Ok, I'm out comparing Colts to BM's and I go to a local shop and they have a couple of both.  I'm looking at the one Colt and it has what looks like a flash hider but no bayonet lug.  I ask the girl if it is a pre ban rifle and she said no because it has no bayonet lug.  I thought there were some preban Colts that had the flash hider but no lug?  Anyway I'm looking at this rifle trying to figure if it is a preban.  She says the flash hider is really a muzzle brake.  So I look at it real close and I notice that it is way close to an A2 preban FH.  It is completely open at the end as oposed to being just large enough for the bullet to pass through.  The inside end tapers from bore size to about 5/8" starting at the muzzle to the end of the FH/brake. The slots are only on the top with the bottom not vented at all.  The rifle does have the "screw" not a pin on the forward take down pin position on the reciever.  Could this be a preban Colt?  What would be a dead give away if so?  It is new and never been fired.  It was covered with dust so they obviously have has it for a while.  Could it be they have a preban rifle and do not know it?  Does Colt offer a brake with post ban rifles?  The girl said this rifle came from the factory with this attachment. The price they are asking for it would be a STEAL if so.  Help!  I'm havin a dilema!

bro, it sounds like that is a pre-ban, just like mine.
does it say sporter on the side ?
does the flashhider look to be screwed on ?

Yes it does say sporter and yes it does appear to be screwed on.

I'm not an expert here but they are asking 1500$ for the rifle and I have seen preban Colts no lower than 2000.

It's probably what's called a Blue Label AR; a pre-ban, but without some naughty features and it can't be made full-auto.
Check AR.com's home page and look at "Legal Issues"- there's a list of most Colt pre-ban serial #s and you can print that list out and take it to the shop. The real question is, was it a complete rifle BEFORE the 94 ban? This info may be hard to get but there's a 99.9993% chance you'll never have to prove it in court.
The flash supressor sounds like the 2nd birdcage style- the bottom has no slots to help prevent muzzle rise and to keep dust from being kicked up when firing prone (and it works great!).
Make sure the barrel, upper, bolt and carrier are Colt (look for a little "C").
$1,500 is outrageous for a POST-ban, but acceptable for a good pre-ban Colt. Not to rub it in, but I recently got a cherry 100% Colt pre-ban at the gunshow (with supressor/bayonet lug) for $1,325. It is OH SO NICE...

The first Blue Label guns mine is a 6601 H-Bar just had the bayo lug cut off. They did not have the sear block or the oversized trigger group pins they accept all full auto parts and work perfect with a DIAS. These guns sold new for about $650, so $1500 seems full price to me. I would offer them more like $1100 since it is a post ban wink wink.

If it is a later Blue Label still a preban but with the sear block and oversized trigger pins then I would offer them about $50 bucks as that is all it would be worth to me for a gun which can't rock and roll.

It sounds like a pre-ban Blue Label to me. Get the serial number and call Colt at 1-800-962-COLT(2658). They will tell you whether or not the rifle is a pre-ban along with the month and year it was manufactured. They will also be happy to send you an owners manual if you request one.

The only "dead giveaway" is the serial number. Get it and make the call or at least compare it to the list at the AR15.com home page.

I wouldn't bother talking to the girl anymore, other than to make her a lowball offer for the gun as she is obviously totally ignorant about AR15s. If she genuinely thinks that it is a post ban, show her what other post-ban Colts are going for and try to get a similar deal. In my neck of the woods, $1500 for a pre-ban Blue Label is only so-so. Nothing outstanding. Right now there is a pre-ban HBAR in the local paper for $1,000. A few months ago I picked up a like new pre-ban R6830 for $900.



That's some pretty bad legal advice. Any device that suppresses muzzle flash [b]IS[/b] one of the deadly features, regardless of whether or not it is installed by threading on. Also, you can legally use a barrel with a threaded muzzle on a post ban gun so long as some sort of approved muzzle brake or compensator is permanently attached to it, basically doing away with any usefullness of the threads.

Going to check the #'s today on the rifle.  It is NIB never been fired or owned by anyone except the dealer.  I'm gonna try and haggle with them and see if I can't get it down to $1000-1100 or so.  One problem, I ordered a BM last week from my regular dealer.  He's great and I do want the BM but I'm thinking that if in fact this place has a pre ban rifle and they do not realize it, I could get it real cheap and maybe make a few bucks off of it down the road.  So I guess I might be getting 2 AR's.  Not going to fly well with the fiance' but you take the punches and roll with them, right?  [:D]

Well, it sounds as if it's a little bit late for you now, but I've always found that what the wife doesn't know won't hurt her, at least when it comes to my buying guns. And once you get past the hurdle of getting 2 ARs, it's all downhill from there. After that, you're just buying parts and accessories and you've always had this or that. As far as the wife is concerned, the ARs all look the same. [;)]

I don't know what part of PA you are in but I live in South East PA and I recently had a dealer tell me an obviously preban Colt rifle wasn't in fact preban because it didn't have a bayonet lug. When I pointed out the flash hider they still didn't beleive me. I had bought it at another dealer in the area and stopped by this store to check something else out and told them about the great deal I just got (bought a preban sporter lightweight for $799).
The store I stopped at told me I was ripped off because it wasn't preban because it didn't have a bayo lug.
I thought about stopping at both the dealers and  giving them a preban serial # list but then that would ruin my chances of picking up another preban at a reasonable price.

If DEALERS are this konfuzed imagine how many mistakes a COP will make! Say you're on your way to the range and get pulled over. You've got a Blue Label Colt with no lug and a collapsible 4-pos stock in the back seat. "You're Busted"- for the time being, anyway... Now imagine if you had a cherry "Gov't. Carbine" in the back seat- he may arrest you and call the FBI/ATF! "You're not supposed to have this," he squeals with delight...

Boomer
$900!?! Jimminy Cricket!!! You make me SICK!

Valkyrie
don't sweat it- NOW's the time to get all the irresponsible toys that the Missus won't allow AFTER you say "I do". You'll be saying "I can't" soon enough. Right now you're her Hero, you're golden- maybe pick up that FAL you had your eye on, too.
I agree with the above- try to work a good deal on that "Post-ban" with no lug (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)...