Help With AR-15 Decision Please

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I'm considering an ar-15 variant and have narrowed it down to 3 or 4 Manufactures. I have listed them below and have added pros and cons about them from research. I would greatly appreciate any info or corrections. I have listed them in order of most wanting. I realize there are sporting AR-15s and SHTF AR-15s however I want something in between. Honestly if I ever need a rifle for SHTF I'll reach for my Arsenal Ak 47. I also realize you cant have your cake and eat it too. Combining the quality and price will be tricky and I'm sure controversial but it's what I'm looking for.

1. Colt 6920 $1037.00 Shipped
Pro's: Reputation of mil-spec assembly, function and finish. General military background of colt
Con's: Higher priced item.

2. Rock River Arms AR-15 $898.00 Shipped
Pro's: Law enforcement background, lower price and good reputation.
Con's: Just from what I've read I hear they are not as accurate and have trouble cycling with some ammo. 1x9 twist:confused:

3. Bushmaster Optic Ready W/ Factory Installed Magpul Equipment. $945 Shipped
Pro's: Law enforcement background, magpul original equipment, comes with Pmag.
Con's: Reliability and accuracy seems to be a roll of the dice. Questionable on mil-spc parts/function. Permanently attached flash hider.

4. DPMS Panther AP4 $814.00 Shipped
Pro's: Chrome-moly barrel, detachable A3 carry handle, "mil-spec" phosphated finish supposedly, Lower price
Con's: Questionable quality in both function and finish. I've heard great things about it and I've heard horrific things about it. Over 7lbs.
 
Build one and save $200.

Palmetto State Armory has great prices on all of their stuff. Just get an assembled upper, stripped lower, lower parts kit and stock/buffer tube and slap it all together. Will run you about $650-700 and you will honestly have a better gun than all that you listed except MAYBE the colt. But that's even debatable.
 
My RRA carbine is better than 1 MOA, as are most of RRAs. They guarantee a certain MOA for each of their rifles. Check their website.

While I like RRA, I would get the Colt. It's only $100 more. The Colt will give you better resale value.
 
Of the four you list, Colt.

RRA, Bushmaster, and DPMS don't stake carrier keys, and don't stake receiver extension (buffer tube). They don't HPT/MPI their bolts either. This is basic AR-15 assembly, and they don't do it, amongst many other corners they cut.

In addition to Colt you should look at S&W (M&P15T with the 1:8 5R bbl in particular), Spike's Tactical, BCM, LMT, and Daniel Defense. (Noveske and KAC are superb, and their prices reflect it; so probably more than you're looking for.)
 
In my order of preference out of those. There are better choices out there for complete ARs. Colt is great, but i think you pay to much for the name. I would get a Daniel Defense or Bravo before Colt.

1. build your own
2. Colt
3. RRA
4. BM
5. DPMS
 
Colt, no question. I just got a 6720 which is almost the same except it comes with a flip up rear sight instead of handle and a pencil barrel. I don't know about the 6920 but mine came with 2 20 round pmags.
 
Yep, get the Colt. Your price point isn't that great to list it as a con when you consider Colt's quality.

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
 
For that price I would get the colt, and I'm not a colt fan. I'm in the build your own camp.
 
While the experience gained won't be as in depth as a complete build one can learn much by modifying the Colt to meet your needs. For example, if you install a free float rail the barrel, flash hider and gas block will have to be removed and reinstalled. If you put a single point sling attachment the castle nut will be need to be removed. On a side note, removing mine was hell due to the staking.
 
gotigers said:
In my order of preference out of those. There are better choices out there for complete ARs. Colt is great, but i think you pay to much for the name. I would get a Daniel Defense or Bravo before Colt.

1. build your own
2. Colt
3. RRA
4. BM
5. DPMS
Click to expand...


+1, totally agree.
 
Asking for advice on an AR is about same as requesting which girl to date::D Everyone is an expert,some time back I was looking for an AR had not fired one since the military years ago, discovered huge amounts of info on the web, some good a bunch misleading. some dedicated AR sites will have you walking away like a little girl if you purchase anything other then the top 3 on there site. Many post as if they are buying for combat my guess is 99.9% will never see combat other then in the minds of the owner...

A lot depends on need, target,hunting,self defense & cost, I mostly shoot target but wanted to own a good self defense rifle and I was concerned with cost, I purchased a Stag Model 3 2011 model, quality very good in staking, fit and finish, fired it this morning and shot some groups ranging from .400 to 2.0 @ 100 yards using my reloads, seems to prefer 52gr sierra, with RL7 powder... The Stag cost $735 has a life time warranty...

Think you will be happy with any of the 4 you picked, run her wet when new and keep it clean will serve you well.
 
Thanks for the informative replies everyone. I checked out places like midwayusa . com and others. It seems a bit intimidating to build the ar-15 especially since it's such a large, confusing (for me), and in some manufactures case misleading industry. I will give the "homemade" ar-15 some more thought though. It looks like I have some more research to do.

Does anyone have any other recommendations other than Palmetto State Armory I should take a look at? (Thanks Holo).

OH! Also does anyone have any experience with accuracy from the .308 out of a carbine length barrel?:evil:
 
gotigers said:
In my order of preference out of those. There are better choices out there for complete ARs. Colt is great, but i think you pay to much for the name. I would get a Daniel Defense or Bravo before Colt.

1. build your own
2. Colt
3. RRA
4. BM
5. DPMS
Click to expand...
+1. If you want to spend a little less and don't mind waiting, research Spikes Tactical as well. I've heard good things about PSA, as well.
 
I picked up a Colt LE carbine and have had no problems with it. Very well put together and very reliable. The drift pins for the front sight block were so firmly installed I had to go to a gunsmith to tap them out--which is a first for me.
 
i have a pair of bushmasters with almost 20,000 rounds between them and never a single hiccup of any kind period that still shoot legit sub 1" groups @100yds and weigh 7lbs each.

however,

ppl on this site seem to consider them bottom of the barrel in terms of quality and construction, so maybe ive been luckier than most with them.

ive also owned a colt (model 6700ca3 match target rifle) that weighed 10 1/2 lbs, and was not as accurate, and had maybe a half dozen ftf and fte through the 2000 rounds fired during my ownership.

so going on that, id have to say the colt.
 
I've just been over a couple of hours of research on uppers lowers and in betweeners....HOLY CRAP there is way too much stuff out there for these firearms.:cuss:

Maybe I should just save up the money and go with my original plan of getting a Knight Armament SR-15:banghead:
 
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