Colt-Now Outsourcing Almost Everything?

[OldState]

Watching Small Arms Solutions YouTube live right now. Chris Bartocci just said an old colleague of his over at Colt said they are down to producing only lower receivers and extractors in house and outsourcing everything else.

Anyone heard this?

[scottryan]

Yes, I got a bunch of 6920 uppers last week that had no cage code or C marked above the forward assist.

They went right ****ing back.

There are also a bunch of bolts appearing with just MP marked on them.

[opngrnd]

Does that mean that the 6920/6970/6933, etc in it's true form is dead?

[grizzlyblake]

Damn. I have another 6720 waiting for pickup at my FFL. How accurate is this and what should I look for?

[scottryan]

Its accurate information.

[prepare]

Seems like most brands outsource most of the components from OEM manufacturers. Might be why there are so many brands now days marketing their in-house QC.

[BoyScout4Life]

Colt marked parts will finally become collectors items...?

[Doc Safari]

Damn. I have another 6720 waiting for pickup at my FFL. How accurate is this and what should I look for?

I just got a 6720 literally about three weeks ago. Upper is marked 13629. Bolt carrier is not "C" marked. Bolt says "MPC". All other areas seem to be normal.

Here's one thing I'll say though: inspect it thoroughly.

The first 200 rounds out of the rifle ran fine. Then during cleaning and lubing I noticed the bolt would not go back into the bolt carrier even smacking it with the fatty part of my hand. I pulled the bolt back out and noticed one of the bolt rings was out of the groove and looked like it had been kinked during manufacturing. I replaced all three bolt rings and the rifle ran fine again at the next range session.

I think that bolt ring had been compromised all along and as long as the gun was fully assembled it was held in place. It didn't jump out of the groove until I removed the bolt for cleaning.

A thread on TOS shows a rear detent spring that was badly mangled during final assembly on another Colt model. A 6920 I bought in the middle of 2018 came with a hammer pin that wasn't pushed all the way in to "click" on the retaining spring. Once I pushed it in all the way it was fine.


My point being: It's odd that three problems in a few months have to do with "assembly" issues. I'm thinking Colt or whomever is putting rifles together may have some less than stellar laborers doing the work. I know it's anecdotal but I've owned Colts for years and it's odd for me to have two QC problems in a few months.

[Don Quijote]

Yes, I got a bunch of 6920 uppers last week that had no cage code or C marked above the forward assist.

They went right ****ing back.

There are also a bunch of bolts appearing with just MP marked on them.

LOL.............

Guys like you must think every part in your vehicle is made by whatever brand it is

[OldState]

LOL.............

Guys like you must think every part in your vehicle is made by whatever brand it is

This type of analogy is way off base. There isn’t a car company that became the gold standard in a certain design of car and did so controlling most of the production in-house.

For those that understand Swiss mechanical watches, I think there is a better analogy there. Colt was the Rolex of duty grade ARs. Rolex produces extremely well built and reliable tool watches and have built their reputation and company around making almost everything “in house”. Not only can they control the quality and design, but for a company that makes as many watches as they do, it’s more economical. Are there watches as good or better than Rolex..especially for the price..absolutely. But they are consistently good and charge a premium for their name and reputation. And just like Colt, even non enthusiasts know the brand Rolex.

“In house” manufactures command a premium in the luxury watch world. Several years ago it was reviewed that several famous watch makers were outsourcing many of their parts ....many from outside Switzerland. Those brands took a credibility beating and it has impacted their value. Some manufacturers that were once considered “top tier” watchmakers are considered very average now that they outsource major components.
Can they sometimes be as good and accurate...sure but the confidence in their product is not the same...and they don’t hold their value...if that is a concern.

A major difference between Colt and Rolex is that Rolex makes too many different models and Colt not enough...