Recommended AR15 manufacturers

PushPuller · July 14, 2018, 08:50 AM

Hey everyone, Iv been window shopping for a no frills, but quality AR15 to add to the collection primarily as a range gun. A few places online and local gun stores have had some very decent prices lately and iv been wondering which brands if any I should look into or stay away from in the $500-$750 range. My two current ARs were both builds so up until now I haven't really cared much about which brands were building better complete rifles.

Targa · July 14, 2018, 09:09 AM

My choice would be Aeropecision followed by PSA. I have a Aero M4E1 upper and lower with a Spikes tactical BCG, no complaints.

turtlehead · July 14, 2018, 09:33 AM

Aero.

lunger · July 14, 2018, 05:42 PM

I voted Smith and Wesson. You are probably going to get the type everyone owns. Really all the company's Listed are making decent AR's.

kymasabe · July 14, 2018, 06:05 PM

My choices aren't on your list so I'll just mention them here. I'm a big fan of Palmetto State Armory, haven't had any problems with their products, and they now come with a lifetime warranty as well. That being said, I think a very good quality step up from there though would be Aero Precision and/or Ballistic Advantage. Spikes Tactical also piques my interest. There's nothing wrong with the other companies that you listed, just not my favorites, and I'm fairly certain they all build a decent AR these days. (Surprised Ruger isn't on the list too)? Check your messages too...

Dfariswheel · July 14, 2018, 06:09 PM

I still think that the best brand for quality vs price is Colt.

These days the prices on Colt are very reasonable.
Colt is still the AR that everyone else is compared to.

With a Colt you can pretty well guarantee that you can open the box, clean the factory preservative lube off, wipe out the bore and shoot it 10,000 rounds with no problems.

xandi · July 14, 2018, 06:45 PM

I like my del ton,the nice hbar Barrel will shoot better the I can

jugornot · July 14, 2018, 07:50 PM

My DPMS took a trip to the repair facility but shoots good now. Shoots really well with my mods.. RRA shot well out of the box. But both are bull barrel target rifles. Not you ordinary ARs. RRA is Wylde chamber. DPMS is gen 2 308.

2ndtimer · July 14, 2018, 11:04 PM

I voted Smith & Wesson, but Stag should be an option.

Water-Man · July 14, 2018, 11:53 PM

Aero Precision.

marine6680 · July 15, 2018, 12:04 AM

Not on your list... For a basic M4 style with GI furniture or possibly Magpul MOE furniture...

PSA
Aero Precision

At the $700 and under price range, Aero Precision has the best overall quality, no skimping on the materials used, proper specs, excellent fit and finish. See them on sale from time to time for a bit under $600, with the price usually around $650. Brownell's is a good place to find them for sale.

PSA is close behind AP, but the fit and finish isn't quite as good. They may have more tooling marks in places. They are built well though, and are reliable. The AK operators guys on YouTube have a 5000rd test of a PSA, where it did very well.

(As far as fit and finish... I have seen the same tooling marks on BCM stuff, and Colt doesn't even bother with removing forging flash much at all. So it's not bad, it's just that AP really makes they parts look good, and nice and smooth in the finish)

PSA is on sale more often than AP, and I have seen their basic Freedom line with nitride barrel on sale for $500 recently.

Now, if you shop around, you may be able to find a Colt 6920 for $750-800. Full mil spec and well made, if not with a few scuffs here and there. Mine is suprisingly accurate with cheap ammo, holding 1.5moa with Wolf Gold 55gr.

I recently seen an FN AR in basic M4 style for $750... I want it... FN makes great ARs, and at that price it's a no brainer... They are just as good as a Colt, with better final fit and finish, and they make rifles for the military too, so they are made right.

Personally, I prefer a mid length gas system on a 16in AR, but my Colt isn't over gassed, not significantly anyway.

KY_blkout · July 15, 2018, 01:04 AM

I think out of your list sig is the best but I agree with others colt, aero, and bcm are going to be my favorites.

marine6680 · July 15, 2018, 01:41 AM

BCM...

I like BCM too, I own a complete BCM and a second AR with a BCM upper, but they are well out of the listed price range. Even their basic m4 style setup is going to cost around $1100 to complete. (No sights)

At that price, might as well spend the $150-200 more for their free-float option.

But yeah, good choice for a well built rifle if you want to spend the money.

As far as Sig... A buddy has one of their piston ARs, and he likes it. It seems well made. Never seen any Sig AR for the price range the OP lists.

While none of the manufacturers listed in the poll make a bad rifle, I don't think any of them have the best bang for the buck in the price range listed.

Either they cut corners to reduce costs, or they are higher priced than the manufacturers I listed in my prior post.

Why have a rifle that uses commercial buffer tubes made from 6061, and/or an untreated 4140 barrel... Or other cut corners... When you can get milspec 7075 tubes and 4150 nitride treated barrels. (Or in Colt's case, a chrome lined barrel)

Price to features, and overall quality have me favoring AP and PSA for a basic budget rifle, in the $600 price range, that will run even when run hard or treated rough... Bumped up to $750, a Colt 6920 is hard to beat if you can find it at that price. Lately I have been seeing them around $850 though.

PushPuller · July 15, 2018, 07:32 AM

Im actually a huge advocate for Colt. My family has had ample experience with Colt ARs in varying flavors and have always had good luck with them. I just thought they were all $900+ but after looking around online this morning it seems like if I'm patient I could probably pick up one in my price range.

I might have to look into Aero a little more! When I was building mine they had just recently started to get their name out and their lower receivers were the cheapest ones on the market, but them not being around very long and nobody having any experience with them yet I figured better left alone for a while.

Mobuck · July 15, 2018, 08:00 AM

FWIW
One of the "best shooting" AR's in my stable is a DelTon .
The WORST relative to sloppiness of chamber and fit carries the "Prancing Pony" logo. The chamber marking on the barrel should read ".223 XXL". I'd get rid of it but it is useful for burning up those slightly oversize reloads that sometimes turn up (and don't chamber in the "good" guns).

smee78 · July 15, 2018, 08:00 AM

If I was buying an already assembled rifle my first option would be a Colt (good brand name, resale value holds good), but I have built all of my rifles and most of them have been with parts and pieces from my second choice PSA. You can get some great deals if you sign up for the PSA emails, I get daily deals daily so its easy and fast for them to drain my gun money from me. If your last two AR's were builds why go out and purchase a rifle?

PushPuller · July 15, 2018, 09:26 AM

Quote:

One of the "best shooting" AR's in my stable is a DelTon

Both of my builds are DelTons and I couldn't be happier. I might just stick with them, but figured I should see what else is on the table as well.

Quote:

If your last two AR's were builds why go out and purchase a rifle?

A few reasons, but the main one being that I live about an hour from my dad. He has all the tools, and a better bench/setup than my current dining room table arrangement. I also have an issue where building something no frills turns into a full blown "if your gonna do it just go all out syndrome", whereas if I buy something already finished I tend to leave it alone. Sounds silly but the second option is more in the financial cards at them moment.

craddleshooter · July 15, 2018, 11:39 AM

I can only tell you my experiences. I own a bushmaster and a colt. While they are both fine firearms, the colt has the edge in my opinion. The bushmaster is a little more picky with the ammo and will sometimes jam if im using wolf. But this is rare and only if using cheap steel cased ammo. The bushmaster also dents the brass slightly in the neck. I found the bushmaster is slightly more accurate but that may just be from the 20" barrel as opposed to the 16" on the colt. These factors, along with the fact that Ive never had a single malfunction in the colt in over the year that Ive had it, would def make me recommend colt. Also I like the 1 in 7 twist that stabilizes the heavier hornady tap ammo that I keep for self defense. But good luck finding one for $1,500 nowadays. I got mine new for $1,200 a year ago but then again, there wasnt a pending AWB.

Kvon2 · July 15, 2018, 12:12 PM

Quote:

voted Smith & Wesson, but Stag should be an option.

my exact thoughts. They run sales all the time on their website and make an EXCELLENT product.

JJ45 · July 15, 2018, 12:55 PM

I am no AR expert and don't own one but in looking up Atlantic Arms website to check something else a Stag Arms 15 Minamalist ad came up and what interested me was:

Life time warranty (Transferable)
Chrome lined bore
Infinite shot guarantee on the barrel
For warranty work, Stag pays shipping both ways

All for less than $700...since I am pretty much AR ignorant, can anyone tell me if this weapon is a good one and worth it?

Arub · July 15, 2018, 07:13 PM

Voted Smith because Anderson was not an option. Have one each. Anderson trigger, although about 5#s, has little creep, breaks clean, and has a minimal reset, not the typical mil spec trigger.

marine6680 · July 15, 2018, 08:11 PM

JJ... That stag should work fine for you.

Take a look at some of the other brands mentioned too.

MTT TL · July 15, 2018, 11:40 PM

Shop by components of what you want. It is really tough to screw up an AR during build and pretty easy to fix.

agtman · July 16, 2018, 07:11 AM

Colt - that's the one with the Pony.

All the others are merely, ... cloneys.

G.barnes · July 16, 2018, 08:25 AM

If it was me I’d buy used. I see all kinds of very nice Daniel Defense and BCM rifles right around 1000 dollars. If your buying new buy something cheaper so you can swap out the not so good parts with better ones or spend a little more and get something built right. I’ve owned a lot of different ars over the years. Everyone can have a problem it’s how many problems to how many put out. I’ve had newer bushmaster that you couldn’t get the take down pin out of with out some to hit it with, a beautiful rock river with an unstaked commercial buffer tube and their 2 stage trigger was so heavy the first time I shot it I thought I forgot to turn of the safety. My bcm pnt trigger was half the price of the RRA trigger and has a much nicer pull. Try looking at sionics and ballistic advantage also. They have top quality stuff at reasonable prices.

View Poll Results: Most qauilty brand for the price.
Bushmaster	3	7.89%
Sig Sauer	5	13.16%
DPMS	1	2.63%
Adam Arms	0	0%
Windham Weaponry	8	21.05%
Delton	3	7.89%
S&W	11	28.95%
Rock River Arms	12	31.58%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 38. You may not vote on this poll

July 14, 2018, 08:50 AM	#1
PushPuller Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2018 Posts: 156	Recommended AR15 manufacturers Hey everyone, Iv been window shopping for a no frills, but quality AR15 to add to the collection primarily as a range gun. A few places online and local gun stores have had some very decent prices lately and iv been wondering which brands if any I should look into or stay away from in the $500-$750 range. My two current ARs were both builds so up until now I haven't really cared much about which brands were building better complete rifles. Last edited by PushPuller; July 14, 2018 at 09:00 AM.

July 14, 2018, 09:09 AM	#2
Targa Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Posts: 2,084	My choice would be Aeropecision followed by PSA. I have a Aero M4E1 upper and lower with a Spikes tactical BCG, no complaints. Last edited by Targa; July 14, 2018 at 09:28 AM.

July 14, 2018, 06:05 PM	#5
kymasabe Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2005 Location: SW Florida Posts: 2,747	My choices aren't on your list so I'll just mention them here. I'm a big fan of Palmetto State Armory, haven't had any problems with their products, and they now come with a lifetime warranty as well. That being said, I think a very good quality step up from there though would be Aero Precision and/or Ballistic Advantage. Spikes Tactical also piques my interest. There's nothing wrong with the other companies that you listed, just not my favorites, and I'm fairly certain they all build a decent AR these days. (Surprised Ruger isn't on the list too)? Check your messages too... __________________ God's creatures big and small, eat them one, eat them all.

July 14, 2018, 11:04 PM	#9
2ndtimer Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2004 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 293	I voted Smith & Wesson, but Stag should be an option. __________________ NRA Endowment Member

July 14, 2018, 09:33 AM	#3
turtlehead Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2015 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,203	Aero.

July 14, 2018, 05:42 PM	#4
lunger Senior Member Join Date: May 17, 2007 Posts: 443	I voted Smith and Wesson. You are probably going to get the type everyone owns. Really all the company's Listed are making decent AR's.

July 14, 2018, 06:09 PM	#6
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	I still think that the best brand for quality vs price is Colt. These days the prices on Colt are very reasonable. Colt is still the AR that everyone else is compared to. With a Colt you can pretty well guarantee that you can open the box, clean the factory preservative lube off, wipe out the bore and shoot it 10,000 rounds with no problems.

July 14, 2018, 06:45 PM	#7
xandi Senior Member Join Date: April 10, 2015 Location: ga Posts: 321	I like my del ton,the nice hbar Barrel will shoot better the I can

July 14, 2018, 07:50 PM	#8
jugornot Senior Member Join Date: September 20, 2017 Posts: 197	My DPMS took a trip to the repair facility but shoots good now. Shoots really well with my mods.. RRA shot well out of the box. But both are bull barrel target rifles. Not you ordinary ARs. RRA is Wylde chamber. DPMS is gen 2 308.

July 14, 2018, 11:53 PM	#10
Water-Man Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 2,126	Aero Precision.

July 15, 2018, 12:04 AM	#11
marine6680 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2012 Location: Parker, CO Posts: 4,594	Not on your list... For a basic M4 style with GI furniture or possibly Magpul MOE furniture... PSA Aero Precision At the $700 and under price range, Aero Precision has the best overall quality, no skimping on the materials used, proper specs, excellent fit and finish. See them on sale from time to time for a bit under $600, with the price usually around $650. Brownell's is a good place to find them for sale. PSA is close behind AP, but the fit and finish isn't quite as good. They may have more tooling marks in places. They are built well though, and are reliable. The AK operators guys on YouTube have a 5000rd test of a PSA, where it did very well. (As far as fit and finish... I have seen the same tooling marks on BCM stuff, and Colt doesn't even bother with removing forging flash much at all. So it's not bad, it's just that AP really makes they parts look good, and nice and smooth in the finish) PSA is on sale more often than AP, and I have seen their basic Freedom line with nitride barrel on sale for $500 recently. Now, if you shop around, you may be able to find a Colt 6920 for $750-800. Full mil spec and well made, if not with a few scuffs here and there. Mine is suprisingly accurate with cheap ammo, holding 1.5moa with Wolf Gold 55gr. I recently seen an FN AR in basic M4 style for $750... I want it... FN makes great ARs, and at that price it's a no brainer... They are just as good as a Colt, with better final fit and finish, and they make rifles for the military too, so they are made right. Personally, I prefer a mid length gas system on a 16in AR, but my Colt isn't over gassed, not significantly anyway.

July 15, 2018, 01:04 AM	#12
KY_blkout Member Join Date: June 10, 2018 Posts: 67	I think out of your list sig is the best but I agree with others colt, aero, and bcm are going to be my favorites.

July 15, 2018, 01:41 AM	#13
marine6680 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2012 Location: Parker, CO Posts: 4,594	BCM... I like BCM too, I own a complete BCM and a second AR with a BCM upper, but they are well out of the listed price range. Even their basic m4 style setup is going to cost around $1100 to complete. (No sights) At that price, might as well spend the $150-200 more for their free-float option. But yeah, good choice for a well built rifle if you want to spend the money. As far as Sig... A buddy has one of their piston ARs, and he likes it. It seems well made. Never seen any Sig AR for the price range the OP lists. While none of the manufacturers listed in the poll make a bad rifle, I don't think any of them have the best bang for the buck in the price range listed. Either they cut corners to reduce costs, or they are higher priced than the manufacturers I listed in my prior post. Why have a rifle that uses commercial buffer tubes made from 6061, and/or an untreated 4140 barrel... Or other cut corners... When you can get milspec 7075 tubes and 4150 nitride treated barrels. (Or in Colt's case, a chrome lined barrel) Price to features, and overall quality have me favoring AP and PSA for a basic budget rifle, in the $600 price range, that will run even when run hard or treated rough... Bumped up to $750, a Colt 6920 is hard to beat if you can find it at that price. Lately I have been seeing them around $850 though. Last edited by marine6680; July 15, 2018 at 01:55 AM.

July 15, 2018, 07:32 AM	#14
PushPuller Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2018 Posts: 156	Im actually a huge advocate for Colt. My family has had ample experience with Colt ARs in varying flavors and have always had good luck with them. I just thought they were all $900+ but after looking around online this morning it seems like if I'm patient I could probably pick up one in my price range. I might have to look into Aero a little more! When I was building mine they had just recently started to get their name out and their lower receivers were the cheapest ones on the market, but them not being around very long and nobody having any experience with them yet I figured better left alone for a while.

July 15, 2018, 08:00 AM	#15
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	FWIW One of the "best shooting" AR's in my stable is a DelTon . The WORST relative to sloppiness of chamber and fit carries the "Prancing Pony" logo. The chamber marking on the barrel should read ".223 XXL". I'd get rid of it but it is useful for burning up those slightly oversize reloads that sometimes turn up (and don't chamber in the "good" guns).

July 15, 2018, 08:00 AM	#16
smee78 Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2008 Location: South Carolina Posts: 2,918	If I was buying an already assembled rifle my first option would be a Colt (good brand name, resale value holds good), but I have built all of my rifles and most of them have been with parts and pieces from my second choice PSA. You can get some great deals if you sign up for the PSA emails, I get daily deals daily so its easy and fast for them to drain my gun money from me. If your last two AR's were builds why go out and purchase a rifle? __________________ We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located, among the millions and millions of cows in America, but we haven't got a clue where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are

July 15, 2018, 11:39 AM	#18
craddleshooter Junior member Join Date: March 9, 2018 Location: NY Posts: 90	I can only tell you my experiences. I own a bushmaster and a colt. While they are both fine firearms, the colt has the edge in my opinion. The bushmaster is a little more picky with the ammo and will sometimes jam if im using wolf. But this is rare and only if using cheap steel cased ammo. The bushmaster also dents the brass slightly in the neck. I found the bushmaster is slightly more accurate but that may just be from the 20" barrel as opposed to the 16" on the colt. These factors, along with the fact that Ive never had a single malfunction in the colt in over the year that Ive had it, would def make me recommend colt. Also I like the 1 in 7 twist that stabilizes the heavier hornady tap ammo that I keep for self defense. But good luck finding one for $1,500 nowadays. I got mine new for $1,200 a year ago but then again, there wasnt a pending AWB.

July 15, 2018, 12:55 PM	#20
JJ45 Senior Member Join Date: June 8, 2015 Posts: 908	I am no AR expert and don't own one but in looking up Atlantic Arms website to check something else a Stag Arms 15 Minamalist ad came up and what interested me was: Life time warranty (Transferable) Chrome lined bore Infinite shot guarantee on the barrel For warranty work, Stag pays shipping both ways All for less than $700...since I am pretty much AR ignorant, can anyone tell me if this weapon is a good one and worth it? Last edited by JJ45; July 16, 2018 at 04:39 AM.

July 15, 2018, 07:13 PM	#21
Arub Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2001 Location: UCLA (upper corner of lower Alabama) Posts: 533	Voted Smith because Anderson was not an option. Have one each. Anderson trigger, although about 5#s, has little creep, breaks clean, and has a minimal reset, not the typical mil spec trigger.

July 15, 2018, 08:11 PM	#22
marine6680 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2012 Location: Parker, CO Posts: 4,594	JJ... That stag should work fine for you. Take a look at some of the other brands mentioned too.

July 15, 2018, 11:40 PM	#23
MTT TL Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 2009 Location: Quadling Country Posts: 2,780	Shop by components of what you want. It is really tough to screw up an AR during build and pretty easy to fix. __________________ Thus a man should endeavor to reach this high place of courage with all his heart, and, so trying, never be backward in war.

July 16, 2018, 07:11 AM	#24
agtman Junior member Join Date: July 26, 2001 Location: midwest Posts: 2,374	Colt - that's the one with the Pony. All the others are merely, ... cloneys.

July 16, 2018, 08:25 AM	#25
G.barnes Senior Member Join Date: June 3, 2011 Posts: 182	If it was me I’d buy used. I see all kinds of very nice Daniel Defense and BCM rifles right around 1000 dollars. If your buying new buy something cheaper so you can swap out the not so good parts with better ones or spend a little more and get something built right. I’ve owned a lot of different ars over the years. Everyone can have a problem it’s how many problems to how many put out. I’ve had newer bushmaster that you couldn’t get the take down pin out of with out some to hit it with, a beautiful rock river with an unstaked commercial buffer tube and their 2 stage trigger was so heavy the first time I shot it I thought I forgot to turn of the safety. My bcm pnt trigger was half the price of the RRA trigger and has a much nicer pull. Try looking at sionics and ballistic advantage also. They have top quality stuff at reasonable prices.

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