As you can see, by now, there are several opinions and options when it comes to AR.
Here’s a little information that will help.
Anderson, referred to as the poverty pony by many due to their price point. What little is known is that Anderson was one of the only six or eight companies that were manufacturing Milspec lower, just a few years ago. Anderson was one of the largest of these companies. Many companies that build ARs don’t make their own lowers, and some don’t make any of the parts at all. Anderson manufactured , and still does, lowers for other companies.
A few years ago Anderson threw a monkey wrench into the AR market. They dropped the price on their lowers. At the time the average striped milspec lower was selling for $150. Anderson lowered their prices to $69. This caused a few things to happen. #1 It caused other companies to lower their prices to around the $90 range. #2 with the more affordable lowers more people started building their own ARs. #3 with the higher demand for AR parts, more companies got into the market. The market became so saturated that prices on parts got lower and lower.
Anderson was selling so many lowers that they dropped their prices even lower. At one point they got as low as $40 for a stripped lower.
PSA used to buy their striped lowers. Later on they started buying them in the white and putting the finish on them their self. I bought some of their blems from their first batch. The only thing with them is that they were different shades of grey instead of black. I’ve been told that PSA makes their own lowers now.
Most people don’t know that Mossberg made AR 15 rifles. But what many don’t know is, for many years Mossberg was the largest manufacturer of AR barrels.
A lot of people refer to Colt as making one of the better ARs on the market. But if you take a good look at Colt, how many times in the past did they file for bankruptcy and were bought out buy other companies.
Colt Firearms Industry and Colt Defense Industry were two different companies owned and ran buy Colt. aR rifles were made by both companies, but were not the same. Colt Defense Ind. built ARs for military contracts and Law enforcement. Colt Firearms Ind. built ARs for the civilian market. These two companies did not use the same parts and the rifles were manufactured in different plants. Some people ask why does a civilian Colt AR sell for $1000 and up. It’s because people are willing to pay to ride the pony.
Many people don’t know that Anderson supplied Colt Firearms Ind. with AR lowers. The Colt Sporter model with the integral trigger guard uses an Anderson lower.
A big cost factor in an AR rifle is the barrel. Chrome lined barrels cost more to make. But are they really needed? Ask yourself, how many hunting rifles have chrome lined barrels? The biggest difference is CHF (cold hammer forged) barrels. The cost of making a CHF barrel is higher and you will find them on your upper end AR rifles. But are they needed? A standard nitride AR barrel will last the average shooter 40,000 rounds. Many will never shoot that many rounds in their life time. A CHF barrel will hold up better and will last longer, but does the average shooter need a CHF barrel? Not really.
Here are three barrels I picked up on sale before the pandemic for $100 each. They are made by DPMS, Bushmaster and Remington.
Another cost factor in AR rifles is the finish. Your upper end rifles will have nicer finishes. I remember the first time I got my hands on a Black Rain AR upper. The finish was like black frosted glass, it was beautiful and felt great in my hands. But it didn’t shoot any better then my FN upper.
I have several ARs, many that I built myself. I have ARs with $300 CHF barrels and some with $69 Nitride barrels. Most people can’t tell the difference between them when holding or shooting them.
Here’s one that I built with a FN CHF 20” barrel that I had cut down to 16”. I love this rifle.
Here’s one my youngest son, Isaac, built when he was 14yo. It has a lightweight nitride barrel that I got on sale from Midway USA.
Here’s one I built with a PSA 16” mid length barrel
And then there’s the Junkyard Dog that I built from used parts. The only new parts are some springs and the Anderson lower.
I don’t recommend building your first AR. I listed the ones above just to show options that one has when it comes to ARs.
Whatever you start with, you can always change out parts for a different look or feel.
Like many have said in this topic, PSA will fit your needs. And by buying the complete upper and lower separate, you can save money.
