This year FN is slated to introduce its own line of AR15s… one of which includes a 20 inch A4 rifle. Can you say… excited? While I have little chance of buying one since I own two perfectly serviceable rifles, I gotta say the picture they gave out with their press release is beautiful. It is great to see another company offer a 20 inch AR15. No word yet of the profile under the hand-guard.
Click the picture below to get full-size.
Oh My God It’s Beautiful
I am glad a few more manufacturers are jumping on the 20 inch A4 bandwagon. Several years ago HBAR was the only game in town. That sucks for someone who wants a practical rifle. I don’t need the HBAR weight and the Govt’ profile has plenty in the way of accuracy.
At the time when I built my two rifles there were very few options for government 20’s. My primary rifle has a Sabre Defense barrel, and the other a surplus FN barrel.
It would seem now that we are getting a slight surge in companies offering a full featured 20 inch rifle.
Here are a few I found online:
Windham Weaponry
Windham’s latest catalog features 20 inch uppers with the magic features we all look for: chrome lined, government profile, 4150 Steel, with a 1 in 7 twist. As of yet, they do not have the complete rifles or uppers listed online so it would be best to call. The specifications have changed on their rifles since I first looked at them as it seems Windham is moving in a better direction with their material choices. Ultimately we have very little chatter about the quality of this new rifle line Windham is offering so stay tuned.
Palmetto State Armory
Palmetto State Armory is still offering 20 inch uppers, and a few rifles. The “double thick” chrome lined barrel with M4 feed ramps get good reviews online. The rifles they offer are not traditional A4 style rifles, but if you don’t want a front sight base on your build there you go.
http://palmettostatearmory.com
Bravo Co.
Bravo Co. also offers uppers, barrels, and rifles. BCM has a stellar reputation, so I am glad these guys are offering a 20 inch barrels for us rifle guys.
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com
COLT
Colt DOES offer a AR15A4 model, but it is not listed on their website under the consumer section. I would imagine this one might be hard to find. I could not source genuine colt barrels or uppers. Colt “take off” uppers usually commend a high price as well… does not justify the purchase in my mind, especially when other companies are ready to offer the same specs for a better price.
So things are improving from where we were a year ago. New companies are starting to offer the rifle length platform again. Its a smooth shooting system, and if you don’t have one in rotation it would be a nice option to give a new shooter.
Colt AR15A4…It took me 49 days from time of order to receipt for the Colt AR15A4. Have had it about 2 weeks now. Phenomenal weapon! I am a 20+ year military Veteran and retiree. Very familiar with this weapon. Very pleased with this Colt. Was not an inexpensive purchase and yes, difficult to acquire. The serial number of rifle is below 500. To me, it was worth the wait and aggravation in order to obtain it. Also, I have Colt LE 6920’s. This too is worth the cost. Reliable weapon, too. Enjoy.
Rpk, how did you order the rifle?was it from the colt website?
No, it was ordered from a local dealer in Texas. I paid for the rifle in advance. They ordered it from a location in the eastern CONUS after the first attempt with another dealer failed. Thus, the 49 day wait for arrival. Although it was frustrating, this rifle was WELL worth the wait, though. No complaints! You have no doubt heard the story about the “tack driving rifle?” Well, the Colt AR15A4 truly is that mythical tack driver. It is as accurate as any Colt M-16 rifle issued to me during my military career (was issued the original VietNam Era M-16’s with full auto “fun switch” when I enlisted, later replaced by the
M-16A2’s with the 3 round “burst” option). By the way, Colt has a promotional offer presently on-going. I also received a Bulldog brand nylon case with an embroidered Colt Logo FREE of charge (sent directly from Bulldog). That’s right, FREE with absolutely NO COST. All that was required was a copy of the order form and proof of payment. Should have taken up to 12 weeks for delivery and had it within 3 weeks. It was a sweet deal on top of owning this legendary Colt rifle. For further details, you can go to the Colt website. The rifle is listed in the on-line 2014 catalog and the promotional offer is, too. If you decide to order this rifle, you will not be disappointed. Hope this was helpful, Marx.
To those ” in the know” we know this to be the best and correct way to run the AR system..those not ” in the know ” will figure it out hopefully sooner rather than later..simply put…”the way Stoner designed it to be run…period ”
USMC 0311..by choice