Suggestions for an Ar-15

[Harrydawg]

I'm looking into buying an Ar-15 what would be the best manufacturer??

 

[wbtrunx]

Depends on how much you're looking to spend.
Rock River and Stag Arms are good at the lower end of the price list.

 

[Harrydawg]

im not worried about price

 

[jeremy1391]

if u want a good milspec clone for not too much that will perform on par with an army issue m4 get a cmmg u won't be dissappointed, I know I wasn't

 

[Pony Express]

hot dog, now we get to hear what kind of AR everybody has!

 

[sarduy]

I'm looking into buying an Ar-15 what would be the best manufacturer??

first: what will be the main use of the AR?

Home Defence
Target shooting
Range fun
Varmint Hunting
Gun Matchs
Hunting....

second: what caliber you want it in? .223, 7.62x39, 5.45, .50 beowulf...

then... what kind of setup/profile you want...

HBAR
Rifle lenght 20''
Carbine 16''
SBR 14.5 and under...

 

[C-grunt]

Colt is usually the yard stick by which others are measured. You can get better and you can get worse. But a Colt will be, baring a lemon, a good rifle.

My low price (around 1000 or less) list would be:
Bushmaster
Armalite
Stag
Rock River Arms

More expensive (1000 and above) would be:
Colt
Lewis Machine and Tool
Noveske
Daniel Defense
LWRC

I am missing a few, especially on the expensive list. Of my lists, Ive owned a couple Bushmasters that were great and currently own a Colt thats great. Ive shot all the rifles on the cheap list and they performed well. On the expensive list I only have experience with the Colts, but have never heard a bad word about the others.

 

[AgentAdam]

Bushmaster,CMMG,Rocker River Arms, Colt

 

[MrFox]

S&W.

 

[sarduy]

another vote for CMMG

 

[mcdonl]

I have a DPMS, but... I did care about money... if I didnt I think the S&W would be my choice.

 

[TurboFC3S]

I've answered these questions the last 3-4 times, now I'm gonna be one of 'those' guys that says SEARCH!

It's been covered at length many times lately.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I think it's time to put a sticky for this general topic, and stop responding to individual queries.

 

[jackdanson]

+1 to the search

I have a DPMS, but... I did care about money... if I didnt I think the S&W would be my choice.

SW aren't really that much more than the DPMS, I paid 800 for a SW about a year ago.

To answer the OP Noveske, colt, or LMT if price is no issue. I've honestly never handled a CMMG, so I won't comment on them.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Really we NEED a "suggestions for an AR" sticky!!

 

[Mt.Traverse]

Buy my, new LMT Defender, $1,250 shipped to your FFl, or meet in Dener

 

[taliv]

if someone put together a thoughtful, well-written post or two, I'd be happy to add it to Bartholomew's library sticky. Sticking a string of posts consisting of nothing more than people shouting whatever brand they own... seems suboptimal.

 

[CoRoMo]

For those who don't have a deep knowledge of what makes an AR "good", "better", or "best", I usually tend to send them to 'The Chart'. It is not the end-all/be-all source on the subject, but it is a good tool for a beginner to start out with because rob_s did an excellent job of explaining features and specs in layman's terminology. I think what 'The Chart' does best, is to inform the novices what the tip of the iceberg looks like.

It should be noted that 'The Chart' only compares a small number of M4 direct impingement rifles, and there are a lot of things rob_s could not include there because of the vast family of variations that exist under the "AR-15" title.



hth

 

[FlyinBryan]

i have to question the credibility of the chart, and have since i first saw it.

the first (and thus as a result only) category i ever checked out in the chart in more than a sample size of 1 rifle, turned out to be false.

im not going to expend effort into verifying anything else on it, ive seen enough.

 

[H2O MAN]

Clyde Armory in Bogart/Athens Georgia has used Colt LE 6920s on the rack for $920.00

 

[cameron.personal]

I personally own, Colt, LMT, Daniel Defense.

You can buy and excellent Bravo Co Manufacturing for less the $1000.

I owned a Bushmaster, I don't have it anymore.

Tier one (must have DoD contract or the Military is known to buy from these companies in QTY):
Colt
FN
LMT
HK
Tier two (good enough to be tier 1, but have no DoD contracts):
Noveske
BCM
Sabre Defence
KAC
Daniel Defense
Tier three:
Charles Daly
S&W
Tier four:
DPMS
BM
RRA
Oly
Armalite

 

[FlyinBryan]

and if your not worried about price i would say a noveski or a knights armament.

ive never owned one of either so it should indicate there are still people out there whos opinions should count.

i have a bushmaster (actually 2) with over 7k rounds each, and still, never a single hiccup from either, and both will shoot moa here and there (more often than not) but im not suggesting them because i dont feel like defending them.

when i first got into the ar rifles, i didnt ask anyone which kind were best. i knew what that revealed. not what is best, but what everyone has (see above). which honestly is fine, theres nothing wrong with that, but is that really what your after?

 

[CoRoMo]

im not going to expend effort into verifying anything else on it, ive seen enough.

Then I suppose when you find one bad egg, you'll never eat breakfast again. The chart has been revised many times now over the years. Like I said, what it does best is introduce beginners to the many features of the rifle.
Those who don't know, ask. But those who know, don't need to ask.

 

[FlyinBryan]

lol, funny analogy

i just wont cook that egg, and if eggs ever cost 1500 dollars and it happens, i might buy eggs from a different company if i still want breakfast. no matter how you slice them, some eggs just arent right for some people

 

[CoRoMo]

Bravo.