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Posted: 4/17/2003 7:30:11 PM EDT
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I am new to this site and so far am very impressed with the knowledge displayed -- I'm in need of some. I'm having a hard time deciding between a pre-ban Colt (NIB) or a new post-ban Bushmaster... I know I want a 16" carbine, but just don't know if it's worth forking the extra money over for a telescoping stock and threaded flash suppressor. I really need advice! Is there any difference in quality? What are the pros of having a threaded flash suppressor? Any guidance you guys can give will be greatly appreciated! Thanks! |
| I was in the basicly the same situation that you are. I asked the board the same question and it seems everybody has a different opinion. I ended up purchasing a new Colt MT6700. I am waiting for it to arrive now. I found several of the preban rifles like I wanted for about $1350.00 so I would have had to pay about $470.00 extra for the preban. I figured that I could have a brand new gun with some extras that I know I will end up buying like a scope, extra mags, case and ammo. I also feel that I got a really good price on the Colt and if I deceide that I want a preban instead I could sell the new one and get my money back. Unless you plan on doing allot of mixing and matching with your rifle I would say go for a new gun. Make sure you check around though because their is a big difference in the prices you will find on the net or in gun stores. I purchased my Colt 20" A3 MT6700 for $870.00 brand new and I have seen it sold for more used. I also in my searching for prices had a couple of dealers tell me they couldnt get it that cheap themselves. So either way you go look hard for a good price. Also you will have to pay more for a preban carbine than you would a 20" so if you plan on doing some mix and matching you might consider getting a preban 20" and add a 16" upper. Good luck to you. |
| I just went through the same situation. I wanted the colt m4 carbine because it was an original, but had problems finding one. I decided that if I could not find a colt, I would go bushmaster. Both are sweet. In my situation I didn't care for a preban, simply because I didn't want to spend the extra dollars. I will say that a threaded muzzle brake is far better in my opinion than a pinned on one. For that reason I like the prebans, but other than that it did not matter to me. As far as the stock, I got the fixed position stock. The telescopic is cool, but realistically I would never collapse it because it is just to short. It is plenty short with the stock even fixed open. As far a quality, I personally think they are all about the same. The only real difference I saw when looking was the finishes. At least all the ones I looked at both the colt and bushmasters were milled real nice and had good finishes. For me it came down to buying the original or another brand that is equally as good. Just my opinions. |
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Everyone has a different set of factors which are important to them. Decide what's most important to you and buy accordingly. My opinion (and that's all it is): Strengths of 5.56 round are that it's light, compact, handy & almost no recoil. Rifle used should take advantage of those strengths and be commensurately light, compact & handy. Hence I like the 16" light carbine. The extra weight of the HBar carbine (and to some extent even the M4 carbine) serve no purpose that is important to me. The 5.56 is fairly high pressure and produces major report and muzzle flash, especially in a 16" barrel. Watch your buddies shoot a plain barrel carbine in broad daylight and you'll clearly see a 8-10 inch fireball at the muzzle. At night it's a 2 foot fireball, totally blinding, lights up a 50 foot sphere around you and can be seen for miles. I think a flash suppressor is important. I think a recoil break is silly since there's no recoil to kill so the dramatic increase in noise is for nothing. Unfortunately, a good flash suppressor means a pre-ban rifle. I think the flash suppressor and collapsible stock (giving the rifle more flexibility) are well worth the extra cost. Plenty of guys will disagree. I agree with most guys that rifles from Colt and Bushmaster are both top quality. Some pre-ban Colt "features" can be a bother (e.g., large front pivot & fire control pins, sear block, etc.) but quality and functionality are not. Shop around, listen to lots of opinions and finally decide what features & capabilities are most important to *you*. Besides, you can always change your mind.... |
| I had a similar dilemma. I had two green label preban Colts (no sear block, roll marked "AR-15 A2", milspec fire control parts, large hole) and two verified preban Bushmaster lowers. I only wanted to keep two so which two to keep? I ended up keeping the two Colts. I based my decision on the greater desirability of the Colts and the fact that you will most likely never again buy a current production Colt that has "evil" features like milspec fire control and no sear block. Not to mention that it is unlikely to see an AR-15 actually stamped "AR-15" on the side of a lower ever again. I also like the quality fit and finish of the Colts. They made them right back then. Bushamster, on the other hand, will soon be like any other company after the ban expires. (I know, I know. Wishful thinking. But hey, I'm a gambling man!) They will be putting out a "postban" product that will not differ from their "preban" product. So the value of all the preban Bushamsters will drop to less than that of a new weapon. Yes, Colt will drop too but not as far due to the unattainable features mentioned at the beginning of this rambling. For those that say that value doesn't matter if you don't plan on selling, value has an intrinsic effect on pride of ownership. And, when compared side-by-side with the Bushamsters, the Colts were/are definitely "special". It's hard to explain. (Kind of like women). [banana] [:D] |
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I have to agree with the crowd that says get the Bushy post ban. Your wallet will be much fatter if you get the Bushy. You can get one in a variety of barrel configurations. As others have said if the pre ban features are important to you then get the pre ban. For me the nostalgia element means nothing. Bayonet lug, not important to me. Flash suppressor, I don't shoot at night. The only time I could imagine having to use my weapon at night would be in battle. I have a Winchester 1200 Defender 12 gauge pump for in home protection. I'm betting that our society isn't going to collapse into a wartime environment before I die. If I'm wrong I'm gonna be toast anyway cause I don't have night vision capability either. So I'll just point the thing in whatever direction I think the bad guys are and start pulling the trigger. Shoot and move strategy. The folding stock would be useful if you are in a cold weather environment where you are wearing a thick heavy coat. That's why AK's have such a short stock, it's frickin' cold in Russia for most of the year. I will agree that the Colt will be more valuable if you sell it in the future. Don't know why, kinda like Harley vs Honda. Don't make no sense to me but it's true. I don't believe that a Colt is a better built weapon than a Bushy or RRA for that matter. I do believe you pay more for the name however. For the record I have a post ban Bushy 16" HBAR with full stock and a Bushy 20" HBAR upper (it is heavy) locked onto a RRA full stock lower. I am extremely pleased with both, and have had 0 problems. Anyway enjoy whatever you get, I'm sure you will. Let us know what you decide and how you like it. Shabo |
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