I've lurked here, newly registered, and a longtime veteran of the Tuco boards. My only previous experience with the AR was USMC 72-74 (My, how time flies!).  Folks on the other boards all recommended your folks here; I'd appreciate your experience and input on the following:

Local dealer has this: Colt Sporter Target Model Cal 223, Model 6551. S/N is ST 019xxx, which checks out as preban. It is an AR15 A2 with bayo lug and has closed-bottom birdcage flashhider. Rifle is 97-98%, no wear on the receiver, couple scuffs on the barrel forward of the FS. The barrel is stamped C MP 5.56 NATO 1/9 HBAR, the bore is bright and the lands sharp. Little wear to the carrier and FCG parts finish.  It comes with 4 Colt made 20 round mags in GI pouch, the mags have some external finish wear as they are gold-gray in color, but no dents.

The rifle also has a .22 cal conversion unit and three T-shaped mags (inserts) for it, only marking on the .22 unit itself is 104310 RW.

The 1/9 twist would work for the bullet weights I intend to shoot, but I was wondering if this is the decent deal that it appears to be. The entire package is $1000.

Also, can anyone tell who made the .22 conversion unit? No marks on the mags, and only the 104310 RW is on the unit, no other tradenames or marks.

TIA,

BRS

Very good deal.  I think that .22 conversion is made by Colt. Last I bought one is $200.00 (the .22 conversion)with only one T-shaped mag insert.

Man, I am afraid I would break my arm reaching for my wallet on this one. . .

Hey BRS.  Welcome to AR15.com!  As for that pre-ban Colt for a grand… BUY IT!  That’s an excellent deal if the rifle is as you describe.  The only thing I’d tell you is that a few of the specs you laid out don’t jive with a Colt OEM rifle (doesn’t meant the rifle isn’t good though).  Except for the 1/9 twist barrel, I would have said you’re looking at a Colt R6600 HBAR, but they were 1/7 twist.  The Colt R6551 is the Sporter Target model (hence the ST serial number prefix) and would have come from the factory with a chrome lined 20” 1/7 A2 profile barrel with no bayonet lug.  The stamping on the barrel would have been C MP 5.56 NATO 1/7.  It sounds to me like you have a Colt R6700 HBAR barrel mounted on an R6551 A2 receiver.  The R6700 came with the HBAR barrel, 1/9 twist and had a bayonet lug.  The Sporters didn’t (as a rule) ship with the bayonet lug and the R6551 definitely didn’t come with a heavy barrel.

All in all, I still say buy it as this sounds like an awesome pre-ban for a grand!

Don’t know about the conversion kit though.  There’s a good chance it too is a genuine Colt.

GRAB IT! That is a great deal on a preban Colt. Just think about it, the cost of a new postban can be around $850 and that comes only with a sling and one ten round mag. I would buy it in a heartbeat. BTW, welcome aboard and Semper Fi!

Thanks to all for the responses!  I appreciate your time, experience, and input!


BMANSAR15:  I wondered about the barrel, also.  All the charts on the various sites that I checked indicated that it should have been 1:7.  The S/N is clearly a Sport Target, and preban.  Either it was a mixup or maybe a special order.  A field strip at the dealer's leads me to believe that is is not rebarreled or refinished.  I am not terribly experienced with ARs since the mid-70s and the bewildering number of Colt models and variants doesn't help.  

The same dealer has another Colt AR15, a postban Match that's pretty hammered.  There is no lug and no muzzle break.  It has a barrel marking of R MP 5.56 NATO HBAR.  That's right, R.  It is not a lightly struck B, it is an R when looking under 10 and 20 power magnification.  I thought that Colt rifles would have only C marked barrels?

Thanks again!

BRS

Kevin:

Pardon the newbie question, but wouldn't that have a negative effect on value, if the upper was swapped?

BRS

Agreed....if all looks as good as it sounds its well worth the asking price. You can allways get the upper (in a pre-ban config) of your choice if it matters to you.

Buy it!  You can't get those .22 conversion kits for under $200, so that makes the pre-ban rifle, $800!  Buy it!  

Ciener (sp?) makes .22 conversion kits also.

It sounds unanimous, you all twisted my arm.

When I get it squared away, cleaned and gone over, I'll get it out to the range after the Mud season is over and perf some paper.  It may be a while before a range report.

Again, thank you all for the time and the input.  

BRS

can i get your opinion this one........?

add in a local AZ. on line trading site.......

===============================================
""Colt Match Target Rifle Model 6551(Heavy barreled AR15. Test fired only, like new in box
Condition: Like New $850 ""
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are some Model 6551 post ban ??

Jack, it is a post-ban rifle.  Pre-ban versions were designated as R6551 and post-ban as MT6551.  It is not a bad price, just not great.  Unless, of course, it is a pre-ban that someone advertised incorrectly.  If so, the s/n will be something like STxxxxxx.

Good choice BRS!  Buy that Colt, you'll love it!  We look forward to the range report.


CactusJack - Match Target Colts are post-1994 rifles.  It will have a 3 letter serial number prefix.  Also, the MT6551 should not be a true HBAR, similar to what I said to BRS above, it should have the A2 profile barrel (light under handguards/heavy forward of handguards).  The MT6601 is the HBAR model, neither the R6551 nor MT6551 should have HBAR stamped on top of the barrel.

IMO, $850 for a used (test fired by whom?) post-ban Colt is a little high in my area, but not totally unreasonable.  If it's in good shape, go for it.