Spike's Tactical...Need Opinions

[kwelz]

Ok I get ya. I still tend to think they are about the best bang for your buck but that doesn't mean they are the cheapest. One thing there is no argument on however is DD pricing. I picked up a DD upper a few weeks back for less than I could have built the same BCM upper.

The nice thing about the way BCM sells their guns though is that you can pretty much configure them the way you want. The price is going to be in line with other brands of that quality, maybe not the cheapest when compared to DD or Spikes, but in the same ball park. And you are offered the chance to configure it the way you want it. Upper/upper+bolt, Rail/no rail, normal handguards, whatever you want.

In the interest of full disclosure, I don't own a single BCM rifle right now but I do have a gun built off a Spikes matched Upper and lower. Of course all the internals are Noveske/BCM but everyone always asks me what model of spikes it is.


All this stuff aside, there are only two considerations.
1: Does the rifle fit the purpose you are purchasing it for.
2: Are you happy with your purchase.

Outside of that it really doesn't matter.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

I purchased a spikes 16" CAR upper a while back. I have put a few hundred rounds of good quality brass cased ammo through it with no issues. It seems to be finished well, and properly staked. The upper looks good, and functions smoothly, a huge difference in feel between the Spikes and the Bushmaster I had years ago. Beyond that, I guess I have to wait until it has an issue to dissect it any further. When paired with a RRA complete lower it cost me just under $700, not a bad buy.

 

[candr44]

I bought a Spikes lower receiver and lower parts kit and wasn't impressed with the quality. Although, the receiver was a blemished lower that they sold at a discount but they did claim it was in spec.

I tried to fit four different brands of upper receivers and the only one I could get to fit tight was a Spikes upper receiver. There was about .002 of play in the rear take down pin with any other receiver. The trigger and hammer pivot pin holes and the pin holes in the receiver were also larger than they should have been. The hammer pin kept walking so I bought some over sized anti walk pins. They were suppose to require reaming the pin holes to a larger size but they slipped right in without any reaming. I did measure the original pins and found them to be the correct size. Now with the over size pins the hammer and trigger won't wobble anymore.

The finish on the receiver may have been thinner than normal and the reason it was considered blemished. It may have also been the cause of the over size pin holes but the finish sure looked normal and they did claim it was in spec. The lower parts kit however was not even up to the quality level of DPMS and the trigger pull is worse than DPMS.

A lot of people seem to think Spikes is very good quality but after my first and only experience with them they will have to prove their quality to me before I buy from them again. Considering they have so much competition and many good companies sell excellent quality AR parts, Spikes probably won't get the chance to prove their quality to me again.

 

[M&PVolk]

Did you contact Spikes on the matter? If so, what was their response? How was the lower represented as being in-spec?

 

[Z-Michigan]

I tried to fit four different brands of upper receivers and the only one I could get to fit tight was a Spikes upper receiver. There was about .002 of play in the rear take down pin with any other receiver.

0.002" of play is insignificant and if anything on the tight side from my perspective. You want the upper and lower to attach and release without excessive effort. Too tight of a fit and you need tools (hammer and punch) to assemble and disassemble the rifle, and each time you do you're wearing on the pin and receivers - not good. In my book what you describe is a positive, not a negative.

The hammer/trigger pin size is a different issue and may be a defect. However, even if the holes are slightly oversize, the pins shouldn't walk if you have them properly secured with the spring legs.

 

[candr44]

Did you contact Spikes on the matter? If so, what was their response? How was the lower represented as being in-spec?

The receiver was represented as in spec by the Spikes employee that I bought it from at a local gun show and no I did not contact Spikes about it. This AR took me about a year to collect all the parts and build it and by that time I wanted to build this rifle and not spend my time and money going back and forth with Spikes. It was far less time and money to just buy over sized anti walk pins and it did do a good job of solving the problem.

0.002" of play is insignificant and if anything on the tight side from my perspective.

The upper receivers I tried would move up and down by .002 and I agree this is not much but I wanted this rifle to be built for good accuracy so I couldn't have the upper moving around. If I wasn't going for accuracy, I would have just shimmed it or put an Accuwedge in it. Also, all the play was in the lower receiver to pin fit. That plus the hammer and trigger pivot pin holes lead me to suspect it was also over size. From my perspective I would rather have too tight than too loose. I can always use a reamer to deal with too tight but I can't put metal back on to deal with too loose.

Keep in mind this was a blemished lower sold for $65 and the only experience I have with Spikes. Judging from all the high praise for Spikes, they may very likely have excellent quality parts but like I said, that hasn't been my one and only experience with them. Also, my blemished receiver isn't the one and only they have sold. I saw several cases of them at the gun show where I bought mine and the quality of their lower parts kits leaves a lot of room for improvement.

 

[kwelz]

You do realize that upper and lower receiver play has absolutely no affect on accuracy right?