I have lots of of time behind 5.56mm AR/M16 pattern rifles but minimal behind a 7.62mm. I know I want to have one that uses a Knights, DPMS, MAGPUL pattern magazine. Use will be hunting and some range time and I have some time to save for it, it's my retirement gift to myself.

My grail gun is a Mk11 Mod1 complete with can but as I am soon to be a retired Navy guy cash isn't around to drop $5 to $15k on a weapons I will not use to its max potential and is not feasible.

$2k is more feasible for me as I will have extra for a scope, spare parts and magazines etc.

I have shot a friends Colt 901 and it's a nice gun and around the $2k mark which is more feasible. However sights as I understand do not come on some of the models. Comes with one magazine and the new ones come with the mag well block and conversion kit which is a plus as I could travel with the lower and two uppers on hunting trips and travel.

The Ruger 7.62 seems like a nice option as well around $2k comes with three magazines, sights and a case. However I understand spare parts are not easy to get from the factory. It's a piston which maybe handy when I eventually get a can.

Reading all the different options here and researching is mind numbing. Knights is out due to sheer cost for the foreseeable future at around 4k although, I would love a SR25 ECC or any SR 25 for that matter.

So can owners and users of the Ruger 7.62 and Colt 901 chime in and provide no BS ups and downs of each weapon?

Very happy with my Ruger 7.62- heavy, but comfortable to shoot and very reliable.
The first run had magazine issues, but it has since been corrected. No direct experience with the Colt.

I have the Ruger and have only held the 901.   I have not had any issues with the Ruger and it eats everything I feed it with very good accuracy for me.  The Colt weighs more and is quite a bit bulkier as well.  I obviously cannot comment on reliability or accuracy of the 901.

I owned an Armalite and a LMT MWS in the past.  Now I own a Colt 901S and a 901SE.  The modular railed SE shaves about a pound over the 901S, so if your looking for weight savings, consider that.

Any particular questions about them?

Have you used the caliber conversion kit?

If so what are your impressions of said kit?

I would also consider the Colt MARC 901-16S at $1623 MSRP.



The MARC 901-16SE has a flip up front sight base, and monolithic upper receiver at $2181 MSRP.

Before I got the rifle, I thought I would use the kit a good bit.  I like the idea of having a short 5.56 upper and the 308 upper set up for distance.  I often go to the range with a single lower and several AR uppers, so I thought I would use it often.

I've used it a few times, I have had no malfunction or issues with it.  But since I have to put the adapter on an upper, & keep a buffer and spring, I just bring a 5.56 lower.

I love the 901 as a 308 AR.  I much prefer to the Armalite (20 inch A4 type) and the MWS I had.  It feels much handier and closer to a M4 then either of those other 308 ARs.  However I sort of feel that the 5.56 conversion is not really necessary.

I love my SR-25 ECC, by far my favorite .308!

However, I also own a 901s.  I have owned and sold many .308's of different manufacturers and the KAC and Colt are the only two I have kept.  The conversion block on the 901 is a neat trick, but even without it, the rifle is worth it.  Mine is MOA, it would probably be sub with a better trigger puller.  Malfunctions are non-existent, but to be fair, I don't feed it crap ammo either.  With the conversion block, the rifle has functioned perfectly as well.  

For what it's worth, I'd buy the Colt again.

I own the Colt 901.   It weights a bit. But it does have a medium weight barrel. I love the front fixed flip up sight. The only rifle I was considering  over the 901 was a SCAR .... It was a coin toss. Im happy with my rifle. It's been 100%  reliable . I shoot quality surplus brass case ammo. Cheers WarDawg

I was looking at the SCAR as well but I would like to use the SR25 pattern magazines so I could get more cheaper. Aka DPMS , MAGPUL and others.

Eventually I plan on running a can has anyone had xperience with either the 901 or 762 suppressed?

I have both the 16s and the 16se. I liked the 16s so much I bought a 16se when it came out due to the 1lb lighter weight. FYI the 16se does not come with the adapter block.

They are both 1 moa rifles out to 500 with 175 GMM and a TA11 Acog and both have functioned flawlessly.

There is a huge thread on the Colt Industry forum about the LE901. There have been several gentleman who have run the 901 suppressed, some very successfully, one not so much. Check out the last 10 or so pages on the thread for more info.

I have a LE901 that I am extremely happy with . I shoot it as a .308 rifle only; I've test fitted a 5.56 upper to the lower, but have never used it at a 5.56mm rifle. I have dedicated 5.56 rifles for that.
As a .308 platform, I have found it to be completely reliable, and accurate. It is a bit heavy, but manageable. In the short term, I've shot it with a 5.56 ACOG until I figure out which optic I want for it. I am leaning towards a 1-6X variable (FFP), but not sure which one.

I've run the same Surefire SOCOM mini on both of my 901s with no issues.

Has anyone had issues with the Ruger as of late? Reading around it seems they have some issues due to a manufacturing problem? Or is it overblown?

Current production 901's do not come with the conversion/adapter kit. On the bright side, the kit is now more reasonably priced not as ridiculously expensive as it once was.
I've used a SDN6 on mine. Had more bolt speed of course but the big Colt is such a soft shooter to begin with that it seemed worse than it was.
The fella that had a problem with his 901 and a suppressor in the thread in the Colt forum ended up with a broken takedown pin lug on the upper. Turned out to have NOTHING to do with the suppressor and everything to do with how the upper was secured to remove the stock flash hider.

Good to know the current ones don't come with the kit. From reading here at the forums and this thread it seems most people don't use them anyway.

I was under the impression the new 901s DO come with the conversion kit.  That is why they are about $2K.  When they first came out, everyone was crying because they did not come with the kit, and they were closer to $1800 in price.  If the NEW, new models do not come with the conversion kit, I would expect to pay much closer to $1600 depending on the configuration you choose.

The Ruger you should be able to find for about $1600.  The bag is nothing to speak of.  It is just cheap thin canvas bag that does not balance well, with a cheap plastic zipper that does not stay zipped.

I still have the 901 and I had the SR762.  If you want a piston gun, get the Ruger.  If you don't, get the Colt.  They are both good rifles.  I only sold the Ruger because I needed the cash, and I would have lost too much money selling the 901 because they dropped in price drastically just a couple of months after I bought mine.

Colt really is sitting on a rifle with a lot of market potential, none of which currently has to do with the caliber conversion.

They have a very compact, short AR10 that really gets back to the product-improved AR10A of 1959 that was never mass-produced.

Right now, a lot of people want lightweight, compact, heavy-hitting AR's, and only Colt and DPMS have broken away from the 9" long albatross receiver sets and gone to something that required a clean sheet.

Adams Arms seems to have taken GII receivers and introduced an op-rod driven GII with the Anderson kit.

It will be interesting to see who will step up next.  I wish Colt would spend a little more on advertising of the 901 as a compact AR10.  They bought the patents to the AR10 and AR15 back in 1959, and if you look at what was done back then with the BCG and carrier key, it will all make sense.

I bought the Ruger SR 762.  It's been reliable so far with the different ammo I've put through it.  It's a bit heavy but I think the .308 based rifles are all a little heavier than we are used to with the 5.56 rifles.  It was nice that it came with the three Magpul magazines.  I'm now saving for glass for it but other priorities keep popping up.  I'm looking at the Vortex line of optics and a mount.  

Good luck with your choice.

Regards, Bob

The Colt does have a lot of potential, the problem is that Colt is not churning out enough of them.


IMG_7738 by 556 Channel (HD), on Flickr

Does the Colt have a shorter extension tube than the Ruger?

What are you talking about?  A search on slickguns shows them in stock at 34 different vendors.

Both have standard length extension tubes.

I've heard that the grip on the 901 is proprietary,and regular ar15 grips won't fit .Anyone know for sure?

Not exactly. Any grip that extends up and back will have to be relieved at the top of the backstrap.

I don't know much about thes 901 but something not mentioned in this thread. The vmcharging handle is not a normal ar10 handle. So if you get one and want to upgrade to BCM or something else keep that in mind.

Anyone have any experience with the DPMS GII Recon?

There are tons of threads on it.  Do a google search starting with "AR15.com DPMS GII"

So they have a proprietary design for that? Does someone have a pic of the CH Channel cut?

It is a different length.

The DPMS GII and Colt 901 have different charge handle lengths, since the receivers are shorter than the 9" SR25/AR10/LR-308 guns, but slightly longer than the AR15.  Not sure if the 901 and GII are the same or not.

There are at least 3 different charge handle lengths in the .308 AR world.

SR25/AR10/LR-308
RRA LAR-8 (really long)
DPMS GII
Colt 901

I'll be curious to see Remington Defense's version of the GII when released.