Today, the AR-15, in its many variations, is
the most popular rifle in the United States. There are numerous
manufacturers of AR-15 style rifles, and all are producing the
rifles at full capacity. Still, right now, demand exceeds
supply, as more and more shooters are becoming aware of the
excellent qualities of the weapon for hunting, sport shooting,
and as a fighting rifle. With the onset of the current
panic-buying of firearms in the US due to pending threats to our
Constitutional right to bear arms, the AR-15 is bringing scalper’s
prices. I have heard of people paying as much as three times a
rifle’s MSRP, as they fear not being able to buy one in the
future. Same thing with magazines and ammunition. People are
paying outrageous prices for anything they can find. This is
crazy.
Colt has been producing AR-15 rifles for half
a century now, and many shooters still place a premium on the
Colt name, for good reason. Colt makes a quality weapon. There
are other makers of fine AR-15 style rifles, and while some are
better than others, Colt is a name that most people recognize as
a builder of high-quality weapons. Right now, as is most
everyone, Colt is running at full-capacity building weapons for
the military and civilian markets. A few months ago, Colt
expanded their production capabilities by building their
superb Competition Rifles in Idaho, and now, they are
building this latest LE6900 Light Carbine shown here at an
assembly facility in Kentucky.
The Light Carbine fires both .223 Remington
and 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition interchangeably. It wears a
non-lined sixteen inch barrel with a one-in-eight inch rifling
twist, and wears the same closed-bottom birdcage flash
suppressor as other Colt M-4 style carbines. The Light Carbine
handles beautifully, weighing in at just a hair under six pounds
on my scale. The Light Carbine uses the same bolt, bolt carrier,
and other small parts as do the other Colt carbines. The trigger
is a very good single stage match trigger, which released
crisply with four pounds, two ounces of resistance as measured
with my Lyman digital gauge, and is much better than a standard
mil-spec trigger.
The LE6900 Light Carbine is fitted tightly,
with no excessive play between the upper and lower receiver
halves. The machining of the receiver halves, both inside and
out, is flawless. The six-position telescoping buttstock fits
perfectly, with no rattle nor excessive looseness, as is often
found with this type of stock. The handguard is a free-floating
style, made of aluminum, and is drilled for sections of
Picatinny rail, one of which is attached atop the hand guard.
The LE6900 has no forward assist, which is no big deal to me. I
have never used a forward assist on an AR-15 to make a cartridge
go into the chamber. If a round does not fully chamber, there is
a reason, and I prefer to get the defective cartridge out of the
weapon, instead of trying to force it into the chamber. The
Light Carbine shown here was shipped with one thirty-round
Magpul P-MAG polymer magazine.
The flattop receiver will accommodate
mechanical or optical sights. The LE6900 ships with no sights of
any type, but will accept any that will fit a Picatinny rail.
Colt has partnered with Leupold to produce the excellent VX-R
riflescopes that are Colt-branded. This is a nice feature, and
allows shooters who are rightfully proud of their Colt rifle to
attach a scope with the Colt name on it. Other rifle makers have
done this in the past, usually placing their brand on a no-name
imported scope, but Colt has wisely chosen to place their name
upon an American-made, high-quality optic. The Leupold VX-R with
the Colt brand is offered in a choice of 1.25 to 4 or 4 to 12
power, covering most every need for which this dandy little
carbine might be used. The Colt VX-R scopes are built upon a
30mm tube, and have the ballistic Firedot reticle. The reticle
is very useful for shooting up close, particularly in the 1.25
to 4 power version, out to extended ranges. For low-light
conditions, the Firedot reticle can be activated, placing a
small illuminated dot at the center of the reticle. The
intensity of the red dot is variable, and is controlled by a
button in the center of the left-side turret. Like other VX-R
scopes, it has Leupold’s superb optical qualities, as well as
their lifetime warranty.
For accuracy testing, I used the Colt/Leupold
VX-R 4 to 12 power scope, set at its highest magnification.
Accuracy testing was done firing three-shot groups on paper at
100 yards, and allowing the barrel to cool between groups.
Accuracy testing was done with the rifle resting in a Target
Shooting, Inc. Model 500 rifle rest, to eliminate as much
shooter error as possible. The best group of the day was fired
using Stryker 55 grain ammunition. Also exhibiting excellent
accuracy was Buffalo Bore 69 grain Sniper ammunition, and Black
Hills 69 grain match ammo. Every type of ammunition tested
produced very good accuracy, with the worst being Winchester USA
55 grain, which grouped in the two inch range. The Stryker,
Buffalo Bore, Wolf Gold Match, and Black Hills consistently
grouped under one inch at 100 yards. Velocity testing was done
with the chronograph set out twelve feet from the muzzle at an
elevation of 541 feet above sea level, approximately.
Temperatures hovered around the forty-four degree Fahrenheit
mark during all velocity testing, with humidity in the fifty-six
percent range. Velocity readings are the average of several
shots fired, and the results are listed in the chart below.
Velocity readings are listed in feet-per-second (fps). Bullet
weights are listed in grains. FMJ is a full metal jacket bullet.
HP is hollowpoint. V-Max is a polymer-tipped varmint bullet. TSX
is a Barnes Triple Shock homogenous copper hollowpoint bullet.
The handload listed uses the TSX bullet with 24.5 grains of
Ramshot TAC powder, a Remington small rifle primer, and
Winchester commercial .223 Remington cases.
Functioning of the Colt LE6900 was flawless,
with every type of ammunition tested. The Colt LE6900 carbine
gives up nothing in performance. Every round fed, fired, and
ejected perfectly. Perhaps the best feature of the LE6900 is its
price. Shooters are used to paying a premium to buy the Colt
brand, but with this Light Carbine, the manufacturer’s
suggested retail price (MSRP) is only $899 US, as of the date of
this review. That puts this Colt priced right along with some of
the most-affordable AR-15 rifles on the market. I urge buyers to
not pay scalper’s prices for a good AR-15. Some dealers are
taking advantage of the current situation, and are charging
excessive prices for rifles. There are still some good gun
dealers who do not do this, and there is plenty of markup
between what the dealer pays the distributor, and the retail
price. Don’t get robbed when buying an AR, and remember those
dealers who held to fair pricing during this current panic. They
are your friends. Shop around, and don’t get into a panic
mode. This latest Colt Light Carbine is an excellent rifle,
worthy of the Colt name, and is one of the better buys in today’s
market.
Check out the extensive line of Colt firearms
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