New Colt M5 rifle - Not worth the money - QC issues 

Can we all just agree that Colt is at that stage of a campfire where you are trying to decide whether to let it burn out on its own or dump water on it and just get it over with?

I will never forget my start in the quality field working for Colt in the '80's, when the "borrowed" a billion dollars from the gov't. We idiots on the floor thought that money was for improving our machinery, which was pretty antiquated and basically garbage. Instead, the money went straight to the shareholders, iirc, the stock went from $17 to $97 overnight. People got rich, the physical company got nothing, and bankruptcy got filed. I went into aviation for a career, but got recruited by Colt 35 years later for a QE (quality engineer) position. I never made it past the phone interview as I could tell by that Colt was still a poorly run company. One thing I found in a few shops was that if you're a "sole source supplier" (Colt with the Gov contracts, a forge shop that produced Colts receivers, and a helicopter shop that supplied rotorheads for Apache and Chinooks) you lose your competitive edge over time, and become fat and lazy, and feel the customer will still salivate over any crap you ship.

That looks like a decent $1200 rifle. But there is NO WAY I'd pay $2000 for it.

I've been wanting to get my hands on one of these; thanks for the report 🇺🇸

Yikes. I hope CZ fixes Colt's problems ASAP!

There are many reasons why Colt lost the military contract to FN, and this is just further proof as to why. Shame, the Colt AR’s used to be one of the Gold standards of the AR market.

Its a a shame what Colt, Remmington, and Winchester have become.

I have an older 6920 that is an absolute beast. Glad I got it when I did and the price was right to boot!

5 years of waiting for a basic AR

I just purchased a Colt M5 No problems with mine 😎

I personally wont own ANYTHING that says Colt on it, several reasons, not the least of which is customer service. Back in 2011, I was putting an adjustable trigger in a 100th Anniversary Colt 1911A1. Much to my and the owners dismay, Colt had opted to put a PLASTIC mainspring housing in their 1911's at this point. John Moses Browning DID NOT design or intend for his brilliant invention to have a critical part housing the spring that causes the hammer to fall and keep tension on same, MADE OF CHEAP PLASTIC SOFT ENOUGH TO BE SCRATCHED BY YOUR DAMN FINGERNAIL!!! The owner called Colt customer service, the head of which at the time was a dbag named Paul. Owner told Paul he would never have paid well over $800 for a Colt Anniversary model 1911 had he known it employed a plastic part as such, and he wanted Colt to send him a steel replacement. Paul told him that's what was wrong with America, was that everyone wanted something for nothing, hence solidifying Paul's status as aforementioned dbag. Paul refused to send a new Colt customer $25 worth of milled steel to keep a customer happy, exactly the reason why Colt has been in the shape its been in for a very long time, crappy products and HORRIBLE customer service. To hell with Colt, whatever status they may have once held because of their founder, his name, and the products before the end of WW2 is long since gone. And given their lack of give a damn where our Marines and Soldiers were concerned before and during the Vietnam war in ignoring Eugene Stoner's suggestion/insistence that the rifles needed stainless steel/chrome lined barrels/chambers to avoid exactly the problems that plagued the rifles due to the climate of SE Asia, and the conditions of such a theater of war, thus directly causing the deaths and wounding of our men at arms, trying to clear ruptured cartridges from their carbon steel chambers with a cleaning rod trying in the middle of firefights to get their weapon to function just so they could survive. This was nothing more than Colt/McNamara trying to save a few bucks in products and labor, and having the most horrendous cost and culmination for a great many men trying to defeat a communist threat on one end, while their leadership and and its vendors bungled the hell out of it on the other. Sorry to run on and rant, but F*** Colt, and anything to do with them. They're parasites, and if CZ doesnt divest themselves of every bit of Colts leadership and mentality when they acquired them, then F*** CZ too. After all, they stopped making the CZ 550, in all its glory, arguably a fantastic rifle, easily on par with the Rem 700, Ruger M77 MkII, and Win model 70, and maybe better than all three. Now Im just pissed off, yall have a good day.

The upper is the same as Aero Precision M4E1 uppers. The barrel nut is machined into the upper receiver and needs a special castle nut wrench to install it.

Colt was woke before their time. Neutered weapons or simply refusing to sell them to the citizen warrior. Always woke, now broke.

All these Colt haters.... Lol, 99.9% of them haven't used one in a fire fight... Or have even held one...

I never got on the Colt wagon. I always found better, more modern AR’s for the same price or less. Or just built my own. I like their Python & Anaconda, but I think you can only go so far if your main business is outdated AR’s & 1911’s. I hoped CZ would fix Colt, but only time will tell.

I had picked up a 6920 M4 16" upper in 2021 the bolt came with the ejector retainer pin partially installed and smeared over from testfire, called Colt customer service and they sent a new bolt, no return of damaged one, no questions asked.

This is one of those things that ALWAYS bothers me me people say, "You get what you pay for". Generally that is true, but a lot of the times companies do not work efficiently to add maximum value while price point companies have to find figure out how to do things more efficiently because their margins are so small.

Hmmm. Let's see....the carbine fired smoothly without any failures or concerns and somehow "it's not worth it?" Haven't seen these problems with the M5. Wanting your personal carbine "over-gassed" is not a knock on the factory product, of course.

Cz should have gutted Colt's leadership when they were acquired. Chris from SmallArmSolutions said this, given his personal experiences while working at Colt.

How the mighty have fallen....CZ must clean house over at Colt to ensure the survival of the company.

Thanks for your honest coverage of the dumpster fire that Colt has devolved into.

This is likely one of the reasons Colt is now owned by CZ. Hopefully, CZ can turn these QC issues around.

Praying that being associated with Colt doesn’t screw up CZ (one of my favorite gun makers) too bad

Just build your own the way you want it. Save what's left over for a good optic and ammo. Someone will still buy this for some reason tho. This is well beyond the point of diminishing return.

Great review, many thanks. As a life-long Colt fanboy (for more than 5 decades now) I can say the UAW has wrecked Colt. Years ago, I began the move over to CZ, so, I share your concern about UAW-Colt crashing CZ. Keep up the good work.

I couldn’t believe it when he said that thing is over 2 grand. Even the roll marks look like shit.

Interesting design but quality should still be our priority. Thank you for this honest review

I am actually pretty impressed with the features of the rifle. I don't mind proprietary parts if they're good. The rail integration with the upper could be a plus. The trigger pins, I'd probably be neutral on if they're good and I can use them with a trigger of my choice. The bolt right hander controls are only ambi on close, but I'm ok with that. I was in disagreement with Tim until he stated the MSRP. At a $2k price point, I agree. Your bolt rings shouldn't uninstall themselves even on a more affordable rifle. At $2k, removing flashing and marking the pic is just standard. But of everything, the loose sights tell me the most. The manufacturing might be getting rushed and/or nobody is looking at the product after full assembly. Ya' know those packaging people that probably earn the least, should be paid more and integrate them into to the QC program. They'll be better, They'll be more important to you as an employer. And as long you treat them well, they'll stay with you forever. Tl;dr: Words and soapbox

I have been running the same LMT piston AR for almost 10 years. It wasn't cheap then but its my old reliable friend and I am sort of the mindset of "a man with one gun must be good with it" and I certainly try to be. That being said I could see myself one day paying a premium for a genuine Colt AR just "to have". However, considering how nice some sub $1k ARs are now the giant casting marks on the magwell on a $2k rifle is a joke and I won't be buying one. Just my .2C

Tim, while I will take credit for giving you the idea for this and agree with most of your points (the had rings popping off/the price/forget scale on the lower), I do have to call bullshit on crying that this is "perfectly gassed" instead of slightly over gassed. If anything, I'd be overflowing with praise for Colt doing with a Carbine has system what others do with a MidLength has system. If they could drop this to about $1400 or put either a 6940 or 6960 upper on this lower, I'd still buy one.

I find it humorous you talk about quality control issues when you said the turkey mke mp5 was a good firearm and when I picked it up it was total junk!

My Diamond Back (early trying to be the best model) has 4000+ rounds through it and has been flawless, and still keeps 1/2 moa with Aguila 55 grn 556. 600$.

One could so easily get the impression that Colt never left the house and checked out other rifles that exist lol i honestly find it absolutely fascinating how any company could be in or remain in the dark about their own industry or potential customer base.

I’ll stick to my PSA lol

Never clicked on a notification so fast in my life!!! Keep up the good work

4:31 "unique to itself" perfectly describes this gun in a world where a gun's customizability and modularity is everything

Annnnnd you can't beat British DPM Desert Excellent my friend.... Take care

Thank you for your time posting this content, very informative.

I said it before and I will say it again. *COLT* •Comically •Outdated •Loose •Tolerances Colt used to be a premier manufacturer. That's _past tense_ ladies and gentlemen. Stay classy my friends. Side note - Also....BOO-HISS-SCORN-SCOFF on Troy Industries. We will *_not_* forget those that are employed by Troy Ind. _'Sic Semper Tyrannis'_ seems appropriate in this regard. If you know, you know...

That forge line was exactly the same on my rattlecan service rifle that had a 3moa guarantee.

A little petty on a few things, but for the money I agree, it should be buttoned up a bit more. These can be found in the 1700-1900 range fairly easily, so you got screwed on the price! I'd buy one at 1500 or less I think, but to each their own.. Thanks for the content!

That flashing on the front of the magwell is acceptable and "mil spec" according to Geissele😂😂😂

I don't understand why companies half ass the ambi bolt release/catch

Man love my new m5... you mean the sig the colt or Aero's M5

They're about 10 years or more late to the ambi lower party. I know these were actually designed back in 901 series days but never made it to civilian market. It is pretty cool though.

Thanks for keeping it real and calling it how it is brother.

Reminds me of the Aero M4E1 enhanced upper.

Have a colt rifle. Added an ambi fire selector and Troy ambi mag release. About $100 total. So, maybe 1k into the rifle. Both work great Seems better spending than 2k for an M5.

Wow times have changed. Colt continues to circle the drain lower & lower

I am sure you know but the Keyhole forge mark is from FERRO FORGE.

Those charging handles are gonna be very sought after.

All my experiences with Colt and their AR15A4, M4 Carbine, LE6920, CR6920s through out the past decade have all been top notch., just saying.

I have seen earlier Colts with the ridge on the front of the magwell, the barrel nut and barrel looks similar to the Colt 6940 design.. The trigger-hammer pins are longer like the WWSD plastic wonder which will run with standard pins if needed but would not be aesthetically pleasing if used..You should have removed the gas rings to compare to known gas rings to see if the bolt or the gas rings were the problem..Every new Colt BCG I have specked out has been perfect, so I suspect the gas ring supplier is at fault, but I wished you would have done that for this video.Gas rings can be messed up if the bolt is not inserted into the bolt carrier properly, especially with a tight tolerance "gas efficient" gas ring bore...The design looks solid but as usual for Colt, the rifle is not in the price range it should be in. Colt needs to move to a pro gun-business state to accomplish that..

Wow, the gas block made of a grounded off old A sight gas block.

I really was hoping CZ would sort out Colt and bring it back to glory. Guess the old, declined Colt is hard to bring back.

Longer pins have no problem getting replaced by standard pins since the inner wall distance is the same!

"Colt - Not worth the money" Shortened your title for ya.

It answers a few of my questions. I’ve been thinking of buying another AR15. Colt was on/off my list, now permanently off the list.

I had an opportunity to pick one up about a week ago at my local FFL and I had to pass it just seemed not even close to par of what I expected from a colt. It’s not even the price that threw me off it was just the fact that they look cheesy.

One of the last true review RU-vidr...shame on colt

This rifle is not 2000 USD nice. A nice comment ;-))) Mike!

Colt, at one time, was my favorite firearms manufacturer. I carried the Colt M16A2 in USMC and wanted all my personal firearms to be Colt and I was more than willing to pay the premium for it because Colt made quality. Fast forward past bankruptcies, lack of r&d and toxic leadership Colt is not the same. They thought they could live on their legacy , military contracts and past glory. I was hopeful when CZ acquired Colt but I am starting to doubt. If CZ hasn’t already done so, they need to get rid of holdover leadership and get fresh blood in there and maybe even leaving Connecticut and move to where big unions won’t hold them back and start innovating for the future while still producing their legacy firearms but at an affordable price point for consumers. If not I have definitely moved on and loving companies like Sig, FN, Daniel Defense even Aero precision. Colt you need to lead, follow or get the hell out of the way. Semper Fi Mac!

Colt leadership has destroyed the Colt brand and will ultimately destroy the CZ brand. Unfortunately the Colt name does not carry the same meaning as it once did! There are plenty of better options to choose from.

Spends 2 minutes taking about how good sightmark is, immediately cuts to shooting with a trijicon 🤣

Colt, the Harley Davidson of firearms.

Probably just go ahead and ship it to Ian to go into the cue for future forgotten weapons.

This Colt M5 is awesome.

I gotta agree on the price, its expensive, the forging "mark" i personally would rather have it there, i think it looks cool pluss alittle stronger, oki one gas ring fault, not a big deal, overall i think this rifle looks freaken awsome, and cool barrelnut/handguard design. But ill guess for the price like you said there is other options

A firearms business is tough to maintain resilience during export restrictions, the '80's recession (less money around), and also trades that got exported over to Asia in the '80's. If civilians arent buying your guns domestically then youre only other option is export sales to a warzone and although bigger cheddar, the consequences of export laws are a real pain in f'n n***! 😐

one of the cheapest looking $2000 guns ive seen

What a difference 10 years makes. 2012: Sig rifles are trash, go colt 2022: colt rifles are trash, go sig . Interesting to see things change.

Magpul stock and trigger guard and Radian charging handle but still has an A2 grip? Really? Lol

Colt 901's have a similar barrel nut design. For mine, I had to have a machinist fabricate me a tool to remove the barrel nut, many years ago.

Why is it mostly normal with newer guns they don't run right out of the box and you gotta go to RU-vid to find fixes for your brand new gun ?

I see Colt has not improved even with a change of ownership. Now, you can say all new guns will have kinks to work out, like the Springfield SA-35, but with Colt’s legacy of bad QC issues, I say this is just Colt being Colt!

Fact that Colt advertises this as an "Assault Rifle" is enough for me to never support that company.

Ive had tons of military m16a4s that have that seam on the front of the magwell. Produced by colt and FN. Not something i would expect on a expensive super civilian ar15. I wouldn't care about the seam if it wasn't so expensive

Well for me…. Even the Sig 400 tread / tread coil or the Springfield Saint victor B5, beat this rifle in price, features , accessories and QC.

You lost me at MSRP!

Some rifles sell themselves, other rifles are difficult based purely on features. BCM, daniel defense, and LMT are easier products to sell based on name and quality control.

The Colt name is iconic in the firearms industry, with a tremendous past history, emphasis on past. Colt should have an American division selling coffee mugs and t-shirts with their logo. Sell the firearms division to a quality firearms maker such as FN, IWI or Dasan Machineries. They could put a sticker on the delivery box with the Colt logo saying "proudly boxed by Americans, 99.999% of parts imported".

Were you chain sawing?

CZ needs to take a Colt manager by the feet, and then slap all other Colt managers with a Colt manager. And then fire them. All of them. Give a slight raise to the engineers and enjoy your new company with decent engineers and decent tooling.

I have been wondering if CZ taking over was going to help but I guess not yet

I think the casting mark is actually called forging laps and is always on so call “real colt made” lower receiver! Or it is an colt made ID mark! Lol It is there on colt since the first m16. I remember before sometime about 2018 every colt 6920 6940 lower receiver has the forging lap or casting mark we talked here! It is a war tool and not an art piece which will not effect the function but looks. Then about after Colt uses laser marks and QR code on the lower receiver than the forging lap or casting mark gone! I believe those much good looking lower receiver is out source parts.

Yup, it’s a hard pass for me. That’s a $1k rifle at best. Thanks for the review Tim!

There have been more sad stories than good, if any, from Colt since the 90s

The rifle will definitely work with a missing gas ring. I had a BCG, that would catch a gas ring and pinch it between the carrier and bolt and break it. No clue how it managed that, but it happened twice, so I had it replaced by the manufacturer… But it ran with only the two rings with no issues.

I own ~ 12 different brands of AR-15's some > $2K like JP & LWRC and a few others (they were all bought used). Some Colts too....for the money a PSA with a FN barrel is hard to beat.

The only thing i care about on an ambi lower is a bolt hold open on both sides. Nothing annoys me more then lowers that are called ambi but lack that critical feature.

I agree . I have an LWRC and it is exceptional!

I’m good with my Colt LE 6920 SOCOM & SIG MCX VIRTUS patrol amongst many other rifles, pistols, etc….

My colt m4 is still going strong no need to change

Dear Gun Industry... If you want to make or break yourself just let Tim "Buy" one of your products... The Power of Independent and unbiased veiws...

I just bought a Colt 6920 SOCOM from ClassicFirearms two weeks ago for $1500 (tax and shipping not included). The rifle had an upper/lower wobble. I just sent it back to Colt to get it fixed. I also have a Colt Law Enforcement ar15 I bought about 12 years ago. Many rounds through it. No wobble on upper/lower receiver.

$400 for the rifle and $1600 for the brand

It's a Frankenstein AR. It's a basic bought AR, with aftermarket upgrades. That's like everyone that bought a bushmaster back in the day, and decided to buy Magpul, Radian, and Midwest upgrades.

I thought that the mcx spear was going to be the “m5”. Looks like I was completely wrong.

Old dude here, colt is a bottom build with good name brand. I remember the old series 70 1911s. Buy it take it to the range, put 2 or 3 magazines though it and see what breaks.

the good part about this upper is no point of impact shift no matter how much you press on the handguard since the rail doesn't have any interaction with the barrel nut. sucks that it's 2022 and they're using a carbine length gas system as well as a regular button cut rifling barrel instead of hammer forged for that price point.