Bushmaster Rifles and their reliability.
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BushyGuy
Member
i have a Bushmaster XM15 E2S A3 with 11.5" Hbar with 5.5" flash hider it functions flawlessly i love my Bushmaster maybe i will buy a 16" upper later on for it.
Maverick223
Member
I have had good luck with Bushmaster ARs with brass cased ammo...Wolf just will not cycle reliably. I have never tried other steel cased ammo in a Bushy.
punkndisorderly
Member
I had an A2 style Bushmaster and never had a problem of any sort with around 1,000 rounds through it. I currently own an Armalite and two Rock Rivers and no problems out of either of them either.
I've run Wolf steel case through the Armalite and Bushy with no problems. I tend to try to avoid using Wolf though, so I have only run perhaps a hundred rounds of it through each. I'm actually kind of suprised people have so many problems out of AR-15's. Even the rattle trap, ancient, and abused M-16's we had in the Army had almost no failures that weren't directly attributed to the equally ancient and abused magazines we had. About the only broken thing I remember was the spring on the ejection port cover on a couple of other's M-16's.
I wonder if quality control was sacrificed to pump out AR's as fast as possible to try to meet the extra demand.
I've run Wolf steel case through the Armalite and Bushy with no problems. I tend to try to avoid using Wolf though, so I have only run perhaps a hundred rounds of it through each. I'm actually kind of suprised people have so many problems out of AR-15's. Even the rattle trap, ancient, and abused M-16's we had in the Army had almost no failures that weren't directly attributed to the equally ancient and abused magazines we had. About the only broken thing I remember was the spring on the ejection port cover on a couple of other's M-16's.
I wonder if quality control was sacrificed to pump out AR's as fast as possible to try to meet the extra demand.
FlyinBryan
Member
i have 2 that have had apprx 7500 rounds each, all my reloads, and neither has ever had a single hiccup.
mine have been the most reliable semi auto firearms ive ever owned (perfect)
i had a colt match target rifle that was not as accurate or reliable.
my two were manufactered in 2003, and i think were built for military/police, although i coud be wrong.
on the barrel is stamped the following:
"LE M MP NATO 5.56 HBAR 1/9"
they are identical and are actually serial numbered within 100 of each other (one ends with 1011, and the other ends with 0052) with the same numbers in front of that.
my two also seem to be of better construction than other members here have come to expect from them, such as the gas key staking seen below:
i ran a poll to see if others here thought the staking was sufficient, and it was about 65-3 in favor of the extent of the staking.
i cant speak for others, but mine have been the best rifles ive ever owned.
mine have been the most reliable semi auto firearms ive ever owned (perfect)
i had a colt match target rifle that was not as accurate or reliable.
my two were manufactered in 2003, and i think were built for military/police, although i coud be wrong.
on the barrel is stamped the following:
"LE M MP NATO 5.56 HBAR 1/9"
they are identical and are actually serial numbered within 100 of each other (one ends with 1011, and the other ends with 0052) with the same numbers in front of that.
my two also seem to be of better construction than other members here have come to expect from them, such as the gas key staking seen below:
i ran a poll to see if others here thought the staking was sufficient, and it was about 65-3 in favor of the extent of the staking.
i cant speak for others, but mine have been the best rifles ive ever owned.
BushyGuy
Member
my Bushmaster 11.5" Hbar with 5.5 " flash hider has been flawless, its more accurate then the lightweight RRA , i think due to the Heavy barrel absorbs more vibrations.
i am thinking about buying another Bushmaster upper for long range target shooting.
Bushmaster may not be the best in the world but it dont cost an arm or leg like Colt or LMt
i am thinking about buying another Bushmaster upper for long range target shooting.
Bushmaster may not be the best in the world but it dont cost an arm or leg like Colt or LMt
kwelz
Member
They are not by any stretch of the imagination a top tier brand. They will do fine for most casual shooters but I would not take one to a class.
Honestly though, for the money I feel you can do a lot better.
Honestly though, for the money I feel you can do a lot better.
Zerodefect
member
I'd skip the Carbon model. Stick with the regular Al rifles. I prefere Magpul p-mags for reliability. Never had any use for a beta mag. I use 2 kydex mag holsters on my belt instead.
Nothing against Bushy, but they've been priced high lately. I can get a LMT or build a BCM for allmost the same cost.
Nothing against Bushy, but they've been priced high lately. I can get a LMT or build a BCM for allmost the same cost.
Bartholomew Roberts
Member
BushyGuy said:
You revived a post from 2005 that was asking about an entirely different product line (the Carbon-15 Rifle) to share with us that your completely different Bushmaster "functions flawlessly?"
I realize that THR is geared towards new shooters, so I am going to use my "inside voice" rather than the words that first popped into my head.
1. The rifle the original poster was asking about has major differences with your rifle from a functional standpoint - it has a different spring, bolt carrier group, lower receiver, etc. etc.
2. The post was almost five years old. In the future, you might want to consider how relevant your post is before reviving long-dead threads.
3. Even if your post had been relevant to the subject at hand, the information you provided verges on worthless. I don't know how you use the rifle, how often you use it, or anything else that would make your description of "flawless" even good on an anecdotal level.
I'm really not trying to be an ass here; but the three points above would go a long way towards more signal and less noise. See FlyinBryan's post for a good example of sharing useful information about performance.
FlyinBryan said:
Interesting. The last bolt carrier groups I purchased from Bushmaster are probably as old as this thread; but they had the "chisel across the top" or "screwdriver" staking that Bushmaster used to use. I also saw a Bushmaster M4gery in Academy that was still using that staking as late as 2009. It is nice to see they are doing it according to the manual these days.
SpeedAKL
Member
I'd skip the carbon model and stick with the regular design. Bushmaster makes a decent gun, I have one and have had very few problems. If you plan to run the gun hard (over 500 rounds in a single day or sitting), make sure you get good magazines and ensure that the gas keys on the bolt are staked correctly (Bushy can be hit or miss here). Bushmaster batch-tests their bolts and barrels with HP/MPI testing rather than testing every single one. You still are not likely to have a problem, but if peace of mind is that important you can always buy a LMT or BCM bolt carrier group later.
That was the problem with mine. After 20 or so rounds it would stove pipe ever 2nd or 3rd round fired. Turned out that heat caused the extractor to sieze up. BM replaced the entire bolt assembly but failed to correct the barrel over torque condition noted when the thing was sent back to the factory just days out of the box. Had a local guy fix that and then traded the thing for a garand.
Bartholomew Roberts
Member
THE THREAD YOU ARE RESPONDING TO IS SPECIFIC TO THE CARBON-15 AND WAS STARTED IN 2005
Just a little public service announcement for those who may not have noticed.
Just a little public service announcement for those who may not have noticed.
SwampWolf
Member
The shooters at my gun club who own Bushmasters have nothing but good things to say about their customer service. Good (or bad) c/s goes a long way for me when deciding which firearm to invest in.
I have had my Bushmaster M4orgery since the AWB dies in 04
Its been through several classes and lots of range trips and I have god know how many thousands of rounds through it and its only ever hicupped w/ bad mags and when the ejector spring went
I trust it fully, and would buy any Bushmaster again(unless its the ACR
)
Its been through several classes and lots of range trips and I have god know how many thousands of rounds through it and its only ever hicupped w/ bad mags and when the ejector spring went
I trust it fully, and would buy any Bushmaster again(unless its the ACR
)possum
Member
my first bushmaster was a post bad a2 model, and it ate everything and did it reliably. wolf, brass cased, and i took several training courses with it without an issue.
i later sold it to get an a3 model after the awb stoped, and i have about 3,5000rds through it, it doesn't like steel cased, which is understandable and not a big deal to me, as i use pmc steel cased anyway. GI mags work good, but i have switched to p mags and that is what i use, at work and on my personal ar.
i later sold it to get an a3 model after the awb stoped, and i have about 3,5000rds through it, it doesn't like steel cased, which is understandable and not a big deal to me, as i use pmc steel cased anyway. GI mags work good, but i have switched to p mags and that is what i use, at work and on my personal ar.
Ragnar Danneskjold
Member
I bet in an alternate world, the subby posted a new thread asking if Bushmasters were OK, and someone told him to do a search.
Leaky Waders
Member
My BushMaster xm15 e2s was purchased Apr 2003 - it's got all of the Clinton era evil features - heavy crowned barrel.
To tell the truth I haven't shot it that much - maybe 500-1k rounds? The military surplus rounds aren't all that accurate, sure you can hit a pie plate, but I mean not like varmint/target accurate. To do that you need factory loaded ammo or reloads.
I got a set of dies last week, and am awaiting a powder shipment to see what she can do.
Oh my barrel is marked - "B MP 5.56 NATO 1/9 H BAR"
L.W.
PS The snake logo looks cool.
To tell the truth I haven't shot it that much - maybe 500-1k rounds? The military surplus rounds aren't all that accurate, sure you can hit a pie plate, but I mean not like varmint/target accurate. To do that you need factory loaded ammo or reloads.
I got a set of dies last week, and am awaiting a powder shipment to see what she can do.
Oh my barrel is marked - "B MP 5.56 NATO 1/9 H BAR"
L.W.
PS The snake logo looks cool.
StarDust1
Member
Ditto, MOR all the way, including but not limited to the following short-cutting(cost-cutting not reflected in the price) measures,
1. BCG are not properly staked(gas key)or MP tested, rather batch tested. Improper staking leads to short stroking which means your weapon is useless, BCG's have been known to shear or fracture during heavy use!
2. Barrels are not mil-spec 1:7 but rather 1:9 which effectively eliminates the reliable shooting of bullets in excess of 69 grs in weight!
3. No M4 Feed ramps, leading to unreliability with hollow or softpoint ammunition!
4. Trigger guard fabricated from cheap plastic, so cheap that they routinely break when opened up to accomadate a gloved hand!
5. Improperly indexed barrels almost a common defect from the factory, trust me, this is a real PIA!
6. Fit & finish amongst the worst in the industry, every Bushmaster I've ever handled has had the finish already flaking and chipping long before even leaving the shop!
Now perhaps the Carbon version is a spectacular representation, perhaps it's not, but the XM15 E2S carbines I've owned and looked at over the last 8 yrs or so were universally chincy, though if you swap out the BCG for a DD BCG you will have gone a long ways towards fixing them, improperly indexed barrels are discovered when trying to attain zero and you find that you must adjust windage all the way to the left or right, trust me on this, it's a common factory defect from Bushy.
modifiedbrowning
Member
Stardust1 and Azziza this thread was started in 2005. Back then Armalite, Bushmaster and Colt (remember your ABCs) were considered the best brands with RRA gaining ground. Now in 2010 there are obviously better choices.
Leaky Waders
Member
Here's a picture of my bushmaster, with no flaking finish, and pictures of the sights as sighted at 50 meters. They aren't centered but not indexxed all the way to one side either.
The trigger guard is indeed plastic...I've never opened it, and never plan too. Why would you open it anyways? For gloves? LOL.
The 556/223 is available in a variety of riflings from different companies. None is worse than the other. You just need to choose your rate of twist to most frequently shot round.
MILSPEC doesn't equal 'the best.' However, if you are trying to get your black rifle as close as to what's issued then I can see why one would prefer one black rifle over others.
LW
StarDust1
Member
^^^1:7 spin stabilizes a much greater variety of bullets, not every Bushy comes from the factory improperly indexed, just a much much higher percentage of them do so as compared to others. I'm sure I could find flaking or chipping on your specimen if given the opportunity to do so, ditto for staking as every single XM15 I've handled in the last five years of production has displayed a gas key improperly staked & batch tested as opposed to magnetic particle tested.
Regardless, they are not the worst examples of an AR, like I said, if you upgrade the components(BCG, re-barrel, ect..)they make a decent weapon, like this one right here is,
Regardless, they are not the worst examples of an AR, like I said, if you upgrade the components(BCG, re-barrel, ect..)they make a decent weapon, like this one right here is,
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