RRA vs CMMG Help on my first AR

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jpyeguy

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Like the title says, i'm looking to buy my first AR style rifle, and would like some input to help with my final decision. I've been looking for quite a while and reading up on various brands, styles, etc, and have narrowed down what i want to basically two options. (Many thanks to Bartholomew Roberts and his sage wisdom on firearms) I've decided to get either the Rock River Arms Mid-Length A4 (16") or a CMMG 18" upper with the rifle length gas system and hand guard on a RRA Lower. I'm leaning towards the 18", but i like the compactness of the 16".

I'm pretty well sold on the RRA lowers and their triggers, as well as my choice of mid for 16" and rifle for 18", but any valid input to change my mind is welcome. I don't plan to do much long range competition shooting with these (not a bench gun) but i will be varmint hunting and at as long of a distance as i can, paper punching. The rifle will probably also provide home protection for my wife (her shoulder doesn't get along with the 12ga) and possibly myself depending on how much i like it over my 870. i decided that 20" would be too long for my tastes since i'm sure even the carbine can outshoot me.

Now that you know the background, Questions are as follows:

What do you think about CMMG lowers? i picked RRA both ways because i heard so many good things about them. Haven't heard anything on CMMG. Just as good? better?

What kind of accuracy can i expect out of 16" and 18"? would they be that different. I would like to shoot within a paper plate at 800 yards or so. is this realistic? (i understand it depends on the shooter, i'm just speaking for the gun)

Will the 16" perform as well as the 18"? i don't want too much gun. if the carbine does what i need, that's what i'll get.

That's about all the questions right now. i'm just trying to narrow my brand down one more time and make sure i don't have too much gun. Any advice or experience is appreciated. Thanks in advance,
--jP
 
Welcome to THR.

I think either option will work well for most of your uses except paper punching at 800 yards. That's quite far for a little .223 bullet and if that's a priority you would be much better off with a 20" or longer barrel in 1:8 or 1:7 twist so you can use the low drag heavier bullets with as much velocity as possible.

However, if you're mostly hunting coyotes within about 200 yards and punching paper within 500 yards, 16" or 18" setups should be fine. And obviously fine for close-range defensive use. I would still seriously consider a 1:8 or 1:7 twist to allow use of the heavier bullets for both target and hunting use.

I think RRA and CMMG would be fairly comparable in quality in all ways. Both have very good reputations and neither is generally considered to be a premium or truly mil-spec brand. I have a CMMG 20" upper and it is very good quality, but I can see where costs were limited (most noticeably in the bolt carrier group and in accepting a front sight base that wasn't ground quite perfectly). None of those cost reductions are issues for my use, but I wouldn't buy one and fly off to the 'stans for a year with it. It's not hard to change triggers if you get a CMMG with the military trigger and want something more refined.

The CMMG 18" "SPR" upper will be noticeably heavy - is that an issue for any of your plans? It will probably be heavier than a 20" upper with an "A2 government profile" which is skinnier under the handguards.
 
Got mine:
RRA001.jpg

I decided on the RRA lower because of the quality, but still thinking about which upper to get...same boat as you.

Lower parts kit and RRA collaspsible stock will be arriving soon.:)
 
I have a couple of CMMG uppers that shoot fine. I purchased the 16 inch mid lengths and both shoot as tight as I can hold'em. Reliability has been excellent, over 1500 rounds through one and it has yet to be cleaned. :D
 
I have 2 RRA AR's a 16 and 20 inch. Both are perfect. Hard to beat the quality. Triggers are good. I would be REAL careful about over penetration if using it for home defense. A bullet travelling at 3,000 ft per second doesn't want to slow down just because it hit a zombie and then some sheet rock.
 
Welcome to THR!

I have 2 RRAs, both excellent shooters. Had a CMMG lower, but it was a little loose on my RRA upper, swapped it for a RRA lower, now everythings nice and tight. Which ever you choose, get both upper and lowers for the same manufacturer, that way the finish matches and the fit may be better. If that matters at all to ya:neener:

Get the standard trigger, and send it to Bill Springfield for a 3# or 4# trigger job. You will like it!
http://www.triggerwork.net/ar15s.html
 
I have a complete CMMG, very happy thus far, however RRA owners seem to be happy too, so you probably can't go wrong either way.

Now if you really want a nice AR, BCM makes complete guns now.
 
Thanks to everyone for the responses all the input i can get helps. Z-michigan, good point on the weight, i wasn't thinking about that. It wouldn't be too hard to get the barrel fluted, but i don't want to do that right off for my first AR rifle. I'm leaning towards the 16" mid now, and down the road as i get better, i can get another one, possibly a 20".

About the 20", i was thinking, and it's almost the exact same length as my 18.5" 870 that i use for home defense (and am very comfortable with). So would a full rifle size 20" AR really be too unwieldy for home defense? I reckon i just need to shoot both and find out. My hopes in the 18" was to have the best of both world. Maneuverability of the 16" and decent range like the 20", but as always, best of both usually doesn't exist.

Thoughts?
 
I don't use my 20 inch Bushmaster A2 for HD because it's too long, which is why I have an M1 Carbine for that. Now if you're looking for a decent shooter out to 500 yards and something for HD, then get the 18 inch upper with a lower that has a collapsible stock and you'll have the best of both worlds.

Also, I have to second the recommendation for a slighter faster twist rate over the standard 1/9 twist, just so you can use the heavier projectiles when shooting long range.



Kris
 
I prefer CMMGs barrels. They have a lot more options as far as profiles and lengths. OTOH, CMMG doesn't have much as far as 1/9 twist.

RRA makes good stuff too though. My most accurate barrel was an RRA HBAR. They I had temporary insanity and traded it. :(
 
I'm leaning towards the 16" mid now, and down the road as i get better, i can get another one, possibly a 20".

About the 20", i was thinking, and it's almost the exact same length as my 18.5" 870 that i use for home defense (and am very comfortable with). So would a full rifle size 20" AR really be too unwieldy for home defense?
Click to expand...

I would be inclined to get the 16" midlength for now, as long as 800 yard paper punching is not a priority, and plan on getting a 20" or even longer setup later.

If you find your 18.5" Rem 870 to be OK inside the house then I guess a 20" AR would work. Personally I find an 18" shotgun awfully long inside the house; my personal choice inside the house is a pistol, and right outside the house is a 16" AR.

The 18" SPR upper is very cool but fairly specialized. It makes the most sense with a free float tube and a scope. Without those features a 20" govt profile is going to be as practical or better and a bit lighter.
 
I have a RRA 16" midlength on top of a CMMG lower. No complaints at all from me. Fit and finish for both of them is excellent. There is no "rattle" between the two half's that you'll sometimes run into.

No clue on the comparison between triggers. When I built mine, I went for the lowest price for the best quality of parts. The CMMG lower and RRA upper were the cheapest in their classes for comparable units vs other manufacturers.

I guess I do have one complaint. My AR doesn't like steel cased ammo... but that's not a bad thing. I'm more than happy to feed it brass.
 
Check out BravoCompanyUSA.com for the BCM mid-length. Its a top-tier brand for about the same money as the other 2 you're considering and you would get a lot more for your money.
 
I'm trying to check out the BravoCompanyUSA AR's, but all i see are lowers and incomplete uppers on their site. Do they make a full gun or complete parts? Am i just missing this?
 
I find that most folks want a shorter barrel these days and if you are not shooting long ranges a 20" or longer is not really needed. OH all of mine are 20" or longer. now as far as fit between the upper and lower it makes a big difference between buying a complete rifle or just parts.
as far as rra's goes they fit the upper to the lower for a nice fit but they have alot of them to chose from to get that. just look at the options for a matched set of the stripped national match upper and lower . they just get a few really tight ones and there you go. i would think alot of other companys will do this also.

remember when buying a upper and then a lower and putting it together you are tring to get around paying the excise tax on a firearm. now comes the part for warranty.

If for say you send a rifle back to rra's for warranty they will run the serial number against their records to see how it was original sold. If sold as a complete rifle returned as sold it is no problem. If you send them back with a complaint you will most likely only get a typical warranty against defects. Thats the way it is I know as we are a dealer for them.
 
I built my first AR a couple of weeks ago. I was in a similar position as you, except that my choice was between Stag and RRA. A little more research turned me onto Bravo Company, and for the same price as a RRA upper I found that I could get an upper with properly cut feed ramps and chrome lined barrel (RRA barrels do not come chrome lined, that is an additional upgrade). BCM is one of the few companies that make parts equal to Colt, which still sets standard when it comes to ARs. The fact that they cost less that Colt parts is an added bonus. Get a BCM upper, you get more for your money than you do with CMMG or RRA.
 
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