Quote Originally Posted by Doc Safari View Post
Don't know what to tell you. If you're implying that it's impossible for a Colt spring to be rusted I can 100% testify that at least one of the two I saw had to have been installed that way by Colt.

I could maybe concede that since I bought the AR15A2 second-hand that I can't prove the former owner didn't substitute a different hammer spring even though the gun was quoted as and looked NIB. That's an extreme possibility as far as I'm concerned. I don't think the rust was factory oil, either because it was the wrong color.

The hammer spring had very light rust that cleaned right off with oil and a little steel wool. I guess it's possible the rust had leaked onto it from another component, or was corroded firing residue, or whatever, but that's unlikely since the hammer spring and only the hammer spring showed any corrosion of any of the FCG components. It was a solid rust red color compared to the bright shiny and oily FCG parts around it.

As for the delta ring spring on the other rifle, that was obviously, and I mean OBVIOUSLY, pitted and refinished over the pitting. I wanted to send it back to Colt but it was right around the time of the 1994 AWB so I was somewhat concerned I might not be allowed to pick it up after returning from repair. (The final version of the AWB hadn't been ironed out yet in Congress).

I had ordered that rifle through the dealer who had to order it from the distributor. There is no way that rusted/refinished delta ring spring wasn't installed that way by Colt.

I cite as evidence that Colt does stuff like that is the two 6720's I bought over a six-month period.

Both had mag catches with light rust. I ordered both through Impact Guns and picked them up from different dealers. Granted, the rust on the mag catches was very light and cleaned right up with oil and steel wool, but that's beside the point. Those parts had to have been rusted in Colt's parts bin and Colt installed them on rifles anyway. You can't tell me that two rifles with very far apart serial numbers and ordered months apart would just happen to have had the same part on both rust in storage at the distributor.

I personally think both the rusted springs on those previous rifles were knowingly installed that way by Colt. Maybe that gets back to "just what does Colt outsource and can we be certain of quality."
I can see where you're coming from, and I by no means intend to start a flame war with you. It seems we've had different experiences with the same stuff. I've used a lot of Colt rifles that have not had the greatest care, and at the end of the day they all seem to snap together and hold a zero like they're supposed to. During the panic buying I bought DPMS, Spike's, and Anderson lower parts because that was all I could find. ln some way they all seemed to leave me slightly dissatisfied, as they all seemed to not fit or function quite as nicely as the Colt parts I usually use. For example the safety selectors felt mushy, and the take down pins could be pressed in a bit too easily for my liking; small things like that. In the end I'm sure they'd work for most people, but eventually they all got replaced with Colt parts. Most people probably don't care, but I do. It's the little things which make the difference for me. There seems to be a mindset that Bear Creek, Anderson, DPMS, Spike's etc, are just as good as (or the same thing), and I'm here to tell everybody that oft times they are not. YMMV.