Colt Expanse... NOT Made By Colt....

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This was just posted on the firearms blog... Worth a watch.


After several years of being undercut on the market by cheaper offerings from Smith & Wesson and others, Colt introduced early in 2016 a new addition to their lineup, the “Expanse” carbine, designed to cut the price tag of a Colt carbine by $200-300 versus the standard 6920. The new rifle was met with positive reviews and many felt very good about the opportunity to own a “real” Colt for significantly less than the cost of the 6920. However, is the Expanse really a Colt, or more specifically, how much of the Expanse is really Colt? Christopher Bartocci, former Colt technician, thinks the answer is “not much”. Bartocci explains why in the video embedded below: (video)

Bartocci identifies several components that he believes are not produced by or assembled at Colt, including the following:

Handguards
Stock
Castle nut and endplate (at least not assembled at Colt)
Safety
Forward assist plug
Upper
Bolt
Carrier
Barrel
Front sight block
Despite these components not evidently being Colt’s own, Bartocci does believe some elements of the Expanse are genuine Colt, including the lower receiver and possibly the hammer, which although a different pattern than used on the 6920 is the same as other Colt models.

Bartocci does not express an opinion as to whether the Expanse is therefore a good rifle or a bad one, and notes that everything does seem to be in order on it – notwithstanding the lack of dust cover or forward assist. However, for those looking for a real genuine Colt rifle at a good price, it may be better to save some more and get a real 6920, which besides being much closer in configuration to a military M4 is also a through-and-through Colt gun. The Expanse, however, does not seem to be.
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Trinimon said:
Cue the Colt fan boyz in 3... 2... :stirthepot2:

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I'm a Colt fan... but with that I see everything isn't always rosy. This is on of the unrosiest moves yet though. Not the first time they have licenced work out. While licencing out isn't always bad (Diemaco guns built for CD for example), this one isn't one of those times.

Still not a bad gun. Just isn't what is was made out to be.
 
mebiuspower said:
Newflash: AR manufacturers outsource parts from other manufacturers just like the automobiles industry.
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Ya. We know. But at some point putting a Ferrari decal on a Honda doesn't cut it.

The point here is, if you think you are getting a stripped down Colt 6920 milspec gun when you buy a Colt Expanse, you aren't. And that was what the marketing angle was.
 
If they had at least kept the barrel, upper and BCG colt then I would say who cares but, there comes a point where they are just throwing parts together.
 
This isn't that unusual. Colt sells a 1911 .22 that's made by Walther. It's a "Colt"... when ever I talk about mine, it's got air quotes around the "Colt" part.

There's a BIG reason Colt Canada AR's are so sought after vs their American counterparts.
 
Different as that's advertised and stamped walther

msnively said:
This isn't that unusual. Colt sells a 1911 .22 that's made by Walther. It's a "Colt"... when ever I talk about mine, it's got air quotes around the "Colt" part.

There's a BIG reason Colt Canada AR's are so sought after vs their American counterparts.
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mebiuspower said:
Newflash: AR manufacturers outsource parts from other manufacturers just like the automobiles industry.
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Yes, but do a search, these aren't even built/assembled in the Colt plant. Nor are the parts built to spec. The first ones to come out didn't even have a Colt lower. It was marked Colt but definitely wasn't their work. New ones seem to have lowers identical to 6920.

Colt OEM-1 is available for $1100 Cdn. It's a 6920 without furniture. By far the best value in terms of quality at a good price.
 
Your guess is as good as mine but apparently it's working. Checking recent threads shows the Expanse being constantly recommended by folks on here as a best buy with the bonus of being "genuine" Colt.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this until now since it's been pretty common knowledge on the US boards since they came out almost a year ago.
 
After buying a brand new 6920 that looked like it was dragged behind a truck for 20km's, Colt will never see a dime of mine again. There are many affordable commercial rifles that are available that are every bit as good, if not better than the junk that's coming out of their factory these days.
 
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