kcmarine
Member
It’s been a decade since I’ve seriously considered purchasing an AR-15. Back then there was RRA, Colt, Stag, and others.
Who’s good now?
Who’s good now?
Current good AR-15 makers
- Thread starter kcmarine
- Start date
- Status
Demi-human
maybe likes firearms a little bit…
JP Customs, Knights Armament, POF, Aero Precision, SLR, White Oak…
Shoot, who isn’t making a good AR lately. Even the PSA ARs are a good buy for a human that just needs a working AR.
They have, wonderfully, thankfully, become a commodity. Anyone can get one and there are huge differences in price and performance for any task and budget concern.
So, how much are you looking to spend, @kcmarine?
Or find a maker that uses a brand of barrel you like and go from there.
Shoot, who isn’t making a good AR lately. Even the PSA ARs are a good buy for a human that just needs a working AR.
They have, wonderfully, thankfully, become a commodity. Anyone can get one and there are huge differences in price and performance for any task and budget concern.
So, how much are you looking to spend, @kcmarine?
Or find a maker that uses a brand of barrel you like and go from there.
Doc Samson
Member
Agreed! It's hard to find one that isn't at least "pretty good" these days...
Zerodefect
member
In order. All good and recommended. Lower priced to higher priced:
Stag
Colt
(both of the above offer ''bones'' kits as well)
FN
LMT
BCM
Larue
JP
Beware overpriced boutique carbines. If they start to get towards the price of a JP, get a JP. They've been walking the walk for a while now.
Pay attention to what's working in 3gun where the AR is being pushed to the limit. All of the above make uppers good for such. Stags 3gun rifle would be an excellent start:
I haven't tested the Springfield Saint Vigil and CZ Bren enough to comment on them.
Stag
Colt
(both of the above offer ''bones'' kits as well)
FN
LMT
BCM
Larue
JP
Beware overpriced boutique carbines. If they start to get towards the price of a JP, get a JP. They've been walking the walk for a while now.
Pay attention to what's working in 3gun where the AR is being pushed to the limit. All of the above make uppers good for such. Stags 3gun rifle would be an excellent start:
I haven't tested the Springfield Saint Vigil and CZ Bren enough to comment on them.
Last edited:
Anchorite
Member
Disclaimer: NOT and AR/semi-auto guy. I know next to nothing about the AR platform. I’ve always been a bolt gun guy. That said, I’ve been eying Ruger’s line of ARs, and coupled with their extraordinary customer service track record, I’d look along and hard at their lineup.
Varminterror
Member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2016
- Messages
- 14,883
If I were buying an AR, as opposed to building my own, my money would only go to George Gardner at GA Precision or Mike Milli at Dtech, with a tip of the hat to specialized builders for certain pursuits like Compass Lake and JP.
But functionally, I don’t spend that money - I build my own.
But functionally, I don’t spend that money - I build my own.
The Glockodile
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2020
- Messages
- 1,688
They’ve all standardized things so well, and the availability of tech for “composing” an AR has become so mundane that even Joe Bubba can do it with open source software...
Hard to go wrong with even “poverty tier” components, as long as you’re capable of some basic fixeroos yourself.
Hard to go wrong with even “poverty tier” components, as long as you’re capable of some basic fixeroos yourself.
The Glockodile
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2020
- Messages
- 1,688
I have a few of Bear Creek Arsenal ARs that are great, I love mine. Not to mention they're having a massive sale right now not only one uppers, lowers and full kits but on completed rifles in multiple calibers.
https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/ar-15/ar-15-rifles.html
https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/ar-15/ar-15-rifles.html
gotboostvr
Member
Pretty much, just avoid Bear Creek Arsenal or Davidson Defense.
I would recommend BCA if you like something they offer and aren't afraid of doing a little tweaking yourself.
They both are probably better than the bottom tier rifles circa mid 2000's, and can be made to run correctly if there was an issue, but just about anything else is a step above.
I like piecing together PSA's to suite my tastes, they're probably about the best bang to buck ratio. Spike's is about the same quality, but cost more. S&W and Ruger are both good if you want to buy a complete rifle from a well known manufacturer with a long track record. Anderson is a good value brand, AERO is a nice "step up" and not over priced. I have no experience with Windham, but they seem well received and aren't spendy.
There's alot of good choices out there.
It used to be the big concern was getting a poorly built gun with bad specs. Now a days, the biggest problem is maybe over paying for a good gun, over a similarly equipped and equally well built gun from a different maker.
Good times.
I would recommend BCA if you like something they offer and aren't afraid of doing a little tweaking yourself.
They both are probably better than the bottom tier rifles circa mid 2000's, and can be made to run correctly if there was an issue, but just about anything else is a step above.
I like piecing together PSA's to suite my tastes, they're probably about the best bang to buck ratio. Spike's is about the same quality, but cost more. S&W and Ruger are both good if you want to buy a complete rifle from a well known manufacturer with a long track record. Anderson is a good value brand, AERO is a nice "step up" and not over priced. I have no experience with Windham, but they seem well received and aren't spendy.
There's alot of good choices out there.
It used to be the big concern was getting a poorly built gun with bad specs. Now a days, the biggest problem is maybe over paying for a good gun, over a similarly equipped and equally well built gun from a different maker.
Good times.
chicharrones
needs more ammo
Looking at some of the replies here, I think you ought to tell these folks what your budget might be.
yeongjo
Member
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2021
- Messages
- 59
And then..... throw it right out the window
chicharrones
needs more ammo
I'm assuming you're referring to some of the teething problems from the old BCA offerings. I did a lot of research before I bought my current Gen 2 BCAs and they function flawlessly without tweaking. They didn't remain static, they addressed the problems they were having and fixed them. Also their customer service is A+. I have no experience with Davidson so I couldn't confirm or deny their reliability.
gotboostvr
Member
I've got a buddy that works as a gunsmith and claims he sees them frequently.
Says the most common issue is undersized gas ports or improperly secured gas blocks. I'd be comfortable fixing either issue myself before sending it in personally.
Neither of which is the end of the world as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure the vast majority of them run correctly, and I have heard they do have excellent customer service.
I'm actually most likely going to buy a 16" lightweight 6.5G upper of theirs to build a hunting carbine around, so I wouldn't say to steer clear entirely from them.
I'm not 100% sure but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that certain parts on the BCAs were proprietary meaning one would have to buy their replacement product. Don't quote me on that though.
CapnMac
Member
Interestingly, that question is now like asking "Who are the best Garand Manufacturers?"
The pieces-parts are made by so many contractors and subcontractors and to such similar standards, the only real differences are only objective in the engraving; the rest are purely subjective.
People are people, they have all kinds of reason to like or dislike things.
To my thinking, there's just not a "High Point" or "Jennings"* version of the AR out there. Whether there's a Weatherby or Sako version is an equally complicated debate. Price point is just a price point with ARs--in my opinion at least--and spending more inevitably leads to the "I kin build betterer fer cheaper" response near universally.
Let's say a person would up with a "less good" AR. It's still an AR. And, for a few hundred bucks, it could be a different AR, potentially a better one. Potentially a lust-as-good one, too. Life is like that.
Now, if we want to quibble, then, there is an argument over "AR-10" builds, since there are two distinct "families" of those, and getting them mixed up will lead to less-good things.
__________________________________
*I only use these makers as common examples of perceived "cheapness" not ans an absolute judgement on them. There are plenty of people for whom they are the best they can afford.
The pieces-parts are made by so many contractors and subcontractors and to such similar standards, the only real differences are only objective in the engraving; the rest are purely subjective.
People are people, they have all kinds of reason to like or dislike things.
To my thinking, there's just not a "High Point" or "Jennings"* version of the AR out there. Whether there's a Weatherby or Sako version is an equally complicated debate. Price point is just a price point with ARs--in my opinion at least--and spending more inevitably leads to the "I kin build betterer fer cheaper" response near universally.
Let's say a person would up with a "less good" AR. It's still an AR. And, for a few hundred bucks, it could be a different AR, potentially a better one. Potentially a lust-as-good one, too. Life is like that.
Now, if we want to quibble, then, there is an argument over "AR-10" builds, since there are two distinct "families" of those, and getting them mixed up will lead to less-good things.
__________________________________
*I only use these makers as common examples of perceived "cheapness" not ans an absolute judgement on them. There are plenty of people for whom they are the best they can afford.
Skylerbone
Member
I feel there is a reason you can throw names out there and have the whole room nod. I also stand firm in my belief that some places have a team of untrained monkeys for their machining and assembly.
On my do not buy list currently: BCA and Radical.
On my trusted list: Colt, BCM, Noveske, LaRue, Troy, SOLGW, Geissele, S&W, Ruger, Aero Precision, PSA, RRA, Windham (almost anyone not on the naughty list above).
I also choose to build, with an emphasis on reliability over absolute accuracy. The latter cannot be expected from $130 barrels.
On my do not buy list currently: BCA and Radical.
On my trusted list: Colt, BCM, Noveske, LaRue, Troy, SOLGW, Geissele, S&W, Ruger, Aero Precision, PSA, RRA, Windham (almost anyone not on the naughty list above).
I also choose to build, with an emphasis on reliability over absolute accuracy. The latter cannot be expected from $130 barrels.
sarduy
Member
bullseye308
Member
It really depends on what you want to spend and what you require it to do. Most anyone can build an AR so there are plenty of good choices in a wide range of prices from dozens of folks. Is there an accuracy goal you have in mind? What is your budget and do you plan to change things up? Do you want to build it, or just assemble the lower and get a complete upper?
I bought a kit from PSA and built the lower and the upper was complete. It was cheap, is as accurate as my crappy eyes can see, and runs perfectly. It has run only about 2500 rounds so far, but they have been flawless. You can spend more and get more accuracy and better parts, but I will probably only put 5000 rounds a year through it and 2-3” at 100 does fine for me.
I bought a kit from PSA and built the lower and the upper was complete. It was cheap, is as accurate as my crappy eyes can see, and runs perfectly. It has run only about 2500 rounds so far, but they have been flawless. You can spend more and get more accuracy and better parts, but I will probably only put 5000 rounds a year through it and 2-3” at 100 does fine for me.
bullseye308
Member
What a bargain, maybe I’ll order 2 at that price.
- Status
