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AR15's - Who makes the best ones and why?

The training part is fair.

I understamd the being new part.
I consider my self relatively new. But after reading about some things, reviews, watching you tube videos oabout items of interest, you can gain a general knowledge of the AR.

Its essentially easy enough for a child to put together. Given that child had a lego habit.

As im approaching my assembly of my build, there are only 3 items/parts im concerned with.
And i think, that unless youve done it before, they are concerns of any builder/assembler.

Gas block placement/affixing
Muzzle device pin and welding
Barrel backspacing i.e. go no go gauges
 
Emphasis is mine.

DarkJoker33 said:
As im approaching my assembly of my build, there are only 3 items/parts im concerned with.
And i think, that unless youve done it before, they are concerns of any builder/assembler.

Gas block placement/affixing
Muzzle device pin and welding
Barrel backspacing i.e. go no go gauges
Click to expand...

The question was about the best rifle and the thread is very well responded to. Just like your thread was on barrels. Yet you haven't assembled yours, yet.

I am just saying if one needs, or wants, to start with the shooting community a production assembled firearm might be the place to start, learn and then pick and choose his "Legos". Nothing wrong with getting what you want out of life. If you are on line asking 'which is best' I stand with a 'reputable production' firearm. Matt [cheers]

www.northeastshooters.com

AR15 barrels

Any progress on the barrel selection
www.northeastshooters.com www.northeastshooters.com
 
50wt said:
Barrels are usually dimpled for the gas block set screws .
Click to expand...
No they’re not. At least not in my experience. There’s no standard for set screw spacing on the hundreds of different gas blocks on the market. I’ve had barrels from spikes, noveske, BA, stag, and a few others that I can’t remember and NONE had any dimples.
 
rcwhat said:
No they’re not. At least not in my experience. There’s no standard for set screw spacing on the hundreds of different gas blocks on the market. I’ve had barrels from spikes, noveske, BA, stag, and a few others that I can’t remember and NONE had any dimples.
Click to expand...



I didnt say every barrel was dimpled. Nor did i say there is a standard for set screw spacing on the gas block . That is irrelavant because all you need is one dimple on the barrel for one set screw in the gas block to locate off of.
 
rcwhat said:
No they’re not. At least not in my experience. There’s no standard for set screw spacing on the hundreds of different gas blocks on the market. I’ve had barrels from spikes, noveske, BA, stag, and a few others that I can’t remember and NONE had any dimples.
Click to expand...
Many don’t have dimples, but there is a standard if they are dimpled. At least one of the dimples will be directly opposite the gas port.
 
My last build (Faxon Gunner Wylde) was not dimpled. Also noticed the particular Aero gas block I used didn't sit flush to the ledge at the end of the gas block journal to get best coverage of the gas port. It was like a playing card off from the ledge.
 
ReluctantDecoy said:
My last build (Faxon Gunner Wylde) was not dimpled. Also noticed the particular Aero gas block I used didn't sit flush to the ledge at the end of the gas block journal to get best coverage of the gas port. It was like a playing card off from the ledge.
Click to expand...

That is so if you run a handguard cap for a fixed handguard, there will be room between the shoulder of the barrel and gas block
 
Supermoto said:
That is so if you run a handguard cap for a fixed handguard, there will be room between the shoulder of the barrel and gas block
Click to expand...
Huh...learn something new every day. Although, when lined up perfectly, this thinner than I would have imagined working for that purpose. Like a few pieces of copier paper-thin, or a waxed playing card.
 
I try to use the same brand gas block as the barrel unless you go with adjustable
Out of few different brand barrels I've used the only one that was dimpled was Wilson combat. I like the idea of it but it's not a big deal if it doesn't
 
Mass1776 said:
How does the quality, reliability,etc of the pre-ban sear block colts compare to that of newer production LE6920's and the like?
Click to expand...
The quality of preban Colts is OK. Relative to today’s rifles, its night and day. I have a number of gripes about preban Colt lowers and prefer other prebans to Colts. 1. Not crazy about the Colt dark grey finish vs just matte black anodizing. 2. Not a fan of the pinned in sear blocks - I dremel them down to almost flush so I’m not stuck using half moon carriers. You can remove them entirely but its a PITA because they’re case-hardened steel. 3. Limited options available on triggers since most preban Colts have larger .169” trigger pins vs milspec .154” trigger pins with literally everyone else. Unless you remove the sear block entirely, it’s pretty much Colt triggers or Geissele large pin 3 gun, SSA or SSA-E triggers which are 50%+ more expensive than comparable triggers with milspec pins. 4. There is too much material around the front pivot pin, so using some uppers with many free-float handguards, you will run into issues with pivoting the upper or risk damaging the hand guard/rail. Where most pivot 90 degrees, my Colts pivot about half that with some of my uppers. 5. Many preban Colt lowers have a large front/pivot pin and to get milspec uppers to work with large pin lowers requires an adapter pin which needs to be removed/reinstalled whenever changing uppers. All that said, it’s great being able to contact Colt and verify when that particular rifle was built. Other companies don’t exist anymore.
 
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puška m70 said:
Lowers... Spikes vs BCM vs YHM vs Aero?
Click to expand...

Stripped lower - whichever one's on sale.

Complete lower - whichever one has an upgraded trigger available. Saves me removing the standard trigger I didn't want anyway.

All 4 companies are still around to take care of dimensional issues (if any), and that's really all a lower is called upon to do. Hold more important parts in the proper alignment to each other.
 
puška m70 said:
Lowers... Spikes vs BCM vs YHM vs Aero?
Click to expand...

I am an Aero whore and I cannot lie. M4E1 enhanced all the way kehds. Unless you got something better, the marginal cost increase is a big difference in quality and features. No trigger
guard BS to deal with, hex screw for one of the detent pins and for the bolt catch. Makes assembly easier.

Truth be told though if you just want your rifle to work even a poverty pony (Anderson) is going to be just fine 999 out of 1000 times, they just look like shit and likely wont match the rest of the gun. But if you going to beat the thing up anyways.... and rattlecan it, doesnt make much diff.
 
This might hurt some feelings here but, but my sampled experience with zero intent to incite some but if anything, experience has shown that it's always going to be function>price>form. Then there's if home assembling your own, the woes of tolerance stackings; Not everyone making parts has the TDP unlike companies that do such as Colt, Schmid & Tool (OEM provider for both Colt and FNH), Daniel Defense, D.S. Arms (spare parts provider for the DoD M4 program), or FNH USA as examples.

Not everyone is going to be needing a CHF barrel, I do, but if you're the type that wants a basic rifle for HD and no more than a 100 yards at most, you'd be fine with a 4150 nitrided Palmetto M4 type, preferably in mid length. Take the extra money meant for Daniel Defense, Colt, Geissele, FNH, etc., and use it instead on a quality optic. Red dots are stupid simple to use as well as being lightweight.

But honestly you really won't know what your rifle can or can't do or what you'd actually like to have in it parts-wise until you actually go outside and run it. I'm not talking about slow firing all day or just to make sure it's still sighted in. I'm talking run and gun matches. Carbine courses, actual courses that's more than a day with at least 500 being consumed at the minimum. It's where we find out that while the nitrided deal of the day runs, it's not going to run as well in the accuracy department when heated up from being on the line all day. But a CHF CL will.

Anyway, the last course I took was a 223 carbine course taught by Freddie Blish over here at Gunsite. The only AR-15's that had real problems in my class were in fact all three Ruger factory built rifles that were there. I don't know y'all from me, to someone like myself, that's a sign to be be wary of.

I guess the moral here from my sampled experiences here, is to at least try to do your due diligence before finally committing to something AR-15 related. YMMV, folks.
 
Point37 said:
so what's the difference between an ELW and an LW?...i don't remember ELW being an option when i bought mine last year...
Click to expand...

Bravo Company 14.5” ELW Accuracy: A Quick Look


ELW stands for enhanced light-weight. This barrel is from Bravo Company’s cold-hammer forged series of barrels. The barrel has a “continuous taper” design with a smooth shoulder at the gas block journal, which reportedly improves barrel harmonics. This barrel has a mid-length gas system and a 0.625” gas block journal.

According to Bravo Company, this barrel has a stripped weight of 1 pound, 5 ounces. For comparison, a Colt 14.5” M4 barrel has a stripped weight of 1 pound, 9 ounces.


BCM 14.5” ELW

bcm_elw_stock_phonto_01_resized-1298250.jpg





Colt 14.5” M4 barrel. (not stripped)

colt_m4_barrel_01_resized-1298030.jpg





I purchased this barrel as part of a BCM factory assembled upper receiver group with the MCMR 13” free-float hand guard. The barrel has BCM’s pinned and welded A2X flash hider.

Shooting off-the-bench at a distance of 100 yards (using a high magnification scope), this barrel produced a 10-shot group that has an extreme spread of 0.946” with a mean radius of 0.33”.



bcm_elw_10_shot_group_at_100_yards_01_re-1253570.jpg





bcm_14_5_elw_001_resized_08-1253427b-1856118.jpg




bcm_elw_borescope_001-2247926.jpg




….
 
I own a DPMS, Panther Arms Competition, 223-5.56mm, Mod A15. Serial #F094722K. I recently turned 86 and realized that it is no longer in my best interest to keep and maintain this prize. Can anyone give me an idea of what this rifle might be worth. It's definitely a long gun, barrel length, 20+ in. Bipod, Nikon scope, carry scabbard. I believe that it is a deal for the right person. Any comments are helpful
 
drgrant said:
Here's some specifics.... Tier 1 rifles, like Colt, BCM, LMT, Noveske, Larue, JP, etc, have things like:

-Properly staked bolt carrier gas keys that don't vibrate loose

-MP tested bolts and carriers (higher likelihood of not crumbling into dust sooner rather than later due to metallurgical flaws)

-Better quality control (When's the last time you heard of someone that bought a Colt that was a piece of s**t out of the box? Not that it doesn't happen, but it's pretty rare)

-Barrels that aren't s**t. They almost all use 1/7 or 1/8 instead of the 1/9 fudd twist, and on top of all that, better barrels are more accurate with more bullet weights.

-Approval by pro trainers and guys who kill bad guys for a living (Yes, this isn't technical, but IMO this is worth a lot to me. Given a choice between some random thing and a rifle that a pro is willing to trust his life to, I'd rather use the pro's choice. )

This isn't to imply there aren't a lot of Tier-2 rifles which aren't damned good values, eg, S&W, RRA, etc. It's just that when you go out of the top end, your trust of the rifle should be speculative at best.

There is stuff at the bottom like Olympic/Hesse/etc. that is basically best avoided. A commercially made rifle for $600 = run away, fast. Quality control is nonexistent and corners are cut at every turn on those guns. They are junk masquerading as an AR-15 clone. Olys are like the fung wah bus... there's a reason the tickets are so cheap. Don't be surprised if the bus catches on fire on the way to NYC. [laugh] There is a bunch of other no name junk in this price class too, same deal. You will know it when you see it.

If you need a rifle for that cheap you are far better off building it yourself. You will save money and end up with a better gun.

-Mike
Click to expand...
I attended a class in NH, and someone lent me an Anderson. As I understand, Anderson is an economy rifle.

I ran 1000 rounds through the gun in the pouring rain over two days. At the end of day one, owner took it apart, sprayed it down with WD40, and let it dry. I shot it again in another downpour. Mud, wet, and dirt. It never jammed once, and put rounds into target at 50 yards.

My point is that it all depends. The Anderson is probably not the best choice if you want to shoot dimes at 300 yards. But for a SHTF rifle that needs to protect your family in insane times, it’s probably an ok choice.

In fact, I’ve seen a lot of high-end, ultra accurate guns made to tight, high accuracy tolerances shit the bed when slightly dirty or not perfectly lubed. And I certainly wouldn’t want a 1.5 pound trigger on an urban defense rifle.

The best rifle depends on what you want to use it for.
 

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