Rate the AR15 one to five stars

[Robert]

Three, and that's in consideration of it's new-found modularity. They are a PITA to clean properly, I know, I had to redo tons of them that soldiers thought were clean, or sit in the Arms Room waiting for them to get them right themselves. To do it right, you need specialized cleaning tools and expendables (carbon scrapers and long pipe cleaners come to mind), and have to remove small, easily lost parts to do it.


5, 4, 3, respectively.
I'd give it a four strictly as a civilian rifle; they are usually better taken care of and the modularity is a great asset.

They are a pita to clean to military standards. They are easy to clean properly.

 

[Prijador]

Ergonomics are a solid 4 - I'm left handed, so an ambidextrous charging handle, selector and mag release are darn nice to have, if not a must. (Fortunately there are good options for at least the first two items).
DI? Fork that. I am much happier with all the piston systems I own (AK, FAL, XCR, etc).
Severe marks down for unnecessary complexity - the bolt with gas rings? 5 parts on the dust cover and 3 on the forward assist, when the AK has... a charging handle as part of the carrier?
And on top of it the barrel isn't floated, when these days there's no reason not to. I'm also not convinced 5.56 is the best caliber ever.

Overall I gave it a 3.

 

[stoky]

Is there a rifle that you would give 5 stars?

Garand, the mighty

 

[Meplat 308]

Depends on the AR. A beatup, poorly built gunshow no-name rifle gets a 1 star. A quality home build or upper end AR gets a 5.

Ding ! Too many variables in individual rifles.

 

[Single-Shot Super-Fan]

Assuming we're talking about a quality, well-built AR, I give it a 4.5. The only thing I don't like about ARs is the appearance. They look too synthetic for me.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I gave it four stars since half stars aren't an option. Admittedly it's an arbitrary question. The basic design has stood the test of time and is probably the most widely used military-type arm in the world next to the AK so it must be doing something right. In its current form it's pretty light, quite accurate and quite reliable. It also lends itself quite readily to being customized/bastardized/tricked-out/barbied.

The only thing I don't care much for is the charging handle but it's not a deal breaker for me.

 

[Llama Bob]

Garand, the mighty

See, this is odd. Sure the Garand is historic, but as an actual rifle? It leaves a LOT to be desired.

• the absurd en block clip design (which admittedly was an Army screwup, but still the rifle is stuck with it and should have had a box magazine)
• a stock segment that could be designed out and which RATTLES
• the need for heavy grease to be applied in locations that require the rifle to be un-bedded from the stock
• chambered in too powerful a round for the application
• difficult to accurize
• no means to clean from the rear, resulting in totally unnecessary muzzle erosion
• a tendency to eject clips with rounds still in them
• an op rod that likes to bend

I may have been too generous to give it 4 stars.

 

[Hondo 60]

I gave it a 4.
I've seen plenty of negative comments about Century Arms, I guess I got lucky.
In 2010, I bought a CAI C-15 Sporter.
It's an AR15A1 - a semi-auto version of what I carried hundreds of years ago when I was in the Army.
Accuracy is better than what I can hold it too.

 

[Nanook]

Without reading every post, I gave it 5 stars. You can't beat it for ease of shooting and ease of assembly. Accurate, too. Even in my hands.
Plus it's like Barbie dolls for men, lots of accessories.

 

[Mike .45]

I gave it 5 stars. It's true it had it's problems when it was first issued but those have long since been corrected.

I dont believe any one firearm checks every box but the AR15 checks many and is certainly in the conversation with the greatest rifles every built.

In order for me to rate a firearm a 5 star it has to in that conversation. Doesn't make it the greatest but if your making a list with your buddies someone is gonna bring it up.

I think it important to look at a firearm's capabilities, reputation, historical significance, innovation, longevity and not just limit ourselves to I don't like it. I'm not a Glock guy but I would still rate the G17 5 stars even though it's not the best gun for me.

 

[M1key]

Ummm, maybe a ten. That's how many I'm gonna buy now with today's VA shooting.

M

 

[rskent]

think it important to look at a firearm's capabilities, reputation, historical significance, innovation, longevity and not just limit ourselves to I don't like it. I'm not a Glock guy but I would still rate the G17 5 stars even though it's not the best gun for me.

EXACTLY I don’t think you could have said it any better.

 

[IndianaBoy]

It's like the Mary Poppins of rifles.


Practically perfect in every way. :-D

 

[ilbob]

On the whole, the AR15 platform is reliable, easy to shoot, and very adaptable. on top of that it is relatively inexpensive.

You can't ask for much more.

 

[coloradokevin]

I rated 5 stars.

My Colt has been the most reliable semi auto I have ever owned. Used it for years in competition and decided I wanted a more accurate rifle with specific features.

That led me to build a kit gun for competition. Then a dedicated .22. Then a shorty. Then another lower. Then a 9mm version...

I don't own any other rifle in multiples. And I own a number of rifles. I'm sold, its a great system and fine shooter. Is it great for big game? Nope, but that's not what I bought it for.

I went from owning NO AR-15's in 2008 to owning.. what six of them in less than 10 years. That's an endorsement.

I think that's how it goes for so many of us. I bought my first AR-15 during the Clinton Ban years, and I still have that one... it's cosmetically neutered, but a very accurate 20" rifle length A2. Then, as time went on I wanted a short barrel for shooting suppressed, and a carbine for work, and a truck gun, and a tack driver, and...

It's not the gun for every purpose, but it sure does a lot of things well!

 

[ilbob]

Then, as time went on I wanted a short barrel for shooting suppressed, and a carbine for work, and a truck gun, and a tack driver, and...

and it was just a matter of accessorizing an existing lower receiver to get all these variants. you can than tell your wife it is just one gun.

 

[dwstone1227]

I gave it a 3. I like the .30 caliber rounds better. The .223 is too little for me to love.

 

[lpsharp88]

Interesting post.
As a left handed rifle shooter myself, I find the AR15 to be one of the few out there that actually works well from both sides.

Ergos of the pistol grip are fine, working the safety (even in its basic form) simply requires moving the thumb to the other side of the pistol grip.

Why so much criticism of the charging handle? you only use it when you load the first mag and to clear jams so...?

In the years I have shot AR's in competition and elsewhere, I have never needed to use the forward assist (why force something in there that doesn't want to go?)

The bolt release is a non issue as well.
Even with smaller hands, I can reach around the mag well and hit the button with my right hand. not difficult at all.

The only thing I can fault the ergos for *really* IMO is the mag release. Which, surprisingly, is the only thing you didn't mention.

Can't fault you for not digging the DI system. It makes sense, but the DI system is efficient.

I'm with you there, as a lefty as well. I find the bolt catch to be in a good spot as I can just use my trigger finger. The safety is easy in traditional form (do it the same way you mentioned). I agree that the charging handle isn't ideal, but it isn't used a whole lot so I can (and do) just deal with it. I find that generally as a lefty, the majority of firearms that are set up for right handers actually work very well for me. For example, I don't have to worry about my thumbs riding a slide stop lever and not having last round hold open on a pistol. Or when working a bolt, can keep my trigger hand on the gun and run it with my right hand.

 

[Nanook]

I gave it a 3. I like the .30 caliber rounds better. The .223 is too little for me to love.

They make AR's in .308. They're not AR-15s, but AR-10s. Many of the same things apply to them, although not as many parts are interchangeable on them.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Very versatile and perhaps the first gun since the flintlock that the common man with hand skills can assemble (admittedly while a common man can assemble a flintlock, it can look like sh*t and lack any artistic/aesthetic appeal of one assembled by a professional gunsmith). Like an older LandRover, it can be converted easily. My brother and I were running around in a LandRover and in one day we converted it from a station wagon to a convertible to a pick-up truck. With the AR, with the push of two pins, you can convert it from a rifle to a carbine to a varminter. With a few more parts, it can be a pistol caliber carbine or even a pistol (but with stamp).

 

[Hokkmike]

Gave it a 3. Not to start anything, but very much prefer the "other" platform....

 

[jeepnik]

Actually you need to have zero stars. When something tries it's very best to get you killed, you tend to give it the lowest rating possible.

 

[tark]

From what I've read, flat wire buffer springs don't "sproing" much when cycling. I've been thinking about trying one myself, just for the heck of it.

Ahhhh. So THAT'S what happened to the "twang" I used to hear when I fired an AR. My last one was 30 years ago. My current one has lost its 'twang" It just goes "bang"

 

[Hardtarget]

I gave it a "4" because though I like it a lot, nothing is perfect...so it needed a little room. I've done a little to mine so it isn't a true standard rifle.

Mark