Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Colt Light Rifle

Who made the barrels for the CLRs? Are/were they good barrels ?

Can't remember who made them, but they were good barrels and CLR's tended to shoot very well.

I have only owned 1 clr but if I remembe right I did not like the clearance between the bolt handl and the scope. way to close . imo.

CLR’s were made by SAKO in Maine for Colt. Not the Sako we all know, but a company in SAKO, Maine. I’ve heard rumors that CLR’s barrels were supplied by Douglas but I don’t think that’s true.

I’ve owned a couple and they shot very well. I thought they were a great value for the money and wouldn’t be averse to owning another if I could find one at a decent price.

saco in maine the same company that made the actions made the barrels. they are hammer forged and pretty good barrels according to melvin. the colt light rifle action and barrels are rock solid, where they screwed up is the trigger, firing pin and spring (they used inferior metal) and the stock is garbage. over time and in extreme cold the firing pin and spring will fail. if you have a colt light or are thinking of purchasing one, the best move is to send it to melvin forbes and have him replace those parts, and if you have the extra money have him restock it as well. current price for a colt light rework is $850 which includes a new stock, timney trigger, follower and spring and a bolt rebuild. a new barrel is extra $.

Thank you sir! I knew that Melvin talked to you extensively about these rifles.. I believe someone very close to these rifles referred to the stocks as recycled milk jugs? LOL

Razorhog

In case anyone is trying to do a search, the company name was Saco (Saco Defense).

Saco, not Sako.

A quick google search brings up that one of the principal businesses in town was Saco Defense, which I believe was involved the manufacture of fireams for the military. Bought out by General Dynamics in 2000. Sounds like they'd have all the machinery to build a rifle for Colt. Who knows whether they manufactured their own barrels or if they were outsourced. I would guess the latter.....

Kaiser Norton

And by the way, my .30-06 shoots just fine......

Kaiser Norton

They were made by Saco, in Saco Maine. Still in business, mostly for Uncle Sam. No K in Saco.
I have a 300 Win Mag that went back to Melvin for a total do over. Kept the original barrel as it was superbly accurate. Melvins replacement stock, a kevlar carbon combo, is magical, moving the balance point a bit, and made recoil very manageable.
I have another CLR in 270 that is all original except that it now sits in a pretty piece of walnut shaped to a mountain style stock. Trigger in this one was to good to change out. This has been my go-to rifle for many years. Still crazy accurate and exhibits that sometimes 270 characteristic of throwing all sorts of different bullets to very near the same point.
Barrels on both rifle have fairly tight chambers. I would not be surprised to learn that they were from Douglas.
While the original stocks were "clubby". I found them to be totally functional.
Never had enough class to own a Nula or Ula, but the CLR has been a totally satisfactory substitute.

The CLRs have injection molded synthetic stocks, recycled milk jugs, but they are well designed and handle recoil in the 270 and 30-06 fine, but I find the recoil in the 300 WIN MAGs to be a little uncomfortable, probably due to the light weigh of the whole rifle, not just the stock design. The biggest problem with the CLRs were that people expected them to be the same rifle as Mel's ULAs and there just wasn't any way to make a full custom rifle in a production mode and sell it for $500. I'd opine that a CLR is 85 to 90% of a comparable NULA/ULA for 1/3 the cost. I've owned a dozen or so, still have 6, the others went to friends who tried them and didn't want to give them back. The one that I shoot the most is a 270 that shoos MOA, or close to MOA, with almost anything I've fed it. I like it enough to make it one of my two elk rifles.

SACO Industries made the M-60 Machine Gun and probably other weapons and weapon parts for the U.S. military.

Didn’t Saco also make the weatherby mark v for a while?

I can’t recall who made the barrels as I don’t think Colt/Saco ever publicized that information. I’ve shot CLRs in 270 and 7RM, and both were/are very accurate. I still have the 7RM, and put it in a NULA stock not long after I got it. The original stock is fine, but the NULA stock is significantly lighter.

I’m a fan of the CLR as an inexpensive lightweight rifle. If you get one, I’d shoot it as is before you modify it as you may be pleasantly surprised.

Kaiser Norton[/quote]

Didn’t Saco also make the weatherby mark v for a while?[/quote]

Yes this is my recollection when Weatherby first moved production from Japan.

The Saco/Colt barrels were made in house by Saco and can be very good. The tupper ware stock is not that bad. I went partial faux NULA with a new stock and all new springs (trigger and firing pin). The rifle has always shot well and functioned fine, this one a 270 Win. which is about ideal in this platform. Mine has the Forbes sort of three position safety, I have heard that this was changed later to a two position one. Some of the 30-06s were recalled so do a search on that if your looking at an 06. I think the spring swap out corrects the recall issue but not 100% certain on that.

This might be of interest to anyone who owns a CLR Iin 30-06:

Colt's Recalls Light Rifle

West Hartford, Conn.—September 1, 2000.

Colt’s Manufacturing Company in conjunction with Colt Rifles Inc announced today a recall of its new Colt Light Rifle (Model CLR3064SRBL - .30-06 caliber only) citing a potential safety problem with the bolt assembly. More specifically, in some rifles, the firing pin may fail to cock and may rest on the primer of a cartridge in the chamber. As a result, the rifle may fail to fire or fire unexpectedly. According to Lynn Lowder, Colt’s Chief Operating Officer, "While we do not believe this to be a pervasive problem, we are being duly cautious to ensure that all rifles are returned for evaluation and repair or replacement as necessary." Colt’s is requesting its distributors and dealers who have received the rifles to return them immediately as instructed in the Product Recall Notice. The dealers are also being requested to provide Colt’s with information about end users who have already taken possession of their rifles. Colt’s will evaluate and repair each rifle as necessary as part of its Lifetime Service Agreement. "We are requesting our customers to neither use the rifle nor make no attempt to diagnose or repair the problem. Instead, they should promptly contact our Customer Service Department at 1-800-962-COLT (2658) for return instructions. Although we have received no reports of personal injury or property damage, safety is our number one concern." said David Johnson, Director of Engineering. Representatives of Colt’s met with staff at its former Saco Defense, now General Dynamics Armament Division, to discuss product modifications as this is where the rifle is manufactured. Colt’s is confident that the appropriate modifications will be made and rifle shipments of other calibers will commence shortly.

This is from Colt's website.

The trigger in a CLR is truly awful. The stock, like any other injection molded stock isn't very stiff, but, can certainly be serviceable. The barreled action, mag box, etc are excellent.

Having a CLR "Melvanized" is typically a real bargain assuming one doesn't over pay for the CLR up front.

Mine went back to Mel, kept the factory barrel in
.30-06. it shoots decent.

The spring replacement helps the trigger a lot. I don't feel the need for a Timney but am tempted to get a Trigger Tech if it will fit.

Thanks for all the info 👍

I’ve never seen a colt light rifle before but I have an older fella that’s looking to sell me 2 or 3 of them. I appreciate all this info to see if their decent guns and help try and decide if I should buy them or not. Any idea what a value on them would be? They’re new or like new condition.