Wayne, I never had much luck with them in the service, and despised them. And this was after first loving them when I helped a friend deliver papers on a bike. So that he could pay his dad for the brand new Colt Sporter with Mattel marked stock and no fwd assist. Which would be about the same time as your wonderful experience. It was a wonder when he handed it to me in a clay pit and I zapped a rusty 5gal bucket at other end of pit and shooting standing.

Then I signed on the dotted line for a world of sex and danger, and found it to be second to many cheap Stevens rimfires in reliability. We were mostly able to use local weapons in my units, and I did, after sorting through them and finding a good one. And to this day, have preferred an SKS or AK or even a Ruger .22 auto to the Colt. And all they did was get bigger and heavier and no more reliable while i was in, first the A1 and then the A2.

And then I found this lightweight pencil barrel modern number, almost as light as the originals, 6lbs empty, 6.25lbs with 20rd mag, and it took me back to that clay pit over 50yrs ago.

Suprisingly, it worked just fine. Which, it turns out, them not doing was much due to our always dogged out weapons, where you deploy with a gun with 80,000 training rds through it, and also, accumulated carbon and battered choked gas tubes and worst, were trained to lube at minimum. The services finally have gotten around to admitting it is a gun which needs to stay well lubed. You get a new gun, run it wet, and it will go at minimum 5000rds, and often twice that, before starting to slow or choke. This is for true milspec weapons, only. Also, the shorter carbine gas system is harsher and more reliable than the longer versions under adverse conditions, so harsh, as a matter of fact, that I installed an H2 buffer to slow things down a mite in timing and battering, as the gun is not going back to the middle east or central or south america or any caribe isle, and neither am I.

But, still not my favorite gun, and it is in the bedroom for that reason, most times. It has one ability no other gun has, and that is the ability to speed change optics to match threats/environments, and try to find any other platform able to take a thermal sight. Yeah, i could add a rail to shotguns, leverguns, etc, but no thermal is going on those. My old Garand-reliable Mini 14 cannot take one at all. Plus the optics and mounts designed for instant mount and eye alignment with this gun, only. And take me out and shoot me if I ever mount such to my favorite short rifle, my 15yr old (actually now 18yr old) pre-Remlin (Remlin=CAST yuk pttoo) .45-70 18.5"bbl Guide Gun (GG/Gigi). The 300gr HPs quite violent inside 75yds.

But, for being able to see in the dark, not self-lluminate even in IR spectrum, and see even latent foot and pawprints coming and going, the CAR is the one to grab. You simply cannot beat that ability when alone and scared in the dark. Plus, it works in ANY light, with no flare at all except from an IR searchlight, so, not blinded by even super bright lights, and looks right thru them as if not even there, automotive high beams included.







add a thermal imager to THIS?!

PS- sorry you could not find, instead, an unaccountably abandoned M12 riot gun, needing a home. Much easier to transfer post to post when broken in half and in ruck, duffle, tent post and stake bag, or even laundry bag. Each half only 21" long, dry weight of under 6.5 lbs, and holds 6rds of milspec buck in the tube, and no disconnector same as your Stevens (and our Remington 31s, Ithaca 37s etc). I found it quite satisfactory, as well. Still do.