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Posted: 7/2/2016 11:49:35 PM EDT
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Tell me about the Colt Expanse.
As I understand it, a ejection port cover and forward assist can be purchased and then added which is no big deal. Barrel is not chrome lined. Commercial or milspec buffer tube??? Anything else of importance? Where is the best source for parts to "complete it"??? Thanks! |
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Check this out, sorry I cant hotlink it: And you are not allowed to link to that vendor and or forum on this site. I just bought a 6920 OEM 1 yesterday after looking very briefly at the Expanse. Once I saw the above info I steered clear of the Expanse. Pretty much everything is different and presumably lesser quality; barrel, bcg, feed ramps, trigger, stock, grip, handguard without double heat shields, no upper parts, and that stupid barcode on the lower. In my opinion, it would be a mistake to buy the Expanse when the real 6920 OEMs are still floating around cheap. I got mine for $745 from Prepper Gun Shop. I'm sure the Expanse would work fine for the money and for most people, but for ~$150 more you can get the real deal. Specialized Armament sells genuine Colt parts if you do go the Expanse route and want Colt parts on it. |
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Quoted:
I just bought a 6920 OEM 1 yesterday after looking very briefly at the Expanse. Once I saw the above info I steered clear of the Expanse. Pretty much everything is different and presumably lesser quality; barrel, bcg, feed ramps, trigger, stock, grip, handguard without double heat shields, no upper parts, and that stupid barcode on the lower. In my opinion, it would be a mistake to buy the Expanse when the real 6920 OEMs are still floating around cheap. I got mine for $745 from Prepper Gun Shop. I'm sure the Expanse would work fine for the money and for most people, but for ~$150 more you can get the real deal. Specialized Armament sells genuine Colt parts if you do go the Expanse route and want Colt parts on it. I think the Expanse sounds like a good gun. Yeah, it lacks a few things but overall, especially I guess the LE-serialized jobs, it looks solid, tho I get why guys might want to save a few more $$ and get a 6920, etc. |
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Quoted:
Tell me about the Colt Expanse. As I understand it, a ejection port cover and forward assist can be purchased and then added which is no big deal. Barrel is not chrome lined. Commercial or milspec buffer tube??? Anything else of importance? Where is the best source for parts to "complete it"??? Thanks! A few months ago i purchased a expanse and a 6920, from the outside i could see very little difference. My lower receivers were identical (to my eyes) and the upper was identical as well. The differences were as followed: Expanse: silver/nickel fcg hammer standard carbine, unmarked buffer Non CL barrel, Skinny drop in handguard compared to the regular 6920 fat heatshield Different 30 rd mags included Unmarked carrier, MP marked bolt (no Colt markings) I believe those were the only differences i could find. Once i took out the expanse hammer and put an H buffer in it i could tell no differences. Some say the lowers are engraved slightly different but that was beyond my eyes. The upper receiver on mine was identical to the one on the 6920 upper (FA, dust cover, C emblem, t marks, forge marking). I guess i'd have to see it in person before i bought it because for the price, it was worth it. I cut down the expanse barrel for a cheap SBR barrel and the sold the rest of the upper parts. I know some of the uppers did not have the FA, Dust cover, and Colt emblem which would have kept me from buying it. Hope that helps. |
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Quoted:
A few months ago i purchased a expanse and a 6920, from the outside i could see very little difference. My lower receivers were identical (to my eyes) and the upper was identical as well. The differences were as followed: Expanse: silver/nickel fcg hammer standard carbine, unmarked buffer Non CL barrel, Skinny drop in handguard compared to the regular 6920 fat heatshield Different 30 rd mags included Unmarked carrier, MP marked bolt (no Colt markings) I believe those were the only differences i could find. Once i took out the expanse hammer and put an H buffer in it i could tell no differences. Some say the lowers are engraved slightly different but that was beyond my eyes. The upper receiver on mine was identical to the one on the 6920 upper (FA, dust cover, C emblem, t marks, forge marking). I guess i'd have to see it in person before i bought it because for the price, it was worth it. I cut down the expanse barrel for a cheap SBR barrel and the sold the rest of the upper parts. I know some of the uppers did not have the FA, Dust cover, and Colt emblem which would have kept me from buying it. Hope that helps. Quoted:
Quoted:
Tell me about the Colt Expanse. As I understand it, a ejection port cover and forward assist can be purchased and then added which is no big deal. Barrel is not chrome lined. Commercial or milspec buffer tube??? Anything else of importance? Where is the best source for parts to "complete it"??? Thanks! A few months ago i purchased a expanse and a 6920, from the outside i could see very little difference. My lower receivers were identical (to my eyes) and the upper was identical as well. The differences were as followed: Expanse: silver/nickel fcg hammer standard carbine, unmarked buffer Non CL barrel, Skinny drop in handguard compared to the regular 6920 fat heatshield Different 30 rd mags included Unmarked carrier, MP marked bolt (no Colt markings) I believe those were the only differences i could find. Once i took out the expanse hammer and put an H buffer in it i could tell no differences. Some say the lowers are engraved slightly different but that was beyond my eyes. The upper receiver on mine was identical to the one on the 6920 upper (FA, dust cover, C emblem, t marks, forge marking). I guess i'd have to see it in person before i bought it because for the price, it was worth it. I cut down the expanse barrel for a cheap SBR barrel and the sold the rest of the upper parts. I know some of the uppers did not have the FA, Dust cover, and Colt emblem which would have kept me from buying it. Hope that helps. Yes, thanks, good stuff there. |
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It's nice to hear from someone who has both. I'm surprised that it has a MP bolt. Quoted:
A few months ago i purchased a expanse and a 6920, from the outside i could see very little difference. My lower receivers were identical (to my eyes) and the upper was identical as well. The differences were as followed: Expanse: silver/nickel fcg hammer standard carbine, unmarked buffer Non CL barrel, Skinny drop in handguard compared to the regular 6920 fat heatshield Different 30 rd mags included Unmarked carrier, MP marked bolt (no Colt markings) I believe those were the only differences i could find. Once i took out the expanse hammer and put an H buffer in it i could tell no differences. Some say the lowers are engraved slightly different but that was beyond my eyes. The upper receiver on mine was identical to the one on the 6920 upper (FA, dust cover, C emblem, t marks, forge marking). I guess i'd have to see it in person before i bought it because for the price, it was worth it. I cut down the expanse barrel for a cheap SBR barrel and the sold the rest of the upper parts. I know some of the uppers did not have the FA, Dust cover, and Colt emblem which would have kept me from buying it. Hope that helps. Quoted:
Quoted:
Tell me about the Colt Expanse. As I understand it, a ejection port cover and forward assist can be purchased and then added which is no big deal. Barrel is not chrome lined. Commercial or milspec buffer tube??? Anything else of importance? Where is the best source for parts to "complete it"??? Thanks! A few months ago i purchased a expanse and a 6920, from the outside i could see very little difference. My lower receivers were identical (to my eyes) and the upper was identical as well. The differences were as followed: Expanse: silver/nickel fcg hammer standard carbine, unmarked buffer Non CL barrel, Skinny drop in handguard compared to the regular 6920 fat heatshield Different 30 rd mags included Unmarked carrier, MP marked bolt (no Colt markings) I believe those were the only differences i could find. Once i took out the expanse hammer and put an H buffer in it i could tell no differences. Some say the lowers are engraved slightly different but that was beyond my eyes. The upper receiver on mine was identical to the one on the 6920 upper (FA, dust cover, C emblem, t marks, forge marking). I guess i'd have to see it in person before i bought it because for the price, it was worth it. I cut down the expanse barrel for a cheap SBR barrel and the sold the rest of the upper parts. I know some of the uppers did not have the FA, Dust cover, and Colt emblem which would have kept me from buying it. Hope that helps. |
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Quoted:
It's nice to hear from someone who has both. I'm surprised that it has a MP bolt. Quoted:
It's nice to hear from someone who has both. I'm surprised that it has a MP bolt. Quoted:
Quoted:
Tell me about the Colt Expanse. As I understand it, a ejection port cover and forward assist can be purchased and then added which is no big deal. Barrel is not chrome lined. Commercial or milspec buffer tube??? Anything else of importance? Where is the best source for parts to "complete it"??? Thanks! A few months ago i purchased a expanse and a 6920, from the outside i could see very little difference. My lower receivers were identical (to my eyes) and the upper was identical as well. The differences were as followed: Expanse: silver/nickel fcg hammer standard carbine, unmarked buffer Non CL barrel, Skinny drop in handguard compared to the regular 6920 fat heatshield Different 30 rd mags included Unmarked carrier, MP marked bolt (no Colt markings) I believe those were the only differences i could find. Once i took out the expanse hammer and put an H buffer in it i could tell no differences. Some say the lowers are engraved slightly different but that was beyond my eyes. The upper receiver on mine was identical to the one on the 6920 upper (FA, dust cover, C emblem, t marks, forge marking). I guess i'd have to see it in person before i bought it because for the price, it was worth it. I cut down the expanse barrel for a cheap SBR barrel and the sold the rest of the upper parts. I know some of the uppers did not have the FA, Dust cover, and Colt emblem which would have kept me from buying it. Hope that helps. Just a standard M16 fa carrier with a bolt stamped "MP". Good staking, etc. I'm sure its a fine bcg so in reality it depends on the price, and the actual expanse that you receive (personally i would never order one online). |
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I ordered one online and was supposed to receive one that had the C marked upper as well as the LE marked lower. I was planning on switching out he barrel and BCG with Colts I had to make my Block 1.5 build. I got an LE marked lower, but not C marked upper
Keep it to use the lower and placed upper on my wife's Anderson lower. Granted only have $626 into it, so felt like it was a decent deal when I couldn't find any 6920s in stocl |
My upgraded Expanse complete lower half with my older LE6920 complete upper half. I got an Expanse about 4 months ago and I also have an older 6920 M4 carbine. I would just like to mention also some other things that are not the same parts on the Expanse as on the 6920, the magazine catch is one piece which are the same Colt use on their Competition Rifles made in Texas and the selector have a smaller lever which is an older style and not reversible, also it have an indicator line at the right side (same as Colt Competition Rifles from TX). For buyers that don't have extra spare parts I would not recommend the Expanse because if you upgrade to the same parts as the 6920 it would end up being more expensive, it's better to get the slightly more money like the LE6920 OEM1 or OEM2 without furniture and just add the furniture you like. If you like the standard military furniture then the standard LE6920 would be better and you don't have to upgrade any parts. For guys with AR parts like myself getting the Expanse just for the complete lower half makes the lower a bargain, if you look hard they could be gotten at a low price of $599 and if you sell the complete upper for $300 to $350, so the complete lower would be a low price of only $250 to $300. I changed four Colt parts on my lower from my spares, hammer, mag catch, selector and H heavy buffer and the lower is exactly the same as any current late production 6920. Most of the Expanse lower markings are the same as the latest current production with the QR code (two dimensional matrix bar code). There are a few Expanse lower out that have the "CE" serial number prefix, "CAL. .223", and "Colt Mfg" all engraved, so beware and make sure you see it first before you buy it. The upper receivers varies also, there are a few with the "C", M4 mark above the gas tube hole, and T markings, and others without those usual 6920 markings. My Expanse upper didn't have the 6920 upper markings but it have a matching forge marks of keyhole (Cerro Forge) on both the upper and lower receivers. I'm mainly using my upgraded Expanse/ 6920 lower half as my home defense carbine with my older 6920 complete upper half on it. Here's an older Expanse thread early this year with lots of pictures and descriptions. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_2_29/273863_Picked_up_a_Colt_Expanse_today.html&page=1 ETA: Added reference old thread link. |
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If you want a true M4, get the 6920 or an OEM. If you want the lower and don't care so much about the rest, get an Expanse, at least one with the LE prefix lower serial number.
From what I observed at my LGS, the lower may lack the anchor, but many of the OEM and 6920s on the wall also did. They were identical lowers except for the buffer weight and maybe the selector lever depending on mfg date. I ended up having my upper chopped to 12.5" for an SBR build, an OEM or 6920 upper would not have worked due to the grenade launcher cut. I figure non chrome lined should be better for accuracy because hey, 12.5" is the new 16" when it comes to a long range build. |
New model Expanse CE2000 M4+ Carbine with factory installed dust cover and forward assist had been released to the dealers now. Just a heads up of a new variant of the Expanse CE1000 M4 carbine is this new model CE2000 Expanse M4+ carbine same as the original Expanse model except it have factory installed dust cover and forward assist, only $50 more with a MSRP of $749. This new model CE2000 M4+ carbine are not shown yet on the official latest Summer 2016 Colt catalog but some distributors are already showing it in their site inventory lists, they're available now some dealers already have them also GB. There are also some dealers who are adding the dust cover and forward assist on the Expanse CE1000 and have lower prices of around $699 or less. |
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