So who makes the best AR15/AR10's

I'm heading to the kitchen to make popcorn and grab a coke. This is equivalent to asking waht's the best truck, etc. Who actually knows?

O man you did it now?

Best for what? For whom? Question is too broad. For milspec rifles, Colt and FN are good, BCM tends to have better fit and finish, most of them are within your price range. Moving up you get into the Daniel Defense, Larue, Noveske, ect, but the price goes up quickly. Opinions on which is truly best are highly subjective and largely depend on intended use and preference of certain features. But in the end you'll probably end up nitpicking based on aesthetics and brand name cause a well built AR is going to run pretty good regardless.

I paid about $1200 for my 6960, so that price doesn't seem outrageous to me. Colt puts together a fine rifle. It should be reliable and ready for whatever task most of us could ever ask of it. Most people would probably squeal if you called them the best, but they are dependable and you can do worse.

In a high dollar AR my #1 requirement is a good barrel. #2 is a monolithic upper. LMT with the Mike Rock barrels checks both boxes. All other small parts I can change as desired.

Mike Milli, DTI would be one guy I would pay to build my AR’s. Otherwise, for that kind of spending, I’m building my own.

Daniel defense gets it right if you dont want to change a lot, been happy with my m4v5.

Ask who is supplying the military? (FN) And is the bore/chamber chrome lined. And military spec.

I would buy Colt, even tho they dont supply the military? (Last i looked)

Dont shoot to many rounds fast, the barrel will melt.

Larue. You need to check out their ''ultimate upper'' build kits as well. The Larue build kits get you an excellent AR under $1000, and an excellent OBR .308 or 6.5 for around $1200.

I have thier 14.5" .300 blackout kit. And I haven't ever shot a better carbine. Light, and effortless swing. Nice trigger.

BCM. All kinds of variations.

LMT.

Really, you only need a quality upper assembly. You can build or buy any lower, of any quality. It just doesn't matter. I can't really find a complete rifle at a store anywhere, that I want anymore. I have custom upper tastes. And standard carbine lowers are fine.

brutus51 said:

Looking at a Colt LE6940 at Bud's for $1245 is this a good choice?

Click to expand...

You won't be disappointed. Just make sure an AR is what will trip your trigger. Shoot a few if possible. Asking what the best of anything is just opens a can of worms because everyone has a different "best". Would the Colt be a good choice? Yes.

Ron

Who cares if a company sells to the military? Do you drive an Hmmwv too? FN, Larue, BCM, LMT, Colt, and DD all make great rifles, don’t get me wrong, but there’s really nothing special about their mil-spec rifles. Throw a heavier buffer and a Colt extractor spring into any cheap, chrome-lined, budget carbine and you’ll have a rifle as reliable and durable as any of these, without the brand name mark up.

Forgings are only made in a handful of places around the world, and it’s pretty hard to claim anyone really has a significantly better program on their CNC mill than anyone else these days. Finish quality is largely an aesthetic difference - it’s aluminum underneath, scratch it, it’s gonna scratch, but it’s not going to rust, and too much importance is placed on exterior finish quality if a person is also banging the #milspec4lyf drum. Small parts and springs are only made in a handful of places and contracted by everyone else, same as forgings.

Guys like to regurgitate the same lazy lines - “go to a carbine course and see what fails on the first day.” Most of these guys have never been, as they’d have seen only one or two rifles in 3-4 classes go down, and typically only a few misfeeds. And almost always, it is a “I bought it last week to come here” guy. I took a bare bones Bushmaster M4gery to my first carbine class, nary a hiccup. Have taken custom built home brews to every one since - same story. Take a look at how many of these mil-spec monsters are actually in use in 3 gun competition - where high rate, high round count is the norm. Heck, how many of these competition rifles even run increased mass reciprocating masses...

For everything I want to do with an AR, if in 5.56/223, I want an 18-20” match barrel from Krieger, Shilen, Proof, etc, 1:7-1:8” twist, Geissele NM 2 stage, free float handguard, and adjustable gas block. My go-fast guns have carbine buffers, the rest have H2’s. These specs have been refined from building, rebuilding, and function testing literally hundreds of AR’s, attending a defensive carbine course every year or every other since 2003, competing in Service Rifle and 3 gun matches since the late 1990’s (and some PRS gas gun matches while it was still going), hunting in extreme heat and cold, rain, dust, and snow... I prefer to draw my own conclusions from what I see and experience firsthand. No DD, FN, Colt, or BCM I have owned has done anything any Bushmaster, DPMS, Sig, or homebrew I have owned couldn’t do.

Agree except for the 3gun part.

Properly tuned AR's barely function in 3gun. People are pushing the absolute limits of recoil reduction, and in many cases, failing often. Very little room left for error. But that's part of the fun. Do I use a conservative reliable setup, or go full race and deal with the voodoo that comes with it?

Depends on what you want to use it for. You can get a gun that is in line with what most of the mil uses for around $500 from PSA, and sometimes from DPMS, S&W, etc. I have AR's from Larue and Barnes Precision that I am very impressed with, and have done well with them in 3 gun. They cost a lot more than $500.

Colt, S&W, BCM and I'm sure we can find a few more high end rifles. Go with what ever your Chief says you can go with. You might have to make you decision while you are on the run. I like Aero Precision and Ballistic advantage stuff but I have Del-Ton as well. The quality of the barrels is pretty good as long as you stay with the "good" guys. The only decision you have to make is the twist rate.

kwg

kwg020 said:

Go with what ever your Chief says you can go with. You might have to make you decision while you are on the run.

Click to expand...

Confused by both of these statements.

doubleh said:

I'm heading to the kitchen to make popcorn and grab a coke. This is equivalent to asking waht's the best truck, etc. Who actually knows?

Click to expand...

Ford and Mack hands down, lol
Oh wait, I’ve had Chevy and GMC before I got my Ford.

Seriously though,

I was going to post when this was first posted but decided to wait. I was going to say our very own Gunny but not sure OPwould find it funny.

When I got my first AR there were those who claimed anything short of Colt and a handful of top tier manufacturers was risking your life if you ever needed it for self defense. Since then, I’ve seen torture tests on many and am really impressed on the PSA that couldn’t be destroyed until it was blown up with explosives.

The reality is if an AR uses high quality parts it’ll get the job done. After that some have nicer fit and finish. Some have nicer features, and there are a zillion ways to build them.

So as some said, it’s impossible to say what’s best. But high quality ARs exist in all price ranges.

And of course many of us now assemble our own as there are so many great parts and we can build them exactly the way we want!

M&P15 sport 2 for the win.

Forget the "best" concept and focus on whether or not brand X is good enough for the intended use. If I were in a job where there was a very good chance that I would be shot at or need to shoot someone else who is intent on shooting me I'd be very, very picky about all of my equipment. How many folks would put a lot more thought and $$$ into their choice if their life depended on that choice. The worst thing that could happen to many of us here is that we'd be embarrassed if our favorite takes a dump at the range, in a match or in a class because we're inclined to equate that failure with our own failure to choose a better product. As it turns out, if you have a rifle or pistol that malfunctions regularly and you use that as a form of training you're going to be much better equipped at dealing with the real-life crap that will happen compared to those who own "perfection". Because I'm not in harms way on a daily basis I have the luxury of buying what I like and then figuring out if it works well. Generally I've had good success with a number of brands and currently own AR15s from Daniel Defense, POF, Bushmaster, Smith & Wesson and Spike's Tactical and an AR308 from POF. I've built some machine guns and use the lowers to "stress test" uppers. So far I'm more than impressed with DD and POF uppers running full-auto and suppressed and I'm really lazy about cleaning my ARs. These days, a $500 to $800 AR15 with cheap polymer magazines is likely to be very reliable and more than most of us will need but I get why some of us will spend upwards of $2,000 on one.

Blnt4rcetrauma said:

M&P15 sport 2 for the win.

Click to expand...

Excellent choice but I’m not sure it’s a “win”.

That said if you need or want a fully assembled gun and a warranty it’s an excellent choice. I typically make this a recommendation to those new to ARs.

This summer I got to train with Jerry and Kay Miculek. Jerry’s sponsored by S&W so all of the firearms were M&P. There were four of us in the session for the weekend. Not once was there an issue with a jam or other problem. This with guns that they use both for competition and for their training classes. With four students, two instructors and several folks reloading and do8mg setup and tear down, the guns were heavily used. So it was easy to not even think about them until now. In retrospect they were flawless.

So The only issue I have with the M&Ps are that you can buy a complete PSA lower, and an upper of your choice from them for less and snap them together and pay a lot less. So the PSA is a better value IMHO. But the M&Ps are dead on reliable.

That said, putting your own together is jus so much fun!

MCMXI said:

Forget the "best" concept and focus on whether or not brand X is good enough for the intended use. If I were in a job where there was a very good chance that I would be shot at or need to shoot someone else who is intent on shooting me I'd be very, very picky about all of my equipment. How many folks would put a lot more thought and $$$ into their choice if their life depended on that choice. The worst thing that could happen to many of us here is that we'd be embarrassed if our favorite takes a dump at the range, in a match or in a class because we're inclined to equate that failure with our own failure to choose a better product. As it turns out, if you have a rifle or pistol that malfunctions regularly and you use that as a form of training you're going to be much better equipped at dealing with the real-life crap that will happen compared to those who own "perfection". Because I'm not in harms way on a daily basis I have the luxury of buying what I like and then figuring out if it works well. Generally I've had good success with a number of brands and currently own AR15s from Daniel Defense, POF, Bushmaster, Smith & Wesson and Spike's Tactical and an AR308 from POF. I've built some machine guns and use the lowers to "stress test" uppers. So far I'm more than impressed with DD and POF uppers running full-auto and suppressed and I'm really lazy about cleaning my ARs. These days, a $500 to $800 AR15 with cheap polymer magazines is likely to be very reliable and more than most of us will need but I get why some of us will spend upwards of $2,000 on one.

Click to expand...

As competitive as the AR market is, are there any companies making Jam O Magic’s any more?

It seems to me that there are so many good choices that it’s hard to get a really bad AR right now.

You’re exactly right on the concept of best. The reality is it’s brutal to define. Is best reliable, or will it shoot .00001 MOA? Or some other silly and obscure criteria?

I know many LEOs who have M&P 15s so to them their is great vale in what S&W is offering. Sure being picky is nice, but don’t forget those we send in harms way often aren’t paid that great. And it’s really true of new hires who are buy8ng gear on entry level salaries.

So yea the fit and finish on a DD my be a bit nicer than an M&P and definitely a PSA is it worth the premium?

Thankfully we have many choices and each of us can decide for ourselves.

Bill Wilson.

Barrett makes a nice AR also

In a 16 inch carbine, there is nothing a $1200 or $2500 one will do that a $600 to $800 one I assemble myself won't, except have a pony or whatever else stamped on it.

Brute

Ok I gotta ask. What is a "Hillary Hole?"