hatt said:
S&W may have improved lately but I'm still turned off about the re-badged Stags they use to sell. The one I had was out of spec to boot.
They weren't rebadged Stag's. They bought the receivers from Stag's parent company, CMT; and other parts from other vendors. CMT sent them such bad receivers that S&W decided not to rely on any outsourced parts and began moving production fully in house within months, starting with the receivers and bbls. Only the very earliest M&P15 rifles used outsourced receivers & barrels. It's easy to avoid an early one because the O.F. Mossberg & Sons sourced bbls were marked 5.56 Nato instead of NATO. The M&P15 rifle line was a major factor in S&W's decision to buy T/C Arms as well because S&W needed T/C's barrel making capability to ensure full in house parts supply.
However, were talking about new S&W rifles, which are very good.
Oro said:
The 6920 is the definitive AR to get - IF you need to latch a grenade adapter on it. If not, it's kinda silly. If you don't need to do that (mortar your neighbors, and have the requisite license to do so), or don't have a BATF destructive device license or plan to get one, here's what to do:
1) get a Colt 6720(?). the LW carbine. If you don't have a personal license for a grenade launcher, don't buy a heavy barrel gun designed for one.
2) Look at a S&W magpul Mid-spec Carbine.
I have a pre-ban Colt 6530, the LW (a1 barrel) carbine, an A2 rifle (with a VietNam A1 stock), and the S&W Magpul mid. There's no reason to buy the silly M4 barrel. Reject any gun with that. After that, get a top quality gun with a LW or at least A2 barrel from a good manufacturer.
I do like Colt. They make great guns. I have 30. But M4 copies are just silly for a civilian. the Colt 6920 is kinda the handgun equivalent of a Colt "Official Police" in .38 special. Over built, clunky, but well engineered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Official_Police
Figure if in a few years you want to own yesterday's fad, or something practical and forward-focused.
Oro, there's so much wrong with your post that it's going to take me a few minutes to fully address. Let me break this down into sections.
The 6920 is the definitive AR to get - IF you need to latch a grenade adapter on it. If not, it's kinda silly. If you don't need to do that (mortar your neighbors, and have the requisite license to do so), or don't have a BATF destructive device license or plan to get one, here's what to do:
First, a grenade launcher is not a grenade adapter. They actually are two separate things. Second, a grenade is not a mortar, and there's a huge difference between the two. Third, you don't need a license to own a grenade launcher, you need a tax stamp. Fourth, I know collectors who have grenade and other Destructive Devices. They don't drop ordnance on their neighbors, and your insinuation that all DD tax stamp holders do so is completely uncalled for. DDs owned by collectors are just fun toys used in a responsible manner under controlled conditions.
1) get a Colt 6720(?). the LW carbine. If you don't have a personal license for a grenade launcher, don't buy a heavy barrel gun designed for one.
Grenade launchers won't fit on heavy barrels because heavy barrels are too thick for the mounting hardware. Why do you think the M4 bbl has the step cut milled into the bbl? The Colt 6920 doesn't have a heavy bbl anyway. It has a government contour bbl. just like the M4. A government contour bbl is actually light countour under the handguards, and medium contour in front of them. The civilian heavy barrel is heavy countour under the handguards, stepping down to medium contour for the standard diameter handguard cap and FSB / gas block. The civvy bull barrel is heavy contour the full length and uses a larger ID gas block.
Further, lightweight bbls will heat up and start stringing shots with only light to moderate rapid fire use. I've done it with a Colt SP1 many times.
The 6720 is no longer on Colt's website, and I think it's been dropped from the catalog.
There's no reason to buy the silly M4 barrel. Reject any gun with that. After that, get a top quality gun with a LW or at least A2 barrel from a good manufacturer.
Do you not understand that an M4 barrel is the same contour as an M16A2 bbl, but with a step cut forward of the FSB? The only reason it needs the step cut forward of the FSB is because of the length of M203 grenade launcher. The M203's mounting hardware will fit fully behind the FSB on an M16 rifle, so there's no need for a step cut on a government contour bbl with rifle length gas.
I do like Colt. They make great guns. I have 30. But M4 copies are just silly for a civilian.
M4 copies make perfect sense for a civilian because the government contour bbl is a great balance between the weight of a light contour bbl and the heat resistance of a heavy bbl. The step cut isn't necessary, but it doesn't harm function at all. The step cut is there because it's more efficient to make all your carbine length government contour bbls the same way and then cut, thread, and crown to the length required for each model.
Figure if in a few years you want to own yesterday's fad, or something practical and forward-focused.
Carbine length gas systems on 16" government contour bbls aren't a fad. They've been around a long time, and they aren't going anywhere soon.
