RRA vs. Stag

RRA maks a fine rifle but their customer service leaves alot to be desired. I can't speak for Stag but I would go with the Stag after the bad taste in my mouth from RRA.

Is one a little better then the other?

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Probably not really.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with RRA CS, The Real Mags. I had to use their CS once, when my RRA AR's hammer broke in half. Called them up, got it shipped to them, and got it back within the week. No charge for anything. I would say that's pretty good CS.

I own both, Stag M4 upper/Double Star lower and RRA middie complete rifle. Both reliable and accurate.

I own both guns in 16 m4 profile. RRA fit and finish is better, RRA trigger better, RRA accuracy (supported by bag) is better. Even up pricing, I 'd take the RRA. $200 difference? the Stag is fine.

Love my Stag 15L (being a lefty, the choices were a little slim, but I really do love that rifle). No experience (short of fondling them in the store) with the RRA's.

I have one of each. Never had the 1st problem with either. It is hard to compare them since mine are set up as polar opposites. The Rock River has a heavy target barrel with a match trigger. The Stag is a 16" thin barrel with telescoping stock. The Rock River is more accurate, but it is supposed to be.

What made you narrow it down to those 2? Have you looked at BCM? S&W? Daniel Defense?
Any of those will give you a much better gun for the same or less money.

I have a Stag flat top upper on a RRA 2-stage lower and love it. Get the RRA 2-stage trigger. You will not be disappointed.

I have the Stag Model 2. Has been a fine shooter.

I own both guns in 16 m4 profile. RRA fit and finish is better, RRA trigger better, RRA accuracy (supported by bag) is better. Even up pricing, I 'd take the RRA. $200 difference? the Stag is fine.

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Do you have the basic trigger in both, or do you have the RRA 2-stage trigger in the RRA and a basic trigger in the Stag?

What made you narrow it down to those 2? Have you looked at BCM? S&W? Daniel Defense?
Any of those will give you a much better gun for the same or less money.

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I find it doubtful that you will find a BCM or Daniel Defense rifle for the same or less money. S&W you might, but then again its at the same mid-level quality tier as a RRA or Stag. For a time after their introduction of the M&P15, CMT/Stag was making the lowers for S&W and I would bet they are still supplying parts to S&W (and probably RRA as well).

I'm not sure about Stag, but if you get a Rock River, you might want to plan to have a reputable AR armorer or builder check the staking on your gas key screws and stake the castle nut. RRA typically does a rather superficial job of the former and doesn't do the latter; the castle nut is IIRC held in place with blue loctite instead, which can loosen with heat and time.

You also may want to check out the chambering info, either 5.56 NATO or .223 Wylde.

Azizza said:

What made you narrow it down to those 2? Have you looked at BCM? S&W? Daniel Defense?
Any of those will give you a much better gun for the same or less money.

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+1
And with the addition of Spikes Tactical.

Seen lots of both and both seem very good. The Rock Rivers SEEM to lock up to uppers tighter for some reason.

I like RRA. There trigger is a big step up from the basic trigger. Their barrels seem to shoot very well and have a guarantee behind them that they will shoot well. 3/4-1 MOA depending on the specific rifle. I have a Stag (though its a 16" carbine) and its a fine rifle. While maybe not living up to the standards of BCM it will never show the difference in my ownership. I don't run them hard and give it a once over after each range trip. Still if I had the option to trade for an RRA I would do it. I think their barrels or maybe just their chamber reamers are a step above Stag. Stag's staking is a bit better than RRA but that is a simple, easy, and cheap fix. I rather the more accurate of the group and RRA has shown to be the leader of the two.

just picked up a stag leftie, fully floated , full quad rails, along with full top rail, plus a 140 dollar backup/flip up rear site, for 1000 bucks. a Supergreat rifle; I say better than rra.
And according to how made, by the ar rankings list, just a tad better made.

They are both good and either will probably serve you well. I own two RRA ARs and they are very tight and good shooters but their staking is very poor. Good news is, that is easily fixed.

What made you narrow it down to those 2? Have you looked at BCM? S&W? Daniel Defense?
Any of those will give you a much better gun for the same or less money.

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That's debatable. Better gun? Possibly? Same money or even close? I highly doubt it.

Not everybody needs top o the line, or even middle of the line. Local availability could also be an issue. Shipping an already higher-priced weapon just makes the cost go up that much higher when, in some cases, good enough is good enough.

THere is no Possibly to it. They are far superior guns in both Material and build quality.
As for Cost,
The RRA is 980 for the 20inch A2
BCM would be:
Upper assembly + Bolt $580.00
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-M16-Government-20-Upper-Receiver-Group-p/bcm-urg-gov-20.htm

Lower Receiver with A2 Stock $360.00

Add in the various bits you want and you have just slightly more than the RRA and once again a MUCH better gun.

Good enough, isn't.

How do BCM rifle shoot? I know how the RRA rifle shoot from experience and from that of others I know. I don't care if parts pass the chart test near as much as I do with how the target looks at the end of the day. I must admit, when it comes to shooting, I do 1% small game hunting and 99% paper punching so for me the more accurate of the two is the better rifle, not which one has the most check marks on a chart. A 2MOA stag means as much to me as a 2MOA BCM, regardless of what a chart says is the better rifle. I really haven't seen any statements on how BCM full length uppers shoot, but I haven't looked. So will the BCM hold 1MOA or less? Will it hold 1/2MOA? If I were looking for a rugged and reliable carbine the BCM line certainly is priced well, but at the end of the day, I've never had a failure with any of my ARs yet and they have all been middle or low tier rifles so I'm not convinced I'll ever see a gain using an upper tier rifle.

Rock River offers accuracy guarantees for most of their rifles, with the guaranteed accuracy depending on the model. Some of the carbines are guaranteed 1.5 MOA with premium ammo, and some of the varmint/match models are guaranteed 0.5 MOA, as I recall.

http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=213

BCM has a definite edge in reliability and durability, but RRA may have a slight edge in accuracy if you get one of the accurized models. Do be aware that 0.5 MOA will likely come at the cost of reduced ammo compatibility (most match chambers are .223, though you could try a Wylde chamber) and somewhat reduced reliability.

I have a 20" BCM upper, a couple of their bolt carrier groups and charging handles.

The upper is OK. I haven't given it a serious accuracy test yet, I have only shot if for function checking, which was fine. My only comment so far is I would rather have the tigher headspacing of my RRAs. The BCM spits out brass that has stretched about .004" - .006" more than the brass coming out of any of my RRAs. The headspace must be at or near max on the BCM.... spent brass is show ~ + .008" on my RCBS Precision Mic and I assume there must be some spring back from the actually chamber dimensions. No check block for that on "the chart".

Seems odd to me they sell uppers and BCGs seperately instead of matched.

We are dealers for both, but we sell a lot more Stags then RRA because the entry level guns are at a great price point for what you get. The RRA catalog is a lot bigger and has some higher end items in it.

I have not had to deal with RRA themselves much but Stag has a very small company feel to it, first name terms, easy to deal with etc...