Fine wood and blued steel has its own charm, but modern sporting rifles offer a lot of utility. Todays modern sporting options are modular, light recoiling, and accurate. One top quality example of a semi-automatic sporting rifle is the Colt Canada C8.
History
Colt Canada is a relatively new name. Originally known as Diemaco, they have been producing the C-series of rifle for the Canadian Forces since the 1980’s. In the 1980’s Diemaco designed the C8 as a companion to the C7 for in tighter spaces.
The Colt Canada C8 has seen use around the world by a number of different militaries. It is currently in use with the Canadian Armed Forces, the United Kingdom special forces, as well as the Dutch and Danish militaries. In 2008 Colt Canada created the C8 IUR which is a semi-automatic version of their C8 assault rifle. The rifle is an improvement on the design, free floating the barrel and adding a monolithic upper.
Specifications
The Colt Canada C8 is an AR-15 platform that feeds from standard STANAG pattern magazines, typically holding 30 rounds. Like most AR-15’s, the C8 is typically chambered in 5.56 NATO. In addition it is a self-loading design that uses a hybrid direct impingement system to work the action. Controls are like any other AR-15, with the exception that the C8 utilizes a BCM Gunfighter charging handle, which is an improvement over milspec.
The C8 IUR comes with a 15.7 inch barrel which is a reasonably heavy profile. This contributes to the rifles hefty weight; the rifles often weigh in the 12-13 pound range when kitted out with accessories. The trigger is a standard AR-15 trigger, which can run the gamut from basic milspec to sublime. Furthermore, the IUR has a quad rail set up, which adds some weight but allows the user to customize their rifle to their hearts content.
The monolithic upper free-floats the barrel which conttributes to solid accuracy. Also, virtually all parts are interchangeable with standard AR-15 parts. The rotating eight-lug bolt ensures solid lock up and steadfast reliability. Another useful feature of the AR-15 is the last-shot bolt hold-open. Paired with the bolt release, this ensures fast and straight forward reloads. While the rifle was equipped with a red dot so no groups were shot from a bench prior to this review, accuracy is reported to be excellent, in the neighbourhood of 1.3 MOA.
Strengths
Obviously a battle proven rifle, the Colt Canada C8 has many strengths. One such strength is its ability to continue to function in adverse conditions. The C8 runs well even when dirty or in adverse conditions. In training we ran C8’s suppressed for 100’s of rounds without any sort of cleaning or maintenance. Even when the guns were so dirty that chambering the first round required the forward assist, they remained one hundred percent reliable.
Another strength of the C8 are the ergonomics. The ergonomics on the AR-15 family of rifles are perhaps the best out of any modern sporting rifle family currently in production. The ambidextrous safety rests comfortably under the thumb in a firing position. The magazine release is easily accessed by the trigger finger from a firing grip, but is far enough out of the way that it is not accidentally hit during normal operation. Finally, the bolt release is easily actuated with an open palm.
A third strength of the Colt Canada C8 is the recoil mitigation. The weight of the rifle paired with the layout of the operating system makes it handle recoil exceedingly well. Consequently, follow up shots and fast shooting are intuitive with the C8. Because the buffer tube and stock and directly in line with the barrel, recoil is pushed straight back into the shooters shoulder instead of flipping the muzzle upwards like with most designs. The AR-15 system having the piston as part of the bolt helps to spread the recoil impulse out over a longer period of time, also limiting felt recoil. This makes the C8 incredibly easy to shoot.
Finally, the C8 is built with excellent quality control. The finish on the C8 is durable and all parts meet together flush and well put together. Nothing on the rifle feels flimsy or prone to breakage. The machining work is excellent and there are no rough edges or tooling marks, even on the interior of the firearms.
Weaknesses
On the other hand, the C8 does have some shortcomings. One of the most significant drawbacks of the C8 IUR is the weight. Kitted out with a light, a red dot, and foregrip and ammunition, the C8 weighs around 14 lbs. This is very heavy, especially since most users sling MSR’s in the front instead of the back. While this weight contributes to the rifles recoil management, it does make the rifle less comfortable for extended use in the field.
Next, the C8 does require some maintenance to run reliably. The C8 is impervious to dirt, carbon, and debris. However, if the C8 is run without lubrication, expect to encounter problems. These rifles really need to run wet and regular lubrication should be part of the maintenance regime.
Competition
There is a ton of competitive options for AR-15’s on the market, particularly in the US. The Colt Canada C8 is definitely on the higher end of the market, and is a premium offering. Other popular premium AR-15 brands like Noveske or Daniel Defense offer high quality modular sporting rifles at a similar cost.
Other non AR-15 alternatives would be the Robinson Arms XCR, the Bushmaster ACR, or a bullpup design like an IWI Tavor or a Steyr AUG. Depending on where you live legality may be an issue with some of these alternatives.
As a general rule, the Colt Canada is a bit heavier than its competitors, which can be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on what you want to do with it. Reliability on the C8 is as good or better than anything else on the market. Also, the modularity of the C8’s AR-15 design will give it better customization options than a non AR-15 based alternative.
Closing Thoughts
The Colt Canada C8 is a top quality premium AR-15. Accuracy is great for a semi-automatic rifle and reliability is world class. However, because of its weight, the C8 is probably not suitable for highly mobile sporting use. For civilian use, the C8 is best as a defensive firearm. It would also make an excellent coyote hunting rifle if your jurisdiction allows it. In addition, a barrel swap would make it into an excellent deer rifle if it was rechambered for a larger cartridge like the 6.5 Grendel.
In closing, the C8 will do everything a top quality AR-15 should do. If you want your MSR to come along for long treks up and down the mountains, lightweight offerings from other companies are better options. For closer to home use, the extra weight makes it a better shooter and the C8 is an optimal rifle.