Colt AR15 Government model

[Griffen]

I was talking to a friend the other day about a Colt AR15 government model. He was sharing how much better these rifles were over other AR's. So I looked up the government models and did not find any characteristics that really make it stand out fron other Colts. So, do anyone know the main distinctions between government models vs. standard AR's?? I'm curios to know what makes the government models stand out.

[Pawpaw]

Well, I get a bit of a kick every time I see where it says, "FOR GOVERNMENT/LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY" on the side of mine.

Other than that, I'm sure there is no difference.

That marking was required during the previous "assault weapons ban" because it had evil features like a flash suppressor and a bayonet lug.

[karder]

I love my Colt for sure. Fires great, accurate and has always been 100% reliable. Honestly though, when I go to the range with my brother and his Bushmaster and my brother-in-law with his piston driven Sig (which is a bit different), all the rifles shoot great and are accurate. We shoot all three rifles and trade off and truthfully, I can't determine that one is "better" than the other. There are personal preference issues and nit-pics which would cause me to rate them Colt, Sig, and Bush in my order of preference, but in my experience, as long as you are working in a comparable price range, you are usually getting a fairly comparable product from any major manufacturer. Just my opinion.

[Silent Professional]

I was talking to a friend the other day about a Colt AR15 government model. He was sharing how much better these rifles were over other AR's. So I looked up the government models and did not find any characteristics that really make it stand out fron other Colts. So, do anyone know the main distinctions between government models vs. standard AR's?? I'm curios to know what makes the government models stand out.

Genuine G I issued Colts have solid milled and tempered internal parts. (Mil-Spec.) Commercial ARs (all of them that I know of except Double Stars) use MIM internals that are a fraction of the cost of milled internals.

[Bullitt]

Just my personal opinion, but I loathed the M-16 when I was in the Army. Piece of crap, prone to jams. I therefore won't even entertain any variants of this crap carbine. The US Army needs to get a proper battle rifle, like the G-3. Carbines might be fine for door-to-door and city fighting, for field battle they are scheisse. Rant over

[Silent Professional]

Just my personal opinion, but I loathed the M-16 when I was in the Army. Piece of crap, prone to jams. I therefore won't even entertain any variants of this crap carbine. The US Army needs to get a proper battle rifle, like the G-3. Carbines might be fine for door-to-door and city fighting, for field battle they are scheisse. Rant over

Agreed. The M-14 was the last rifle issued by the USG.

Cheers!

[OldCannon]

1) They don't stamp "FOR GOVERNMENT/LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY" on the rifles anymore
2) The Colt 6920 is a good rifle. You can get better ones for less (Palmetto State, for example)

Regardless, if you buy/own a Colt, you're unlikely to lose any value with them.

[remington79]

the Colt LE6920s are made on the same line as the military Colts. The only difference is making the barrel a legal length and the trigger group. There is a BIG difference in ARs. Go to http://www.m4carbine.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and do some searching. The Colt is a much better rifle and they start off around $950.

[AEA]

The BAR was not too shabby either.

[OldCannon]

the Colt LE6920s are made on the same line as the military Colts. The only difference is making the barrel a legal length and the trigger group. There is a BIG difference in ARs. Go to http://www.m4carbine.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and do some searching. The Colt is a much better rifle and they start off around $950.

The Colt 6920 can be found at a fair market price. It is well-built and set at an affordable price point. That being said, I could pretty much say the same of other manufacturers that sell at the same price point (Bushmaster, CORE, Wyndham, Palmetto State, DPMS, etc.). I'm not too crazy about the Colt's 1:9 twist rate, but otherwise it's an excellent rifle, especially now that they have the SuperStoc on it.

As I tell my customers, you won't get "Buyer's Remorse" by getting a Colt (unless you bought them at 3x their market price during the Jan-March panic).

[Pawpaw]

Um, the Colt has a 1:7 twist.

I sort of wish my LE6520 had a 1:9 twist, so I could get better accuracy out of the lighter, cheaper ammo.

[Abraham]

My Colt LE6920's both have 1:7 twist engraved on them.

I'm guessing that perhaps older models have a variety of twist rates.

[OldCannon]

My Colt LE6920's both have 1:7 twist engraved on them.

I'm guessing that perhaps older models have a variety of twist rates.

Hmm...now I need to go check up on my Colt history....thought for sure the 6920's had 1:9 (just verified they don't). I guess I'll go look all that up after I get this egg off my face.

[RJGold]

For Government Use Only = Built by lowest bidder...

We used to get a kick out of this when I was in the army...

Agree with the poster who said the M-16 was prone to jams and not very forgiving...

When I was in Panama at Jungle School we did some live firing with a platoon of guys from the Belize Defense Force. They had FN-FALs. We traded weapons and used theirs while they used ours. Now that was a sweet rifle. Those guys couldn't wait to give ours back and reclaim their rifles after we were done...

[remington79]

the Colt LE6920s are made on the same line as the military Colts. The only difference is making the barrel a legal length and the trigger group. There is a BIG difference in ARs. Go to http://www.m4carbine.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and do some searching. The Colt is a much better rifle and they start off around $950.

The Colt 6920 can be found at a fair market price. It is well-built and set at an affordable price point. That being said, I could pretty much say the same of other manufacturers that sell at the same price point (Bushmaster, CORE, Wyndham, Palmetto State, DPMS, etc.). I'm not too crazy about the Colt's 1:9 twist rate, but otherwise it's an excellent rifle, especially now that they have the SuperStoc on it.

As I tell my customers, you won't get "Buyer's Remorse" by getting a Colt (unless you bought them at 3x their market price during the Jan-March panic).

We'll have to disagree there. Colt's are hands down much better than the companies you listed off and for the same price point. You need to look at materials (what steel is used for the barrel, bolt), see if the gas key is staked correctly, is it over gassed, is the right buffer being used, etc. Has the bolt been individually MPI and pressure tested or are they only doing batch testing? There are a lot of factors to look at. The ones you mentioned might be good for hobby use but that's about it. I'll stick with Colt, Bravo Company, etc. If someone gave me one of the other rifles I'd trade it in as a deposit on a BCM etc.

Personally I prefer the 1 in 7" twist. It will shoot 55 grain and higher and I like the ability to use heavier bullets. I got lucky I bought mine last summer before there was a panic and I got mine with the Magpul package for $1050. I don't regret it at all.