Thanks, guys. I know my limitations when it comes to being a skilled gunsmith. In fact, my highest level of skill in that arena is to make a phone call and write a check
Mr. S. Colt would be clawing his way out of the grave should he get word that I was attempting any sort of work on one of his namesake products. Nope, I am definitely not about to tackle this one on my own.
We have a couple of reportedly experienced 'smiths here in NJ that can do the job right, at least according to what I have read and heard. Neither are very close so I would need to ship the upper to them (I'm sure I can do that as it was mailed to me at home), ask them to do their magic and then return mail to me. Like anything else, it is comforting to know that the guy working on your (
fill in the blank) is recommended or at least a member of a group like COTEP where trusted advice is offered. I figured that as long as I must ship it out I can ship it anywhere, not necessarily in NJ. It does not much matter to me so long as I end up with a quality job at a fair (not cheap) price. I did consider a return to Colt but backed off for two reasons: the lead time and my preference for a linear compensator ( a non-Colt piece they may not want to deal with).
I'll be calling one of the in-state 'smiths today to see what I can arrange.
Thanks again for the meaningful responses.
Jack