Bushmaster or armalite?

Armalite, or for a few bucks more BCM and for maybe even a little less S&W.

I have two Bushmasters. 16'' for fun and the 20" match for p-dogs. No, the p-dogs dont like either of them, especially the match!

bushy or armalite???

I have had good service with my Bushmaster, it has never failed to go bang when I needed it. Armalite is unknown to me, but I bet it is pretty good.

Prices are down right now...what version are you looking for?

Armalite AR.....................10 of course...............

own a Bushmaster BAR10 and Armalite AR10A2....kind of like having 2 beautiful girlfriends....which one to choose....decisions..decisions....love em both.

If it must be among those two, Armalite, by far. Mostly due to the fit and finish and the excellent customer service and lifetime warranty. BTW, I own samples of both brands.

However, better deals can be had right now, on products from S&W, CMMG, Spike's Tactical, BCM, and probably others. None of those except BCM will match the fit and finish that I find with Armalite, but functionally they will all compare well. On the other hand, if price were exactly the same for all listed brands, Armalite would be my close second choice after BCM.

Neither

an Armalite is an Armalite, kind of like having an ol muscle car, it is one of the first and still one of the best.

I'm curious about the neither too. Armalite has been high quality since the late 1990's (or earlier) and has recently upgraded some items to more closely follow the all-important "the chart."

Z-Michigan said:

However, better deals can be had right now, on products from S&W, CMMG, Spike's Tactical, BCM, and probably others.

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How about the Ruger SR-556?

I know next to nothing about AR rifles, but I know the piston driven cycle is preferable to the direct gas and the Ruger is a piston gun. I haven't heard anything about the SR-556 good or bad though.

I know next to nothing about AR rifles, but I know the piston driven cycle is preferable to the direct gas and the Ruger is a piston gun. I haven't heard anything about the SR-556 good or bad though.

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1) The disadvantages of DI are massively exaggerated.

2) While piston drive is generally slightly preferable, the AR-15 was not designed for it, and for the most part piston ARs are compromised, in a way that the AKM, FAL, etc. are not.

3) The SR-556 has received mixed reviews. It's quite heavy out front. Some samples have had problems with carrier tilt.

4) Someone seriously shopping the $1500 (ish) SR-556 probably isn't looking at sub-$900 options from Armalite and Shrubmaster.

5) If you decide that a muzzle-heavy piston AR with rails is what you want, the SR-556 is a relatively good deal for its combination of features. However, it isn't necessarily as good in all respects as some of the more expensive piston ARs.

6) I personally choose a DI AR because it's very well proven, relatively inexpensive, and I can get endless spares at reasonable prices.

Back in the early days (80s-90s), the best AR manufacturers was A-B-C.
A-B-C = Armalite - Bushmaster - Colt.

Since the mid-2000s, there are many AR manufacturers that have surpassed the three. But, the three still make good quality products.

I would prefer a Noveske, LMT, LWRC (gas-piston), BCM or Daniel Defense over an Armalite, Bushmaster or Colt. But, the Armalite, Bushmaster or Colt still rates higher than all the others.

A lot of it depends on what you are using it for. Most guns will work for most shooters most of the time. You probably won't see a lick of difference between the two. I think you have to run a rifle pretty hard to show the differences in quality in different brands.

well, alot of you said neither. What do you suggest then?

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Honestly I'd say the 2 in the OP are about equal in both quality and price, save for Bushmaster selling more than the loin's share of the entire civi AR market. Flip a coin or buy which is cheaper.

That said, I really think the best bang for buck, hands down, right now, for a complete AR are the S&W M&P-15s. I believe CDNN has optics ready M&Ps for something like $599 and M4geries for $699 after rebate. There's just no equal in quality per buck there.

ETA: if you're talking .308s I'm torn. I have a AR-10 I built and have to give it to Armalite, they use forgings for their receivers. They have cleaner lines, should be lighter (less material than the billet stuff) and are stronger. Bushmaster, though a rebranded DPMS, uses chrome lined barrels and carriers like Armalite, DPMS doesn't. They also use the fast becoming standard, if not already, SR-25/DPMS/orginal AR-10 pattern mag.