Any AR Manufacturer to stay away from

[BREATHER]

I hope this is the right place to ask this.

After looking for awhile and not jumping into something I will regret, I will ask. Of all the manufacturers making the AR is there any that a person should stay away from.???. We all know that there are cluster f#*%s out there. I just want to get the value from my money. I have decided to buy a factory made for my first, get to know the mechanics and build one later. I just want a "plain jane". no bells, whistles, scopes, lasers, or lights. All that can come later. Thanks in advance.

[Chad4000]

I'm interested as well.... I've looked at a whole bunch of reviews and they all seem like they will work...

[porfiriozg]

some people say to stay away from roggio arsenal. i have one and it's really tight but i don't like any play between the upper and lower.

also have a few surplus arms and ammo lowers and i can complain

update: roggio went under for some reason

[henpecked]

I have a colt 5 bushmasters and 1 DPMS
they all work well and have had no problems
I prefer a 20 inch 1 in 9 twist
I prefer a standard stock and full length handgaurd because it fits me best.
if your up north your welcome to come and see what fits

[Ridge]

Vulcan
Hesse
Blackthorn (all 3 are some company with shoddy products)
M&A has been having QC issues as well as credit card information stolen

[Chad4000]

That could be useful..

[ChunkyMonkey]

If this is your very first AR... buy or order locally. You can touch and feel them (insert joke here). I'd stop by MGT or 5280.

[leatherneck448]

stay away from blackthorne

[Daniel_187]

I have had very bad luck with Olympic.

[BREATHER]

I looked at a Smith and Wesson today ... It's the MS ???

[Heep72]

Check out Stag Arms. I was like you, I wanted to go with a "factory built" AR for my first one. I havent had one issue with my Stag model 1. They also have a lifetime warranty and a great price point with high quality! The model 1 is as basic as it gets.....but of course I have been adding my own personality to it. [AR15]

[bobbyfairbanks]

I would keep this in mind you get what you pay for. Buy a cheap AR and really use it(shoot a lot) it will not last. Save your pennies and invest in a quality weapon. Buy once cry once

[mcantar18c]

Personally I'd never buy a Bushmaster.

Check out this link... its a long read, but skim over it and get the basics. It does a good, detailed brand comparison.

http://www.gun-forums.com/printthread.php?t=1369&pp=40

[funkfool]

Check out Stag Arms. I was like you, I wanted to go with a "factory built" AR for my first one. I havent had one issue with my Stag model 1. They also have a lifetime warranty and a great price point with high quality! The model 1 is as basic as it gets.....but of course I have been adding my own personality to it. [AR15]
I'll also put in a good word for Stag... My Stag is a great shooter... even when it was stock.

[patrick0685]

iv got a Olympic Arms entry level gun and its been nothing but good to me

[twitchyfinger]

Another +1 for Stag arms for a 1st AR

Probably your best bang for the buck along with the great warranty.

Might want to decide if you want a 16" carbine or a 20" rifle for a 1st all around rifle.

Deals can be found right now...

[2008f450]

I have owned several Bushmasters and really liked them. I have also owned a couple stags with great results. My brother swears by DPMS and S&W.

[OneGuy67]

I have had very bad luck with Olympic.


I second this and would add Bushmaster as well.

[BREATHER]

I definately want a carbine, for a couple of reasons. From what I am reading ( please correct me if I am wrong) but isn't the 7 -1 twist is recommnded for a shorter barrel. I understand lans and grooves, but I have been reading so much the info is blending.

[Marlin]

Personally I'd never buy a Bushmaster.

Check out this link... its a long read, but skim over it and get the basics. It does a good, detailed brand comparison.

http://www.gun-forums.com/printthread.php?t=1369&pp=40


I've had a Bushy for 10 years and one for 7 years, They still work great.

However, not sure if one today would be the same quality.

[AirbornePathogen]

None that I've personally had any bad experiences with, but I can speak in favor of Rock River, DPMS, and surpisingly enough, American Spirit Arms. I have a couple friends that have Rock River rifles and swear by em. My second AR is a DPMS, and I have no issues with it so far, fit and function is fine, tolerances are nice and tight. The ASA was my first AR, and I didn't know any better, all I saw was the price tag. But it ran just fine, I had it for 5-6 years, put about 3 thousand rounds through it, and had no issues that weren't caused by operator headspace and timing, i.e. the weapon eating firing pin retaining pins due to a worn-out buffer spring that the owner took his time replacing.

[patrick0685]

I definately want a carbine, for a couple of reasons. From what I am reading ( please correct me if I am wrong) but isn't the 7 -1 twist is recommnded for a shorter barrel. I understand lans and grooves, but I have been reading so much the info is blending.

the 1/7 twist is for heaver bullets the 1/9 is prob the overall best unless your gunna shot 77 grain bullets

[rondog]

I have a DPMS carbine that I bought very lightly used. It's the only AR I've ever fired, so my experience is lame, but I'd rate the trigger as crappy. Had to have Bert tinker with it.

[Storm]

I definately want a carbine, for a couple of reasons. From what I am reading ( please correct me if I am wrong) but isn't the 7 -1 twist is recommended for a shorter barrel. I understand lans and grooves, but I have been reading so much the info is blending.

The rifleing twist rate has to do with bullet weight/length, not barrel length. The 1:7 twist can handle bullets from 55gr up to around 80gr. The 1:9 twist can handle from around 50gr-55gr up to 69gr. The 1:12 twist are below that but are able to handle 55gr.

If you shoot too light a bullet into a tighter twist barrel, it will over-stabilize the bullet and can destroy the bullet in flight.

With the slower twist rate barrels, if you shoot the heavier bullets in then they will under-stabilize the round which can lead to the bullet turning sideways in flight veering off in some random direction and affect your accuracy.

A good article on .223/5.56 ammo and AR15's (including twist rates) (http://ammo.ar15.com/ammo/project/perf_whattwist.html).

[porfiriozg]

agreed. some companies try to make money off there past success with lower quality products at three times the price


Personally I'd never buy a Bushmaster.

Check out this link... its a long read, but skim over it and get the basics. It does a good, detailed brand comparison.

http://www.gun-forums.com/printthread.php?t=1369&pp=40

[BPTactical]

I second this and would add Late Production Bushmaster as well.

Fixed it for you.
If you can find a Bushy pre 2007/8 they are great rifles. Since Cerebus took them over they have been dismal.

You will get what you pay for typically.
For a first AR you want a factory complete rifle. Stay away from somebodies FrankenAR even though it is cheap to get into.
Smith and Wesson, Rock River, Stag, Sabre (if you can find one), older Bushy, CMMG are all great rifles that won't break the bank.
I know I am gonna get grilled but I am not a fan of DPMS in the AR15 platform. I have seen examples with machine work that looked like they were done with a rock and other maladies.
If you want to up the ante a bit LMT, Colt, LWRC etc are definitley upper teir rifles.

[trlcavscout]

I definately want a carbine, for a couple of reasons. From what I am reading ( please correct me if I am wrong) but isn't the 7 -1 twist is recommnded for a shorter barrel. I understand lans and grooves, but I have been reading so much the info is blending.


I would go mid length instead of carbine and 1/7 twist over 1/9. I would also look at Smith and Wesson good value for a very reliable rifle. I have a 1/7 twist on the BCM I am selling and the Colt I had and both shot everything from the wal mart value pack 50 grain to 62 grain ammo great. The 1/7 problem is with cheap bullets more then light bullets, the only problems I have had were with 55 grain crappy reloads. Depending on what you like and buy if mid length is available in that unit, usually at no extra cost, I would go for it. JMO's.

Colt, BCM, LMT, Daniel defense, Noveske etc would be my first choice, Olympic arms, DPMS, Bushmaster would be near the bottom.

[Ah Pook]

What the others have said.

CMMG has worked well for me. They used to have a bargain bin that had some good deals.

[Richard K]

I've owned 3 Colts, several Bushmasters and RRAs and Stag.
The only ARs I currently own are Spikes Tactical. Can't beat 'em for the money.

[RussDXT]

Best bang for your buck is the spikes right now. Ive had a bad experence with DPMS, and wont use them again. I'd also take a hard look at what Noveske has to offer if you want to buy just one.......

[2ndChildhood]

Here's a plug for 1:9 twist.
My 1:9 twist gun shoots well with pretty much everything I feed it.
The 1:7 gun I had wasn't accurate with 55 gr hornady fmj's, nor Wolf 62 gr. The bullets would go way, way off target. I don't know if it was what they call over-stabilized, or if they were spinning so fast they would shed the jacket.
Once I started using hornady 75 gr hpbt's that thing was my go-to gun for longer range shooting.

I personally know one other guy who has a 1:7 twist gun who experienced a similar issue.

So, if you must get a 1:7 twist gun, just be aware of the possibility that it might not be accurate with lighter bullets.