Opinion on Colt 9mm Carbine

[Scattergun]

What is the general opinion on Colt's AR6450 9MM carbine? Any major problems? I have been thinking about one.

[LIL-COMMANDO]

I have seen these weapons which are considered blowback weapons. The ejector is built into the lower receiver just like a handgun. There are problems with the feeding on straight mags and it would have been a better design if it was curved like the HK. The fire control on the 6450 can be interchanged with the 5.56 lowers. I like Colts but I wouldnt get one and in a carbine class a guy kept having feeding problems with his.

[rob_s]

I have one. I haven't gotten to shoot it as much as I'd like, maybe a couple hundred rounds, but I haven't had a problem with it yet. I have a 9mm SBR on order (waiting for ATF to clear) and assuming that gun runs the way I expect it to I'll be selling the Colt. I just don't shoot enough to justify having two 9mm ARs.

I like the idea of a 9mm AR for the ability to shoot indoors and to be able to shoot in the local steel matches. I originally also thought it would save on ammo, but 9mm costs almost as much as 5.56 Wolf now so that's not working out too well.

[Foxandreed]

I was issued one and trained on it fairly hard. The Colt that I had was a good gun clean but was picky about mags and lube. The 9mm is dirty with cheap ammo. I still have it as I bought when I left. I like it for fun at the range and the wife will shoot it. I do not feel as safe with it as my LMT. I guess it depends what youre intentions really are.

[wicked_police]

I had one. I couldn't get it to consistently and reliably feel truncated cone ammo. Ball worked great. Unfortunately, I had access to all the truncated cone I wanted, and not much ball.

I got rid of it, and have a Rock River Arms 9mm AR with 7" barrel now. So far it's fed everything I've put through it without a problem.

As I said in another thread, the name isn't a big thing for me, as long as it works when I want and need it to.

And also when it's my dollar and not the companies! :D

[GNXII]

I bought one, via SGN ad, about 1993 from a guy with a very unique sounding business name...so unique I can't remember it !! :rolleyes: Any way, very reliable, no problems what so ever except mag prices and tough to load up mags but, I actually bought it so a girl I knew (dating seriously but still a good reason to purchase something different !) could use it at the range i.e. easy recoil, muzzle blast etc. etc. Turns out she could not tell too much of a difference between 5.56 and 9MM so it became a safe queen (got rid of the girl thereafter also!!). Only in the past 2 years have I taken it to a local indoor range and used it because of the high prices and tough to aquire 5.56 situation. Its a good weapon but kinda tough niche to fill and or find. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. :p

[John Fettes]

I can shoot it on metal plates that cannot be shot with non-handgun rounds. Even novice shooters find it hard to miss with a red dot mounted on it.

John

[Scattergun]

I bought the Colt 6450 and am very happy with it.

[LukeMacGillie]

make sure you get one of the 1 piece 3 roll pin magwell adaptors. The earlier 2 piece adaptors that were held in with 2 roll pins and a ball detent expander will split your magwell.

You will blow thru disconnectors, dissconnector springs and hammer pins at a much higher rate than with a 223. Colt came out with a special run of stainless steel pins just for the SMG.

Do not run KNS pins on a SMG, with the hammer pin breakage issue antiwalk pins will only cause you to oblong the pin holes really quick.

[biga_mn]

My wife is taking one of sully's (defensive edge) carbine classes. she is a jericho fan and wants to be ready if everything hits the fan. if the .gov hadn't hit a snag she would be taking the class with a colt sbr 9mm. i have a colt and it would be cut down if the gov would cooperate. all of the nfa guns are delayed due to whatever is going on with batfe. we'll wait our turn and be happy, but we wish there wasn't the delay.

[kjo]

i have a 6450 and it functions fine with s and b 9mm ball. got it because 9mm is less expensive and can shoot on steel at pistol ranges. absolutely no regrets.

fwiw -- KJO

[the judge]

I have a Colt 6450 and love it! I had a RRA 10.5 9mm and had a few problems with it. It shot well, but the bolt catches broke a few times which was pretty annoying. So I sold it and bought the Colt. My primary is a Colt 6920, so the 6450 makes for a nice secondary or training carbine as it really is cheaper to shoot. In Canada, the best deal on .223 runs about $425 per 1000. I can 1000 rounds of 9mm for $200 less!! So, for range sessions I am spending more time with the 6450 these days. They do run dirty though. I am doing a little test to see how long it takes between cleaning sessions before stoppages start to appear. Starting with a clean carbine, I lubed the bolt with milispec grease and have fired 400 rounds so far without any stoppages. Between sessions, I only intend to wipe off the bolt with a rag and apply a small amount of grease and see how long it goes before it is too dirty to run without stoppages. So far so good.

[markm]

I've contemplated doing a 9mm build several times. But the complications listed by LukeMacGillie are the reasons I scrap the idea every time.

[LukeMacGillie]

I've contemplated doing a 9mm build several times. But the complications listed by LukeMacGillie are the reasons I scrap the idea every time.

I was all about the SMG when I was first exposed to it, but after having to deal with eleventybillion of them, mostly having issues within a couple months of being totally rebuilt, I quickly moved on to some other "hobby":D

The higher maintenance costs in repair parts quickly outweigh the savings of cheaper ammo.