M4 feedramps - pros and cons?

[stevieb92]

Just wondered about the M4 feedramps and whether or not they should be sought after in a general purpose AR-15 build. Give me facts not opinion. Curious to hear what the masters have to say on this.

Thanks

[Thekatar]

Originally Posted by stevieb92

Just wondered about the M4 feedramps and whether or not they should be sought after in a general purpose AR-15 build. Give me facts not opinion. Curious to hear what the masters have to say on this.

Thanks

I am not a "master" but I can give you an opinion on the ramps. The are a reliability upgrade for carbine pattern AR's. I don't think there are any downsides to them. They are not needed on a full size (20") rifle and it can be argued that they are not needed on a semi-auto carbine.

There is some evidence that the new MagPul PMAGs eliminate the "need" for the M4 ramps, but that is still being determined.

[Lycanthrope]

Not truly needed on a semi auto gun, but they certainly do not hurt functioning in any way and can be a crutch fix for weak mag springs. I have problem free guns with and without M4 ramps.

The only downside is the extra initial price.

Lycanmasterormasturthrope

[Warners Surplus]

For the little extra it costs to get an upper with M4 feedramps, it is almost crazy not too. That said.

The only time I've seen a problem with a semi-auto AR that doesn't have them is when you run HP ammo such as Black Hills. The HP tends to catch the receiver dead where the M4 ramps should be and locks the rifle up. I have never seen an AR of any configuration become a problem child because of the lack of M4 feedramps when running nothing but 55 or 62 gr. FMJ.

I know for fact that one of our local PD's have several Bushmasters that will not run HP ammo. We could not get them to run more than 2 or 3 rounds before a round would catch the upper receiver right where the feedramps should be. It is not a problem with all of thier guns but rather just a couple of the Bushmasters.

So the bottom line is. If you want to go the extra 1/2 inch to make sure your rifle is reliable, GET THE FEEDRAMPS.


JMHO,
Rich W.

[TonyF]

IMHO there is no "penalty" associated with them. I don't know how much it adds to the cost but it can't be significant. However, be careful when a manufacturer says "M4 feed ramps" as I've seen some examples that look like they were cut by hand with a dremel.

[LittleRedToyota]

if you are building it yourself, just make sure you don't use a receiver that has the M4 feedramps and a barrel extension that does not.

(in theory, at least, the M4 feedramps in the receiver might feed the nose of the bullet into the bottom edge of the barrel extension regular feedramps and cause jams.)

if you buy a complete upper...or complete rifle...this should be a non issue (unless, of course, as tony pointed out, they feedramps are really rifle feedramps turned into M4 feedramps with a dremel.)

[RocketFoot]

Here is a nice comparison just for everyone browsing this thread...

[Kenshin]

Ahh pictures are worth a thousand words.

[lexington86]

Double thanks for the pictures.

[stevieb92]

Yeah, thanks for the pics. Sure helps.

I am building my 1st AR with an Anvil Arms PAFOA lower. Also thinking about getting their upper with M4 feedramps.

http://anvilarms.com/pc-41-2-strippe...eed-ramps.aspx



They are on sale right now for 110 (including feedramps). The feedramps only add 10 bucks.

Will the feedramps also limit my barrel choices?