Which AR-15 Carbine do you like best?

[aubie515]

John at Seneca Arms received on of the first available M&P15's and he was impressed with it's fit and finish. S&W sent one of their rifles to John because he is an accomplished hi power shooter. John truly knows his AR's because AR's are the only rifles that he competes with...not to mention his best finish at Camp Perry was 4th place. Sure you are going to pay more because it says S&W on the logo, but if John says it's a quality piece...I would trust his words.

For me...I am loyal to DPMS because I LOVE their LR 308 rifles. My Bushmaster is also very accurate.

Lets remember that only a handful of companies actually make the uppers and lowers...so when I read people say one upper is better than another...I laugh...it all boils down to which barrel is being used in the upper. I have built AR's on Stag lowers and I have not had an issue. I would recommend Stag...BTW I dig the Stag logo...if you don't know...you should "fear the deer"

[Broomhandle]

Originally Posted by Joe Demko

Well, what about durability?

I ask because I intend to hand it down to my kids and grandchildren, since it is certain that they will never have the opportunity to buy one (legally)!

[Joe Demko]

Originally Posted by Broomhandle

I ask because I intend to hand it down to my kids and grandchildren, since it is certain that they will never have the opportunity to buy one (legally)!

There are M-16's in use all over the world that were manufactured in the 60's and 70's. If this is really going to worry you, buy some extra barrels and some of the packaged small parts "rebuild" sets. Squirrel it all away. The upper and lower receivers aren't stressed parts and should last indefinitely with a modicum of care.

[Joe Demko]

I guess if you really wanted to try to ensure durability, there are stainless steel lowers available; DPMS markets one, for example. They are cast, not forged, and notably heavier than the aluminum models but if they are properly heat-treated it would be reasonable to expect greater durability than from aluminum.

[Dr.um]

Hey guys,
I am new here, but I have had some experience with several of the various brands of AR makers. About ten years back, I had a friend who owned an antique gun shop in Allentown, Pa.

This guy had some of the highest quality collectible and so forth hunting rifles, Damascus barreled shotguns and on and on, but he hated to even handle those that he referred to as "military" with a spit. Anytime he got some of those, he called me and I would go in and relieve him of many of these guns (principally AR's, AK's and M-1 Carbines) as his prices were awesome relative to the rest of the world. He was a little out of touch, god rest his soul.

Anyway, over the years, I have owned and shot Colts, Oly Arms, Palmetto Armory, Bushy, Eagle Arms and DPMS-marked AR's, all "pre-ban". I sold nearly all of them off to panicky stock brokers and computer nerds who thought the world was going to end on 12/31/99 (remember those guys?).

The only two I kept are a shorty Bushy in 16" that is my primary range gun. I also have a Colt HBar w/ 20" barrel and all the "evil" features. What follows are my impressions of this experience.

First off, I have always liked the deep black finish of the Bushmasters. It holds up very well and does not show the various bumps and scratches as quickly or as obviously as the lighter colored "parkerized" looking finish on Colts, Eagles and DPMS. Olympic Arms guns of the day were also more black than grey and held up well, though not as well as the Bushy.

Also, the Colt, blue-chip stock though it be, is actually kinda finicky when it comes to which magazines it will swallow. The Thermold mags and those Israeli mags (the name escapes me for the moment) are hit and miss in a Colt. Some fit, some don't without a dremel. All mags that I have will fit perfectly in my Bushy. The mag well in the Colt is smaller and less tolerant, I guess.

Another thing I have noticed is how much better an older Colt barrel (1/11 twist) shoots those little 55 grain milsurp rounds than the modern 1/8 or 1/9 twists. I have very few of the bigger 62g and larger bullets and most of my stash is 55g, so I cannot really advise how accurate they are in the faster twist, but I can say that the 55g bullets do not love the fast twist.

I usually have my Colt rigged up as an SP-1 (with the heavy barreled upper and the A2 parts swapped for A1 gear and an old Colt upper with no forward assist). The 55g bullets in that gun are regular visitors to the ten ring at 100 yards where the faster twist barrels don't shoot them as well for me.

Finally, the fit and finish of the Colt is very good, but the Eagle Arms was the cleanest and tightest AR I have ever owned. Very similar to the Colt, but without the annoying front pivot pin deal. The Oly Arms and the Bushy were about the same and the DPMS were the least consistant. Some were fine, others looked really thrown together (they probably were) with all different colors and a little more rattley.

It is hard to go wrong with an AR. All of them will outlast your life (unless you live on the coast maybe) and your kids and grandkids will enjoy them for as long as the law allows.

Good luck,
D.

[fultonCoShooter]

i like AR pistols

you can build a complete ar way cheeper than buying one from bushy, rra ETC

I have a LMT Upper and waiting for a LMT lower right now for my M4 build

[Pinto]

1) There are only a handfull of machine shops that produce the majority of the uppers/lowers sold under many different names. I have forgotten all the names but Colt, FN, Bushmaster, Oly Arms and...Stag(?) are a few of the principles if I remember right.

2) I shoot Direct Impingment ARs for Highpower competition, but I am a huge fan of piston driven systems, of which I beleive the Leitner-Wise design are the most elegant and best built...

Hows that for a turd in the pool!?
S/F
-P

[luckyned7]

I've never studied up on Ar's but I believe I'm heading that way soon..be my one gun this month politically correct behavior mod. I've always leaned towards the Bushmaster's line..only cuz I reckon you get what you pay..attitude but my local gunny sells a Vulcan somp'in or other for 200 beans less and was wondering what you all know or see as the diff between the major lines are?

Keep it short and sweet cuz..it is that time of year. lol!

I gonna shorten it myself! Buy which-WHY!?

[TonyF]

Originally Posted by luckyned7

I've never studied up on Ar's but I believe I'm heading that way soon..be my one gun this month politically correct behavior mod. I've always leaned towards the Bushmaster's line..only cuz I reckon you get what you pay..attitude but my local gunny sells a Vulcan somp'in or other for 200 beans less and was wondering what you all know or see as the diff between the major lines are?

Keep it short and sweet cuz..it is that time of year. lol!

I gonna shorten it myself! Buy which-WHY!?

Lucky,

I don't know if you read my replies in this thread on page 3 but here is another example of AR15's going down in a training class. This is posted from another board. The author is an instructor I know personally.

Subject line: Another one bites the dust.

DPMS, that is.

Actually, another three.

Last week I taught a class for a SWAT team in Chicago.

It was TD1. We were still in the classroom, had completed admin paperwork, sign in, safety lecture, etc. I had not yet seen rifles on the range.

I was informed that they had been issued DPMS M4gery carbines.
Bean counters, low bid, dontcha know?

I went out on a short limb, making a prediction. It would not be unusual to see rifles going down for the count before the week was over.

By mid-morning we had a bolt separate at the cam pin hole.
Clairvoyant? Me? Nah, just a lucky guess. :eyeroll:

TD2. A firing pin on another rifle split longitudinally.

TD3. Another bolt broke in two at (you guessed it) the cam pin hole.

Most of the class was way ahead of my lesson plan. They had lots of experience in clearing malfunctions well before we even got around to covering it in the curriculum.

You can't save money by buying cheap.

On the same board, Pat Rogers mentioned teaching an LE class with RRA carbines with a high percentage of various failures.

We can post all we want about the performance of our personal firearms or those of our friends but it's not a matter of how many or what brand we have, it's a matter of mean failures and round counts.

That's why hard, factual, empirical data derived from private sector training courses is the best source for separating the wheat from the chaff.

If you're not going to stake your life on the firearm then reliability isn't an issue and by all means save yourself a few bucks. But if there is a chance you might have to defend yourself one day then that narrows the choices considerably.

[fultonCoShooter]

DO NOT BUY ANYTHING VULCAN!!!!!!!! people have nothing but problems

you can goto AR15.com for alot of good info

I have a superior arms lower on my pistol and it is wonderful rb precision.com is where i got it for around 200 dollars and 12 bucks to reg it. My pistol upper has a 7.5 chrome lined heavy barrel with a noveske kx3 FS

always pay more for your upper!!! you can go cheep on a lower as long as it is mil spec, LMT, bushmaster, armalite, etc. some companies lowers are NOT mil spec and thats where u run into problems

but yeah you can build a good rifle for under 700