I went down a similar road 5 years ago. I bought two Colt 6520s with the intention of going opposite directions with them. On one I shaved down the FSB, installed an M4 upper, put a 10.0 rail over the barrel, and added other parts and pieces.
With the other my intention was to do irons only, I was going to swap out the A2 for a slab-side A1, etc. My thinking was that I wanted a gun that was lightweight and simple so that I didn't have a lot of money tied up in it, for a variety of reasons. Chief among these was as a "loaner" carbine. The problem was it never got loaned and the stripped-down nature meant I never really shot it either. I wound up selling it and putting together a BCM upper and lower. Now if I want to loan it out in basic form I lock the Troy rear in the up position, remove the Aimpoint, and hand them the gun.
I'd like to know if the Fulton, or the Nodak, slab-side A1 uppers have M4 feedramps, and I agree with Mark that I'd REALLY like to see a true A3 slab-side without resorting to the increased wall thickness of the DPMS part. What I'd like to see is:
- flat top
- 4 feedramps
- dust cover
- no brass deflector
- no forward assist
- standard wall thickness
Greg, I like where you're headed with this, I just found that my similar rifle got zero use and now look for ways to make rifles work for my regular use AND double for alternate uses. In your case, combining light weight with simplicity, I'd go with...
- Fulton or Nodak slab-side A1
- Daniel Defense 14.5" lightweight barrel
- standard FSB
- XS-CSAT rear aperture sight
- phantom flash hider silver-soldered in place
- standard CAR handguards (or M4 with only one shield)
- MOE grip with gapper
- M4 stock
If you want to add a light I would put an MI FSB mount on it, even though it's heavier (you can also grind down the off side). I find the standard 7.0 (CAR, M4) handguards to be too short to attach a light. The X200/300 works out great on the FSB mount.
The other challenge you're going to encounter is sling attachment with the thin profile barrels. Colt did make a .625" side-sling and I had one but stupidly sold it on the 6520 I got rid of (and the buyer had no idea what it was). If assembling the lower from scratch I'd take the time and cost to add the Noveske receiver endplate QD attachment point. It's a $25 part and it's easier to install in the beginning and better to have it and not need it IMHO. I'm using them on all my carbines from now on.



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