Colt Firearms Collector
Preserving our American history

In 1998, Colt Industries and The C-More Systems company created a line of Red Dot optics to mount (Z cantilevered) on an AR-15 carry handle with instructions by the company.  Later 'Colt Optics' offered the same scope for an AR tactical rail rifle with a built-in rear adjustable A2 style sight.  As far as I know at this time there were two versions of the later scope, one in polymer and the other aluminum. 

The polymer molded sight had the 'Colt Optic' branding (see example below) on the side.  The one made of aluminum with the A2 rear sight is marked 'C-More Systems', but it is possible at some point they produced the same red dot system with the co-branded 'Colt Optics' on the side.  The blue plastic case for the tactical aluminum version is marked 'Colt Optics'. 

Immediately below is the earlier new-in-the-original-Colt-box AR-15 handle-mounted scope with a blue 'Colt' box, not yet using the 'Colt Optics' branding.

An ad in the 1998 (Winter-Spring) Colt Catalog showing the C-more Systems branded scope which Colt also branded 'Colt Optics' at some point on the polymer molded sights.  The aluminum sight in this collection, like the one below, is marked for C-More Systems.  This is the same sight shown in the 1989 Colt Catalog for 'Colt Optics' with the Colt Opics branded blue box.

So, we have three possible variations of the C-More Red Dot Optic: the later C-More version for a rail mount, the early Colt branded C-More version for a carrying handle on an AR, and the Colt / C-More version for the rail mount on an AR.

Again, Colt branded these scopes and others as a marketing endeavor.  Colt Optics made nothing themselves, the just legally branded the product from other makers.  This was a typical marketing/business tactic by Colt Mfg.

Colt Optics CMS63457 version is shown on another page without the cantilevered mount.

This Colt (C-More) red dot scope is shown in the 1996 Colt Law Enforcement Catalog