AR manufacturer debate - let's have some fun

[StephenWhoDat]

Of the options you gave, Stag would be my favorite. I have owned multiple Stag Arms rifles and never had any type of issue whatsoever. Excellent firearms. Now, my personal favorite of any AR manufacturer is BCM. They make some damn fine rifles! I was surprised to see Bravo Company wasn't even a choice in your poll.

 

[03hemi]

Hardly. A 1911 requires hand fitting of parts. Almost nothing is truly drop-in on a 1911. The AR15 requires nothing like that. Quite the contrary. It was designed from the beginning to be plug and play.

You just don't get it.
Moving along...

 

[Longcarbine]

My Diamondback in .308 is my favorite.

 

[The Norseman]

Out Sourcing

I have no Brand Loyalty. Several reasons are; every AR15 that
I have shot has been very Accurate. Parts to manufacture the
AR15 are manufactured from a lot of Sources.

Now having said that, it is my least favorite Rifle, and that is why
I have only one AR15. I just prefer other Guns.

I do pick Stag Arms because it's now in Cheyenne Wyoming.
They have seen the Light and moved to one of the Free States.

Very insightful Thread.

High Standard 223

 

[KalamazooKid]

While I have other AR's, my Colt 6920 is definitely the go to!

 

[S-W4EVER]

FWIW, my Colt AR-15A2 Govt Carbine (AR6520) is the handiest AR I own (very lightweight) and my Colt 9mm Carbine (AR6450) is the most fun to shoot. The coolest AR I ever had was the Colt 602 that I was issued in AIT (it was "old school" in 1973). Also had a Hydramatic M-16A1 in BCT.

 

[jdh]

IMHO, accuracy is the barrel.

Most of the precision is in the barrel. But, and it is a big but, with the rear sight on the receiver and the front sight on the barrel the interface between the barrel and the receiver is as, if not more, important to accuracy.

The barrel may be capable of one hole groups. If the barrel can move within the receiver, for what ever reason, changing the relationship between the sights, those tiny groups will move about the target.

 

[jdh]

Colt was once the standard,

Some of us remember when Colt was the standard because it was the only.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I didn't vote as I don't have one (yet...*fingers crossed*), and my only experience is holding one at a gunsmith's shop I visited. But I found it funny a few years ago when I had a dream where I went to a gun store and bought a Noveske AR. *shrug*

 

[double-dipper]

I have two AR's a S&W M&P Sport and a Wilson Combat.

I prefer the Wilson Combat it is amazingly accurate.

 

[kpoesq369]

I'm with Bruce C. I like my Colts ( sporter, HBAR, LE carbine). But my RRA DCM gun, F class, carbine, and 22 upper are my go tos.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

I am surprised that FN hasn't been mentioned yet. They've been making the bulk of the US military rifles for years. Everyone says they make some of the best barrels.

I couldn't list every company and I see a number of "others" or "custom". But can someone tell me - did FN ever make an AR for the civilian market? I really don't know the answer to that.

I knew this would create fun comments/discussions and now I will note that I never really found anything made by Colt to be particularly better than a competitor's similar product. Not counting the Single Action Army.

It's a YMMV world donchano!!!

 

[gmarshall99]

Stag Arms, because they make a left handed AR

 

[lrb1200]

I have a couple of Colt " Competition" models
that both deliver this with federal 69 grain at 100 Yds.
and never malfunctioned.

Pointless to look at or consider anything else.

 

[rockquarry]

I have a couple of Colt " Competition" models
that both deliver this with federal 69 grain at 100 Yds.
and never malfunctioned.

Pointless to look at or consider anything else.

I agree 100%. I've shot the 69 Federal Match stuff also; shoots very well in my Colts, but you can duplicate its performance, maybe even beat it a little with the 69 Sierra MK and H4895 powder. I'd have to look it up as I can't remember, but Federal may use the 69 MK in its ammo.

 

[Hotrodcorvette1976]

BCM here....

 

[jimbo728]

S&W Sport 1 1/8 5r Melonite. in a class by itself. have had mine over 10 yrs perfect.
jJim

 

[quikdraw67]

After the useless Clinton era AWB twilighted Bushmaster of Windham Me. began offering rifles that were much closer to the M16a2 as you could get from Colt, those were great guns and get high Mark's for that era IMO.

I have one of those rifles, they are excellent.

 

[StephenWhoDat]

But can someone tell me - did FN ever make an AR for the civilian market? I really don't know the answer to that.

They did and still do. I have a couple. And they are top notch.

 

[Hair Trigger]

It's certainly true that home-builds are harder to sell.

People who are hip to building ARs generally just look at other people's builds as piles of parts. They have their own ideas about what they want to create, so they're mostly interested in canibalizing the gun.

For people who don't build their own, the rifle is some sort of mystery so they count on a brand name for assurance. They're turned off by home-builds because of the uncertainty.

It's a perception/familiarity thing. It has more to do with the buyer than the gun.

Anyone buying a firearm should investigate the quality of what they are buying, by reading reviews, going to the Mfg. websites, watching videos, whatever it takes to know what is or isn't quality. Seems like a sizeable number just want a black rifle for as little as they can pay, but they're the loudest complainers when it gives problems.

Most gun guys could assemble a functioning AR, but comparing them to a high end maker is like comparing a Colt 1911 (of which I have several) with a Nighthawk, Wilson Combat or a Stan Chen.
The difference is in the precision of assembly.
Apples and oranges.

Precision of assembly depends on what you're assembling, within a narrowly defined set of specs. If you build an AR using all milspec parts (nothing proprietary), it should go together like a jigsaw puzzle, no matter how many different manufacturers' parts you used. That being said, one mfg.'s milspec might be the same dimension as everybody else's, but it doesn't mean the part is really high quality. When I built my rifles, I explored to see who was making good stuff, and used as much of the upper tier brands as possible. I could have bought a 300BLK for $650 back when I built mine, but it ended up costing me well over a grand, and it's been worth it, the gun runs like a Rolex watch. Can I sell it for what I built it for? maybe not, but I never intended to sell it when I thought of building one, and never will. Same went when I added the Grendel upper.