I agree and if you read all of my post you would have seen that I stated that these newly available civilian Colts are over priced IMO. If you read this whole thread you would have read another post of mine where I stated I'm buying a new Armalite M15 for $1,000 less then the Colt Canada C7 as a point to how I feel these Canadian Colts while being an excellent AR have been priced to high for a justifiable purchase.
What about the le6920? Available from IRunguns at 1400?
And while it's lovely to wave the mil spec flag around I can tell you right now I have zero loss of faith in a non milspec MR556/MR223s ability to perform on par with the milspec rifles.
This c7/c8 duo is wonderful that colt canada is offering it, but it is obscenely overpriced. If you can justify the cost, fill your boots, but there is others of equal capability at a lower cost. And no norc fanboys I'm not talking about your rifles, so please sit down.
To those comparing the Wal-Mart Colts to these Canadian Colts saying that only the barrel and a maple leaf are the only differences is wrong. However even if it were just the barrel that in it self would be worth a very large increase in price over their U.S.A. cousins what with a barrel of an AR being so important to it's over all performance.
As for the Mil-Spec aspect it is important to recognize that 'ALL' the rifles made under Mil-Spec protocols are being made to very strict and accurate tolerances that may or may not be available to other companies rifles that are NOT being produced in Mil-Spec. This process offers the prospective buyer a higher level of assurance that their rifle will be exactly the same all the rifles being produced and that is worth something more.
The fact that these rifles are Canadian made is something of value to myself personally, why because I'm a proud Canadian and I always prefer 'Made in Canada' to anything else. However being able to own the same AR our troops use is awesome not just because it's a Canadian made product, but because I know personally how well these rifles are built and how accurate they can be. Having served in the Reserve Infantry using a C7A1 I saw first hand how well built these rifles are, I saw them take abuse that I would not expect any rifle to endure and these rifles did it over and over again in the hands of rookie troops year after year. I was also able to manage 1MOA with the standard scope and 20" barrelled rifle at 100 metres with groupings of less then 6 shots, not always, but it was possible.
Now that these Premium Quality Canadian Made AR Rifles are finally here many are complaining they aren't any better then the Wal-Mart Colts offered in the U.S.A. and are not deserving of a higher price, all this shows is how uninformed many on CGN are. I obviously don't agree with exactly how much Colt Canada is charging, but to say these rifles are not an excellent AR is ludicrous. My complaint of the pricing is not because I can't afford it, but because it's just not a fair and justifiable value even as much as I want one and would have preferred they come up for sale in the $1,700 range.
When judging anything the best course is to look at it's history and with regard to the C7/8 rifles their history is exemplary and this is over decades with thousands of operators in all conditions on the planet. Other brands do not even come close to this aspect in comparison which may possibly be the most important aspect in which to base the quality of a rifle. So comparing brands X, Y, Z that have had no actual military use (which is by far the most testing on equipment) to a Canadian Colt is not a fair comparison.
Damn it, the more I write the more I'm convincing myself I am going to have to buy one of these...