Build an AR I can trust with my life, literally.

[steve_dune]

I have a Colt MT6700. I have never had a problem with my gun. I shoot anything from wolf junk ammo to reloads. If I were to do it over again I would buy a 6920! I like my mt6700 but it's on the heavy side and I don't really need a 20" barrel.


I will say that I have never shot a Noveske, LMT, Larue or a BCM which is why I would recommend a Colt.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I'm curious how many of you who recommended Colt have actually owned a Colt AR15.

Raises hand. 3500 rounds and counting. Most in competition.

Colt 6920, or whatever your SWAT guys are carrying. Keep it simple.

 

[kwelz]

I'm curious how many of you who recommended Colt have actually owned a Colt AR15.

Me. I shoot thousands of rounds every year in training and Colt is what I would suggest to someone who just wants a good working gun.
BCM, Noveske, DD all are quality as well. But the Pony has a proven track record.

 

[Gryffydd]

Jason, I'm sure you really like your Sig rifle, but that doesn't mean it's a good choice for everyone. This is the second thread where you've been pushing it on someone for whom it wouldn't be a good choice...

 

[bbuddtec]

To the OP, I just wanted to say that 1:7 is more for real heavy bullets, of which you'd probably have a heck of a time finding factory cartridges for it, 1:9 should be fine even up to the M855 62 grain bullets, from what I know.

 

[kwelz]

To the OP, I just wanted to say that 1:7 is more for real heavy bullets, of which you'd probably have a heck of a time finding factory cartridges for it, 1:9 should be fine even up to the M855 62 grain bullets, from what I know.

This is not true. 1/7 is for 55grain bullets up through 80 and many people use it for 50 grain rounds as well. The only thing it may have trouble with are very light varmint rounds.

 

[C-grunt]

I'm curious how many of you who recommended Colt have actually owned a Colt AR15. I have some experience with Colt AR's and I'm not impressed. My gripes include sloppy upper to lower fit, out of spec magwells, pin walk, and less than stellar accuracy. I've never broken a bolt or cam pin on one, but had one that choked too often.

I'm more impressed with Noveske, LMT, Larue, and BCM. The only sub 1k AR I would consider is Stag. I have no experience with Daniel Defense.

I do. My 6920 has a few thousand rounds through it trouble free. Probably about 80-90 percent are suppressed to. My dept uses mostly Colts and they run great. A few years ago they bought a batch of Bushmasters, which I got, that have been plagued with problems.

Also to the people saying that a 1in7 isn't accurate with 55 grain bullets you are wrong. My department had a shooting a few years back that was at 320 yards with a Colt AR15 shooting a 55 grn hollow point. I COM shot that dropped the homicide suspect.

 

[robMaine]

Before you buy a weapon, are you sure you can have one? I don't know the background of your situation or training but I find it hard to believe that a tac-team is going to want a civilian support staff member running around with an AR.

 

[C-grunt]

Before you buy a weapon, are you sure you can have one? I don't know the background of your situation or training but I find it hard to believe that a tac-team is going to want a civilian support staff member running around with an AR.

A lot of SWAT teams keep a surgeon or ER type doctor on the team. They usually have a decent amount of training and carry a weapon.

 

[surfinUSA]

I'm curious how many of you who recommended Colt have actually owned a Colt AR15. I have some experience with Colt AR's and I'm not impressed. My gripes include sloppy upper to lower fit, out of spec magwells, pin walk, and less than stellar accuracy. I've never broken a bolt or cam pin on one, but had one that choked too often.

My experience with Colt AR15s goes back to an early 80s SP1 carbine That and every other Colt I've used since then has been fine. I'd buy another especially since the 6920 is priced well within or below others of the same quality. I built my current gun, but thats because I wanted things that Colt didn't have and it would have cost me more to change out parts.

 

[wally]

Everybody has got their favorite "best" brands, but I'd never trust anything brand new no matter who makes it.

Things fail with a so-called "bathtub" curve where the failure rate is high initially, the "infant mortality" failures, followed by a long lifetime of very low failure rate during its designed "service life" ending with a slowly increasing failure rate due to "wear out".

After a few thousand rounds from any decent maker I'd trust it, until then not, no matter the brand!

 

[robMaine]

Very interesting. I was always under the impression that these were still badged officers and not a "contractor" do to say. Thanks for the info!

Back on topic, I would really recommend running the same gear as the rest of the team. But outside of that, a decent Colt or other midtier+ should get the job done.

 

[C-grunt]

Very interesting. I was always under the impression that these were still badged officers and not a "contractor" do to say. Thanks for the info!

Back on topic, I would really recommend running the same gear as the rest of the team. But outside of that, a decent Colt or other midtier+ should get the job done.

They might be reserve officers but the ones I've talked to we're doctors not cops.

 

[Robert]

If y'all can't answer a question without snark or fighting I will lock this and issue infractions. I deleted 6 non helpful posts. If I have to do it again we are done. Stay focused to the question in the OP. If you present a different opinion please state why and be ready to cite sources. Because I said so only works on my 4 year old.

 

[powder]

From my LE training/experience/knowledge and our SRT teams: sounds like you may be a "special deputy" or a reserve officer. Two better options here other than the build-talk to the team leader and ask if he/she knows anyone on the unit who might have a rifle to sell. It will be cheaper and pretty well set up after having qual'd with it many times, and/or use your credentials/ID, etc. to get yourself the LE discount at Buds.

A unit rifle mostly removes your "new guy might have a tackleberry" rifle questions, and it's been proven/set up/ready to go. A new Colt LE6920MP is shipping really fast and really cheap with the LE discount-pick your Magpul color of green, tan, or black. Also, as LE you can write it off on your taxes as equipment-keep receipts.

 

[benzy2]

My budget answer would be a Colt 6920. Tried and true. Known quality without busting the bank. Hard to go wrong. A basic BCM, LMT, maybe Spikes, and a few others would be good too. The twist rate won't make much difference. 1:7" works just fine with lighter bullets but isn't needed if you aren't shooting real long (either heavy or tracers) bullets either, so whatever twist comes on it should be fine.

I'd stick to a few thoughts. First is to buy a complete factory rifle. Then you have factory support and someone to yell at if something goes wrong. A little assurance, even if not much. Second would be to come moderately close to mil-spec. Barrel steel quality won't matter a ton for a casual duty use. If you plan to shoot thousands upon thousands then it'll matter. I'd look for a rifle that does the testing on each part rather than batch testing. Chrome lined and chambered for 5.56 as well. F/A bolt carrier. I'd look at a standard trigger too. From there it's the cosmetic things and brand name.

Again, I'd probably buy a Colt 6920 and be done with it if nobody was putting an influence in one way or another.

 

[beatledog7]

Every AR ever built is a mechanical device, and for this reason they can all fail.

Opinions on brand reliability seem to be all over the map, so if I were I'd shop features, price, and warranty on a complete rifle, then put about 1,000 rounds of whatever your department is going to provide through the thing, some with the rifle dirty and dry, some with it wet and clean, and all statuses in between.

That done, if the thing never missed a beat, it's a keeper. Now take care of it properly.

 

[Jeff White]

I'm curious how many of you who recommended Colt have actually owned a Colt AR15.

Carried a Colt 6920 on duty since 1998. It probably has upwards of 30K rounds through it and it has never had a malfunction that wasn't the result of a bad magazine or ammo (had a squib load with XM193 several years ago). Extractor was replaced when it started to get worn. A rifle is just like a car or any other machine, it will wear out if used heavily. Most people don't shoot enough to worry about wear on parts, but if you do train heavily it makes sense to periodically inspect and replace certain parts like the extractor and spring with insert and the ejector spring.

 

[WinThePennant]

First I've ever heard of anyone hating on a Colt because of performance.

Price, yes, people will hate on Colt for that.

But, performance? For my AR builds, a Colt part is the default I'll pay up for when I can't get a BCM part.

 

[357SIG]

In a role like that, I would certainly be buying a factory, off-the-rack version, rather than build it. As a whole, it seems parts guns are more susceptible to problems than any decent factory rifle. You would be well-served with a S&W, Bushmaster, SIG, RRA, etc., as they are well-made, reliable, and accurate. If your DPMS works well, and has not given you any reason to doubt it, why not just keep it and save the money? I would take a DPMS that I know works over a new rifle that has not been used. You don't need to dump a good gun because the internet tells you your gun has to be milspec, or it is junk.

 

[taliv]

My department had a shooting a few years back that was at 320 yards with a Colt AR15 shooting a 55 grn hollow point. I COM shot that dropped the homicide suspect.

seriously? wow

details? got a link to a news report or anything?

 

[JustinJ]

Carried a Colt 6920 on duty since 1998. It probably has upwards of 30K rounds through it and it has never had a malfunction that wasn't the result of a bad magazine or ammo (had a squib load with XM193 several years ago). Extractor was replaced when it started to get worn.

Wow, that's a lot of rounds. Any bolt replacements?

 

[Jeff White]

I still have the original bolt. No signs of cracking on the lugs or chipping yet. I will probably replace it just for peace of mind this year.

 

[taliv]

that's kind of amazing jeff

 

[Jeff White]

What's amazing about it? I have read everything from 25k to 40K rounds for replacing the bolt. As far as I know no one has established a good number of rounds for bolt replacement.