Posted: 7/19/2012 1:44:08 PM EDT
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From Colt's web site:
Be it prairie dog hunting in Texas, whitetail hunting in Maine or elk hunting in Colorado, the Colt LE901-16S™ is the rifle for the hunt. Chambered in the classic .308 Winchester cartridge, the LE901-16S is the perfect choice for medium to large sized game animals. Exceptional accuracy is assured by its full floated, 16.1” chrome lined barrel and one-piece monolithic upper receiver, suitable for mounting your optic of choice. Keeping the varmint hunter in mind, the .308 Winchester upper receiver group can be easily swapped out for any Mil-Spec Colt upper receiver chambered in 5.56x45 NATO. The fact that all operating controls are ambidextrous, including the magazine release, bolt catch and safety selector, makes for versatility and ease of use.
At last! An AR that can use either a 7.62 OR a 5.56 upper! Woo-hoo! 
Our favorite LGS now has one in stock, FWIW. 
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Isn't 7.62x51 a bit longer that 5.56x45, or is that just my public school education in New Math rearing it's head again?
How does it handle the difference? What are the mags like? (I'm just full of questions!) Doesn't sound like it's backwards compatible, either. .308 lower will handle 5.56 upper...but can't put the .308 upper on 5.56 lower, or can you? David |
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Quoted:
Isn't 7.62x51 a bit longer that 5.56x45, or is that just my public school education in New Math rearing it's head again? How does it handle the difference? What are the mags like? (I'm just full of questions!) Doesn't sound like it's backwards compatible, either. .308 lower will handle 5.56 upper...but can't put the .308 upper on 5.56 lower, or can you? David From the picture, it looks like the pivot pin sits lower than the takedown pin, while both are at the same height on an AR-15 lower. I suspect some sort of adapter (to match the pivot pin height, and the magwell dimensions) is involved in using the 5.56 uppers. ETA: The pivot pin would also be farther back on the 5.56 upper, so that may be the trick - when using a 5.56 upper, either an adapter provides a pivot pin at the correct location for the 5.56 upper, or the pivot pin is moved to a second set of holes that are covered when the 7.62 upper is in place. |
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Quoted:
Isn't 7.62x51 a bit longer that 5.56x45, or is that just my public school education in New Math rearing it's head again? How does it handle the difference? What are the mags like? (I'm just full of questions!) Doesn't sound like it's backwards compatible, either. .308 lower will handle 5.56 upper...but can't put the .308 upper on 5.56 lower, or can you? David From what I can see, there is an adapter block similar to the 9mm magazine block that you can use in a 5.56mm rifle that goes into the LE901-16S receiver that allows you to attach a standard 5.56mm upper and use standard 5.56mm magazines. The adapter block is not included with the rifle, and I haven't been able to find one (adapter) available yet. It looks like a really nice rifle, and when I get back to work, I've got one on my short list. |
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Quoted:
Isn't 7.62x51 a bit longer that 5.56x45, or is that just my public school education in New Math rearing it's head again? How does it handle the difference? What are the mags like? (I'm just full of questions!) Doesn't sound like it's backwards compatible, either. .308 lower will handle 5.56 upper...but can't put the .308 upper on 5.56 lower, or can you? David Well, I'm not the Vandy grad...................... 
Yeah, it would have to be a 7.62 lower in order for the mags to fit the mag well. I haven't laid hands on the rifle yet, but my experience tells me the mag well will have to have some sort of adapter/block kit ala` Colt's 9mm AR lower does. Mags will obviously have to be different/seperate for each caliber as well. Or, you guys can come out to the Lebanon show & see fer yerselves................... 
You know, the shows where there's always the same old-same old? 
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