I got lucky and picked up two NOS rare Colt items. Even better for me I got both upper and lower on sale and saved a good bit of money. The upper is the Colt IAR-6933CK. It was made from the Colt IAR6940CK. Manufactured by Colt, the IAR6940CK is a complete upper receiver assembly in 5.56x45mm NATO- IAR (Infantry Automatic Rifle) upper built to compete in the Marines IAR program and offered as New Old Stock U.S. Government overrun. The Marines eventually ended up going with the HK M27 piston driven AR. The M27 doesn’t have the sustained rate of fire that the Colt IAR does. It left many wondering if they were looking for a replacement for the M249 SAW which was belt fed then why did the Marines eventually go with the M27 when the Colt IAR fits the bill better for a IAR.
My Colt IAR- 6933CK upper is exacty the same as the 16" barrel IAR6940CK the only difference is it has a 11.5" barrel and made for the FBI.
- Manufactured by Colt
- IAR (Infantry Automatic Rifle) Upper
- 5.56x45mm NATO caliber
- 11.5" chrome lined heavy barrel (CAGE code marked)
- Colt designed heat sink for heat dissipation during extended periods of fire
- Monolithic rail system
- Flip-up front sight
- Magpul MBUS Pro flip-up rear sight
- Colt Radian Raptor charging handle
- “C” marked Colt upper receiver
- “C” marked Colt full-auto bolt carrier group
- New Old Stock US Gov’t Overrun
Manufactured by Colt, the IAR6933CK complete upper receiver assembly is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO and was developed at the request of FBI HRT for a short-barrel IAR variant. It features a monolithic upper receiver with an uninterrupted full-length top rail that free-floats Colt’s heavy 11.5" chrome-lined, CAGE code–marked barrel, optimized for durability and sustained fire. Designed for enhanced heat management, the system incorporates an integrated heat sink, along with a gas-block-mounted flip-up front sight and a Magpul MBUS Pro flip-up rear sight. Additional features include a “C” marked Colt upper receiver, a “C” marked Colt full-auto bolt carrier group, and a Colt Radian Raptor charging handle, with an A2 flash hider installed at the muzzle. For optimal performance, use with an H2 or H3 buffer is recommended.
The M4 COMMANDO lowers are definitely a rare piece of Colt history for those of us the in the U.S. who were able to score them, because they’re special ordered for Prima Armi, which hold exclusive rights as the distributor for Colt firearms in Europe, meaning they’re the only official distributor of Colt firearms of all Europe and sell only to EU countries. The only other official M4 Commando marked lower that Colt has produced was the “M4 COMMANDO ENHANCED”, which had select fire options of either semi, burst, or auto.
Another bit of info on these M4 COMMANDO lowers is that every single one is made to be put on either a 14.5 or 12 inch SBR. There is no 16 inch barreled M4 COMMANDO in the European market, only the 14.5 or 12 inch variants.
Most of the Colt lowers have extra materal left inside of the lower to make it harder to convert to full auto. For me to fit the Rare Breed FRT I had to cut out this extra materal and basically convert it to a low shelf lower. I swapped out some parts on the lower to make it more comfortable and user friendly for me being a southpaw.
The scope is a Hensolt Wetzler Fero Z24 illuminated German scope in 4x24mm. It makes a great compact LPVO.
Putting these LE Colt upper and LE Colt lower put together makes a really rare AR to have here in the US. There weren’t many of the 16" Uppers made and even less of the 11.5" uppers. Then when you consider that there are even less of both of these uppers in civilian hands plus the LE lower this is a rare AR to possess here in the US.
