Looking at a M@P Sport II .223/5.56 and Bushmaster M4A3 Patrolman.

Wife bought me an outdoor range membership for Christmas and I'm thinking about 3 gun training and competition in the upcoming year. Got plenty of handguns to choose from and shotgun shouldn't be too complicated. So...

These 2 guns have caught my eye at decent prices.. Just looking for some opinions, thanks in advance and also a Very Merry Christmas to you all!

Since this is a Smith & Wesson forum, I'd bet you can guess what the recommendation will be.

S&W has the better warranty....
That being said IIRC Bushmaster has a standard USGI lower with winter trigger guard vs fixed on the Sport versions....

IIRC older Bushmaster rifles are built better than newer versions so depends on DOM.

I will chime in on behalf of Colt, I really like mine.

I don't know abut the Bushmaster or 3 gun shooting. But I know a good rifle when I see one. And my Sport has been excellent. It's considerably more accurate than another AR I have that cost a good bit more money. Mine has never a problem with feeding or ejecting. In fact it's very accurate. Plus it's backed by S&W. Those are all good things. The only thing left is how long will it last and who knows about. They haven't been around long enough to prove they will last a l long time.

I have a newer (4 years old) Bushmaster M4A3 and have no complaints. Having said that, I don't think you can go wrong with M&P Sport II. And, they are $50 to $100 cheaper.

I have an older Bushmaster National Match, a new Colt 6920, a couple of the older higher end S&W AR's, and a RRA 6.8 SPC II rifle. I can't tell any difference between any of them other than price.

The other posters are correct about warranties. S&W wins hands down.

I've had a Bushmaster for over 20 years. Bushmaster in Windham, Maine had an excellent reputation in the industry. Since then ownership has traded hands and the brand named rifles are now being made in North Carolina under the Remington banner of companies. The guys who earned Bushmaster it's reputation are still in Windham Main making rifles -- Windham Weaponry. If I wanted a Bushmaster that's who I would buy one from.

All that said... I think selecting a rifle in the configuration you want is more important than what name is on the lower receiver.

Happy AR hunting.

I bought a Bushmaster at Walmart the day of the NewTown,Conn. school shooting.
At that time the price was 998 dollars, but I did not flinch because I knew a "run" on them would take place.
So today, this rifle is still in it's factory box unfired.
I use my Kel-Tec 223 rifle instead, and love it!!

The m&p sport is a good one to start with And can be had for $400 shipped from time to time. In fact it was $350 shipped just a few weeks ago

I have one from Windham. It is a great AR for the money.

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

Thanks all for your input.

Still up in the air. I have an number of Smith weapons which I have been very extremely pleased with and the sport is quit a bit less expensive so I'm leaning that way.

nice......

Thanks a couple of colt competitions, colt 901 in .308, a 6920 and a couple of M4s, and the zastava.

I would go for the Colt (6720) myself--a lot of rifle for the money, the gold standard, holds value. That said, I have had a Bushmaster carbine since 2006. I had to replace a bulged barrel some years back, but that was due to an ammo problem. That said, I put over 3500 rounds through it and it performed well. It's still a solid performer.

Frankly I think most of the name rifles are quite serviceable. I'd get a flattop carbine, think about an aftermarket trigger, and plan on an optic at some point.

My favorite is the Colt AR6720 also. I love the lighter smooth barrel reminiscent of the M16A1.

Curl

I have never particularly cared for the AR platform. But after the several of the attacks in various cities I bought a DPMS off the rack at my LGS for a decent price. Bought 500 rounds of factory ball, and got 500 empty cases. Loaded up the 500 cases with JHP's (and more accurate than the factory). Put a Vortex 2-7X on it and zeroed at 100 yds and the ladder cross-hairs keep me on target out to 500 yds. The trigger is stock about 7 lbs, but I can keep either of my loads under 1 1/2" at 100 yds.

I obtained about a dozen magazines which are loaded and stacked next to the rifle in my gun vault. I doubt if I ever fire it again, but it is there and ready if it is needed. I would probably grab my custom barreled Rem 700 in 22-250 first anyway and give the AR to my wife should the situation ever arise. Lets hope it never will.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

After carrying a M16A1 for 5 and a half years I had no desire to own or fire any AR platform rifle. Then in a fit of nostalgia I built a AR in A2 configuration. Hearing this my brother-in-law bought a S&W Sport and we went to the range. He had never fired an AR so I gave him some basic instruction and we proceeded to shoot 6" paper plates at 100 yards. He emptied his first 20 rd magazine in to the top half of the 6" paper plate, turned to me and asked if he needed to adjust his sights any. I told him no, but whatever lot of ammo he was shooting I'd go back to the store and buy all they had.

I think the S&W Sport will serve you well in 3 gun.

In recent years I have grown fond of the AR platform.

My first AR was this one:




Yep, it's an M16A1.

I got to enjoying that one so much I decided to buy a semi-automatic a couple of years ago. I got a Colt AR6720 and really like it.

Let me give some advice. The AR trigger is ****** and can't be tinkered with. There are a number of after-market trigger solutions out there. I recommend the LaRue Tactical MBT-2S Trigger. It's less than half the cost of the competition and twice the quality. You won't regret it. BTW, I've got nothing in it other than liking a good trigger, good quality, and good price. I have one in my AR6720. It won't work in the M16.

Curl

By the way, as for a first AR, either a Colt 6720 or 6920 would be my recommendation. Colt is the gold standard. I'm not saying the others aren't as good, but they darn sure aren't a Colt. Enough said.

Here's my 6720 as it arrived:


Curl

I'm tempted to say buy the parts and put one together if you have any mechanical ability. But you may not like the AR platform, so buying the M&P would be my next suggestion because of price.

Shoot it bunch. If you like it, then I'd recommend doing some research, buying the parts you want, and either building it yourself, or take it to a local trusted gunsmith to build it for you. It's not very difficult to assemble from scratch, and it also isn't very expensive to have a competant smith do it for you. But you will get every part you want, which you will never get off the shelf.

Of course, then you'll find you want one for engagements at <100 yards, and one for <1,000 yards, and one for punching bigger holes, and one for shooting 22lr out of, and one for shooting 9mm out of, and then you'll run out of safe space.

I'm in the camp of buy the parts you want and slap em together. They are like tinker toys for grown men. I've yet to have one that wasn't scary accurate and dead reliable.

I have 2 AR's. One is a Sport. The other was put together by a local builder who is known to use quality parts. It has more features than the Sport and it's lighter. But the Sport is quite a bit more accurate and that's with a stock trigger. I guess I learned to shoot on bad triggers so I don't get excited when a gun I own has a bad one. I certainly have guns with very good triggers and they are definitely nice to have. But I don't consider it a deal breaker on an AR. Not if I can get the kind of accuracy I do with a bone stock AR trigger like the one on my Sport.

My first is Colt 6920. It's pretty awesome. My son and I were both hitting 1 inch targets within first dozen shots. It's so nice and fun to shoot it's probably staying stock. My son of course wants one now. I don't think I want to dump $800 into his, so I'm sure I'll go with m&p sport. Warranty should be worth while being owned by 12 year old.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I went with LWRCI-DI for my AR.

Not a big rifle guy so I wanted only one. Not someone who is gonna collect ARs.

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Smith all the things

Acquiring an AR and tinkering with it is just a near-standard step to messing with guns in the 20-teens. I've worked at a couple of LGS's that got into the market of AR's and accessories right around the time of the series of panic periods. It was a bit crazy.
Early on, I had to learn 'AR Speak' from the young guys to make my way.

Now, it seems AR's are a bit like VCR's. Anyone that ever thought they wanted one, has one, or two or three.

Prices have come down greatly and there's plenty of good manufacturers out there.
I somehow came to accumulate three - one being an Oly Arms (now defunct) 9mm. Fun plinker.

Enjoy.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275