The only experience with the M-16/AR-15 platform I have is 1982 I purchase my 10 years old son (#3) a Colt Car-15 for Christmas. In 1985 my 17 years old twin sons (#1 and #2) were planning on going into the Military Service, so I purchased a Colt AR-15 where they could learn to field strip one. My last Agency issued a Colt M-16A1 to all the Road Supervisors , so I had one until one of my young officers asked for one, so I gave him mine.
Now to the present:
Its seems that almost every Firearm Manufacturer offers one.
I am considering asking Santa Clause for one for Christmas (however I really have not been a totally good boy)

What are the different manufacturer models how how do they rate ?
Also is the parts interchangeable between manufacturers ?

If you are buying a DI (direct impingement) AR in 5.56/223 then all parts are standard.

I'm not going to get into a discussion on what's better. All I'll say is Colt 6920 is cheap at the moment. There are cheaper but parts and materials are of unknown quality

The S&W sport is a good option for the money, a lot of good information and discussion about them can be found on this forum.

Great pricing is out there on the top tier manufacturers right now. Another option is to buy parts kit and you and son/grandson assemble one. Great thing to do with them. Makes that one special! Lots on video and info on the web.



,

I never was found of the m16/ar15 nor the 223 round it shoots. But seeing the brand new Russian Izmash Saiga in 223 for just $259 at the time of there first offering how could I pass that up. It has the robust design of the ak/akm. Dependibility, reliability that's unmatched on the battlefield today.
If anyone wants a 223 shooter/beater/hunting/plinker rifle the Saiga are it.

I don't know what's best, but I'll chime in with my limited experience in the platform. A cousin has a Colt 6920 that shoots well and is totally reliable. A buddy has a M&P Sport that again shoots well and is totally reliable. I have a Del-Ton Sport Lite that I picked up for next to nothing (under $500). It also shoots well and is totally reliable. From the high end Colt to the cheapest Del-Ton, they just seem to work. Just find one you like at a price you're willing to pay and go have fun.

If I were getting into ARs right now, I'd go directly to Colt -- they're still building superb, basic fighting carbines, now at remarkably low prices as the whole market's saturated. I expect this situation to reverse itself by next year's election.

For something built more to my preferences, I'd go BCM or Daniel Defense and pay a little more.

ARs built to mil spec will interchange parts; otherwise, it's a roll of the dice.

Touchy subject,jimmyj !

I have the Colt LE6920 with no issues.My friend has a DPMS and had a part break where he had to manually cycle it for the next shot.Reading the many threads here you could come to the conclusion that it almost doesn't matter what brand you buy or how much you spend.

Hi Jimmy:

The first, and only rifle I was issued in the Army was the M-16A1 - it was a Colt manufactured rifle. I always wanted an AR-15 when I became a civilian, but never could afford one. I ran into a windfall a couple of years ago, and decided to splurge and get a good one. I chose a Colt CRE-18 and topped it with a Nikon P-223 scope. I'm very happy with it, but don't get to shoot it often enough.

Best regards,

Dave

Attached Images

Colt CRE-18.jpg (51.2 KB, 22 views)

You'll shoot your eye out, kid!

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War Eagle! '10 BCS & '13 SEC

If Colts now cost the same thing as everyone else's AR I would probably buy a Colt. But there are so many quality ARs out there it scarcely seems to matter anymore.

Last Colt 6920 I bought was $815 delivered. They are considered a benchmark by many. I put one together with a Spike's lower( they all have the "3 position" markings but is unfortunately semi only), a Palmetto SS free float upper and generic (M16) BCG. I haven't shot it yet but everything slides together real slick. $670 total. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Get a Colt 6920 or a 6940. If you must hang all the accessories possible on the rifle, want slightly better accuracy, and don't mind a little less handiness; get the latter. The 6920 is going for about 900$ while the 6940 is going for about 1300$. I have two of the original 6520's with the fixed carry handle and actually prefer the handiness of these, but they are no longer available.

Jimmy,
I started shooting groundhogs back at my Papaws gravel pit
back when i was still in grade school. I started out using his
Stevens .22 over .410 OU break open. I eventually wanted
something that hit harder and could reach out and touch them
a little farther out. I decided at that point i wanted an AR-15
because dad was in the Marines. Back then, (mid -70's) if you
wanted an AR-15 your choice was either a Colt or Armalite period.
I bought an A2 Colt and mounted a 3x9 scope on the carry handle.
About this time Federal Cartridge came out with their 40 grain
"Blitz" loading in .223 so i bought a few boxes and i was a Ground
Hog killing machine.
Nowadays there are numerous companies building AR's and most
are good weapons. Some cheaper than others and some are better.
The high end ones are Daniel Defense, Rock River, Colts.
Like already mentioned, if you buy a mil-spec rifle you can expect
to be able to interchange parts without problem.
You can also go the route of buying a separate lower (complete
or just the reciever) and buying your upper assemblage and put
one together yourself. I recently bought a complete lower at my
LGS. It's a Bushmaster. I then mated this to a Colt upper i had
in my gun safe and now i have another complete rifle. I paid
249 bucks for the Bushmaster lower at local LGS. This is the part
that is serial numbered and considered (the gun). So paperwork
is done each time you buy the lowers.
The cool thing about this platform is if you have a complete lower
you can slap any mil-spec upper on it and be good to go.
You can switch calibers at will by switching your upper.
You could have one lower and several uppers in different calibers
to play with.
You could go from .223/5.56 to 7.62x39 to .450 Bushmaster
very quickly simply by popping two pins and switching your
upper. Now your uppers will be more expensive than the lower
recievers if you buy them complete with Bolt/Boltcarrier.
You can expect to pay from 300-800 or more on a complete
upper assembly depending on caliber and accessories.
One tip i might give is, if you plan on scoping your AR and
it is a Flat top model, (no carrying handle), buy yourself a
reciever riser. It's just a way to mount your scope higher
up on the reciever and more in line with your natural line
of sight when shouldering the rifle. Cost for a good one piece
riser is about 40 bucks.
Have fun whichever way you go. They are extremely fun guns
to shoot with little recoil and are very effective on varmints
and game up to Deer sized.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

Right now prices are very reasonable. Colt. Lots of optics in a wide price range. Maybe a trigger upgrade (geissele ALG @ about $65).

One of these days people will marvel at these "good old days" prices.

Could be soon at that. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Jimmy - right now it's a buyers market....at least until the next round of elections and fear-mongering. I currently shoot several: Rock River Arms, Bushmaster, Colt, and a couple that I built on lowers.

S&W has a $100 rebate on *some* of their AR-15 rifles
Nation's Finest - Smith & Wesson

The S&W "Sport" series is not eligible for the LE Discount, but *should* retail for around $650. SKU 811036

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John