Which AR company is best?

[Dionysusigma]

All over the place, I've seen people talking about Bushmaster, Armalite, Olympic Arms, DPMS, Colt, and so on. What I'm wondering is... well, which company is the best? Quality control, warranty, range of features, etc.

I guess I'll also throw in a couple more loosely related Qs:
How do the Bushmaster M17s and the Armalite AR-180B compare to the tons of AR-15s out there? How do they compare to each other?

 

[duckfoot]

Rock River Arms seems to be very good for the money

Duck

 

[stealthmode]

i have only shot my bushmaster and a friends colt. my bushmaster choked on the very first round i tried to feed through it. i only shot about 300 rounds through it before i sold it. the colt shot ok but i have no other experience with other manufactures so i dont think i should vote.

 

[TechBrute]

IMHO, Colt has eliminated itself from the running with all the non-milspec versions it has produced. Things like the big-hole lower and the sear block make me look elsewhere for my ARs.

I'll take Busmaster from the list, but Armalite has better match rifles, and RRA might be a better value.

 

[Mulliga]

Left out RRA? Shame on you.

 

[wanderinwalker]

My experience only runs between Colt and Armalite and I vote Armalite. Mine is a match rifle and happens to shoot wonderfully. The Colt is OK, but I hate having to use a screwdriver to seperate the upper and lower. Plus for the Colt is the chrome-lined barrel, which cleans up well. (Well, sure, we don't want a chrome-lined bore on a match rifle anyway, but stainless steel IS a pain to clean thoroughly.

Edited to add: If I add a second AR to the inventory it will likely be a Bushy carbine or a match-tuned RRA.

 

[JWH 223]

As for overall fit, finish, color and quality, I'd go just as they are spelled"

A = Armalite
B = Bushmaster
C = Colt
D = DPMS

I don't like what I've seen quality-wise on Oly stuff....RRA is fine.

My $0.02...take it for exactly that.

About your M17S question......

I just bought one and am in the process of changing it a bit...well, alot.

When I am finished...it will kick butt...in my opinion anyway.

Very clean shooting, reliable unit....fun to shoot. I opened 'er up a little so it runs 100%...even with Wolf...my economical fodder of choice.

 

[Denny Hansen]

In all honesty, the main difference between any of them comes down to a little something known as brand loyalty. You like Fords? You'll recommend one to someone else. The same goes for Chevy, Dodge, Colt, DPMS, etc.

I shoot a lot of ARs from different manufacturers and for the most part can't tell one from another. IMO, however, Olympic Arms has the nicest out-of-the-box trigger overall.

Denny