AR Sponsor
[ARCHIVED THREAD] - The Colt Equivalent Challenge (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 1/23/2007 3:05:18 PM EDT
|
I have once again been informed that I can build a rifle that is equivalent to Colt using parts. I challenge you to show me where I can find parts that are the equivalent of Colt. We'll make an exception of LMT, since they are the obvious answer. |
|
LMT does not sell individual barrels and receivers...no go there. In addition, their Bolts are finished differently...look at them side by side. Plus they don't park under the FSB and don't use taper pins on the FSB, they use straight pins. You can't build a colt without colt parts and nobody does the QC required for the parts except Colt. The only way to do it would be to get Colt parts and put them together yourself... Even MP tested bolts from other makers are not the same since there is a procedure to test the bolt which includes firing a proof round, then MP testing. MP testing without the proof round first proves nothing. Same deal for barrels... Not to mention the hardness of the internals... Not all LPKs are the same. |
  DPMS would probably be one of the LAST commercial AR guys i would list as on par w/ colt.... |
+1 Anyway, I don't understand why people want colt but buy something else. Just get the colt if you want a colt. Personally I don't own one. If I wanted to spend more money on a plane jane AR then I would get a colt. Remember that guy that had a colt and it fell over on its side and a big piece of aluminum chipped off the receiver. Colt replaced it, but is that considered quality??? Get what you want and don't worry about it. My $.02. |
Get anybody's forged reciever, a decent match barrel, FCG and furnature set of choice... Done, and then some (unless you really believe the type of pins used to attach the FSB, or weather-or-not the gun's parts were NDIed to be 'a difference' - I'd say it's a side-note)... The only thing you get from Colt is a pony on your reciever and a much lighter wallet... Their 'QC' isn't that impressive either... But if you REALLY must pay for a name, be my guest... |
My new LMT BCG has been test fired (I can tell from bolt face) and is MPI tested. |
FN  Now, like some of the other posters, this I really don't understand. I have a M4gery from parts. It's got a Bushmaster 14.5" 1/7 Chrome Barrel, and pretty much everything else is RRA. It will launch a 5.56mm projectile into a taget and kill it just a dead as a Colt. For some reason I though that was the goal of these rifles. You can argue about evey other aspect of the QC or pakerizing under the FSB or anything else. As long as it goes bang every time and has the capability to hit the target, then it does it's job. |
|
First, unless you are an AR armorer, and sometimes not even then, you can't beat the Colt factory build. The rifle works as a unit after being fitted, tested and proofed as a unit. Second, if you decide to buy all the parts and build your own Colt, you will spend three times what a new one costs and it still won't be the same. Okay, considering form, fit and function, is it cost-effective to buy a Colt when it does the same job as any other AR? Absolutely. It's a little like wanting a Rolex but not wanting to pay for it when you can get a watch that can't be told from the original for 1/10 the price, and it keeps the same time. Except that in the AR world, the price difference really doesn't even exist. You can find new Colts for basically the same price as Bushmasters and others. Even if you build your own, you'll pay more than half for the parts and tools. Like the man said, if you want a Colt, get one. Lots of people build their own, and I did too. Sure, most of them function, but after shooting my Colt side-by-side with one that I built, the difference in quality is tangible. True, I'm not a master bulider, but the gun works and is accurate. Most anybody can do it, just like most anybody can make a 1911 pistol. But even if you took all-Colt parts and made that pistol, it still wouldn't be as good as a factory gun, and it would have no warranty. |
Just for the sake of argument I would like to know what "fitting, testing, and proofing" a Factory Colt rifle goes through after being assembled. AR's and 1911's are a world apart. A 1911 takes quite a bit of fitting for a "quality" build. An AR really dosent take any fitting at all other than barrel extension installation and checking headspace. All the "fitting" is done in the manufacture of the individual parts. Also remember that some of us have seen some real "turds" escape Colt QC. |
Does Colt also make a better 1911 than everyone else? Does Colt have workers or wizards at the factory? |
|
MOST of the big-namers use parts that are made by the same few sub-contractors. it is entirely possible to buy two different AR's, let's say stag and colt, and have nearly ALL of the parts come from the same factory. just buy a quality product. a quality product is a quality product, regardless of who'se name is on the side. |
Not in my opinion. I've had GREAT Colt 1911s, and Mediocre ones too! They seem to be just about as hit and miss as the rest of the 1911 jokers out there.  But they are USA made and nowhere near as bad as the Brazilian Springfield 1911s  .
|
|
My SBR build. I spent extra money for "good" parts: RRA stripped lower - $140 (inc FFL fees) Stag LPK - $66 CMT buffer tube - $34 Colt M4 buttstock - $30 (used from EE) LMT bolt and carrier - $130 CMT charging handle - $21 CMMG upper receiver (11.5" .gov profile barrel, A1 upper, handguards) - $451 Est. shipping charges: $20 Total: $892.00 |
If you look closely and don't see a pony anywhere it is a POS. I wouldn't even shoot it, too dangerous. |
stop being a  CMT charging handles are the pits, i've ruined a few of them. |
| I've had two Colt rifles and neither one would shoot worth a shit. Bad luck? Probably. I sold both of them, I was intent on not buying another AR, but I broke down and tried a Bushmaster A2. While the BM is not as nicely finished in certain areas, it sure as hell shoots ALOT better than my two previous Colts. I always felt the same way when it came to AR, Colt being the best, I no longer feel that way. Hell, the CMMG upper I just received a couple of weeks ago I just as nice as a Colt. And LMT bolts are Proofed and MP tested. Just my $.02..........andy |
Sure you don't mean MilSped
|
Equivalent in what way? Name? Resale value? Quality/durability/performance? Features/configurations? ETA: if you have specific parts in mind, name them... or are you talking about the entire firearm? For the price of current Colt LE models on the open market, I could put together a very good quality rifle which IMHO would be superior to the Colt. |
Subbed blanks, machined and chambered in house.
No. And while they lost the M16 contract, they remain the only contractor for M4 carbines. |
Sure, but in what order? Its not a proof test unless a high pressure proof round is fired and then the bolt and barrel are magnafluxed. |
Didn't get the edit in fast enough... specific parts or the whole firearm? |
Magnafluxing is NOT an assurance of quality or long term performance/durability in a new manufactured part. It is useful as a PM test.... but I doubt any AR owners are having their bolts magnafluxed at 1000 round intervals. |
[ARCHIVED THREAD] - The Colt Equivalent Challenge (Page 1 of 3)
AR Sponsor