The Airsoft Colt Commando - An Overview

Cold War Airsoft Weapons - CAR15

The Colt Commando or CAR15 was the special forces weapon of choice during the cold war period up until the introduction of the M4 in the mid 90's.  Any Delta Force, SEAL, CSAR, CCT etc. airsoft loadouts will need a replica CAR15. There have been quite a few airsoft replicas of the various models of Colt Commando, this guide is meant as an overview of the subject rather than an indepth guide.

As far as airsoft CAR15s go you have the following options:

M609 (XM177E1) - G&P
M629 (XM177E2) - G&P, TM (out of production) and CA
M653 - G&P & TM (limited edition)

M635 - G&P
M723 – G&P (ehobbyasia special with M500 weapon light)
M727 - G&P (ehobbyasia special)

M733 - G&P, TM and JG.

G&P: In terms of quality the G&P Commandos are top of the pile, followed by CA and TM.  They sport metal bodies with accurately trademarked receivers and a very nice, period correct dark grey finish. Importantly, they are the only airsoft manufacturer to correctly model the slim line CAR15 hand grips to the correct size and finish. Internally they have a great mechbox, usually pushing between 320 and 360 fps depending on the model.  In my experience the hop rubber is the only part I would consider replacing, which luckily is a 5 minute job, others have found the hop rubber to be perfectly adequate however.  There were some reports with earlier batches of G&P armalites of spur gear axel failures; however reports of this seem to have gone away and are not something that I or anyone I know has personally experienced.  I’d always go for a G&P Colt Commando if I had the option.  I have a G&P M733 for use with my airsoft loadouts

CA: The Classic Army armalite range is a bit like a Ford Focus, perfectly good mechanically but a bit bland in the looks department.  The biggest problem for most is the trademarks, white screen printed “armalite” logos look nothing like the correct engraved colt markings.  The receiver finish on every model bar the XM177 and M16VN is a satin black, rather than the correct dark grey.  There are various detail issues with models representing 600 series carbines too.  Mechanically they are solid and should last a long time if left in their stock configuration but the hop rubbers are pretty dreadful in my experience.  If you’re not too fussed about minor details they are usually much easier to get hold of than G&P models and are a good compromise.

TM:  Sadly the TM Colt Commandos are a bit out of date these days, but they still have many redeeming features.  Their plastic receivers are accurately trademarked and finished in the correct shade of dark grey, they are mechanically bulletproof if left in their stock configuration and the TM hop rubbers are the best stock rubbers of any manufacturer out there.  The TM commando grips are oval shaped to allow a little more battery space, which is a significant negative in the looks department. If you’re not fussed about having a metal body go for a TM M733, they’re great performers, but at around the same price as the G&P version it’s not the way I would go any more.

If anyone has any information on paintball colt commando rifles I'd be very interested in hearing from them.

The Colt Commando is very much my pet subject, if you're interested I wrote an article detailing the development of the real steel CAR15 post Vietnam that can be found here: http://operationbushmaster.blogspot....-commando.html