h America, and it was then that the low powered cheaper spring guns were transformed into classic airsoft guns. 
unds all over the US. 
The Colt IAR is Colt’s entry in the Marine IAR competition for a lightweight automatic rifle to replace the SAW in certain situations. It is an interesting weapon.
Photos by SMGLee. Click to expand
Under the barrel you can see a hefty heatsink. This is used to prevent cook-offs (when the primer of a chambered round is ignited by a hot chamber). It weights 9.5 lbs and has a 16″ barrel.
It looks like the barrel may be be changed by simply removing the bolt you can see just in front of the magazine well.
Surprisingly the rifle/machine gun does not use a gas piston and uses the AR-15/M16 direct gas impingement system.
The above photo does show a Magpul PMAG but the Marines have specified that the IAR must be compatible with 30 USGI magazines, so it is unlikely the military will be adopting PMAGs, even in a limited role with the IAR.
Other IAR entries can operate with either an open bolt, in automatic fire, or closed bolt in semi automatic mode. This allows the accuracy benefits of a closed bolt with the heat reduction and reduced chance of a cook off of a closed bolt. I am not sure if this weapon has this feature.
Colt already have a lightweight automatic rifle, the Colt Automatic Rifle (CAR), which itself may meet the Marines requirements. I do not know if the Colt IAR has anything in common with the CAR, other than the shared AR-15 heritage.
Colt Automatic Rifle
ParaUSA was kind enough to provide me with a firearm for the duration of the event, a 9mm customized version of their LTC platform. Hit the link to check out the standard version of the gun. The pistols that we had in 9mm were slightly different from the standard version, as you can see.
When I first saw it, I thought to myself “this is a pretty cool heater”, and then I flipped it over and looked at the right side of the gun, which pretty much cemented my decision to purchase right then and there. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want a gun that said “Gun Blog 9″ on the side, right?
Putting north of 1500 rounds through this gun changed my opinion of 1911s, not because I now think it’s the ultimate weapons platform, but I understand the gun a lot better. I still don’t like grip safeties very much, but I will say that the 1911 grip angle pointed more naturally than any other handgun I’ve ever run; the fact that when I listed to Todd Jarrett and did my part that the Para LTC would come right back on target didn’t hurt either.
I shot more than 1500 rounds of ammo through this gun, and I had exactly 1, count it 1, failure to feed, fire, or eject. The gun was on it’s 700th-ish round, and hadn’t been cleaned and failed to fully chamber a round, a malfunction that was easily fixed by a sharp “whack” to the rear of the slide to seat the bullet. In terms of accuracy, the ParaUSA LTC is far more accurate than I can hold. In fact, once I figured out the Kentucky windage, I was able to easily knock down 8 inch steel plates at 35-40ish yards with the pistol, which was a fun sort of “bang-wait-clang” exercise.
Now, the LTC is designed as a carry gun – as soon as I get my mitts on mine, that’s exactly what’s going to happen to it, is it’s going to end up riding around in a holster with me whenever I put my pants on. I’ll get the adjustable sights lined up for 147 grain hollow points and then we’ll be off to the races with my new gun. It’s light, and even with a full mag will be much, much easier to conceal than my much beloved 92D.
Here’s the part that hurts a bit. I liked the ParaUSA LTC so much that it turned me on to 1911s, and after spending 12 hours in a car with Tamara, I’m now equipped to make a smart decision on what kind of pistol to buy as a starting point to my .45 ACP 1911…which will end up getting used in Custom Defensive Pistol in IDPA and Single Stack Classic in USPSA.
If you were wondering how I felt about the Para LTC – Gun Blog edition, I loved mine. I’m (of course), going to buy it, and can’t wait to get the FFL and all that other stuff squared away so I can get it in my hot little hands. If you’re looking for a Commander sized 1911 but don’t want the whack and roll of a .45, think Para LTC. Seriously, this was a fantastic gun. If you don’t believe me, check out the video Sebastian posted. I’m the only one with an LTC in the video, and you can see it in action at around 2:37 mark. That’s six steel plates, and we had to shoot them in the order 1,6,2,3,4,5. The gun was so fast back on target that I nailed them in about 4 seconds with no misses. My LTC is going to be used as carry gun, and an IDPA and steel gun, and I can’t wait for my first match.
