help with a few questions

[cino]

Yes i have searched and been reading through 1000's of post on many forums many of which are old. I am looking for a complete rifle(i think). I own a couple ak platforms and one colt ar that's been shot 5 times....I guess the colt has become a closet queen for now.

I am looking for an ar that is reliable and doesn't have to be cleaned and lubed every time I use it. obviously cheaper is better. I thought about building one but I am very unfamiliar with the ar platform.
I am having a really hard time deciding on anything I looked at the anderson rf85 spikes psa delton and at least 500 other lowers uppers and inbeweeners. i do think I want to go down the piston router instead of direct impingement

does any one have some links that would help me decide on what to do. at this point i think if someone said just go buy delton sport i would. I have spent so much time reading. I could not even tell the difference of most of spikes lowers beside the not so cool lil picture on the side.

I just want a good fit reliable and low maintenance ( i may have just said ak in alot of words)

 

[justin22885]

there are many limitations to the AR design that prohibits it from being AK reliable, all the way down to the cartridge they both fire as the 7.62x39s taper is designed for easier extraction under more adverse conditions, its rather large (over 1/2" diameter) piston delivers a lot of energy rearward, its heavier mass bolt carrier generates a lot of momentum, its longer receiver gives a lot of extra space for a pretty large margin of error to ensure proper cycling allowing it to run on the "overgassed" side.. a fixed ejector thatll never gum up, no spring to break

the worse thing you can do is buy an AR and then spend (sometimes thousands) on gimmick aftermarket that wont do anything to improve your rifle.. last i checked there wasnt a SINGLE aftermarket product to do everything mentioned above, but all the aftermarket will sell you on the idea that their products will do these things, they clearly will not.. piston kits may make clean-up a bit easier but theres no improvement in reliability as claimed.. special bolt carriers do nothing

the best thing you can do is keep it DI, run a full auto (heavier) bolt carrier, run it a tad on the overgassed side and run a full rifle length buffer system, make sure you have quality parts that are all in spec, make sure everythings assembled properly and you'll have a fairly reliable AR, even more reliable than most that should handle most situations.. but you will still need proper maintenance and cleaning

 

[Reloadron]

I am looking for an ar that is reliable and doesn't have to be cleaned and lubed every time I use it. obviously cheaper is better.

Define "cheaper" because your inexpensive and my inexpensive not be the same. Currently the AR market place is loaded with guns at much, much lower prices than a few years ago.

You want a good reliable low maintenance AR? Then go buy another colt or better define your budget?

Ron

 

[Art Eatman]

I don't pretend to be all that knowledgeable about different brands of ARs. But many and many an AR has been reliable through extensive runs with no cleaning or lubing--not that I'd do that.

Lube occasionally, clean occasionally, seems to be good enough for reliability.

I'm on my fifth AR since back around 1984. Three Colts, one Bushmaster and now another Colt. Never a moment's problem.

 

[briansmithwins]

ARs need to be wet to function, and there really isn't much of a way to get around that. Cleaning is much more optional.

As far as specific set ups go; What re you planning on doing with this AR?

Mine is a general purpose shooter built with a BCM lightweight mid length upper on a stripped Bushmaster lower, since I wasn't finding complete lowers that blew my skirt up. It's been pretty much 100% reliable except in the cold firing Tula steel case. Those managed to make it short stroke.

BSW

 

[justin22885]

ok, if ARs have to be dripping wet to properly function, lets hear the reasoning behind why that is

 

[MistWolf]

Lube your Colt & go shoot it. You're not gonna find many rifles more reliable than your Colt AR

 

[briansmithwins]

ARs need to be wet to function because Mr. Friction isn't your friend. The design uses several plain bearings (bolt carrier/upper receiver, cam pin/upper receiver, bolt carrier/bolt) that will rob enough energy out of the action if dry that the rifle won't function correctly.

They didn't need to be dripping wet, but if you're going to err, err on the side of over lubricating. I've never seen an AR that was too lubbed up to work, I've seen several that were too dry to function correctly.

BSW

 

[justin22885]

ARs need to be wet to function because Mr. Friction isn't your friend. The design uses several plain bearings (bolt carrier/upper receiver, cam pin/upper receiver, bolt carrier/bolt) that will rob enough energy out of the action if dry that the rifle won't function correctly.

They didn't need to be dripping wet, but if you're going to err, err on the side of over lubricating. I've never seen an AR that was too lubbed up to work, I've seen several that were too dry to function correctly.

BSW

so youre saying it needs to be overlubed to compensate for a generally poor design? most rifles dont need to be so lubed because if they are and you get dirt or sand into it... well, then you have a real problem

 

[GBExpat]

... I own a couple ak platforms and one colt ar that's been shot 5 times....I guess the colt has become a closet queen for now.

I am looking for an ar that is reliable and doesn't have to be cleaned and lubed every time I use it. ...

Welcome to THR, cino!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it seems obvious to me that what you should do is, first, learn how to reliably run that closet-queen Colt AR.

 

[briansmithwins]

so youre saying it needs to be overlubed to compensate for a generally poor design? most rifles dont need to be so lubed because if they are and you get dirt or sand into it... well, then you have a real problem

I'd say more like 'adequately lubed'. Which is more than many other rifles require for reliable functioning.

As far as dirt and dust go, you'll get a lot more action out of a wet and dusty AR than you will out of a dry and dusty one. Oily dirt is lower friction than dry dirt.

The amusing thing (for me) is that I actually don't like ARs all that much. They do require more Maintenon than other designs, they have a lower reserve of power for dealing with problematic conditions, and the ergonomics are non-intuitive to the untrained. But they are the most common type of rifle I see.

BSW

 

[sappyg]

Welcome to THR, cino!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it seems obvious to me that what you should do is, first, learn how to reliably run that closet-queen Colt AR.

^^^ pretty much sums it up. If you have a good ar that you have only shot 5 times a cheaper ar isn't going to fix any issues with your current ar.

I'll bet it will run just fine with or without lube even without an old timely gas system.

 

[justin22885]

I'd say more like 'adequately lubed'. Which is more than many other rifles require for reliable functioning.

As far as dirt and dust go, you'll get a lot more action out of a wet and dusty AR than you will out of a dry and dusty one. Oily dirt is lower friction than dry dirt.

The amusing thing (for me) is that I actually don't like ARs all that much. They do require more Maintenon than other designs, they have a lower reserve of power for dealing with problematic conditions, and the ergonomics are non-intuitive to the untrained. But they are the most common type of rifle I see.

BSW

low reserve of power for dealing with problematic conditions, what you mean is theres very little room for error between having enough gas to cycle it far enough back to lock open or chamber a new round and smacking into the back of the action hard enough to cause damage, so while an AR, clean, is tuned just right is introduced to dirty conditions they generally short stroke

 

[Lafitte]

A friend of mine used to send RemOil by the case to the guys in the sand box. They always wanted more RemOil. Nuff said!

Lafitte

 

[MistWolf]

The AR is very well designed. It has very generous clearances in the upper for reliability and when fouling and dirt do start slowing things down, it's easy to wash out the gunk with a shot of oil without having to tear the rifle down. It's also one of the most inherently accurate self loading rifle ever made.

Justin, instead of spouting off your BS, go get a quality AR, learn how to properly use it and go shoot it until the wheels fall off. Until then, stay in your lane

 

[Welding Rod]

I would just go shoot the Colt, a lot. IME with over a dozen ARs over 30 years is that is a wonderfully reliable design that requires very little in the way of cleaning.