I feel this thread needs some sense talked into it!

you're both right-

ARs are money pits, for example-

How many ARs have you seen with Noveske (sp) barrels and free floated rails with the 1:7 twist rate to keep a nice tight hole with heavy ammo?
now- how many of those same rifles have on optic on top with a 4 moa dot such as an H-1 or T-1? Makes you think.

On the other side of the coin there is crap out there that people staple onto their guns-

I have broken my fair share of parts and run the gambit on levels. A larue mount trumps the shit out of a QRP mount, is it worth it, probably not, but it is much better. I broke a Troy rail, twice, can't say I've done that to a Knights or a DD. That said, I've destroyed a EMOD stock, but haven't been able to break a Stag stock I pulled off a different gun.
(both companies mentioned stood by their product, nothing but respect for them, Vltor even had me send it in as they didn't believe it could break that bad)


End of the day, if you're running a UTG and its not breaking, well, I can't say shit about that. As to optics, I bet most scopes can handle a 223 recoil, and if you threw a 3-9 Simmons scope on top, well, you will probably out shoot an Aimpoint all day at range, but don't be suprised if it goes tits up if you drop it sideways.