So I have carried a Rock River AR for 16 years and it has been great.
It’s a mid length, heavy barrel, TRO hanguard (think the now call it the NM), Samson HK flip up sights, and a Trijicon MRO.

She has probably close to 15k rounds. Never missed a beat and I have done nothing but clean it. Not replaced anything.
It’s a great rifle she’s just a bit on the heavy side and probably due for a refresh.

I have a little bit of money coming my way and as she was deployed today I was thinking about picking out a duty replacement. I’m not opposed to another Rock River but thought I might give something else a go.
I have always wanted a Colt but folks seem to be raving about FN’s current production.

$850 for the FN and $1100 for the Colt.

I don't know the current state of FN-produced AR-15s, but I'm pretty sure you don't want a current production Colt. If you can find a new or excellent condition Colt that was produced more than five years ago, grab it. Otherwise, of your two choices, I would take the FN.

The new Colt rifles are just not the same as the older ones. I'm sure the new Colts are fine shooters, but they are not worth the premium you pay for that pony stamped on the side of the receiver.

FN Rifles with wedgelock rails pop up at different places. I recently saw one at $1100 during Labor Day sales.

The wedgelock is the Hodge/Mega design that is still used by SOLGW, Mega/Zev, Triarc, FN, and a few others.

If you're looking to go modern and shed weight I think you'd be quite pleased.

edit: current best is $1250 that I can find
https://familyfirearms.com/pro...-magpul-moe-sl-stock

Rebarrel what you have, spend the savings on ammo.

I agree with Para's post. I sold my 6920LE Probably 10 years ago. It is hard to know what you are getting these days. Even on the used market.

Where can you get a basic FN AR for $850 these days.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Rebarrel what you have, spend the savings on ammo.

Not a terrible idea!
I can grab a lightweight Rock River upper for under $400.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I agree with Para's post. I sold my 6920LE Probably 10 years ago. It is hard to know what you are getting these days. Even on the used market.

Where can you get a basic FN AR for $850 these days.

FN Mil/LE price is actually $875

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Rebarrel what you have, spend the savings on ammo.

Not a terrible idea! I can grab a lightweight Rock River upper for under $400.

Part of this depends on your current RR upper. If the original barrel truly has 15k rounds on it, the barrel is toast. The throat will be badly eroded, there will be a large jump to the lands, the gas port hole will be eroded and likely oversized, the crown probably sucks. If it truly has 15k rounds on it, you should be seeing keyhole strikes on paper, especially at distance. Your gas tube and gas block are nearing end of life. With 15k rounds, your bolt probably past expected end of life. Lug wear should be evident and springs should be toast.

If the upper is 16 years old and has not been updated, it likely has the older style quad rail. This contributes to the weight. A newer MLok rail will be slimmer and lighter.

If the lower is still in good condition, a new upper is cheaper than a new rifle. If your RR lower truly has 15k rounds on it, then the trigger is probably nearing end of life.

What he said is true. 15,000 rounds is a lot.

I'd sell the upper and be done with it.

Empty the lower receiver of all of its parts, and completely rebuild it. It needs new springs, new buffer spring, a new trigger wouldn't hurt.

Buy the upper of your choice as a replacement.

Certainly approaching 15k.
16 years of shooting, 2 rifles schools with at least 3k rounds fired at each.

Only things replaced was when I switched to the TRO rail that was not factory. I did a new gas block, and gas tube as I did away with the front sight post gas block.

Tough call. By the time I buy new springs, trigger for the lower, and a new upper I am only a few hundred bucks away from a new FN rifle.

This rifle is still very much shoots just not sure it needs to be duty rifle any longer.

either one will serve you well. Just depends what you need / want. Alot of junk on the market for many years.... FN and Colt are not junk. Choose what fits you.

Current production Colts are not junk, but neither are they Colts any longer. Did you watch the video I posted? Colt's slide began in 2011 when they lost the government contract to FN.

Pull the BCG from a Colt made these days and look at the left side of the bolt carier. Where's the "C" that should be there? Used to be, there were two main contractors for Colt BCGs- Checkmate and Lewis Machine and Tool. Who is making these parts for Colt these days? Your guess is as good as mine.

Why pay for the Colt name, when that's all you're getting? The Colt name.

Colts pricing seems to be more in line with other top tier names since CZ bought Colt. Part of the CZ plan I bet. People would be shocked if they knew how many vendors made the same parts for all the brands. As long as they meet the Govt TDP , it does not matter to me. FN and Colt have been making boomsticks for Uncle sugar for a long time! A lot of crap on the market and its a shame as alot of people new to the Stoner system will buy the crap.

quote:

Originally posted by Jerod:
As long as they meet the Govt TDP , it does not matter to me.

That's the thing, man. The Colts don't, not any longer. Watch the video.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Tough call. By the time I buy new springs, trigger for the lower, and a new upper I am only a few hundred bucks away from a new FN rifle.

Lower rebuild kits are cheap- $50 or less. You can sell your current upper for $300-$500.

Buy the upper of your choice and you are only out $100-$300 for a “new” gun with new springs and a new barrel and new BCG. That’s a very fair price.

You could sell the gun outright, and recoup some cost but maybe it has sentimental value as you’ve had it for a long time.

This is purely anecdotal as its a sample size of 2, but I bought a couple of the recent issue CR6920s a few months apart - LGS & an online vendor. Prices had come down quite a bit.

Bolt carrier of both had a faint C stamp & both bolts were MP marked. I watched the vid posted though, and can see where there is reason for doubt on Colt's direction.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Tough call. By the time I buy new springs, trigger for the lower, and a new upper I am only a few hundred bucks away from a new FN rifle.

Lower rebuild kits are cheap- $50 or less. You can sell your current upper for $300-$500.

Buy the upper of your choice and you are only out $100-$300 for a “new” gun with new springs and a new barrel and new BCG. That’s a very fair price.

You could sell the gun outright, and recoup some cost but maybe it has sentimental value as you’ve had it for a long time.

I don’t see selling the old upper let alone for 3-$500. They are barely that much new.

older Colt. I have 7 older ones of varying models and they have never let me down. I wouldn't purchase a new-ish Colt for reasons stated above

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Rebarrel what you have, spend the savings on ammo.

Not a terrible idea! I can grab a lightweight Rock River upper for under $400.

Part of this depends on your current RR upper. If the original barrel truly has 15k rounds on it, the barrel is toast. The throat will be badly eroded, there will be a large jump to the lands, the gas port hole will be eroded and likely oversized, the crown probably sucks. If it truly has 15k rounds on it, you should be seeing keyhole strikes on paper, especially at distance. Your gas tube and gas block are nearing end of life. With 15k rounds, your bolt probably past expected end of life. Lug wear should be evident and springs should be toast.

If the upper is 16 years old and has not been updated, it likely has the older style quad rail. This contributes to the weight. A newer MLok rail will be slimmer and lighter.

If the lower is still in good condition, a new upper is cheaper than a new rifle. If your RR lower truly has 15k rounds on it, then the trigger is probably nearing end of life.

I have read a lot of barrel life estimates over the years and I think 15k is pretty light in practical terms.

We have 22 RRA rifles that have been in service for about 15 years. Many of them are likely well over 15k, particularly some full-auto 10.5" guns assigned to our tactical team. We have not seen issues with accuracy, timing, or headspace in day to day shooting or annual armorer inspections. The machine guns are probably around 22k-25k right now.

On the semi-auto guns, we have started seeing the two-stage triggers wear out so that it just has one mushy stage. No loss of accuracy, headspace failures, etc on those guns, either. Those guns are likely all around 20k if my quick math is right just assuming regular ranges and not new rifle operator classes that add about 750 per time the gun is issued to a new officer. Most rifles have seen two or three guys in that time.

Ammo has all been M193 variants for training and Federal Tactical Bonded for a few years and then Gold Dot dot the last five or seven.

I am overall not a big RRA fan when price and features are compared, but we have no complaints about our rifles.

15k, that's a good start. If it ain't broke, why fix it? I do understand just wanting a new rifle though.

Did you read fritz's post?