Is it just me or are AR-15 rifle becoming ridiculously cheap?

Delton is one of the largest AR brands on the market. I don't really know anything about them in terms of quality, but I've not heard anything bad. I would be willing to bet though that any AR for 420 bucks has all possible corners cut.

They've been this cheap all along...

Yep, seen quite a few offerings as low as $399.

Del-Ton make a solid entry level rifle from my research...don't need another AR, but if they drop to $300 I may just do it to do it.

http://grabagun.com/del-ton-dtsport-collapse-m4-comm-stk.html

grampajack said:

Delton is one of the largest AR brands on the market. I don't really know anything about them in terms of quality, but I've not heard anything bad. I would be willing to bet though that any AR for 420 bucks has all possible corners cut.

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That one's actually got a nitrided barrel and pop-up sights. It's about on par with the S&W Sport.

Hardly shocking for a cast/plastic gun. They where designed to to be cheap after all.

There was also an inventory buildup last year in the run up to the election due to the "expected" result. Twas not to be & now the fearful are out of the market. Don't think that impacted Delton (they've always been affordable) but I've seen prices generally coming down to burn off the excess inventory.

jim in Anchorage said:

Hardly shocking for a cast/plastic gun. They where designed to to be cheap after all.

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Huh???

Delton is decent; Like the cheaper DPMS and S&W guns.

grampajack said:

Huh???

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So you think they are fine examples of the gunmakers art? They have all the workmanship of a stamped bumper.

Wow, someone's knickers are in a bunch. Even Mercedes have stamped bumpers.

M

They prices are coming do to about where they should be, IMO

M1key said:

Wow, someone's knickers are in a bunch.

They are just a bullet launcher. That's all they were ever designed to be.

Even Mercedes have stamped bumpers. Ask me how I know.

M

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Not at all. I was responding to a question about why they are so cheap. Better question is why where they ever so expensive? They have all the workmanship of a Sears refrigerator.

A lot of these AR's I've never heard of. I would bet many of them will be out business in 2 years. S&W won't be however, along with Ruger. If your rifle goes TU you may want to return it to the mfg. and let them fix something that was their problem to begin with. Both AR's have good reviews and both will be around to provide service if you need it.

I have seen a trend in the entry level ar's being at all time low prices, but the higher end ones seem to be about the same price as always. BCM, Colt, Daniel Defense, LMT all seem to be holding at "normal" prices. The Colt oem can be found a little cheaper from what I have seen. I already have a "budget" ar so won't be taking advantage of any of these deals, but now is the time to buy entry level for sure. I do hope companies like BCM start offering better sales like the free BCG with complete upper like they have in the past. I am working on a SPR build and while the parts I am looking for seem to be in stock at more places the pricing has remained similar for quality stuff

I still find it hilarious that an ar15 can now be bought for much cheaper than AK clone. From looking at all the parts of an ar15 on a table I'm surprised they can be made at a profit in this country for $400. If it was China they could make one for $39.99

Companies have too much inventory, not enough cash and this is the result.

We may see prices even lower

Nature Boy said:

Companies have too much inventory, not enough cash and this is the result.

We may see prices even lower

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Unfortunately I have to agree. The gun industry as a whole is probably going to be hurting bad by this time next near. I foresee firesale prices across the board, from manufacturer to retailer to used.

jim in Anchorage said:

So you think they are fine examples of the gunmakers art? They have all the workmanship of a stamped bumper.

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As opposed to what? They're intricately machined from forged aerospace aluminum. When they were first introduced they were space age as heck. Most of the world's military arms are more costly and employ lower tech manufacturing methods from less advanced materials.

Here's what Del-ton says about itself: http://www.del-ton.com/aboutus.asp

The prices are just market forces at work. I think a lot of distributors and retailers stocked up for a Hillary win...now with a glut of AR's sitting in inventory they're just trying to get thier money back. I'd say the prices on the mass produced, entry level models has pretty much bottomed out. My lgs said they couldn't touch 499.99 for a S&W Sport II. Said it was below their cost. So the super deals right now are outlets that bought in bulk at a discount just dumping these at cost to free up funds. I'm doing my part to help out, my S&W just arrived, going to pick it up Friday

jim in anchorage wrote:
Hardly shocking for a cast/plastic gun. They where designed to to be cheap after all.

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According to the Del-Ton website for the DT Sport Mod 2 (https://www.del-ton.com/DT_Sport_Mod_2_p/dtsport-m2.htm)


Not a cast/plastic gun.

CoalTrain49 said:

A lot of these AR's I've never heard of. I would bet many of them will be out business in 2 years. S&W won't be however, along with Ruger. If your rifle goes TU you may want to return it to the mfg. and let them fix something that was their problem to begin with. Both AR's have good reviews and both will be around to provide service if you need it.

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I can't envision a potential problem with an AR that would justify the effort of boxing it up and shipping it to the manufacturer over vs just fixing yourself.

You'd have to be super jaded to get mad because you can't warranty your $400 AR being discussed here a few years down the road.


As to cheap plastic, for the lower it works just as well as aluminum in fact if cheap and or light is the goal I prefer plastic over poorly done AI

I have seen a trend in the entry level ar's being at all time low prices, but the higher end ones seem to be about the same price as always. BCM, Colt, Daniel Defense, LMT all seem to be holding at "normal" prices.

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That has been my observation as well. I have been kicking around the idea of getting a mid-tier or better 18" free-floated upper to play with, but prices on those haven't really fallen, it appears.

I mean it makes sense, companies were ramping up production to meet a demand that never came, not surprised they picked their easiest/cheapest to produce entry level ARs to crank out.