What to do with a spare Colt LE 6920 upper?

[JediGuy]

Good options...

1.
4.
6. - caveat: there are equal/better options than BCM these days.

[arken]

Thank you all for the replies.

sell it. Colt is hard to buy right now. I had to settle for a new FN patrol rifle as the colts were 500 dollars more.

Options 1 or 6.

yep

dont put money into a spare upper to make a frankengun.

option 6. just sell it if you have no use for it and/or want something different.
I wouldn't part a Colt upper unless you have a specific reason or don't want to deal with the buy/sell cycle.

I'm not into parting with much these days, I'd stash it for a spare as know quality and I don't give a crap about it's "part in history". I'll fund my pistol build by other means and little patience.

Yep all good points. Half of me wants to sell the Colt since the price for it has gone up after Colt decided to stop selling them to civilians. But half of me wants to keep it because it's a 6920 and my 1st Ar15. The more I think about it, the less I want to make it into a frakengun.

I'd go with option 5. It sounds like you want a pistol and there is a lot of love for the 12.5 barrel (from a ballistics standpoint). Get a sba 3 brace. I cut down a noveske barrel once and I have always regretted it.

Yes, definitely a SBA3. But I think I am gonna cross option 5 out.

I'd build a new rifle lower for it, cut the barrel to 14.5 if you feel the need, and keep it as an iron-sight shooter.

Since you are going 'cloneish' these lowers might be kind of okay:

https://www.primaryarms.com/aero-pre...stripped-lower

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...tm_campaign=cl

The thing is though, my other carbine is a DD M4V1 with iron sights. And for some reason, I like shooting the DD more than the Colt. It shoots softer and feels more solid. The DD does weight a little more on the front though. If I build a complete rifle lower for the Colt upper, it will be pretty stay in the safe. So that's why I consider building a pistol lower to use for now, and later for a pistol build. Is that good thinking?

Cut it down to a 10.3” and put a Centurion Arms two piece rail on it make it into a pistol.

From my research, if I go down to 10.3, I think I need to have the gas port enlarge as well. For the 12.5", I'll just need to get it cut and rethread. Plus 11.5 -> 12.5 gives better performance which I like


So I think I am gonna cross option 5 out of the list.

[arken]

Anything other than Option 6.

I would rather have a properly cut down Colt upper than an over-gassed and less accurate BCM 11.5" any day.

Is it really over gassed? With or without suppresor?

Good options...

1.
4.
6. - caveat: there are equal/better options than BCM these days.

Hmmm interesting. I though BCM is well loved here. Can you please list some of other options for complete upper for under $600?

I do consider to buy a complete AR pistol from Aero for around $700. But this is not related to the Colt

[everready73]

If you cut it down to 11.5 or 10.3 you would need to open up the port a bit unless going suppressed only. The Colt 16'' carbine barrel is .0624 port i believe. You would want around .070 in that length range IMO for general

[Stickman]

Hey guys,

Hope everyone is doing okay. I have a spare Colt LE6920 upper magpul edition. I thought it’d be interesting to see what you’d do with it. Here are my options:

1. Do nothing. Just keep it in the safe. It’s part of the history.

2. Build a new lower for it. Probably a pistol lower so I can use the lower for a pistol upper later on.

3. Have the barrel cut down to 14.5” (with pinned and welded A2) for a more true M4 clone. Also need to build a new lower.

4. Have the barrel cut down to 12-12.5” and build a pistol lower for it.

5. Buy a new 11.5 or 12.5” barrel and reuse the Colt upper receiver to save $$. Build a pistol lower for it. Keep the Colt barrel.

6. Sell it to fund for a BCM 11.5” pistol complete upper.

I’ll probably end up with a pistol AR of some sort at some point. Please share what you’d do and why.

Thanks!

I would go with none of the above. I would say to trade it off for stuff you so want, and will use. \

I don't like selling things, but I will trade if the right things come up. I'm going through a trade with someone on this board right now, and am having fun seeing what extra interesting things he might be interested in, and I don't think either of us are locking down exact dollar amounts of value to individual items. Its a lot more fun to deal with people that way. Trades can be a lot more beneficial to everyone.

[1911-A1]

Personally I'd rebarrel it to something you need. There are better options than a 16" carbine gas barrel

[Rogue556]

I'd buy a pistol lower and buy an SBA4 brace. Then I'd send the upper off to John Thomas at Retro Arms Works and chop it to 11.5" or 12.5" and have him open the port to the appropriate size.

If I'm remembering correctly, I paid $75 shipped to have him chop my 6920 barrel and open the gas port.

You'd have a great general purpose "pistol" with a nice barrel. No point in selling the Colt when it's already a perfect starting point.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

[Hammer_Man]

I think you need to avoid making any modifications to that upper until you decided what you really want. If you don't really want/need anything right now, I would suggest squirreling it away. You can't undo a barrel chop.

[17K]

I'd just stash it as-is. Barrels occasionally wear out/blow up and it's never bad to have a spare handy.

While not Instagram sexy, a 6920 is still every bit the workhorse it ever was and better quality than most commercial stuff available.

You can build it up into whatever flavor of the month is cool this spring, or keep it a Colt assembly.

[arken]

If you cut it down to 11.5 or 10.3 you would need to open up the port a bit unless going suppressed only. The Colt 16'' carbine barrel is .0624 port i believe. You would want around .070 in that length range IMO for general

Personally I'd rebarrel it to something you need. There are better options than a 16" carbine gas barrel

Yep understood. That's why I am thinking to go with 12" or 12.5" so I wouldn't have to mess with the gas port and reliability. I've read somewhere that it needs at lesa 5" of dwelling for reliable operations. Plus there is an advantage on the ballistic performance for the 12.5" too.

I'd buy a pistol lower and buy an SBA4 brace. Then I'd send the upper off to John Thomas at Retro Arms Works and chop it to 11.5" or 12.5" and have him open the port to the appropriate size.

If I'm remembering correctly, I paid $75 shipped to have him chop my 6920 barrel and open the gas port.

You'd have a great general purpose "pistol" with a nice barrel. No point in selling the Colt when it's already a perfect starting point.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Did you have the barrel cut before or after the M203 mount? "John Thomas" seems to come up pretty often from my search. Also ADCO is another name. Did you have to un-assemble everything and send in just the barrel with the iron sight? $75 shipped both way seems reasonable to me.

I would go with none of the above. I would say to trade it off for stuff you so want, and will use. \

I don't like selling things, but I will trade if the right things come up. I'm going through a trade with someone on this board right now, and am having fun seeing what extra interesting things he might be interested in, and I don't think either of us are locking down exact dollar amounts of value to individual items. Its a lot more fun to deal with people that way. Trades can be a lot more beneficial to everyone.

Thanks. But I am really not a big fan of trading stuff. Because there are too many variables and I'll have to wait for the right thing to come up. I have a local FFL that does a great job at shipping firearms at reasonable price. So I'd prefer to sell outright for the cash and buy what I want.

I think you need to avoid making any modifications to that upper until you decided what you really want. If you don't really want/need anything right now, I would suggest squirreling it away. You can't undo a barrel chop.

I'd just stash it as-is. Barrels occasionally wear out/blow up and it's never bad to have a spare handy.

While not Instagram sexy, a 6920 is still every bit the workhorse it ever was and better quality than most commercial stuff available.

You can build it up into whatever flavor of the month is cool this spring, or keep it a Colt assembly.

That's Option 1.


Guys, thank you for all of your replies. I think at this point, I only consider to keep it or have the barrel cut