Colt Expanse HB TSG 5.56 30+1 - Gray, 14.5" Barrel, Synthetic, Telescoping Stock

Very pleased with my colt

The Expanse series of rifles is Colt's entry level/budget rifle. Not much information is found online, so I'll try to be as detailed as possible here. The HB models come with a 14.5 inch chrome lined barrel and a pinned and welded 1.5 inch Vortex flash hider, so the barrel ends up being a tad shorter than with a normal 16 inch barrel + muzzle device. Short as you can get without being a pistol or SBR. Great flash hider, but it cannot be taken off due to this. Barrel has the m203 cutout and a bayonet lug. The cerakote seems to be well done. Lockup between upper and lower is nice. It has a full hammer vs the cut down hammer found in basic Expanse models. The barrel is marked for magnetic particle testing but doesn't have any Colt proof marks. Same story on the BCG: MP tested, no Colt proof. No Colt proof marks on the upper, and the rails are not T-marked. Upper DOES have a forward assist and dust cover. The lower receiver features all of the standard Colt manufacturing markings. It appears that these rifles (along with the others in the Expanse series) have actual Colt lowers, but feature other parts that may be contracted out in order to reduce the price in order to compete with other entry-level rifles. That being said - I think this was still a great deal. I have no qualms about the quality of the rifle. It's a great shooter with some cool bonuses at a very competitive price.