I'm a newbie about to get my first AR... got addicted at a CMP match.  First - this sight has been a wonderful resource... and has pointed me towards getting a RRA NM lower (with trigger job), and seperatly a RRA (or possibly custom) NM upper.  

My question is everyone is always comparing the quality of lowers to Colt... why not just get a Colt?  I have heard they are "no longer available".  Is this meaning that Colt only sells complete guns and to get one you have to get their Competition HBAR or something - which for some reason would be a bad way to go - or are there some style Colt lowers that arent made anymore or only available to the L.E. or Military?  Would the fact that my sister is an active duty Naval Officer afford me any method of getting something better.

Thanks!

RRA lowers are better than Colt ones.

I dont know what you heard but commercial Colt lowers are substandard and over priced. Yes you can buy Colt lowers from here [url]http://www.sawlesales.com/[/url] and here [url]http://www.rguns.net/[/url]. One thing about RGuns though, alot of people seem to have trouble with them so dont go there unless you need to.

Colt makes M16 lowers too which are the Aston-Martin of lowers. Only thing is if you buy/own/posses one thats not registered you are [b]SOL[/b]; you will be going to prison for a long, long time (10 years minimum).

Missapropriation (sp?) of government property is covered in UCMJ Article 121 if I remember correctly. The punishment for larceny (essentially theft) is



and for "Wrongful appropriation" (buying/taking etc of US property) is

I haven't seen anyone comparing Colt lowers to anything for a long time. BM, RRA, DPMS, and several others are better.

But buy what you want.

Colt parts are overpriced, and the lowers that are available are not mil-spec.
Whatever you get, get a forged lower.

That was one of my 1st questions to this site. Soon afterward I bought a Bushmaster. Colt WAS something a long time ago. They don't recognize a legitimacy (anymore) in civilian ownership of such rifles and don't extend themselves very graciously to that market. The rifles are a good deal out of mil-spec in comparison to other civillian rifles (which too aren't mil-spec, but moreso than Colt) and they charge a premium for their name alone, which some are willing to pay. To their credit, a GOOD rifle is a thing of beauty in terms of fit and finish, but there are often a few poorly finished in the same batch (that can be pointed out in a lot of companies though). In short there are probably as many people willing to say that Colts today are "an overpriced piece of shit", as there are that will say "it is one of if not 'the' best rifle you can buy". So what does that tell you? If you are all set to buy a Colt then go for it. If you have an open mind regarding the benefits vs cost of the rifles on the market, then I suspect you won't be buying a post 94 Colt anytime soon.