Spike's Tactical...Need Opinions

Have a chance to pick up a Spikes with the painted logo for around $800. It is a mid-length gas system on a Spike's lower. It seems to be pretty decent quality and everything is properly staked, m4 ramps, f marked front sight base, etc. The BCG is an M16 unit but didn't seem quite as well finished as the rest of the gun.

I would like to hear some opinions on Spike's quality as they compare to some of the other quality rifles out there. It seems like it would be a decent upgrade from a Bushmaster or DPMS, but I know nothing about their reputation for quality, accuracy, etc. It isn't as nice as a Daniel Defense or Noveske, but it seems like a good price.

Opinions?

Why did you have to use their customer service? What kind of accuracy do you get out of your gun? I'm not especially fond of the painted spider, but the gun itself certainly seems milspec. For a new midlength rifle, $800 seems like a good deal.

ZeBool said:

My M4LE carbine has been great. The original upper that it came with was a lemon, but Spike's took care of it within the week. No problems since then. Highly recommended.

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What was wrong with it and how did Spikes take care of it for you? I'm having a hard time getting more than just specs offline, so I am leaning heavily on actual users for good info.

Z-Michigan wrote

Spike's is trying to be top tier. Their printed/claimed specs are all terrific. Comparing their prices to their specs, some people have inferred that they must be cutting corners somewhere or not really building to their advertised specifications. I have not seen any proof whatsoever for such a claim.

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Since my posting of this original thread, I have done a lot more research on Spikes, and it would appear that your statement here is putting this problem mildly. Apparently, there is some sort of bad blood between Spikes and a prominent retailer, bad blood that has played itself out openly online.

From what I can tell, Spikes releases its product for less than everyone's current fav, BCM, which seemed to cast aspersions on whether or not they "cut corners" and engage in false advertising. It would seem that the assumption is that BCM is the best in the business and truly offers the lowest rates possible for a mil-spec product, making anyone else offering one for lower a fraud. Interesting.

As a result of this accusation, the owner of Spikes has posted all his mil-spec certifications online...something I understand to be quite rare. These are in plain view for anyone to read and scrutinize. My current understanding is that all of their rifles meet the "chart" requirements for mil-spec, and yet, despite this, they are still getting completely trashed by an entire segment of the internet on a well known forum.

I'm not sure how I feel about this company. Part of me wants to buy something from them just because of the scrutiny they receive, and if their specs are true, the black eye they are handing to every other manufacturer in the business with their pricing. The other part of me is skeptical due to the sheer voracity of the attacks leveled at them by others in the business.

What is really the truth here? Is Spikes an honest, good to go, high "chart" compliant gun or not? Are they life trusting worthy? Is the internet nonsense simple brand bashing, or is Spikes the fraud many would paint them out to be? I hate that gun snobbery and brand loyalties force me to ask questions like this instead of being able to just get some specifications and user experiences and call it good. I really hate gun elitism.

Thanks for the reply Azizza. I understand the questioning of Spike's I guess, but I found the demands on the company to prove their claims seemed a bit over the top. I haven't seen that kind of scrutiny directed at any of the other major manufacturers. Nevertheless, whether or not those criticisms were legitimate doesn't do much for the buyer looking at Spikes today.

As Z mentioned, Spikes does have HP testing on everything now, AFAIK. Your response was that the barrel cert was one of the final pieces of information needed to verify the milspec claim. Are there any other specs that are in doubt?

Additionally, you said they aren't at BCM or DD levels of quality. I agree on DD, but then, I haven't held any other AR that I thought met their standards of fit, finish, and detail. The BCM statement is a bit more interesting, though. It is pretty common knowledge that BCM puts far less emphasis on finish than on form, and their guns tend to be very good while their finer details are a bit lacking. If so, in what way do you feel Spike's comes up short of BCM? My inspection of the Spikes would seem to indicate solid quality throughout, but I would like to hear your viewpoint on the differences. Spikes certainly beats BCM in price.

The whole fanboy thing can certainly be annoying, but it seems a funny reason for a forum to shut down discussion about a brand name product. It would seem to be a sign of pure laziness on the part of mods refusing to do their job, or some kind of personal issue between the company and the members of said board. It all seems kind of childish to me. I find the fanboyism toward Colt and BCM irritating, but I don't beg for any Colt or BCM post to be closed or banned.

FWIW, I find haters far more annoying. I swear, an AR thread can't seem to go anywhere on any board without some kind of bash on Bushmaster, DPMS and Rock River. That gets REALLY tiring....

Not trying to refer to you as a hater at all, Azizza. Nor am I defending Spikes at all, either. I am more interested in what the truth is about the company so I can make an educated decision about whether or not they are a company I am interested in purchasing from. You seemed to have a little more opinion on the matter than I have gotten from most on the board, so I wanted to find out more from you. That's really all there is to that.

As far as my opinion of BCM, I do get a little tired of what I consider fanboy-ism for them as well, but it is that way for a lot of people's favorite brands. My thing with BCM is that while all the critical parts of the rifle are to specs, some of the polish can be a bit hit or miss, as I have found while researching their products. It is a minor detail, but worth noting. Where I really am not such a fan is their pricing and the way their uppers are priced. All price listings are without the BCG. That's OK, but when I hear people brag on their prices, I go to the site and configure and find they are a little lower on some things and quite a bit higher on others. I guess that only irritates me when people brag on them as the best way to get a good rifle cheap. Not true anymore. I can get a complete DDM4 from my local retailer for less than the cost of just the upper from BCM. Same is true for some rail systems and other odds and ends as well. Now, throw in a company like Spikes, who if their certs are to be believed, and BCM comes up even shorter in price. I don't hate BCM and I wouldn't belittle any of their products, just making some observations on them.