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Posted: 6/2/2014 3:57:32 PM EDT
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Hey fellas,
New member, first post. Just picked up my first AR, and figured I would join the forum as well... 
I also thought I'd show off the new stick. After months of back and forth, first between an AR and an AK...then after settling on the AR, trying to decide between Colt and Daniel Defense for awhile, the rifle I decided to go with is a Colt LE6920 SOCOM. I went with the SOCOM primarily because of the features it comes with...Knights Armament quad rail, M16 BCG (I think all Colts have that but I know not all ARs do), match rear irons, ambi safety selector, the "M4A1 Carbine" rollmark, and the SOCOM profile barrel. Also figured the SOCOM might be a collector item in the future, and you know how people are with Colt if I wanted to sell it. Some people might ask why in the world do you need a SOCOM profile barrel for semi-auto, but as far as weight is concerned, I've held both the standard 6920 and the SOCOM, and I honestly couldn't tell the difference. The heavier barrel will also help with heat and retaining accuracy with higher volume of fire, and since I plan on shooting the crap out of it, I wanted a workhorse, completely mil-spec rifle that I didn't have to baby and worry about. I read that the Army is currently in the process of updating all their M4s to the M4A1 model, which have the heavy barrel and ambi safety, plus full auto. The newer SOCOMs have the Troy quad rail, so I got lucky to get one with the Knights RAS. I got the rifle for 1199.00 brand new which was an insane deal. They usually go for around 1400-1500, so I couldn't pass it up. 
As far as mods go, all I have done to it so far is an Aimpoint Pro with the stock mount (might get a Larue mount in the future, depending on how the Aimpoint mount holds up), Magpul MOE grip, and a GG&G foregrip which is the perfect grip for me IMO. I also picked up a B5 Systems SOPMOD Bravo stock which is still in the mail. Might get a streamlight also, but I'm really in no hurry for that. Other than that, I have everything I want for it and I'm just waiting on 400 rds. of 62gr SS109 so I can hit the range this weekend. http://s17.postimg.org/xi7ozyhpr/20140531_234830.jpg http://s18.postimg.org/7xtvp5utl/20140531_235052.jpg What do y'all think? Anyone else out there have a SOCOM? What's been your experience with it? Any advice on additional mods? |
| You should have a sling and a light as well. I would recommend a Magpul ASAP plate with a single point sling of your choice. Gearsector and SOE make great single points. Pick up a Surefire scout or used M951 on the cheap and put a Malkoff drop in for the M951. You have a MOE grip so a Bolt and Pin grip core wouldn't be a bad idea. There is a tutorial somewhere here on Arfcom about modding it so you can put a bolt, firing pin, cam pin, and two retaining pins. |
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Yeah I'll definitely be picking up a sling. As far as the light goes, I'm not really using it for home defense...got a Mossberg 590A1 for that, so the light's not really a huge need, but maybe.
Oh yeah forgot to mention the SOCOM comes with an H2 buffer which is nice. |
| Yeah that's a good point. I would want something as light as possible, I was thinking a Streamlight TLR-1? I like how it comes with the rail mount and they're not that expensive either. Yeah I know it's meant for pistols but I like how it's small and simple. I don't really need a light with a switch on the VFG either. I have a Surefire G2X pro laying around somewhere but I think that would be too big and heavy. |
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A pro wouldn't be a good choice because its multi-output but it wouldn't be too heavy, It's actually fairly light compared to some other lights. If you get one of the G2X tacticals that's 320 lumens it's fairly light compared to some other lights. A GG&G 1" ring would fit fine right there to mount it onto your handguard, If you want an offset a gearsector offset ring would do great. Both would serve your purpose well.
Edit: This would be your best bet if you wanted an offset light. If you were fine with it being inline I would just order a G2X separately and get this. Those are the offset mounts and rings I was talking about. Second Edit: Just remembered about the Magpul rail light mount. This would do great and be less expensive than the gearsector. The left side mount if you are right handed and the right side mount if you are left handed. |
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I went with the SOCOM primarily because of the features it comes with...Knights Armament quad rail...
...The newer SOCOMs have the Troy quad rail, so I got lucky to get one with the Knights RAS. That's not a Knight's RAS in the rifle pictured, that's a Troy rail. |
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That's not a Knight's RAS in the rifle pictured, that's a Troy rail. Really? How can you tell? I thought it was the Knights because I had looked up pictures of the Troy drop-in rail and it looked like it had the Troy logo on the side. Mine didn't have that so I assumed otherwise. My mistake. Has anyone used this Troy rail? Is it as good as the Knights? I thought about swapping it out for the Troy Bravo rail, which is free floated. I also want a Daniel Defense Omega or Omega X but they are just soooo muchhh moneyyyy. |
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Quoted:
Really? How can you tell? After dealing with a particular product (RIS/RAS) for close to 20 years, you tend to recognize it (and things that are not it) pretty quickly. 
Like stated above, the Troy rail has horizontal ribs and front and rear sling QD points on the side rail. The KAC rail is similar in function but noticeably different visually. |
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Its the TROY rail. Mine is rock solid & holds up to the same abuse as my KAC pieces. I choose to remove my factory front swivel sling & utilize the ones in the rail itself. Ok cool, I'm relieved to hear you say that. I knew it was pretty likely that I would get the Troy rail instead of the KAC, and I was a little hesitant because I heard the Troys weren't as good...started to come loose after awhile, etc. I'm glad it stands up to abuse, for you at least. I wonder why Colt went from the Knights to the Troys anyway...probably to save money due to losing the M4 contract. That's what I plan on doing with a sling as well. I have a dumb question though: when I get a sling will it come with those QD detach points that hook into the rail sling mounts? Or do I have to get those separate? |
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Congrats and welcome to the site, be forewarned we will help you spend your money on AR stuff!
The first thing I usually tell new AR owners is to completely clean your new carbine and remove all factory preservative lube, if you don't do that and just add lube, the lube combination will make your lube gummy and sticky and would cause problems on your first shooting session. Then I would highly recommend using SLiP 2000 EWL or any high quality synthetic lube, see link below for lube points. Since this is your only AR (for now but that won't last long) I would recommend you get some spare parts like (you could get them from Brownells or your other choice): bolt assembly bolt gas rings extractor springs extractor buffer extractor firing pin firing pin retaining pin bolt cam pin buffer spring These are just parts that usually wear down during use and replace them when worn or the following mileage (or longer if you don't fire much): 2,500 round interval: Inspect and replace as necessary: extractor spring extractor insert 5K round interval: Replace: extractor spring extractor insert extractor gas rings action (buffer) spring 8K to 10K round interval: Replace gas tube For sling I would recommend LaRue Tactical two point sling which includes two heavy duty push button quick disconnect sling swivels (link below) or if you just use your sling to retain your carbine while shooting your sidearm maybe a Blue Force Gear Vickers VCAS two point sling. http://www.laruetactical.com/larue-tactical-padded-sling I just bought a B5 Bravo stock today and it fits very snug on my BCM 6 position mil-spec size buffer tube, I like the slightly wider than my Colt M4 stock and Magpul CTR, but it is narrower than my other Vltor IMOD and EMOD stocks, you're probably going to like it too. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_7/548967_AR15_LUBE_POINTS.html |
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Alpha Romeo- thanks very much for that breakdown of what to replace and when. That's going to be valuable info for me.
The Larue sling looks good too. Will probably pick that up in soon. I should be keeping the B5 stock, but also wanted to get the Magpul STR. I like the wide cheek weld. I've been trying to decide if I should keep the Aimpoint or swap it out for an EoTech, the Aimpoint makes a bright red halo around the edge of the tube when I turn up the brightness that's kind of annoying. |
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Alpha Romeo- thanks very much for that breakdown of what to replace and when. That's going to be valuable info for me. The Larue sling looks good too. Will probably pick that up in soon. I should be keeping the B5 stock, but also wanted to get the Magpul STR. I like the wide cheek weld. I've been trying to decide if I should keep the Aimpoint or swap it out for an EoTech, the Aimpoint makes a bright red halo around the edge of the tube when I turn up the brightness that's kind of annoying. I also have a Magpul STR stock, the advantages are its friction lock virtually eliminates movement of the stock on the buffer tube, wider cheek weld, but its disadvantages are flimsy storage cover in extreme conditions could fall out and the quick disconnect sling mount does not have anti rotation feature like the B5, the sling spins around and tangles. If you want a better than the STR get the B5 enhanced SOPMOD stock with better storage door and anti rotational sling mounts. I also have both Aimpoint and EOTech and I prefer the Aimpoint because longer battery life and I had been using Aimpoints for 25 years now, the EOTech have shorter battery life so you will constantly make sure your battery are replaced more frequently than Aimpoints, and the EOTech also have a large ring that are good for close quarters in home defense use but at long ranges the large ring is also distracting, I wish they have a switch to turn the large ring on and off. The ring around the edge of the tube is normal to Aimpoint, you could decrease it by turning down your brightness, there will be some ring left but keep both eyes open and concentrate on the target and the red dot. |
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I also have both Aimpoint and EOTech and I prefer the Aimpoint because longer battery life and I had been using Aimpoints for 25 years now, the EOTech have shorter battery life so you will constantly make sure your battery are replaced more frequently than Aimpoints, and the EOTech also have a large ring that are good for close quarters in home defense use but at long ranges the large ring is also distracting, I wish they have a switch to turn the large ring on and off.
Haha yeah trust me I've read every Aimpoint vs Eotech thread out there. I like the wider, rectangle field of view on the Eotech, but yeah it's obvious Aimpoints are more durable and you can leave them on for 3 yrs. Might just get both eventually. Plus Eotechs are made in Ann Arbor which is 20 miles from my house. |
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