LE marked with 'Made in.........

[1988RRC]

Colt AR15A2, LE marked with 'Made in Canada'.

anyone know about this type of marking on a Colt?
would that increase the value?

[Kid Sopris]

Colt owns a factory in Canada which makes the frames for the AR-15 Platform. I doubt very seriously if that is going to add value to your rifle; nor do I think it will distract from the value...Unless your are talking Pre-AWB firearms, 6600 Green Labels, SP1's etc. But your Frame was made way after that.

[M203sniper]

Canadian Colt's used to be under the name Diemaco, until 2005, when they became a wholly owned subsidiary of Colt. Your example was probably made after 2005 and carries the current markings and market value.

http://www.colt.com/mil/news.asp

West Hartford, CT May 20, 2005 – Colt Defense LLC, a designer, developer and manufacturer of small arms for miltary and law enforcement agencies, announced today the completion of its acquisition of the Logistics & Defense Division, Diemaco, from Héroux-Devtek Inc. (TSX: HRX). The Diemaco business will now be operated as Colt Canada Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Colt. Colt Canada, based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, is a defense contractor that supplies small arms to military and law enforcement agencies. Since 1976, Diemaco has served as Canada’s Small Arms Center for Excellence.

[1988RRC]

Well I bought the Carbine from Canada.

If the barrel is stamped 5.56 NATO 1/7 and the lower receiver is marked .223;
am i correct to expect the weapon is in fact a 5.56 caliber?

Is it safe to fire both calibers civilian .223 & military 5.56 in this weapon?

[randyhamrick]

Well I bought the Carbine from Canada.

If the barrel is stamped 5.56 NATO 1/7 and the lower receiver is marked .223;
am i correct to expect the weapon is in fact a 5.56 caliber?

Is it safe to fire both calibers civilian .223 & military 5.56 in this weapon?

The barrel stamp would indicate the chamber is 5.56 NATO, with a 1 in 7" rifling twist.

MY understanding of the differences in the 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington is the NATO round is loaded to a slightly higher pressure, and there is a small shoulder difference between the two cartridges. (TWAITS can you give him a better response?)

When I was running a SWAT team we shot .223 and 5.56 NATO ammunition out of our Colt rifles. Our ammunition source always had one or the other in stock, and we took what we could get. We never experienced a problem.

[Malysh]

Diemaco has a long history of making the M-16 and variants. They designed the A-2 flash hider that came into use with the M-16A2 rifle, and collaborated with Colt in Hartford on other refinements of the M-16 system.
Info from "The Black Rifle 2" by Chris Bartocci.