Best AR-15

I'f you want to save some cash and make it your own you could always buy a stripped lower and parts kit. I did this and bought a stag arms complete upper and I am very happy with it.
 
So far, My M&P15 has been a great rifle.
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I'm a big Daniel Defense guy. Right behind them would be BCM. The only reason I give DD a few more props is because they use cold hammer forged barrels in ALL their rifles and barrels. BCM just has a few CHF builds, but they are just as good. For 1200, a DD M4XV can be easily had, although they are no longer on DD's website. They may have discontinued in in favor of the DD M4XVEZ. Same rifle with a quad rail. It's just like $60 bucks more. I got mine for $850 after looking around.

I'd look at DD and BCM. Spikes is looking good too. I'm not a fan of Stag, bushmaster, rock river or S&Ws. For the same $ you can get a much higher quality rifle if you look.

My DD

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Best AR is the one you own and have with you IMO

This. If it's not on you, it is worthless.

Look at getting a chromed lined bore and MPI tested bolt. Not a must but I wish one of my ARs had them. There are a lot of guns that are not mil spec.

Biggest thing is to test your shit good once you get it. Get a gun running with the basics (i.e.- iron sights, standard hand guard). It is common for a gun to change roles or direction after you have shot it once or twice. Shoot a few hundred rounds and then start moding till your hearts content. They really are legos for men.

Budget mags and lots of ammo in with the purchase.
 
there are many different levels of the mil pattern ar15 quality. the lowest is the garage built made from a low dough parts kit. these generaly are 2nd quality parts.
the next grade is commercialy available rifles. many times these are hobbyist in nature generaly in standard military garb.
then there is the home built rifle made with the very best parts.
after this we enter the professional or operator grade weapons. these are rifles made by very specific companies and generally marketed to working professionals. as you can imagine, the names and prices on these rifles run the gammut. the advise to do your due diligance is valid. figure out just what you want out of this rifle, and what mission it will be serving. what accessories if any you will be integrating as well as your budget.
remember, they all go bang, just some do it longer than others.
 
I am +1 to those already having named Stag Arms. A good company with a terrific product. A division I believe of CT Machine, a military supplier. As direct gas is going away, I would reccomend a piston op system, Stag makes these, but only in 5.56, not my Cup o' T. Also Stag has lefty models for L eye dominant peeps like me (as well as real leftys too.) I also have an Oly Arms .45acp AR, and a DPMS AR-10 (7.62X51.)

The partial in the second pic is my current project, waiting for a caliber decision. ( A DPMS lower and parts, Yankee Hill upper.)

The Stag AR is in 6.8 SPC

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I've had a bunch over the years, Bushmaster's mostly, a colt and a Rock River. They all ran fine but sadly I had to sell them.
 
I have a Bushmaster and a S&W. They both run fine, plenty accurate. I've had my Bushy for over 10 years.

AR prices fluctuate, so getting a good deal is really a matter of timing. There has been a proliferation of makers in the last 10-15 years. I haven't kept up. I'm sure nearly all of the new manufacturers are very good. I'm also equally certain that if you get one (any one of them), and post about it on an Internet forum, someone will tell you it's crap. It happens with 1911s too.

If I had it to do over again, I would have built my second rifle instead of buying it. The S&W is a great gun, but looking back I would have preferred building it (the learning, the nerdiness of a custom build).

If you have the means, tools and head for that sort of thing, I would recommend going that way. Don't look at it as saving money, because it might not be cheaper. You'll have more than just a gun when you finish. Get the proper tools and docs, and even a DVD and do it right.

SP
 
Best AR for what? If it is for occasional range trips and taking up room in the safe then any number of manufacturers would be fine. If you have more serious uses for it like self defense or if you plan on taking carbine courses with it then you will want to something better than the typical RRA, Bushmaster, Stag, DPMS types.

BCM is the easy answer. They have a ton of options, excellent quality, and their prices are fair. Colt, Daniel Defense, LMT, and Novekse are also excellent. These companies build ARs that more or less comply to the known best practices around building ARs. Many people don't consider how important little things like gas port spec, the weight of the reciprocating recoil parts, the type of pins used in the front sight base, and chamber dimensions can be.

If you can't quite spend on Colt, BCM, Noveske, Daniel Defense, LMT, etc then I would look at two places: Spikes Tactical or Smith and Wesson. Of the two, I prefer Spike's for several reasons, not the least of which is their use of the superior 1 in 7" twist rate. S&W uses mostly 1 in 9".

An AR is pretty big investment. I suggest learning as much as you can. Check out Vuurwapen Blog and Tactical Yellow Visor for more detail than you will get on a typical forum.
 
When building an AR, take the time to look into LARs stuff. As a lefty I really like their design and their customer service is very much like ESEE's.
 
Flexx, another consideration is where you live and what models you can get your hands on. In my neck of the woods, most of the places carry Bushmaster, Olympic, RRA, and if you're lucky, S&W. I think alot of manufacturers won't ship to NYS because of the Assault Weapon Ban that's still in effect here - they don't want to switch out parts just to be able to sell here. So in my case, I was lucky to find some Colts at one of my favorite local shops, and although they are overpriced, they're excellent, so I picked one up. If I could have found a Noveske, DD, LMT, etc., I may have been happier and few dollars richer - which I could have used to buy some beat up pre-ban magazines (man, I wish I could buy Magpuls).

Anyway, since pictures are fun, here's what my AR looks like now, after I've pimped it up a bit...

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My M&P15T is a tack driver and it comes pretty well tweaked right out of the box. It is a a 1-9 barrel so it might now eat as heave a bullet as a 1-7...
 
+1 for stag arms!

I built a 2ht that I converted to an Adams arms piston system.
And with a leupold mark ar 3x9 mil dot scope I've hit out to 600 yards with it.

It's a great rifle, chrome lined free float barrel.

Allthough my next build I'm working on is going to be a bcm upper. 1:7 twist chrome lined, m4 feed ramps. Maybe a little higher quality but you're paying the price for it.

Just my two sense.

Oh and for accessories I'm magpul all the way, Ctr stock, moe grip, afg, bad lever, ms2 sling with asap plate and rail sling attachment, magpul mags and rail guards.
 
I have 3 AR's all built on Smith M&P15 lowers with BCM assembled uppers. Can't say enough good about them and I've owned Colt, BushHamster, Olympic, RRA and DPMS...


blake
 
I've built a a few budget rifles for about $800 with stag uppers and palmetto armory lower build kits that turned out very well, with magpul moe stuff in different colors. It just starts to get expensive with all the extra goodies for the ar
 

I logically had my heart set on rra but what swayed me away was for the same price without having to pay any extra you could get a standard chrom e lined barrel of equal or greater quality from stag arms. The 2ht with the free float quad is just a great upper and I think the best for the money.

Unless you got a sweet deal on a nice bcm.
 
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