Sturm, Ruger & Co. announced the addition of a new rifle to the 10/22 line: the 10/22 Takedown Lite. The new rifle combines the features of the company’s existing take down rimfire rifle with the company’s modular stock and a lighter weight barrel assembly.
LMT Defense announced the release of a new personal defense weapon (PDW) called the Compressor. Shown at the 2016 SHOT Show, the new Compressor is a relatively short AR-style rifle available in one of two rifle calibers: 5.56 NATO or 300 BLK.
The new gun uses the company’s PDW assembly on a standard AR lower. The assembly includes:
As with other LMT rifles, this unit uses a monolithic upper receiver with attachment points for accessories. The rifle comes with a 10.5″ barrel standard. Overall, the gun is only 24.5″ long. Compared to the 30+” of a typical AR, this is definitely a more compact weapon.
The suggested retail price on the new gun is $2,691.02. According to LMT, the rifle will run suppressed and unsuppressed with equal reliability.
LMT Defense also announced a PDW conversion kit. With the $455 kit, you can convert virtually any mil-spec AR15 rifle on the market to work as a PDW. The kit includes the modified SOPMOD stock, extension tube, buffer assembly and drop in weight for the bolt carrier.
Once equipped with this kit, the rifle should run any 5.56 NATO or 300 BLK without additional modification. This includes both suppressed and unsuppressed weapons.
Adcor Defense will introduce a new AR-style rifle at the SHOT Show this coming week. Called the Super-16 A-556 Elite, the gun is a combination of an Adcor Defense build with a SilencerCo suppressor. Here are a few of the details…
IWI US announced the company will show its brand new TAVOR SAR chambered in 300 BLK at the 2016 SHOT Show. According to Michael Kassnar, the VP of Sales and Marketing for IWI US, the company has received “a ton of requests” for a TAVOR chambered in 300 BLK.
The new TAVOR rifles will be available with either a 16.5″ or 18″ barrel. The barrels are cold hammer forged from chrome-moly steel. The barrels are chrome lined. Like the original TAVOR in 5.56 NATO, these bullpup rifles use a long stroke piston system.
One of the issues I have run into with some 300 BLK guns is making them run reliably with both super- and subsonic ammunition. The new rifle has a built in gas regulator to allow the shooter to tune the gun for normal or subsonic ammunition.
Since the 300 BLK fits into the same deisgn envelope as the original TAVOR and uses the same magazines as the 5.56 NATO, virtually all existing accessories should work with the new guns. Anything dependent on bullet diameter – such as a muzzle device – are not interchangeable. So, don’t throw a .223 caliber sound suppressor on this gun and expect it to work more than once.
The suggested retail price on the complete rifle is $2,049.
In addition to selling a rifle chambered for the .30 caliber cartridge, the company also announced it would sell conversion kits for existing TAVOR rifles. So, if you already own a 5.56 or 9mm TAVOR, you only need buy the conversion kit to run the 300 BLK.
The conversion kits will come with your choice of a 16.5″ or 18″ barrel made of chrome-moly steel, a headspaced bolt and barrel wrench. The barrels are cold hammer forged with a 1:7″ twist and are topped with an A2-style flash hider. The suggested retail price on the conversion kit is $499.
We will try to get more information for you on the TAVOR from the SHOT Show. I’m also looking forward to seeing another bullpup at the show: the Desert Tech MDR.
Personally, I like the company’s newer X95 rifle better than the SAR line. You can read my IWI Tavor X95 review here.
With major manufacturers like Ruger and Smith & Wesson driving the price of entry-level AR rifles down, Colt responded in 2016 with a new rifle called the Expanse M4. The new rifle is a (very) basic AR-15 that comes in with a suggested retail price of $699.
The new rifle is a direct impingement gun with the basic M4-style features. It has a collapsing buttstock, pistol grip and A2-type front sight assembly. A polymer two-piece handguard is standard.
As is typical for AR-15 rifles, this gun is chambered in 5.56 NATO. It can safely fire both 5.56 and .223 Rem ammunition.
The 16.1″ barrel has a 1:7″ twist that should allow it to stabilize most of the bullet weights commercially loaded for the calibers.
Colt uses a flattop upper and does not ship with a rear sight. However, the Picatinny rail makes adding one a quick process. Many people will opt to add a red dot like the Trijicon MRO instead of, or in addition to, a rear sight.
A single 30-round aluminum magazine ships with the Expanse M4.
Colt states on its web site that these rifles do not ship with a forward assist or dust cover. That’s unfortunate as these items are pretty standard with even budget AR rifles. (Thanks to reader TechnoTriticale for pointing this out.)
Here are the specs for the Colt Expanse:
| Model # | CE1000 |
| Caliber | 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem |
| Magazine Capacity | 30 |
| # of Included Magazines | 1 |
| Barrel Length | 16.1″ |
| Overall Length | 32.0″-35.5″ |
| Action | semi-automatic, direct impingement |
| Stock | 6-position, adjustable length |
| MSRP | $699 |
In the wake of the Sandy Hook buying frenzy, there was a glut of AR rifles on the market. In economic terms, supply exceeded demand and prices dropped.
While there have been a number of smaller manufacturers that have targeted the budget-priced AR market, additional pressure was applied by the introduction of lower-priced models from more prominent gun makers adjusting to consumer expectations of less expensive rifles.
| Colt Expanse M4 | PSA FDE AR-15 | Ruger AR-556 | S&W Sport II | |
| Caliber | 5.56 NATO | 5.56 NATO | 5.56 NATO | 5.56 NATO |
| Magazine | 30 round aluminum | 30 round Magpul PMAG | 30 round Magpul PMAG | 30 round Magpul PMAG |
| # of Included Magazines | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Barrel Length | 16.1″ | 16.0″ | 16.1″ | 16.0″ |
| Twist Rate | 1:7″ | 1:7″ | 1:8″ | 1:9″ |
| Chrome Plating | no | no | bolt carrier, gas key | firing pin |
| Finish | unknown | hardcoat anodized FDE | Milspec Type III | Armornite |
| Handguard | 2-piece | 2-piece Magpul MOE M-Lok | easy removing 2-piece | 2-piece |
| Pistol Grip | A2-style | Magpul MOE | Ruger grip | A2-style |
| Front Sight | A2-style | A2-style | milled A2 Style with QD-socket | A2-style |
| Rear Sight | none | folding Magpul MBUS | folding Ruger | folding Magpul MBUS |
| Price | $699 | $749 | $799 | $739 |
On a price-to-features comparison, the PSA AR-15 makes the most sense for a budget rifle. You can see my PSA AR-15 review here.
Smith & Wesson seemed to be doing well with it’s budget friendly M&P15 Sport rifles that were selling for less than $700 in many shops. Then Ruger introduced the AR-556 – another entry level rifle that came very well equipped with an MSRP of $749. Both of these rifles allowed a novice AR shooter to buy a rifle from a readily recognizable name.
With the Expanse M4, it seems Colt is trying to capitalize on its name to reach new shooters buying their first AR rifle and more experienced hands who prefer the Colt name as a basic platform to build a more custom gun.
Watch for additional information on the Colt Expanse M4 and other new guns at the special 2016 SHOT Show page I have set up.
Last Update: June 26, 2022