Bizzare find: Colt Delta HBAR?

I had one. It was neither ugly nor bizarre, only a scoped AR as they were frequently done up at that time. It was a good, accurate rifle.

Early 90s. I sold the Colt a long time ago, but I still have a Bushmaster I put together myself similarly configured around 2000 or 2001. I shoot it from time to time and it, too, is a good accurate rifle. Flat tops and such are the order of the day now, of course.

War Squirrel, the one pictured is probably an early version. IIRC, Colt voluntarily quit putting bayonet lugs and flash hiders on AR-15s / Colt Sporters in the very early '90s trying to avoid what became the 1994 AWB.

Robert, the cheek riser was (and still is) the only way to get a proper cheek weld on the stock of a scoped AR-15 with fixed carry handle. Removing the scope and cheek riser turns it into a heavy bbl A2 style AR-15 with a delta medallion in the grip. It's like saying "Take the tail fins off that '59 Cadillac Eldorado and you'll have a decent sedan."

Back in the 80s I traded a Valmet M-76FS straight across for one. ( Right after the first prez Bush shut down imports of several types of rifles).

The M76 had been my patrol car trunk rifle and the AR-15 H-BAR took it's place.
At the time there were NO flat-tops. So that was how you mounted a scope.
They called that cheek piece the Cherokee rest or something like that.
Mine was super accurate. I made the mistake of trading it off a couple years later for an M-1A.

I remember when they came out. they came in a aluminum gun case and only a few where made.
my friend was a custom gunsmith at colt and he wanted to get me one but I didn't like the looks.

I second the notion that while the cheek riser may be a bit on the ungainly side it does serve a very useful purpose when using a scope on a carry handle model AR15.

That's a lotta offset with the scope setting so high. The rifle came out before flat tops were developed and were kind of intended to be paired with the Delta Elite 1911 in 10mm. In fact, I believe Colt offered them together in a package deal. These rifles commended a premium price at the the time and were Colt's flagship. It can be used as is, but there are far more practical ways to scope an AR today.

If you buy it, realize it will lose any value (if any) it has a collector's piece if you modify it. The Colt HBar of the era was a reliable, accurate rifle. If I recollect, this rifle has either the 1:9 or 1:7 rifling

1 in seven twist rate.

Collectors item, don't fool with it. These were sold as mentioned above long before flat tops were around. Find a collector and you'll make a few bucks seeing it into a nice safe someplace.

Willie

.

The cheek riser is a hollow clamshell thingy that clamps around the stock. It's held shut by two screws visible at the top. It doesn't add enough weight to really notice. What you do notice on these guns is that, with a 30 round magazine in place, they are very tall. I always used 20s in mine and still use them in the clone I built.
I concur on don't modify it. If you want a more contemporary AR, buy one. There are collectors out there who would like to have yours as is.

Being rare doesn't mean it's a collectible. It has to have desirability. I don't think the Delta HBar has achieved collector status yet. This one doesn't have the box or paperwork. What are collectors currently paying for a Delta HBar with no box or papers?

When I built my clone I had to settle for a rubber armored Tasco that uses rings. The ringless version wasn't to be had, even then, for an amount I waswilling to pay.

I'd surely pick one up if it's the original delta version. Huge fan of the old school style ar. Picked this up during our last panick, never had a colt and traded one of my bolt action for this....pictured is exactly how o I got it. Not a delta but I'm guessing original owner had his own version. What I found interesting is this colt hbar had a Slick side lower receiver, and beeman blue ribbon scope

.....

The Delta line were hand select by Colt IIRC for barrels that showed better accuracy during QC. I've had one. They are great rifles, especially for their era; but they have too much collector value to modify and you can buy better now for cheaper with all the modernization of the AR rifle.

Back then everybody had to have an HBAR version. I bought an AR15A2 with the normal barrel and gun folks thought I was off my rocker.

Bartholomew Roberts said:

The Delta line were hand select by Colt IIRC for barrels that showed better accuracy during QC. I've had one. They are great rifles, especially for their era; but they have too much collector value to modify and you can buy better now for cheaper with all the modernization of the AR rifle.

Click to expand...

There is a Delta on GB with the original aluminum case and a starting bid of $1450, no reserve. It also has no bids. The rifle itself is interesting and it's a good one, but how much collector's value can a rifle package have that came with a Tasco scope?

It is a Colt that was hand-select, made in limited quantities, and a lot of people have probably modified or rebuilt the ones that are out there. I think the collector value will probably go up; but that is still about $550 more for a used Delta than what a new LE6920 is selling for.