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Posted: 4/5/2016 12:51:46 AM EDT
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So. . . I've had an N1 stock for a few years, it lives on my 723. Recently I've been working on a new build that will require another. I knew I had something in my parts box, so I went digging. What I found was a stock which looks remarkably like the N1 I have, but is lacking the actual N1 markings. I'm guessing it's not Colt, but it looks much closer than any of the knockoffs I've seen.
Anyway, with the frenzy going on over N1s, and people asking (imo) ridiculous prices for them, I splurged on an Ebay auction, which listed a "Genuine Colt" stock, and included a 2-position buffer tube, buffer, spring, older castle nut, and a sling. The ad had mediocre pictures, nothing close up, nothing showing markings, but was enough for me to see that the tube was to position, and the stock didn't look as bad as most of the aftermarkets I've seen. That stock showed up today, and I'll be damned, it's pretty much identical to the one I had in the parts box. I know people talk about the M&A stocks, and how close they are to Colt, so I figured I must just have 2 M&A stocks. So I looked around, and found This Comparison of an N1 Stock with the M&A. What I'm seeing on the M&A doesn't seem to match what I'm seeing on the two non-N1 stocks I have. (Note the large molding dot in the lower corner, on the right side of the M&A in the side by side comparison shot) I'm left wondering what these are? I'm not going to say they are non-N1 Colts (Is that a thing I somehow just don't know about?), but I'm curious where they came from. For sake of not having to call them out constantly, I left little colored post-its in each shot. Orange is N1, Blue is Unknown Stock #1 (the one I had), and Green (sometimes looks white), is Unknown Stock #2, which showed up today. Note that the colored post-its sometimes throw off the color of the photo a bit, but the stocks are all the same shade of black. My actual colt has seen some use (by it's previous owner) and has some dirt in the corners, and is shinier in exposed areas. (Larger photos can be found here.) Anyway, . . . comparison shots galore! 
There are 3 casting/molding dots on each side of the tube section of each body. One at the front, one in the middle, and one at the back. These are things I don't see in the M&A from the comparison linked to above. 
Here's the reinforcing ribs: 
Sides of the Latches: 
Underside of the Latches: 
The "T" under the latch, as called out in the M&A comparison. 
Butts! (Who doesn't like pictures of butts?) 
Top, leading edge chamfer: 
Top Holes 
Sling Loop/Molding Sprue(?) 
Sling Loop Front Swoop 
Sling Loop Profile 
In addition to the stock body itself, today's arrival also included a two position buffer tube, spring, an older style castle nut, and a buffer I haven't seen before. The top is a 4 position tube I believe to be an actual Colt. The bottom is the 2 position that came with the green ? marked stock above. 
New, unknown buffer on the bottom. Colt H buffer on the top: 
So. . . new buffer. Red bumper, the body is the same thickness all the way back to the bumper. The head is separate from the body, and attached with a big roll pin through an even larger opening. This allows for a fair amount of play in the head. It doesn't move side to side, but it rotates side to side, and moves a bit front to back. It looks to have a similar finish to, but is not the same profile as the older style carbine buffer (As seen in Ekie's Parts Variation Guide) 
Any expertise, opinions, or wild speculation is greatly appreciated. |
| The two "unknown" stock bodies sure do look like the Colt N1 stock in their details. One thing that might narrow things down a bit would be to determine if the "unknown" 2-position stock tube is "commercial" diameter or "mil-spec" diameter. If the 2-position tube will fit into the N1 stock body, then the tube is mil-spec diameter, and more than likely Colt. The fact that the 2-position tube is gray with black threads makes me suspect that it is a Colt tube already. |
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I'd be happy with both the unknowns, unless you paid a Colt price for them. They look close enough to the real deal to me if they are not.
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The two "unknown" stock bodies sure do look like the Colt N1 stock in their details. One thing that might narrow things down a bit would be to determine if the "unknown" 2-position stock tube is "commercial" diameter or "mil-spec" diameter. If the 2-position tube will fit into the N1 stock body, then the tube is mil-spec diameter, and more than likely Colt. The fact that the 2-position tube is gray with black threads makes me suspect that it is a Colt tube already. Both tubes look mil-spec to me, by looking at the threads. |
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It was my understanding that there are N1 and Non-N1 Colt bodies. I bought a stock body I know for a fact came off of a Colt 9mm carbine that was not marked N1 and I have one that was given to me from a guy who
came back from Afgan with no N1 marking. Unless maybe they were sub-contracted parts. 
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So yeah, it appears to be a Colt 9mm Buffer. Mine doesn't have the bumper pinned, but I know the early carbine buffers didn't, so maybe this is off an older 9mm Colt Carbine?
Everything pictured is milspec, all stocks work on all buffer tubes. I had no idea there were non-N1 Colt stocks, but that seems to be the prevailing theory here. And to be clear, even if not colt, they're certainly close enough for my tastes to use, I made this post just because I'm curious to their origin, and knowing what I have. The latest acquisition is going to get all split up. I'll use the Buffer on my 633, which is currently just using some current production commercial carbine buffer. The 2-Pos tube & castle nut will eventually go toward my XM build, and the stock body will live on the 4-Pos tube/buffer in my SOPMOD Block I build. Edit: It appears I'm not the only one who didn't know about this, because there was a thread on the same subject just about a year ago: https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=3&f=123&t=672403 Quoted:
I have two colt car stock off of 9mm smg m16s both unharked Which seems to be exactly what I've got here. |
| It is the same way with the vintage aluminum stocks that are plastic coated. I've got two right now, one with marks and one without. Back in the 1980's I had a beat-up aluminum/plastic coated stock that was used in Vietnam and it had no markings. I could be wrong, but it seems like the markings came later on the stocks. Maybe someone out there can confirm this. If my assumption is right, then those stocks without markings would be older and more appropriate for a retro build! |
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Are you smug because they were only $9? Or are you proud of the self restraint it took to only buy two? Quoted:
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A few years ago Bushmaster had the stock bodies w/latch on clearance for $9 each. I only bought 2.  Are you smug because they were only $9? Or are you proud of the self restraint it took to only buy two? I think he's sad he only bought two. At least I would be... |
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Those all look Colt to me.
One big indicator for me right off the bat on imitations is the lack of flare at the toe. These all have the flare, and everything else matches up down to the checkering on the butt. That's something I noticed as a kid when I would detail draw AR15s, Colt Commandos, and M16s. I even drew a series of all the model variations I knew of back then, to include 10" vs 11.5" XM177s, 653, GAU-5A, GAU-5A/A. When you pay very close attention to detail as an artist, things like that will stick out. I only knew what real stocks looked like until I started seeing the really bad imitations in the 80s, and especially in the early-mid 90s. |
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This is a perfect example of it.
Look at the toes of each stock. A Colt will have a flare or curvature of the angled portion of the stock as it approaches the toe. The M&A just maintains a straight line. For those not familiar with rifle stock anatomy, the comb is where you weld your cheek, the heel is where the sling loop is, and the toe is the corner of the triangle in this case with an acute angle. If you imagine the stock resting with the butt on a flat surface with the muzzle up, and think of the stock as a human foot, the toe becomes very obvious. 
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Quoted:
I think he's sad he only bought two. At least I would be... Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
A few years ago Bushmaster had the stock bodies w/latch on clearance for $9 each. I only bought 2. Are you smug because they were only $9? Or are you proud of the self restraint it took to only buy two? I think he's sad he only bought two. At least I would be... Very sad  
Is that better? 
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| I'm wanting to go back to the basics with a Colt N1 stock and get rid of my Magpul stock. Does the buffer tube just have to be a Mil Spec tube for the N1 to fit? Does it matter if it's a 4 position vs. a 6 position? I didn't want the tube sticking out the back of the N1 at the closed position. |
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Quoted:
I'm wanting to go back to the basics with a Colt N1 stock and get rid of my Magpul stock. Does the buffer tube just have to be a Mil Spec tube for the N1 to fit? Does it matter if it's a 4 position vs. a 6 position? I didn't want the tube sticking out the back of the N1 at the closed position. Any milspec tube will work with the original Colt N1 stocks. The early ones were 2,3, and 4 positions, but any milspec tube will work fine no matter how many positions. The milspec tube will not stick out of the rear. |
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Quoted:
Any milspec tube will work with the original Colt N1 stocks. The early ones were 2,3, and 4 positions, but any milspec tube will work fine no matter how many positions. The milspec tube will not stick out of the rear. Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm wanting to go back to the basics with a Colt N1 stock and get rid of my Magpul stock. Does the buffer tube just have to be a Mil Spec tube for the N1 to fit? Does it matter if it's a 4 position vs. a 6 position? I didn't want the tube sticking out the back of the N1 at the closed position. Any milspec tube will work with the original Colt N1 stocks. The early ones were 2,3, and 4 positions, but any milspec tube will work fine no matter how many positions. The milspec tube will not stick out of the rear. As Hal said, any Mil-Spec will work. The Farthest, and Closest stops on a 6 position are the same as the two stops on a 2 position, the difference from 2-3-4-6 is just how many stops they added in between. |
| I remember back in the day when I was an FFL doing LOTS of gunshows selling AR builds (1988 to 2000), there was a sudden release of Fiberite stocks that were allegedly from the subcontractor that supplied Colt. They had the "N" or "N1" removed, as that was Colt's mark. While not as expensive as Colt, they were still a pretty penny at the time because they were identical and used the same long fiber polymer as they did for Colt. The big problem was that almost no one in the early aftermarket years had Mil-Spec CAR15 tubes! All of the CAR tubes were commercial dimeter. I got one of these stocks, but had no tube to put it on. I think that is why the run of non-Colt marked Fiberite was short lived. |
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I have a couple of these in my parts box. Mil spec diameter, identical in every way that I could see. Always wondered what they really were. I'm guessing that they don't have tubes to go with them. I have encountered several since back in the day, a;ways without tubes. |
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I'm plenty happy with my MA N1 Clone and Mil-Spec tube. It is on my cheap (less than $400) build. I had the lower & Colt LPK already. I just ordered a MA N1 clone and their Mil Spec tube for a budget build too. I'm putting my Colt N1 on my SBR that has a LMT 10.5 in upper on it. |
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