ar 15 brand questions

[firemanphob]

OK guys, I am starting to look at ar 15s. There are so many options and brands that I tend to get boggled. I went to an auction today where they sold dpms, colt, double star, and ,I think, cucv or something like that. I know that you can get anything you want but is there any brands to shy away from because of poor reliability, poor material, or poor assembly. I have looked at bushmasters also but other than bbl, stock, forearm, and bbl choices they all pretty much look alike. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

[avking]

This is a loaded question. Everyone will have an opinion on this subject and none of them are wrong or right. They are just personal experience. You will not get the same results with the same brand when it comes to this.

I like Double Star lowers and Rock River uppers for an AR-15. Mine fit nice and tight, and my first trip to the range, I was getting great groups with iron sites at 100 yards after just three test rounds. But, you may buy this same combo and get a crappy loose fit and terrible groups. It is a crap shoot.

My suggestion is to go out and hold a few and shoot a few. See what you like. You may want to buy on already buit. I like to build my own and it is very easy. I use best of breed. The best upper, lowers, parts kits and furniture. But "best" is simply my preference. Your preference will be different.

DPMS gets a bad reputation because of problems they had a while ago. Current production guns don't seem to have those same problems.

Think about building an AR-10 in .308 instead. Not a whole lot more $$$ to build, but a MUCH better round than the .223.

[beebopcop]

OK guys, I am starting to look at ar 15s. There are so many options and brands that I tend to get boggled. I went to an auction today where they sold dpms, colt, double star, and ,I think, cucv or something like that. I know that you can get anything you want but is there any brands to shy away from because of poor reliability, poor material, or poor assembly. I have looked at bushmasters also but other than bbl, stock, forearm, and bbl choices they all pretty much look alike. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

Inside joke to Diesel: I'm having horrific flashbacks:rolleyes:

[OneBadPig]

Think about building an AR-10 in .308 instead. Not a whole lot more $$$ to build, but a MUCH better round than the .223.

I may have said it before but if i could do it all over again, i'd get a DPMS .308
One of their moa capable models with a 18" barrel(maybe 20") and then outfit it with quick detach mounted optics for long range and folding iron sights to be used for up close defense.
Fireman, there are some good AR-15 forums out there where you can get info,
when i was shopping AR's i found it very irritating that many of the dealers/manufacturers never define terms like A2, A3, C.A.R., etc.

[Long_Hunter]

Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT). Check out their website and spend the extra money. They are rapidely becoming the primary supplier for our special ops community. When purchasing a firearm, do not settle; buy the best you can.
I made a post earlier for New AR owners; scroll around and read it.

[hemichuck]

I have been building my own AR's for a couple of years now and have had a lot of opportunity to look at parts from many manufacturers.Most of them are Mil Spec so they are basicly the same but there were a few things I did learn to shy away from.Century arms makes a low cost AR for around $650,I owned one of these and it always had a problem with loose fit between upper and lower.I ended up taking it apart and building a new gun using a STAG lower and upper which turned out very nice.Also there is a manufacturer named Vulcan and later changed to Hess(now I think they sell under the name Blackthorne) Stay away from these,they have a real bad rep for low quality.If you stick with any of the mainstream names like Colt,Rock River,Stag,Bushmaster,DPMS,Doublestar,Olympic arms.etc...You will more than likely get a good workable platform to build from.I have also used a lot of lesser known brands like Tactical Machining,American Firearms Mfg(AFM) Spikes tactical,Model one sales,MAS,etc... and built some pretty nice rifles in a number of different calibers.If you are unsure about a certain rifle you can go to the AR15Armory on the web and ask those guys,they are always quick to reply,very knowledgable,and full of good advice.Be warned in advance that these things are heavily addictive.

[slowz1k]

HemiChuck wrote "Be warned in advance that these things are heavily addictive"

LOL Good advice there.


Hello.... My name is slowz1k, .... and I'm an ARfifteenaholic.


(everyone together now) "Hi Slow"

:o

[OneBadPig]

If you shoot "lefty" like me, Stag makes left handed models.

[HileTroy]

Also DPMS makes a left handed version. Hard to locate but they are out there.

[subman]

I have a DPMS in .308 and a Rock River in .556 both good quality platforms but the .556 is a small round plinking your fine if you need some umfff. the .308 is the way to go!:cool:

[hemichuck]

Hi Slow....I'm Chuck and I'm an AR15aholic too.I've been clean for about a week now but I am really jonesing for a new upper in 6.5 Grendel or 450 Thumper....I might need an intervention

[OneBadPig]

Also DPMS makes a left handed version. Hard to locate but they are out there.

Thats damn good news. Watch G&A tv, American Rifleman, etc. and see how many guys besides Boddington are southpaws.

[Bayou Blaster]

Whatever firearm you do end up with make sure it's chambered for 5.56, that way you can can shoot both the civilian .223 Rem cal and NATO 5.56 x 45 chamberings. Also recommend barrels chambered in .223 Wylde. The .223 Wylde chambering is a hybrid chamber designed to yield the accuracy advantages of the match .223 Remington commercial chambering but without the pressure problems when using NATO spec 5.56 x 45 ammunition. It's designed to run both quite reliably/accurately.

I run Colts, DPMS, Bushmasters and Amalgamations of parts. I don't lose sleep as far as shooting one over the other. What ever variant you get, make sure the firearm incorporates the M-4 feed ramps/geometry. Increases feeding reliability. http://ar15barrels.com/gfx/feedramps.jpg

I also prefer the chromed lined bores and chambers. It facilitates cleaning while prolonging barrel life. They also believe it or not, chromed chambers contribute to greater reliablity when it comes to feeding/extraction. Note: DPMS barrels don't come chromed lined/chambered unless requested/special ordered. They normally are 4140 chromoly steel for greater accuracy. Chrome lining does affects accuracy to a slight degree. More so in Armalites than other firearms from experience. Hope this helps. As always Good Luck with your decision.

[SNIPERFX]

dpms .308 the way to go. wasn't named rifle of the year for nothing...

[hudson69]

Frankenstein

I have two rifles currently, one is set up as a carbine while the other is best suited to long range shooting. Both are made up from various parts and work really well. I assembled them to suit my needs but buying a complete rifle is usually easier though.

Whatever you do make sure all the components to the rifle are mil-spec so that any parts you buy will (should) work together.