AR type rifle makers

[rrg991981]

I am set on the semi auto shotty but there is a lot of sense in getting an AR, I am going to start looking at them but where do I start, there are so many makers, which offers the best combo of quality, reliablility and price

 

[WhitleyStu]

From the ARs on your list I would choose a LMT, but if there is any way you could swing a Colt I think you would be very happy. Just a suggestion... I bought a Colt 6920 and have no regrets. I kept it simple with an ACOG TA01, Timney trigger, and Harris bipod. Not one malfunction...

 

[Absintheur]

Colt makes some of the highest quality but isn't on the poll, also S&W has some of the best deals for the money and are very well made. I currently own a Colt H-Bar, a Colt shorty upper on an older Olympic lower, and a SSK suppressed 300 Whisper upper on a Colt Lower. In the past I have owned others as well. Most of the makers listed put out a good quality product as well as the Colt, S&W, and Remington. I would look for the best price with the features you want and buy it without paying to much attention to the name on the rifle as long as it is a factory peice, not one a kitchen table smith cobbled together. Buy at least 20 magazines for it including at least 10 20 rounders (the thirty round mags are too long for anything other than offhand). If you plan on using a scope get a flat top as the carrying handle scope mounts put the scope to high and often don't hold well. (As you can see in the pic I have to use a cheekpiece and that is one of the few good carrying handle mounts made by A.R.M.S....the shorty normally wears a dot...i was doing accuracy testing with some new loads so I put on the scope ) Resist the urge to hang a bunch of crap on your rifle...you are better off spending the money on ammo.

 

[qborchert]

My vote goes to Bushmaster. It's the only AR that i have owned so far, but it's been totally reliable. I have heard very good things about RRA as well.

Another option that isn't in the above poll is BUILD YOUR OWN! I gave about $800 for my Bushy 4-5 years ago, I should be receiving a 16" mid-length AR Rifle kit tomorrow, and i picked up a stripped lower receiver a couple of months ago.

Price:
Stripped lower= $125 shipped.

Rifle kit= $450 shipped.

$575 total. A few bucks saved over ordering a factory assembled rifle that can be put towards optics, magazines, or ammo.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

colt, wilson combat, sig sauer, are worth a look.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

My only AR is a Bushmaster, and it has been 100% reliable since day one. I've heard that RRA makes a nice AR also.

 

[L6steel]

I'm with Absinth!!!!
Best AR I had was a match grade Colt!

 

[DWK2]

I've used a Colt Match H-Bar quite a bit and it was very nice. However, I have also shot a lot with Bushmasters and Armalites and I've likewise had great performance out of them.

DancesWithKnives

 

[SIFU1A]

FWIW both of my AR15's are colts, a lightweight sporter and a tactical carbine, the sporter is pre'ban but i got the tac model only a couple yrs ago, ~$1200, which is pretty much in line with what bushies and such go for, a little higher i suppose, anyway i just prefer the colts myself.

i paid $1200 recently for the tac carbine and $800 for the preban a long time ago, ~15 yrs.

the bushmasters arent bad though a bud has one and has had great luck with it, also like the DPMS ones FWIW.

the lightweight sporter has a samson 4-rail HG on it, w/a eotech mounted above the bbl on the top rail (works great too) back as far as possible, co-witnessed with the irons, and a surefire scout lite LED on the right rail,

the tac carbine has a surefire 4-rail (FWIW i like the samson better) w/a aimpoint & a M3 surefire.

i put an $8 forward pistol grip on both for the tape switch.

thats all i'd ever put on one,,optics and a lite, and of course if ya want the lite ya gotta have a 4-rail, thats ~ $1000 worth of stuff on each one lol, they really work good though, very accurate & reliable too.

the samson 4-rail was $120, surefire 4 rail was $150, eotech was $400, aimpoint and mount $550, scoutlite was $320 and the M3, mount, tape switch and endcap was ~ $300. it was imho all wotrh it though.

 

[rrg991981]

I found a really good deal on a S&W M4 style I think I may go with

 

[chewbacca]

Love my rock river. I think if you buy any of the rifles the government is buying, Colt, RRA, etc, you are going to get the same quality.

I hear the new H&K is really nice, it doesn't use a gas tube, so your bolt stays much cleaner.

 

[rrg991981]

Pulled the trigger on the smith today so to speak I am very excited, it is a hell of a rifle, I think I am going to put an eo tech holo sight on it too.

 

[cabron50]

Congrats on the Smith. I think you will be happy with it. I own a Bushmaster. The only problem with it is that it took 16 clicks of windage to zero the rifle. I just sent it back to Bushmaster. They are going to fix it for free even though it is out of warranty. Sure can't coplain about their customer service. I have a Colt 6920 on order. It should be turning up in a month or two.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

Pulled the trigger on the smith today so to speak I am very excited, it is a hell of a rifle, I think I am going to put an eo tech holo sight on it too.

I own an EoTech and my only complaint is the battery life. (AA Model) From what I've read, the Aimpoint has considerably better battery life.

 

[SIFU1A]

i have an eotech on 1 and a aimpoint on the other and prefer the aimpoint by a slim margin.

the aimpoint does have better batt life.

i THINK i could use the eotech a little faster though, i think.

 

[Absintheur]

I think you will be very happy with the S&W, I personally know several writers who have had nothing but praise for them. One thing to remember about electronic sights, Mr Murphy absolutely loves them. Imagine the worst possible moment for your batteries to die or the electronics to take a dump and that is exactly when it will happen. I do normally have a dot on the shorty in the pic above in post #3 but if you look at the design of the scope mount, done by SSK, you will see that my irons work through the dot. If it dies I can immediately transition to the irons. When using the dot you don't even notice them however, it is the best scope mount system I have ever found.

 

[ahgar]

congrats on your smith and wesson, they are made by stag arms and they are quality. I picked up a bushy a year ago and have been really happy with it. one of the nice things about the ar platform is that depending on where you live the options are pretty well unlimited as far as stock, sights etc. all in all i like em.

 

[jforbush]

I have a Stag and love it. It will shoot ANY ammo and is very accurate.

 

[truthseeker]

Make your choice based on this chart and you will be ok. (on edit - looks like you made a good choice )

I played around with an M&P15 recently, and I liked it quite a bit. I've seen them around $900 on the web, as well.

I have a simple, beat-up Colt for a SHTF gun. Ugly on the outside, but ultra-reliable. I agree that Murphy loves the goodies, and will ruin them for you at the most inopportune moment.

 

[truthseeker]

congrats on your smith and wesson, they are made by stag arms and they are quality. I picked up a bushy a year ago and have been really happy with it. one of the nice things about the ar platform is that depending on where you live the options are pretty well unlimited as far as stock, sights etc. all in all i like em.

I believe Smith is making most of the stuff in-house, now. :thumbup: