Colt Trooper Patrol Carbine (Photo: Colt)
In 1953 Colt brought to market the Colt Trooper revolver. The Trooper was marketed towards the law enforcement community and was commonly referred to as the “working man’s Colt Python.”
Since 1953, the needs of law enforcement have changed and it is not uncommon for officers to carry a patrol carbine like an AR-15. Leveraging an already successful moniker, Colt has re-purposed the Trooper name for their new rifle, the Colt Trooper Patrol Carbine.
“The Trooper offers a really great opportunity for fans of the Colt AR-15 platform,” said Justin Baldini, Product Director for Colt in a press release. “We set out to create something that is right in line with what today’s Colt M4 customer wants, so we started with our industry-standard LE6920 and worked with Centurion Arms to develop a new M-LOK capable free-floated forend just for the Trooper.”
“The result is a modernized pro-quality carbine that’s ready for your choice of optic or iron sights,” continued Baldini. “It represents an exceptional value to folks looking to get into the world Modern Sporting Rifles and another excellent option for enthusiasts looking to add another Colt to their stable.”
The Colt Trooper Patrol Carbine is a Colt LE6920 with a 13-inch M-LOK Centurion Arms free float handguard. The Colt LE 6920, minus the fully automatic fire control, is pretty much the civilian version of the M4A1 Carbine.
Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 and AR-10 from Armalite in 1959. Since 1959, Colt and Colt Canada (Diemaco) have developed the AR-15 into dozens of successful platforms such as the M16, M4, C7, and C8 family of rifles. Since Colt re-engineered the AR-15 platform, every direct impingement AR commercially available is essentially a good, or bad, copy of the real thing. Which in most cases is a semi-automatic Colt M4 Carbine.
Shooters often take for granted common AR features such as gas port size, buffer weights, M4 feed ramps, coatings, aluminum, and steel composition, but it would be egregious to not point out that it was Colt that poured millions of dollars into research and development to bring us the ARs of today.
The Colt Trooper Patrol Carbine is a very nice rifle. Since it is a Colt LE6920, I would consider it a military-grade rifle. It has an MSRP of $1,049, which isn’t going to break the bank (street prices will probably be lower). Colt has a reputation for quality and if your department or agency is looking for rifle, I would strongly consider the Colt Trooper. All this rifle needs is a flashlight, sling, and optic and it is ready to rock.
Shop for a Colt Trooper Patrol Carbine on GunsAmerica.