Specifically, I'd like to know how accurate your Colt AR is if it has an M4 profile barrel.  I've gone to lightweight barreled uppers for everyday and CQB use.  For my one M4 I'm thinking of putting an LPVO on it if the accuracy is there, or possibly going the cheap route with a red dot and a magnifier if it's not worthy of a true scope.

What say you?

Look at @Molon data he has posted.  He has for the most part found that Colt barrels are really good out the gate.

Colt SOCOM 14.5 shoots pretty well...

My Colt M4 accuracy varies with the ammo used "DUH"

Using what it likes it'll get about  3/4-1 1/2" groups at 100yrds.

This is with a Leupold Patrol 6HD,Rise armament trigger otherwise stock rifle.Soccom 14.5, P&W Phantom FH

A red dot might do a little worse, or better if yo're good with them,for me at least trigger and ammo are the major players

MilSpec is 5" at 100yrds so there's that,good luck.

My LE carbine has upwards of 9k through it and is stock.

For grins I put a 3x9 on it, after zero it shot 1" at 100 with tap barrier.  

The OP asked about "M4 profile" barrels, not M4A1 SOCOM profile barrels.  They're not the same animals.








....

The OP asked about "M4 profile" barrels, not SOCOM profile barrels and not even a Colt M4A1 SOCOM barrel is producing 3/4 MOA precision.









The mil-spec is using M855 ammunition.

...

Most of my Colt 14.5” M4 barrel data was lost in a tragic boating accident, but about the best one can hope for using match-grade ammunition in a free-floated Colt 14.5" M4 barrel is 1.25 MOA and averages will be higher.




The data below shows the results from two different Colt 16” M4 profile barrels using match-grade hand-loads.

One Colt 6920 barrel tested from my bench-rest set-up at a distance of 100 yards using match-grade hand-loads produced three 10-shot groups fired in a row that had extreme spreads of:

1.42”
1.19”
1.56”

for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.39”.  The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.44”.



The smallest 10-shot group . . .




The 30-shot composite group . . .




Another Colt 6920 barrel tested under the same conditions as described above produced three 10-shot groups fired in a row that had extreme spreads of:

1.59”
1.55”
1.73”

for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.62”.  The mean radius of the 30-shot composite group was 0.54”.





…

Can’t provide groups size but a friend used his Colt M4 profile for 300M competitions with iron sights.

He had no problem competing with 20” hbars.

Cool.  This is what I was looking for.  I did look through your past threads but I did not specifically see that target.

Any idea of basic accuracy for "off the shelf" WWB M193?  I won't go into M855 because it never seems to be as accurate.

How about 55-grain .223 "off the shelf" just to make it interesting?

As always thanks for the time, effort, and money you put into your data that you share.  For myself you have saved me from sinking money into items I more than likely would have been disappointed with.

Again, Molon has covered the M193 clones and FMJ loads.

Edit:

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Return-of-the-M193-Clones/5-2515258/

https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/A-Compilation-of-M193-and-55-Grain-FMJ-Accuracy-Evaluations/16-779585/

You've already got the gun; why not shoot it and see how it does?

Molon is such a great poster.

And yet we still have people who will crap on him or his data.  No way to be perfect and 100% rule out any influence on the data but his data is as objective as he possibly can be considering he cannot test several identical barrels and he is only one man.  It would be awesome if he was a gazillionaire and could afford to buy 10 barrels for a test, had the time to test all 10, and supply the ammo to do all the test on multiple products.
I think it is cool as hell that he does put in all the effort and time then makes the data so readily available.  Plus his no nonsense cut through the bullshit messages are simply awesome!

+1

+2.    Alot of the info molon has posted has been helpful.