Ruger AR556 vs. Colt M4 vs. Smith & Wesson MP-15

[stinger 327]

We are likely on the cusp of another decrease in the prices of ARs due to the election (and distributors who likely stocked up in anticipation of a Hillary victory); I'd hold for a month or two, watch prices, and snag a Colt 6920 when they hit $799 on sale.

Not if you are in California.

 

[Everready73]

The Aero AC15 is a good deal for the price. It has some features others in its prices range do not such as a MP tested barrel and bolt. I also believe the SW sport receiver extension is 6065 not 7075 steel. That is something to consider as well. Not saying the SW Sport 2 is a bad choice, I just think the Aero is a better value at similar price. Also AKoperatorsunion (Check youtube sp) just did a 5k round test with a PSA freedom upper and it passed with flying colors. These can be had for around 220 + BCG (100ish) and a complete PSA lower (160) for a great value AR.

 

[stinger 327]

No comments on the Colt 6920 in comparison to the Ruger 556 or S&W MP15?

 

[PowerG]

You've had several comments on the 6920, some from people who own them. The 6920 is a step up in QC from the other two you list, and that difference is reflected in the price. Only you can decide if you need or want that difference. I own a 6920 and a Sport II, both are good guns, I do prefer the Colt. If you're using it for a plinker any of these three would be fine, as would the others mentioned on this thread.

 

[Jackal]

With the current low cost of high quality parts, there has literally never been a better time to learn how to assemble your own AR15. A vice block, vise, Magpul armorer wrench, pin punches and screw driver are all thats generally needed. Watch a video on assembly and become your own armorer. AR's are very simple tools, probably the easiest to put together centerfire rifle made .

 

[Everready73]

No comments on the Colt 6920 in comparison to the Ruger 556 or S&W MP15?

I said in my first post in this thread the 6920 is the best option by far for what you are comparing. It has a HPT/MP chromlined barrel and bolt and all milspec parts. Colt makes M4s for the military. It is the best value AR for 900-1k. The Ruger and SW are "hobby grade" and would fulfill the needs of an average recreational shooter, but the Colt is a battle rifle. Its not even a close comparision

 

[Pilot]

About two years ago, I was shopping for another AR, as I had sold mine to finance something else, and regretted it. I bought a Magpul edition Colt M4 (6920) for about $1K. It came with the Magpul MOE furniture, and a Magpul mag, BUIS, and some other goodies. I couldn't be happier. It is very accurate, and reliable. Yes, I could have gotten a S&W for a few hundred less, but the Colt has a better reputation, holds their value, and are milspec. You always know what you have with a Colt.

 

[USBP379]

I think it all depends on two things. Do you want some "bragging rights" with the purchase? Also what is your intended goal? Will the AR stay basically unchanged or will it be modified with different furniture, barrel, etc?

If you want some status symbol the Colt is the better gun. Colt is generally respected by the AR crowd. It will also have better resale value if you ever get rid of it. In stock form the 6920 is a good basic gun with some decent usefulness out of the box.

The other guns are fine and are workable guns but you'll probably be happier with these if you want to trick the gun out a bit. Use as is for awhile and then use the money you saved on the initial purchase to buy new furniture, etc.

I have a Ruger. It was accurate and reliable out of the box. But I don't like the barrel profile (too heavy for a carbine) and I don't like the unshrouded bolt carrier. I replaced both easily and am pretty darned happy with the gun now.

 

[stinger 327]

I think it all depends on two things. Do you want some "bragging rights" with the purchase? Also what is your intended goal? Will the AR stay basically unchanged or will it be modified with different furniture, barrel, etc?

If you want some status symbol the Colt is the better gun. Colt is generally respected by the AR crowd. It will also have better resale value if you ever get rid of it. In stock form the 6920 is a good basic gun with some decent usefulness out of the box.

The other guns are fine and are workable guns but you'll probably be happier with these if you want to trick the gun out a bit. Use as is for awhile and then use the money you saved on the initial purchase to buy new furniture, etc.

I have a Ruger. It was accurate and reliable out of the box. But I don't like the barrel profile (too heavy for a carbine) and I don't like the unshrouded bolt carrier. I replaced both easily and am pretty darned happy with the gun now.

I don't forsee any modifications or changes. If anything just add a scope and an optic like aimpoint.

 

[Dog Soldier]

I have 3 Colt AR 15 rifles. Yes, I like Colt anything. Sportsman's Warehouse had the DPMS Oracle for $499.99 M-3 uppers 16" barrel folders. I bought one of these for the low price. It is a very accurate with a 3X9 scope.

 

[volleyfire]

More than happy with a Windham WW15.

 

[Hacker15E]

No comments on the Colt 6920 in comparison to the Ruger 556 or S&W MP15?

Yes, the 6920 hands down.

 

[C-grunt]

The Colt 6920 is the Gold Standard when it comes to AR15s. They are the rifle that others are measured against. The reason is because it is built correctly. Besides the lack of select fire and a 16 inch barrel, they are the same product that Colt produces for the military. If you want to get a tax stamp or pin a flash suppressor, you you can get the 6921 which has a 14.5 inch barrel which will be the closest thing to a US military issued carbine that you can buy without spending 30k on a machinegun lower.

 

[stinger 327]

The Colt 6920 is the Gold Standard when it comes to AR15s. They are the rifle that others are measured against. The reason is because it is built correctly. Besides the lack of select fire and a 16 inch barrel, they are the same product that Colt produces for the military. If you want to get a tax stamp or pin a flash suppressor, you you can get the 6921 which has a 14.5 inch barrel which will be the closest thing to a US military issued carbine that you can buy without spending 30k on a machinegun lower.

I don't care for the short barrel versions either the original size or longer.

 

[792mauser]

Gotta go with my Colt 6920 myself.
The price difference between the Std 6920($1k), Saint($900), Ruger($700) & Smith($700) that I saw at the SAR show isn't much. Heck I saw a Colt expanse for $699 & a 6920 for $900 there as well.

like I posted earlier its been the most reliable carbine I've had so far.
She even feeds & drops free with the $5 SAR show special mags that will not work in my other rifles.

 

[Jackal]

The dirty truth of the matter is this: For 90% of shooters, a $1000 AR isnt going to doing anything that a $500 AR wont do. Testing just means the parts pass at the time of purchase, it has no effect on the development of issues down the road. A non tested barrel/bolt can last just as long as a tested one, provided the same material specs are held. Heck, a lot of non tested parts are superior to "tested" ones.

Bottom line? Spend money on features that you want, not on stampings.

 

[PowerG]

The dirty truth of the matter is this: For 90% of shooters, a $1000 AR isnt going to doing anything that a $500 AR wont do. Testing just means the parts pass at the time of purchase, it has no effect on the development of issues down the road. A non tested barrel/bolt can last just as long as a tested one, provided the same material specs are held. Heck, a lot of non tested parts are superior to "tested" ones.

Bottom line? Spend money on features that you want, not on stampings.

That's the very reason they do the testing, to lessen the chances of problems developing later.

 

[NWcityguy2]

That isn't true at all. Testing does nothing to prevent problems that develop from normally shooting the rifle, all it does it say if there are certain problems at the moment in time when the testing is done. Does going to the doctor today to have your femur x-rayed prevent you from breaking it in the future? No.

But I am a user of the AR system, not a tester. The thing with Colt is, despite all of it's fans, it doesn't do anything different than the variety of ARs that are available for less. It won't shoot more accurately, it won't last longer, it won't have better features. The resale value of a Colt is also tied to the rest of the AR market. Ask the people who were buying Colts for $1100-1300 dollars a few years ago how their resale value was when new Colts were selling for $800.

I'm not saying don't get a Colt, but it won't do anything a PSA Premium will do for a few dollars less, and it won't come it the same variety of options.

 

[md7]

OP,

The Colt 6920 is considered the standard to which other ARs are measured primarily because it's built to known standard, more or less. With some minor differences (barrel length and semi auto only) the 6920 is more or less built to "mil spec."

What is mil spec? In my paraphrased and likely somewhat imprecise definition, mil spec simply calls out the materials, dimensions, assembly methods, and testing protocols required to meet a minimum standard of quality deemed suitable for "fighting rifles" per mil specification.

It's not the gold standard because it cannot be topped. It's considered by most to be the standard because that's what is considered necessary per mil spec to minimally qualify as suitable for combat usage.

Rifles can be built below this spec, to this spec (select fire and barrel length notwithstanding) or above it.

The heart of the matter is simple, really. Does "mil spec" (or a close civilian variant of mil spec) matter to you? If so, buy the Colt. If you want beyond mil spec, buy a BCM, Daniel Defense, KAC, etc. If not, buy the MP, Ruger, etc.

Regardless of your pick, I'd suggest plenty of mags, ammo, and trigger time. The AR is fun to shoot, and I hope you'll enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.

 

[NWcityguy2]

No comments on the Colt 6920 in comparison to the Ruger 556 or S&W MP15?

They will shoot the same for several thousand rounds until the Ruger barrel burns out and the Colt and S&W keep chugging along. If you don't plan on allocating that much money to ammunition, it isn't an issue. Other than that, the Ruger and S&W will have thicker barrel profiles, which means they will heat up slower in your hand. They will also have cheaper, smaller handguards with no heat shields, so the thicker barrel profile will make a difference in your support hand comfort. Those are the biggest practical differences between the two.

 

[PowerG]

That isn't true at all. Testing does nothing to prevent problems that develop from normally shooting the rifle, all it does it say if there are certain problems at the moment in time when the testing is done. Does going to the doctor today to have your femur x-rayed prevent you from breaking it in the future? No.

But I am a user of the AR system, not a tester. The thing with Colt is, despite all of it's fans, it doesn't do anything different than the variety of ARs that are available for less. It won't shoot more accurately, it won't last longer, it won't have better features. The resale value of a Colt is also tied to the rest of the AR market. Ask the people who were buying Colts for $1100-1300 dollars a few years ago how their resale value was when new Colts were selling for $800.

I'm not saying don't get a Colt, but it won't do anything a PSA Premium will do for a few dollars less, and it won't come it the same variety of options.

No it doesn't, but if you break a number of other femurs beforehand you can design and develop testing that you can use to determine if your femur is going to withstand certain conditions that it will likely encounter during use. That's kinda the idea of function testing. You know Colt has built something like nine million weapons to DoD specifications, tested to their standards, under the eye of government inspectors, built to a standard, not a price point. Huge difference. They know more about the system than anybody, and the weapons are built in the same factory, by the same people, using some of the same parts, on the same machinery, that build military weapons. I spent most of my career in QA, including over a decade as an auditor, I've worked on nuclear power plants, NASA, military stuff (though not weapons systems). I'm not a low drag operator, by any means, but I do know something about interpreting standards and I've seen the military inspection standards that these weapons (M4) have to meet, and it's actually pretty thorough.

And I never mentioned resale value, it's a non-issue to me. As I said in an earlier post, the stuff Colt does to test their products adds cost to each carbine. It's up to the customer to decide if they want to pay those costs. You're not just paying for a rollmark, you're paying for an elevated level of testing and inspection that you have to decide is worth the money. And not to say that a budget carbine won't hold up for many thousands of rounds, it happens all the time. A mil-spec carbine has a rather narrow focus, it's not going to be a good varmint gun, and it's not likely to be a fantastic target gun, that much is a given, that's not playing to its strengths. If one of these uses is what you intend, then definitely a 6920 series isn't going to be your best choice. But if you want a gun that is designed and tested from the ground up to go in harm's way then Colt is your huckleberry, and for what you get I think they are a pretty good bargain, and that opinion seems to be shared by most people who carry an AR as part of their job. In that role you rarely see "hobby grade" AR's.

As to the AR market, I wanted a 6920 a few years ago and asked around, a friend could get me this great deal on one. I don't mind telling the details, I paid $965 for it, the day I bought it I just about stole it. A month later I had paid a fair price, a month after that I paid too much. The way it goes I guess. I saw just before the election they were selling high and often were out of stock, maybe the price will come back down now that all that is over.

 

[NWcityguy2]

Which is why I try to always say something like I did previously, "The thing with Colt is, despite all of it's fans, it doesn't do anything different than the variety of ARs that are available for less. It won't shoot more accurately, it won't last longer, it won't have better features." That's like three posts up. I have yet to proven wrong. You are perfectly entitled to believe everything you wrote has some level of importance, but the gun doesn't shoot more accurately, doesn't last longer, and doesn't have better features than other AR options currently available.

With Colts, the discussion will never be about what they do better (and can actually be demonstrated by those alleging it) , it will always be about a random grab bag of other things.

 

[NWcityguy2]

But if you want a gun that is designed and tested from the ground up to go in harm's way then Colt is your huckleberry, and for what you get I think they are a pretty good bargain, and that opinion seems to be shared by most people who carry an AR as part of their job. In that role you rarely see "hobby grade" AR's.

This is also wrong. Bushmaster and RRA have made large in-roads into the civilian law enforcement community. My agency issues Bushmasters.

 

[PowerG]

Well that depends on your definition of "feature" I guess, to me the QA would qualify.

"Rarely" is not the same as "never". Colt claims their rifles are in use by literally thousands of departments. But Colt isn't the only manufacturer who can build a mil-spec weapon, many others can, and any manufacturer who has gotten and fulfilled a DoD contract has proven that they are capable of doing so. To say otherwise would be silly. After all is said and done anyone who has passed all the testing isn't just saying they can build a quality weapon, they have proven it. And the other two carbines mentioned in the OP, by definition, would not qualify as military grade carbines, and that is an indisputable fact.

 

[C-grunt]

My department also bought Bushmasters in 2008ish. We had so many problems they eventually sold them at a loss and bought more Colts. My duty Bushmaster broke several times before I even finished the 40 hour rifle course. My experience wasn't uncommon either. The whole lot had a huge problem of eating gas rings as well. I can recall at least 5 different times my Bushmaster went down and needed parts replaced. Ive had my duty 6920 for about 5 years now and have not had a single problem or malfunction.