All right folks! You voted for it, and I bought it!
It's a gently used Colt AR-15 A2 "Government Carbine" model 6520. I don't know much about any AR's, but a little voice told me this one was skookum. It may have been the voice of the big guy behind the counter. Price was a bit over a grand, which is on par with what they're going for on GB and probably less than what they were selling for a year ago.
Did I do good? I'm going to test it out soon. It appears to be something Colt churned out post-ban to sell to LEO's only because of the AWB features. It has a scary warning label on it about only being for sale to law enforcement. But all that is moot since the sunset as I understand it.
Barrel twist is 1:7 which favors the heavy bullets as I understand it. Heavy being a relative term here. I picked up some 70-something match rounds that look to be about right. One question--the lower on this thing says "223" but the barrel says 5.56. I notice some 5.56 ammo says do not use in firearms chambered for .223, I guess because of the minor dimensional and pressure differences. Is this one OK to shoot both out of?
I can't see too much practical field use unless I get a new upper, but it will be very useful for two things--practice and training. I can do one of these tactical carbine courses now.
I kind of like the "old school" carry handle. I notice the new ones are all flat on top and many seemed to have no irons at all in the shop. I looked at a very cool little scope that fits right on top of the handle. Very clear image with a cross that magically lights up, but the thing cost nearly as much as the rifle!
Another question--is it OK to pop this thing in half for transport? There are just two little pins holding the upper and lower together, and if I remove them it's much easier to stow the rifle. Is that kosher? I'm used to hauling M39 Mosins and many pounds of 54R to the range by bicycle, so this should be comparatively easy.