#6920

Colt’s Manufacturing is in hot water: A lawsuit filed in the District Connecticut court by finance company Prestige Capital is targeted at the gunmaker, with the aim of recouping half a million dollars plus legal fees and interest over what the plaintiff claims was a breach of contract during the production of the Expanse Carbine. The suit follows Colt’s scaling back of a contract for the Colt Expanse, a budget priced Colt-branded carbine whose production was farmed out to Bold Ideas, also known as Colt Competition. Colt’s contract with Bold Ideas allowed them to scale back production of the rifles – originally set at 6,000 to be delivered each quarter – but required 60 days’ notice. According to a letter cited in the suit, which was filed at the end of June, Colt scaled back production to 2,400 units per quarter “immediately” in March.

Today on Modern PDW Calibers we’re going to look at what might seem like a humdrum round, but which represents an important performance band for the modern personal defense weapon. That round is the 5.56x30mm MARS, a purpose built “micro assault rifle” cartridge from Colt designed to fill a similar niche to the WWII-era .30 M1 Carbine.

After several years of being undercut on the market by cheaper offerings from Smith & Wesson and others, Colt introduced early in 2016 a new addition to their lineup, the “Expanse” carbine, designed to cut the price tag of a Colt carbine by $200-300 versus the standard 6920. The new rifle was met with positive reviews and many felt very good about the opportunity to own a “real” Colt for significantly less than the cost of the 6920. However, is the Expanse really a Colt, or more specifically, how much of the Expanse is really Colt? Christopher Bartocci, former Colt technician, thinks the answer is “not much”. Bartocci explains why in the video embedded below:

In October, I traveled out to see my co-writer Alex C. to collect data on the weights of different long guns and some of their components. Over that weekend, I weighed 58 rifles and submachine guns, and numerous magazines, bolts, bolt carriers, and other miscellaneous items. The purpose of this was not only to collate a general list of the weights of different weapons, but to be able to enhance the accuracy of a previous spreadsheet I’d produced showing the loaded “combat” weights of different rifles; that being available at this link.

Hartford, Connecticut gunmaker Colt has won confirmation of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy exit plan. The plan, which includes a new lease on the company’s Hartford plant as well as negotiated terms for retiree medical benefits with the United Auto Worker’s union, was approved by all of the company’s stakeholders.  ABLAdvisor reports:

I came across an M4 comparison chart. Its compares the Colt 6920, LMT, Noveske M4 Light Carbine, Sabre Defense XR15-A3 M4, S&W M&P15 CMMG 16″ M4 Carbine, Stag Model 1, Bushmaster BCWA3F 16M, Rock Rivers Arms AR1251X, Armalite M-15A4C, Olympic K3B-M4-A3 and DPMS AP4-C.