If you want a Colt, swing by your local Wal-Mart. They started carrying AR's in the gun section not too long ago, and the one of the 3 or so AR's they carry is the Colt 6920. They are usually priced at just a touch over $1k. You'll be able to get a good rifle and a good price and avoid all the salesman BS at the local gunshop.

[marine6680]

I'm looking hard at the Colt 6920 as a next purchase. Maybe a basic BCM rifle for the same price.

Then I am looking hard at a LWRC M6 basic model for about $1400. Its biggest draw is the nitrated barrel rather than chrome lined and the treated BCG. Being one of the better piston systems is nice but not needed.

All the Colts I have picked up have been nice, but had chips in the anodizing on the receivers. The build felt solid.

[Crow Hunter]

I'm looking hard at the Colt 6920 as a next purchase. Maybe a basic BCM rifle for the same price.

Then I am looking hard at a LWRC M6 basic model for about $1400. Its biggest draw is the nitrated barrel rather than chrome lined and the treated BCG. Being one of the better piston systems is nice but not needed.

All the Colts I have picked up have been nice, but had chips in the anodizing on the receivers. The build felt solid.

If you are just going to get a basic rifle from BCM, I would go Colt instead. If you decide that you don't want it later, the Colt will be easier to sell than the BCM which is really not as well known by the non-congoscenti.

If you are wanting a more specialized setup that Colt doesn't offer, BCM is the way to go. (Mid length, SPR, DMR, long rails, Kino, etc)

LWRC makes some very nice guns, 2nd only to HK in the piston world from what I understand. They were doing a LWRC day at my local gun shop which is the largest LWRC dealer in the US (or was). They were running full auto guns. Ever so often they would dunk the front ends into a 5 gallon bucket of water to cool them off and steam/bubbles would come out of of the ejection port. They didn't bobble as far as I know. I was working a different part of the shoot.

Colts usually have chips in them because of the way they are assembled. They put the rifle together, then take it back apart and interchange the parts with another rifle and test fire it. It is part of the military requirements. They are handled much more than your average. There are pictures over on M4carbine.net that shows some of the assembly processes, it is pretty interesting.

If you are wanting really good "fit and finish" then Colt is NOT the way to go. All of mine have knicks/scratches in the finish and assembly lube left on the barrels under the handguards. But I didn't buy them for the way they look.

[HKFan9]

Like I said I do think Colt makes a great AR, but mine left a sour taste in my mouth.

I ran it wet I ran it dry, GI mags, Pmags, comericial ammo, mil spec ammo... I could just never get it to function 100%.

I checked the extractor, the o rings... I would get it not stripper the rounds sometime, double feeds, FTE.

I tried a different BCG in it, which no drastic changes.

Everyone can make a lemon... would I trust my life to Colt.. sure.

The point of my post is just because of what it says on the side of the receiver doesn't automatically make it a good or bad gun, only shooting it determines that.

My Stag eats anything I throw at it.. even old steel cased ammo and I've ran it bone dry.

My BCM's are top notch IMHO and one of the best deals out there I think.

I just ordered two more uppers for them for a personal build and a build I am helping a friend with.

[Te Anau]

Are Colts so overpriced that it makes sense to go with another brand?

Yes,I'd say S&W offers the best overall quality at a good price.

[marine6680]

I would probably never sell, and if I did, it would be to someone I know.

I prefer the basic guns over the fancy added feature versions... simply because I never hang a lot of stuff on mine. Basic irons and maybe a red dot. Free float handguards and rails everywhere, just not my thing. Never liked the way the rails felt in hand, and the covers don't help much.

My fiance wants a .308 AR... I love that she wants one... hate the price of ammo. She wants a DMR setup, may see about doing similar in 5.56...

[Basement-Gunsmith-Z]

I agree, smith and wesson makes a better valued ar15 for the money. The s&w ar15s are generally more accurate than colts from my experience. Also colt only requires a 5 MOA 10 shot group. You pay extra for the pony...

LWRC makes some very nice guns, 2nd only to HK in the piston world from what I understand.

HK guns are way overpriced. 3500 for a piston ar is ridiculous. In my opinion POF and Barrett have the best piston systems on the market. LWRC is third, and hk is last on the list.