Quoted:
I paid a premium for a LE6920MG-FDE that was labeled as 2013 configuration. I was disappointed to see Colt downsized the package and priced it as high as the older LE6920. In addition, there were scratches on lower receiver and some of the threads on Magpul's furniture were obviously cross-threaded during assembly, as indicated by the plastic debris seen on the other side of hole.
What my friend got from the box back in November 2012:
Rifle,
Manual,
two magazines,
cleaning kit,
sling,
and lock.
What I got at the similar price:
rifle,
manual,
one magazine,
and lock.
I understand the pressure and economic benefit of cutting corners and cost reduction. As a person working in the manufacturing industry, I am fully aware of the possible profit from cost reduction on a mass produced item (If $20 can be saved on one rifle and 10,000 were sold in one year, that is $200,000 on the balance sheet). However, for a premium brand, cost reduction can be dangerous to its reputation. Does anyone remember what happened to the Big Three (Ford, Chrysler, and G.M.) when bean counters were the top brace instead of car guys?
Colt is a great company with its reputation and technical expertise. However, sometimes details matter and I sure hope them do not end up like the Detroit Big Three back in 2008.
View Quote
If your buddy bought the LE6920 "law enforcement marked" rifle, that was the standard package included. Those rifles were not intended to be sold to civilians, they were meant for law enforcement sales, export and so on.
The rifle you purchased, assuming It's marked M4 carbine, or M4 carbine Sporter doesn't include the extra equipment as supplied with the LEO package. It is the same rifle in every aspect, aside from the MagPul gear. Colt is paying attention to current trends and supplying the guns with MOE gear since most people switch a standard gun around as soon as they get home.
You bought a true mil-spec rifle, the barrel, bolt and carrier are individually magnetic particle inspected. The rifle has been proof tested with 70,000 psi rounds. The gun passes through dozens of QA/QC inspections, I wouldn't give a second thought about quality.
While I appreciate MagPul being an American company and fully support them, I don't buy anything but their mags. Their upgrades, while being good parts are not Mil-spec. If I buy an M4 with their stuff on it, I usually give it away and replace it with something Mil-spec.
I can agree with you on the cosmetic blems, every Colt I have ever bought new has had a scratch, or some kind of wear on it somewhere. Colt treats civ rifles, just like they do Mil and LEO guns. The parts go in to bins to get built and shipped off.
The military couldn't give a rats ass about scratches, nor does law enforcement, plain and simple the guns are meant for hard use. I prefer cosmetic blems to inferior steel, improperly staked carrier keys, standard weight buffers and semi auto carriers hands down.
Sorry for the rambling my friend, but know this, you own one hell of a good rifle. You can depend on it.