JeepHammer
SHOOTER
Not being a professional or anything I do attend several AR/Carbine classes a year two the tune of around 3,000 rounds or more in classes and probably about another 2,500 in prep and self training. This has given me the chance to witness in person the operation of many different brands of AR’s here is some notable observations.
1. A great quality AR does not make up for a lack of training the $2500 someone’s spent does not mean crap if they cannot run it.
This is way more common than a person would think.
2. The majority of AR’s will not see 2,500 rounds in a lifetime. I still struggle with this “mil spec” thing. Having been issued more M16 series rifles than I can recall they ranged from shot out junk to brand new from a dizzying amount of makers.
IMO it doesn’t have to be “mil spec” to work.
3. IME in the real world “Franken Guns” no matter the quality of parts malfunction more than the cheap factory built one with even more catastrophe failures. That’s not saying many INGO peeps I have shot with do not do well with what they have built.
Low end recommendations
Ruger - They appear to work well and seem to be accurate
S&W sport II - adequate do not seem as well made as the Ruger I think most people would not ever notice the difference
Windham- I think they are worth more than the price well made and run well
MID Range
SIG M400 - I use this one works fine seems to be more accurate than most
Colt - Well made works good and well its a Colt
FN - Very well made some of the best government issued M16 I had were FN’s it seems to have carried over to the AR’s
High End
Daniel Defense - They seem to live up to the reputation
BCM - same as above
IME training far outweighs the rifle any good AR with a decent Optic can outperform most shooters. Buy a decent AR or build one then spend $$ on training.
BTW
Please don’t buy a $2500 rifle and put a $100 red dot on it. Balance between optic and rifle a cheaper rifle with a better optic will serve you well.
What he said.
Want to learn to SCUBA, take the classes,
Want to learn to drive a race car, take the classes,
If you want to jump out of an airplane, take the classes,
Want to learn to shoot, take the classes.
Best money you will ever spend!
In a shooting competition between military allies, I had my personal rifle along.
The British guys wanted to know if I was Canadian since I had a good optic on a common rifle...
They say Americans put $100 optics on $1,000 rifles, so they were confused.
I had actually won the optic, I couldn't afford a good optic on my Marine Corps paycheck.
A crap load of off the shelf rifles will shoot well, there are exactly zero $100 optics that shoot 1,000 yards reliably.
I hear the stories, but when you try and make adjustments repeatably, they never do, from mechanicals off spec to lenses off optical center, they ALL fail.
#3. With exception...
A 'Franken Gun' is mismatched parts assembled poorly.
Mismatched parts assembled poorly are all over the retail market from supposed 'Manufacturers'.
Just because it came from a 'Manufacturer' (assembler, they don't actually manufacture anything) doesn't mean it's quality parts or assembled correctly.
I see them all the time, and some I won't take on as a gunsmith simply because EVERYTHING is wrong.