Bushmaster?

[UrbanWolf]

Rumor or true, they say Bushmaster is not as good now after shuting down Windham. Does anyone have an experience with the Bushmaster's being built in Ilion, NY ?

[spqrzilla]

Bushmaster was never exactly a high end AR manufacturer.

[car-15]

Bushmaster was never exactly a high end AR manufacturer.

not in current times, but until after 2004 bm, colt, armalite, and oly, were about the only show in town, that being said both of the bm's I have are Windham manufactured, one is a le/mil marked ban model, but I know people that have the newer models and they are just as trouble free as the old ones or any other reputable manufacturer for that matter, IMHO the old and new ones are the same thing with a different roll mark.

[hurley842002]

not in current times, but until after 2004 bm, colt, armalite, and oly, were about the only show in town, that being said both of the bm's I have are Windham manufactured, one is a le/mil marked ban model, but I know people that have the newer models and they are just as trouble free as the old ones or any other reputable manufacturer for that matter, IMHO the old and new ones are the same thing with a different roll mark.

Was thinking the same thing, but didn't have all my facts straight, so I figured I'd leave the response to someone else lol.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[wctriumph]

I have had two in the M4 HBAR configuration and still have one. The first one had A1 sights, the second has A2 sights. Neither one ever gave me a problem, they always went bang and I trust their reliability.

[missionxo]

Bushmaster was never exactly a high end AR manufacturer.

Bushmaster was the first AR I purchased around 2006 it has been as reliable as any AR I have owned. I consider them fighting words ... We must meet at dawn under the old oak tree we shall duel to the death.

[ringhilt]

The new Ilion bushy's are in general a fine rifle. Bought a carbine a few months ago and it shoots just as accurately as my older Bushy's. Reliability is just as good as well.
Where I notice the difference is in the finish. The lowers are a hard coat anodize, not mil-spec phosphate. Same with the uppers. The barrel finish is also a less expensive finish. Not sure what it is, but it is not as nice or as durable as the older finish.
Factory triggers still suck. But they always did. This was a mandatory upgrade for all my bushy's.
So final conclusion. The new bushy's are still good. The finish will not be as durable. If you are in the market for an AR15 rifle, Bushy's would be a fine choice. I'd put them head to head with DPMS, RockRiver and other similarly priced rifles. Choice being price point and what features each company offered.
Still would prefer a Noveske or LWRC or BCM. But you do pay a higher price for these high end rifles. They are worth the money but cost more.

Hope this helps.

[Dave]

My first AR was a bushmaster carbon 15 and I haven't had a problem outside of a used GI mag not feeding right at the range once. The red dot scope it came with isn't too great past 100 yards, but it always shoots when the trigger is pulled.

[battle_sight_zero]

Bushmaster donated 20 16" ARs to the Air Force Academy's Combat Shooting Team in 2009. I staked all the gas keys, castle nuts and reamed the chambers to 5.56.

In the last 4 years those rifles have seen between 13 and 21k rounds (dependant on the assigned shooters schedule) and to date I've replaced all the gas rings & buffer springs and had 1 hammer pin break and 1 buffer fail.

Not bad for some rifles that get run pretty hard.

Galaxy Note II + Tapatalk 2

Thanks for the information, that is some pretty good stats, I have several no where near 21000 but they shoot pretty damm good.

[BPTactical]

Years ago you used to go by "The ABC's" when it came to AR's. Armalite, Bushmaster and Colt. The older "Purple" Bushies were great rifles and at one time Bushy held the Marine and Navy contract due to having better corrosion resistance. "Purple" comes from how they looked when wetted down with CLP or similar, they had a real purple tinge to them. Great rifles and I regret getting rid of every one I ever had.
In 2008 Bushmaster was purchased by "The Freedom Group" AKA Cerebus holdings and they crashed and burned, I have seen a few late model Bushies that really suffered from QC issues.
Wyndham Weaponry is made up of former Bushmaster employees and the old Bushmaster tooling and plant. From what I have seen of them they are head and shoulders above a current Bushmaster.

[rockhound]

My bushy was a total piece of crap, accurate but would not feed, or extract properly spent lots of time and money chasing the issues, the only thing it would feed reliably was high pressure nato brass,

[hurley842002]

I had a newer Cerebus Bushy, and it was a great rifle, I suppose it's like any other freedom group product, some are good, some are not.

[RonMexico]

Wyndham Weaponry is made up of former Bushmaster employees and the old Bushmaster tooling and plant. From what I have seen of them they are head and shoulders above a current Bushmaster.
I owned a 2004 bushmaster and it was solid. Recently I purchased a windham due to the fact I feel it's one of the best bangs for your buck on the market.

[davsel]

The new Ilion bushy's are in general a fine rifle. Bought a carbine a few months ago and it shoots just as accurately as my older Bushy's. Reliability is just as good as well.
Where I notice the difference is in the finish. The lowers are a hard coat anodize, not mil-spec phosphate. Same with the uppers. The barrel finish is also a less expensive finish. Not sure what it is, but it is not as nice or as durable as the older finish.
Factory triggers still suck. But they always did. This was a mandatory upgrade for all my bushy's.
So final conclusion. The new bushy's are still good. The finish will not be as durable. If you are in the market for an AR15 rifle, Bushy's would be a fine choice. I'd put them head to head with DPMS, RockRiver and other similarly priced rifles. Choice being price point and what features each company offered.
Still would prefer a Noveske or LWRC or BCM. But you do pay a higher price for these high end rifles. They are worth the money but cost more.

Hope this helps.


Really? I did not know that.
I was not aware that "mil-spec phosphate" was applied to aluminum uppers and lowers. Interesting.

Can you provide a link to this information?

[Anrev]

I got my Bushmaster in Dec 2012. The only issue Ive had with mine was FTF with reloads. Havnt had a single problem with factory ammo. Ive put close to 1000 rounds through it so far.

[muddywings]

Bushmaster donated 20 16" ARs to the Air Force Academy's Combat Shooting Team in 2009. I staked all the gas keys, castle nuts and reamed the chambers to 5.56.

In the last 4 years those rifles have seen between 13 and 21k rounds (dependant on the assigned shooters schedule) and to date I've replaced all the gas rings & buffer springs and had 1 hammer pin break and 1 buffer fail.

Not bad for some rifles that get run pretty hard.

Galaxy Note II + Tapatalk 2

Do you have a contact or know who runs the shooting time now a days? Curious as I work there and would like to make contact if they still do that.