The Colt Competition Pistol, top right, and Lightweight Commander, bottom left. (Photo: Colt)
Meet the Colt Competition, 2016 Lightweight Commander and Expanse M4
Colt has announced three new additions to their catalog to kick of the new year, two 1911s and an AR-15, all at solid price points that are sure to please. They are the Colt Competition Pistol, Colt Lightweight Commander and the wallet-friendly Expanse M4 carbine.
“We’re incredibly excited about these new offerings,” said Paul Spitale, Vice President of Commercial Business in the announcement. “The Colt Competition Pistol is race ready right out of the box, and the Expanse M4 is a great building block that’s easy to get into for both the first-time AR-15 platform owner and the more experienced collector alike.”
First up is the Colt Competition Pistol, offered in 9mm Luger and .45 ACP with the kinds of features found on custom guns. “This pistol is competition-grade,” said Mark Redl, project manager and part of Team Colt. “We designed a pistol that you can buy on the way to a match.”
Built on a blued carbon steel slide and frame, the Competition Pistol has been modified with an undercut trigger guard and fit with an upswept “memory button” grip safety. The slide has a lowered and flared ejection port for more reliable case ejection and cut for Novak sights. The pistol comes with a fiber optic front sight and a fully-adjustable rear sight.
The Competition Pistol is fit with a 5-inch National Match barrel, dual-spring recoil system and holds 8+1 in .45 and 9+1 in 9mm. For a nice finishing touch it comes with custom blue and black machined G10 grips engraved with the Colt logo.
On top of all that Colt is listing the Competition Pistol at $899, making it competitive pistols in more ways than one. Colt is at the top of their game when it comes to 1911s and whether you’re a practiced sports shooter or just looking for a great gun to take to the range the Competition Pistol is an incredible value–this gun is going to make a lot of short lists.
See Also: 6 New Year’s Resolutions for a Fitter Colt in 2016
The company is going back to its roots with the new-for-2016 Lightweight Commander. Also offered in 9mm and .45 the Lightweight Commander has an alloy aluminum frame with an undercut trigger guard a black hard-anodized finish with a compact blued carbon steel slide.
With its compact slide, 4.25-inch barrel and alloy frame the Lightweight Commander comes in at just under 30 ounces unloaded which is great for everyday carry. In .45 it holds 8+1 and in 9mm 9+1.
The Lightweight Commander is cut for Novak Carry 3-dot sights and also comes with a dual-spring recoil system and upswept beavertail grip safety. Naturally it uses a low-profile round-style Commander hammer. It comes with machined “Black Cherry” Colt Logo G10 grips.
You pay a little more for the lightweight frame but at $949 it’s priced less than many alloy-framed 1911s—even less than Ruger which lists theirs with a $979 MSRP. As always prices will be lower still in stores and online.
It is “optics-ready” as far as the rear sight goes. (Photo: Colt)
Last up for now is the Expanse M4, Colt’s truly budget-minded AR-15 carbine. It’s a basic, lightweight, simple entry-level AR chambered for 5.56 NATO. It has a 16-inch, straight-profile 4150 chromoly steel barrel with a black nitride finish inside and out. The Expanse has a carbine-length gas system with a standard bolt carrier group that also comes with a black nitride finish.
While nitride finishes are sometimes seen as a cost-saving measure over military standards like chrome lining and parkerized finishes, they’re increasingly popular for their improve wear resistance properties, superior lubricity and even in cases improved accuracy—it’s no downgrade.
The Expanse M4 is predictably fit with A2-style furniture and accessories including a birdcage flash hider. About the only things that could be called cuts are the lug-free front sight gas block assembly and the lack of any rear sight. That’s not such a bad thing as many shooters have their own sight preferences and this helps keep prices down.
With a suggested retail price of just $699 and store prices likely around $600 this is an obvious win for Colt fans everywhere.
Find out more about Colt firearms at: https://www.colt.com/
Buy Colt firearms at GunsAmerica.com: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=colt