AR-15 Bushmasters

what kwelz is trying to say, is that in his opinion, bushmasters are some of the finest ar platform rifles that he has ever seen, and frankly rates them right under knights rifles, and slightly above colt, daniel defense, and lewis machine.

dont hack on him just because he likes one thing, and someone else has had great luck with something entirely different.

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Wait what? Sarcasm?

Wait what? Sarcasm?

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Why is it when threads like this come up, you have 2 kinds of people replying? Those that have the weapon and report no or very few minor problems, and then those that have no 1st hand experience with it and their reply is "I read on xyz forum".

The facts are, 1 Bushmaster rifle has killed more people than probably all of the Bravo Company, Noveske, Stag, ect rifles in civilian hands.
The Beltway sniper used a Bushmaster XM-15. That's essentially what you are arguing about when you spout "Mil-spec" barrel steel ect.
On barrel steel, modern production guns use much better qualities of steel than guns made 50-100 years ago, and those guns are still around and shooting. Arguing about 4150 vs 4140 and other steels is like saying what's better or Camaro or a Mustang. When it comes down to it there isn't that much of a difference to matter. It comes down to a spec sl|_|t wish list.
We can all agree that guns from Vulcan, Hesse, ect are absolute garbage, Most of the others aren't bad and for the average shooter they will last a lifetime. Case in point there are m16's still in service that were made before all of the items on "the list" were thought of.
If you want to spend the extra money go ahead, but don't tell people that the guns they have that work for what they need, suck, or someone that is looking for a gun has to spend $1300 to get a serviceable rifle.

mr.scott I am not going to get into an argument with you but if you will notice a number of us on this thread have owned Bushmasters myself included. My last one had minimal problems but others before that had a number of issues.

Why is it that these threads always have to fall into this. It isn't a matter of people picking on a brand because they like something else. It is just some people trying to explain the differences between levels of guns.

ya mr scott, i own only bushmasters right now, but you actually are actually wrong about much of that.

there are actually significant differences between the grades of steel used in the blanks.

but actually the grade of steel is not as much of an issue, as whether it has been tested properly and such.

i would go out on a limb to say the civvy kill count is probably bordering on inappropriate subject matter (as well as most likely incorrect due to colt owning the market until 12 ot so years ago.)

you are correct that most are fine for most shooters, and even a bushy can be with minor tweaks.

most are just saying that for the same money (apprx) that there are models that already have said tweaking.

kwelz has a way of getting under the skin but he's alright. (and it is actually quite difficult to find him innaccurate. i try all the time.)

i love mine

I bought a Bushmaster long ago. Today it would be a stripped lower with a couple residual difficult to remove springs. Rest of the lower parts have been "Upgraded". No issues other than huge round count and I wanted a better trigger anyway.
The upper has its original dustcover and Forward assist. As mentioned above round count was huge so I got a brand spanking new Bushmaster 24 in chrome lined 1 in 9. and changed to a carbon fiber hand gaurd.
The point of this is just that I also have had a good one and wore it out and still have the exoskelotin and its still OK. So What Good Luck. Yep.


I have some other AR brands and stuff too. Its all good.

I had a bushmaster about 15 years ago. I've also shot 2 modern bushmasters. All I will say is: Today's bushmasters are NOT the same quality that they use to be. Bushmaster and Colt use to be the standard. The 2 bushmasters I've shot in recent years, as well as many others I have read of, have too many inconsistencies for me. The biggest thing is that they are very picky with ammo. Seems like the most negative reviews I've read concerning ammo, is usually followed with comments such as: "In my bushmaster", "My bushmaster doesn't like", etc... Sorry, but a quality weapon shouldn't be that picky with ammo. Usually the problem is with the bushmaster's chamber.

I've also seen many issues with the extractor, springs, cycling, staking, and some other quirks. If I had never shot a bushmaster from years past, I'd probably not know the difference. Today's Bushmasters probably wouldn't bother me. But I have seen what quality bushmasters were like. Today's bushmasters simply aren't the quality they use to be.

My biggest problem is that because their name USE TO MEAN QUALITY, the company feels they can still charge the price they do. Bushmasters are by far, the most OVER-PRICED weapon for the quality you get. For the price, you can get a much better AR. S&W, Colt, BCM, Spikes, Stag, and some others. The Bushmaster is so over-priced.

i think maybe they have fallen off badly in quality control as our 2 have very well staked gas keys, and even the castlenut is staked........ to be honest, i dont know if our castlenuts are staked properly because the nut itself is not actually staked, but the metal adjacent to it is staked into a notch in the nut. not one of the notches where the wrench would go, but a single notch on the opposite side where the wrench goes.

also noticed on ours that they have the shrouded firing pin (which i have noticed are different from every other bm i have ever seen.

something that should be added , ours were made for law enforcement, during the awb, and we bought them less than one week after the banned expired, making these particular ones legal for sale to the private sector.

i have made it a point to inspect every other bm i have ever seen, and have not seen any that compare.

my son picked them out and is my good luck charm i suppose.

i dont have any pics of the cn stake job, but here is the bcg key staking on one of them. they look identical.



we take these to the country and shoot stuff, take them to the range and shoot paper, and just fool around with them. we have a combined 15k rds through 2, and never a single hiccup of any kind. not mag related, reload related, zilch, nada, nothing. absolutely perfect.

it might be a sin, but out of the safe, i would trust them with my life or my families probably beyond anything else ive ever had. (15k reloads with never a stop has had that effect on me)

theys accurate too. legit sub moa





again, i have never seen another bm with shrouded firing pin, good gk staking, or any cn staking other than our 2.

im not saying they are the greatest rifles that can be had, but oh how i do love my "bushamsters"

lucky i guess.

There are better options out there than BM.

Is a BM fine? Probably.

So is a Hi Point 45 but I carry a Colt.

You get what you pay for.

Why is this an argument? I bought my Bushmaster because my brother liked them. When he got back from Iraq the first thing he wanted to do was go to the bar and then the gun shop. He bought a bushy and loved it.

He wanted it to keep practicing for when he had to go back. At the shop they had dpms, colt, and bushmaster. The shop wanted 1849.99 for the colt and 649.99 for the dpms. The bushmaster was 799.99. When he got it we went out with the mak-90 I had at the time and had a blast. 500 rounds out of both no jams, ftf, fte, nothing bad happened. That is a day I will always remember. He changed my mind about the ar platform. After heating up my china ak was shooting about 1moa, 1 foot moa that is. His bushy even though it was 250 rounds in was doing 2''moa. 2 inches at 100 is pretty good considering the barrel was almost glowing.

Sadly, last year he was murdered by some low life here in ohio. He got 26 years and I lost my brother.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your brother.

1849.99 for the colt

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It had dang well better have come with a second gun or been gold plated.

I bought a new Bushy back in Feb. and posted it on here. Immediately I was inundated with pics of "the chart" and told how it wasn't staked, and that it was going to fall apart! What a load of rubbish. That rifle fires flawlessly, no failures, no problems, none. Enjoy your Bushmaster and don't let the internet fanboys put you down.

Picked up a Bushmaster last weekend, the Carbon 15 model that people seem to talk down so much. $699+ tax and came with a Bushnell red dot scope. Brought it home, cleaned it, and went to the range. After 100rds of Monarch brass 55gr and 100rds of Monarch steel 55gr I did not have one issue. For everything I've read, I've not experienced one problem that would lead me to not trust this gun.

Bushmaster is an OK gun. I admit I am one of "those people" that will say only a Colt, BCM, Daniel Defense, Noveske, KAC, Spike's, LMT, whatever-other-mil-spec-brand will be acceptable. But I'm not going to bash any brands here because there is enough of that on teh interwebz these days. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a dozen threads on "My DPMS is better than you Colt, it cost less and it's the same" or variations of. Or "brand A vs brand B." Eveyrthing AR-related has been hashed out already. If it is a good deal to you then buy it and be happy, and upgrade parts later as you can afford and as you learn about the AR.

BUT my first AR, before I "knew better" was a Bushmaster, and I put 400 problem-free rounds downrange with it and I even had positive dealings with their customer service, they were helpful and informative. I would buy a Bushy before a Joe-Bob parts gun that's for sure. But for not much more I can buy a BCM so that is the route I will go every time. I now own a BCM and Noveske. I sold the Bush a long time ago during the Obama craze and got a pretty penny for it.