Advice w/ my new Colt LE6940 M16/M4 platform rifle...

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wrs840

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...So I bought my first-ever AR type rifle yesterday. It's a Colt LE6940. Haven't fired it yet. I know little about it, never had the AR bug, but bought it because it looked cool, and the owner of a favorite-haunt LGS told me it was destined to be collectible because of the discontinued "Restricted LE/ Military Only" rollstamp it bears, and a short internet search convinced me the $1300 he offered it to me for was a price somewhere between "fair" and "really good".

Being a noob to these, I have a couple questions:

I want some 30 round mags. Should I be considering Colt Factory SP62328, or Tapco Polymer, or something else? I want quality and don't mind spending the $ since I'll probably initially only buy 6-10 or so. If you have a preference to recommend, I'd also appreciate your suggestions from experience on where to buy online for the best deal on price and shipping.

I understand no break-in for the chrome-lined barrel is called for, ...just swab clean, and go shoot. Sound correct? ...Or am I overlooking something?

Any quirks of this platform, common "noob-to-the-platform" mistakes, or things specific to the Colt LE6940 that any of you would be kind enough to share with me?

I really appreciate any input.

Thanks.
 
I have one.

Its awesome.

You'll probably want to replace the factory stock, and factory trigger.
Each is serviceable as delivered - but only serviceable.
I installed the Rock River two-stage trigger and the Magpul stock with the rubber buttpad.

There is no silly "barrel-break" in.

Your 6940 will like any milspec magazine.

Every rifle needs a sling.
IIRC, the 6940 comes with a nylon strap.
That may be all you need. Otherwise, you should experiment with different slings until you find one that suits you.

The nylon version of the old G.I. "canvas" sling suits me.

Leupold Mark AR scope and cheap riser.

I don't care for the "ladder" rail covers that come with the 6940.
I'm currently using the rounded kind, and the Magpul slanty bottom grip thing.
I think its stylish.

2010-04-05-rightsidewithMarkARscope.jpg
 
clean the action often and use a good lube. I use Tri-Flow with PTFE which works well for me. You can put a little grease on the contact surfaces of trigger group to make it as smooth as possible. Watch how the rifle ejects and watch your brass for signs of pressure. Take a look at the inside of your receiver after a hundred rounds to be sure the cam pin isn't rubbing anywhere it shouldn't.

I would strip the rifle and clean and lube properly before use. I run my BCG fairly wet with lube.

A small toothbrush works well for cleaning the locking lugs in the barrel, and some small nylon brushes work well for cleaning the inside of the carrier. Don't lose your firing pin retaining pin and if you are not familiar with break down there are a couple tutorials on youtube.
 
For magazines, stay away from tapco. I run Magpul PMags in mine and they are great. Also, GI aluminum mags can be good, but as soon as I get one I replace it with a Magpul enhanced follower.

H&K makes a steel mag that goes for ~$50 but I like it. However, I would be just as content with 3 or more PMags for that price as they run anywhere from $13-$22 that I have seen. (I prefer the 30 rounders with the maglevel window)


And as others have said, ARs like to run wet. Keep it oiled and it will keep going. Have fun!
 
I am running a Wilson Combat 1" Accu-Rizer scope mount and I really like the height, eye relief and quick detach. Other than that I would like to try an ACOG someday.
 
I want some 30 round mags. Should I be considering Colt Factory SP62328, or Tapco Polymer, or something else?
Click to expand...

P-mags. They are affordable and IMHO and experience higher quality and more durable than aluminum GI mags, tapco mags, etc.
 
buy some P-mags. don't pay more than $13 for them. The D&H "labelle" mags are good to go if you want aluminum and can usually be had for around $8 in quantity.


watch this video to learn how to disassemble the rifle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seEegWV5RYM

don't do anything more than this until you really know what you're doing. after you disassemble, hose everything off with brake cleaner (don't let it sit on anything plastic), then lube the BCG GENEROUSLY with CLP or preferably Slip2000 EWL (much, much better). Then reassemble it and hose it down with eezox or sheath or something to keep anything from rusting.
Clean the bore like you would any other rifle while it's apart.

after your initial cleaning, you really don't need to clean it again. pretty much ever.


just squirt some lube in the two little holes in the carrier each time before you shoot it.

do NOT scrape carbon off the back of the bolt
do NOT attempt to align the gas rings on the bolt
do NOT stick anything in the gas tube
 
wrs840 said:
...So I bought my first-ever AR type rifle yesterday. It's a Colt LE6940. Haven't fired it yet. I know little about it, never had the AR bug, but bought it because it looked cool, and the owner of a favorite-haunt LGS told me it was destined to be collectible because of the discontinued "Restricted LE/ Military Only" rollstamp it bears, and a short internet search convinced me the $1300 he offered it to me for was a price somewhere between "fair" and "really good".

Not a bad choice. I had one when they first came out. Still use the Lower in fact. The upper no longer served MY purposes but that doesnt' change that they are quality.

Being a noob to these, I have a couple questions:

I want some 30 round mags. Should I be considering Colt Factory SP62328, or Tapco Polymer, or something else? I want quality and don't mind spending the $ since I'll probably initially only buy 6-10 or so. If you have a preference to recommend, I'd also appreciate your suggestions from experience on where to buy online for the best deal on price and shipping.

Tapco Bad. USGI mags are good. I personally use a Mix of PMags, Troy Battlemags and the new Lance AWMs. All have been pretty good although the lancer have had the growing pains.

I understand no break-in for the chrome-lined barrel is called for, ...just swab clean, and go shoot. Sound correct? ...Or am I overlooking something?

Nope that is pretty much it. I clean my Chrome lined barrels every 5K rounds or so.

Any quirks of this platform, common "noob-to-the-platform" mistakes, or things specific to the Colt LE6940 that any of you would be kind enough to share with me?

The 6940 does have a few quirks. It uses a standard AR barrel but a different barrel extension. This means you can't just swap out barrels like you can most other ARs. It also has a slightly different upper receiver configuration due to the monolithic setup. This should not affect you at all as a beginning user. But it is good info to have down the road. Finally I have found the stock Matech sight to be wanting. I suggest replacing it with a Troy or other quality BUIS.

I really appreciate any input.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Have fun and happy shooting. Make sure you look for a good RDS as well. I suggest a good Aimpoint but if you are on a budget and dont' need it for serious use look at the Vortex series of red dots.
 
taliv said:
just squirt some lube in the two little holes in the carrier each time before you shoot it.

do NOT scrape carbon off the back of the bolt
do NOT attempt to align the gas rings on the bolt
do NOT stick anything in the gas tube
Click to expand...

Bad jokes that come to mind aside, this pretty much hits the nail on the head.
 
As stated before, keep it lubed, don't overclean. No special oil is required and any will work. Some work better than others. Some shooters are using Froglube, an environmentally friendly lube that works very well. Downside is that it's expensive.

Grease the trigger sears, dry fire it and shoot it. Respectfully, avoid RRA 2 stage triggers as some of them have worn out quickly and become unsafe. This has been observed first hand by shooters in CMP service rifle competitions and with carbines that are shot a lot.

Short version, GI mags that are not worn out and 30 round PMags are what you should stick with. Some shooters are reporting problems with the 20 PMags. Not all GI mags are not created equal. It's a long thread, bit there is good information about magazines here- http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=81074

Before making any changes, shoot the rifle. Until you actually shoot it, you won't know what works, what you like and don't like.

To keep your Colt running good, think MEAL: Magazines, Ejector, Ammo, Lubrication. These items will have a direct impact on the functioning of your new Colt rifle.

Congrats! You have a carbine from the finest manufacturer of ARs
 
GI mags are the best. If you want to keep with the "military/LEO only" theme markes mags should be plenty and run $15-20 each.

As for optics, I toped mine with Nikon p-223 3x32 carbine scope. Love this thing. Clear, crisp glass,0-200, 400, 600 yd hash marks set to standard 5.56 ammo. Hard to beat.
 
6920 owner here- I like PMags and various steel mags. I don't care for aluminum personally- have had some problems with feed lips tearing on a Colt aluminum 20 round mag and I once dropped a 30 round aluminum mag (D&H?) on some rocks and dented the side. Wasn't much fun ironing that dent back out with the very limited access, steel or plastic would have survived my fumble..;)
 
if the PD model is the most latest, i'd like to know more about it and the difference.

I checked both the Colt Firearms site and the Colt Defense site, and the LE6940P seems to be it as far as "P" series versions. I don't see any "PD" versions.
There are several LE6940 rifles in various Magpul editions, but there seems to be only one "P" version.
 
GI mags are not the best, but they generally work.
I'd agree on PMags.

Colt doesn't manufacture any of their magazines for anything. New Colt-marked AR mags are contracted out.

And there is not now & never will be any collector value in an AR simply because of the Restricted LE stamping. :)
Denis
 
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