Are all AR15's built the same?

[Kirk Freeman]

I am here to admonish all of you that while you have all been discussing AR-15s and quite frankly there is not enough discussion of Colt. I . . . have a friend who is a huge fanboi and is upset by this.

Also, . . . Centurion . . . and LMT . . . and LWRCI . . . and BCM . . . and FN, especially TacIII . . . and the M16A4 clone from New Stag . . . and . . .

 

[1gunaholic]

Thanks, but I don't want to build one, not yet anyway.
I just want to learn the parts and their names. Start at the beginning... so to speak.
If the parts are the same across the AR15 platform, then a detailed, generic mat should provide the information, correct?
That would provide a quick visual reference for a newbie.

Here's what I'm looking at:

View attachment 174162

Good start

 

[Kirk Freeman]

OP, try these to see if they address your concerns:

Armorer's Manual For Sale on Amazon

This is 180 page, color, armorer's manual that I have used to teach classes all over the country. This armorer's manual covers nomenclature, general usage, cycle of operations, field stripping,...

smallarmssolutions.com

 

[DadSmith]

Has anyone ran a Aero Precision in competition? I mean built by Aero Precision. Are there any Aero Precision torture tests on video available? I wonder how well Aero Precision stands up to the higher quality rifle builders.

 

[Lpherr]

OP, try these to see if they address your concerns:

Armorer's Manual For Sale on Amazon

This is 180 page, color, armorer's manual that I have used to teach classes all over the country. This armorer's manual covers nomenclature, general usage, cycle of operations, field stripping,...

smallarmssolutions.com

Well... I appreciate the video's, but I can't watch them. For some reason, my speakers aren't working. I've tried everything, and they are dead. I don't use them very often, and they worked the last time I turned them on. It's always something I guess.
I'll get to another computer and watch them.

I'm done adulting for today.

 

[MrWizard]

Looking at ammunition, I haven't found a 5.56 hollow point. Do they not exist? What's the preferred ammo for self defense?

Rifle rounds generally go to a soft-point instead of a true hollow point if you are specifically looking for expansion. Note that most hunting rounds are soft points for exactly that reason. As long as the jacket material isn’t continuous around the meplat (point) of the bullet like FMJ (Full Metal Jacket), it flattens out pretty good if it is moving fast enough. Slower pistol rounds generally don’t deform quite as much as rifle rounds, so get a bit more benefit out of a more controlled expansion provided by a hollow point. Apart from that, you have OTM (Open Tip Match, often called Boat Tail Hollow Point or BTHP) and polymer tips that do expand better than FMJ, but aren’t specifically designed for that purpose.

Depending on what your rifle is, Hornady Critical Defense or Hornady Black SBR (similar to Hornady’s TAP offering for) may be suitable. Speer makes a good soft point too (Gold Dot). There are some fancy snake oil offerings as well. Lots of options out there.

 

[Ggreen]

Has anyone ran a Aero Precision in competition? I mean built by Aero Precision. Are there any Aero Precision torture tests on video available? I wonder how well Aero Precision stands up to the higher quality rifle builders.

Do people use the factory built aeros in comps Yes.

Torture tests are absolutely pointless. Sample size of one and no real data or control. Entertainment purposes only.

Aero, stag, ballistic advantage, vg6 are all owned by the same company. And all 4 have a big presence in multiple forms of competitive shooting and even issued a duty weapons.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Do people use the factory built aeros in comps Yes.

Torture tests are absolutely pointless. Sample size of one and no real data or control. Entertainment purposes only.

Aero, stag, ballistic advantage, vg6 are all owned by the same company. And all 4 have a big presence in multiple forms of competitive shooting and even issued a duty weapons.

Ggreen, I ask you because you are one of the INGOers most likely to, but do you have one of the M16A4 clones by Stag?

 

[Ggreen]

Ggreen, I ask you because you are one of the INGOers most likely to, but do you have one of the M16A4 clones by Stag?

No. But I know fn has one that would probably be my first choice especially with how similar the cost is. Looks like they are within 500 of each other. I was air force during gwot and eventually I'd like to get the fn m4 clone.

 

[DadSmith]

Do people use the factory built aeros in comps Yes.

Torture tests are absolutely pointless. Sample size of one and no real data or control. Entertainment purposes only.

Aero, stag, ballistic advantage, vg6 are all owned by the same company. And all 4 have a big presence in multiple forms of competitive shooting and even issued a duty weapons.

Torture test will tell you if it will run 5k rounds without failures, or cleaning. Lube is mandatory for all weapons so that's allowed.

My old M4 couldn't make it through a magazine without a failure or five. Total piece of junk. However, after building my own I believe if the armorer would have changed out all the springs it might have ran like a new one.

That experience with a Colt as a young man has tainted my opinion of them. Like I said maybe replacing all the springs in it might have made a huge difference. I'm willing to try out a Colt 6920 sometime.

 

[MrWizard]

Do people use the factory built aeros in comps Yes.

Torture tests are absolutely pointless. Sample size of one and no real data or control. Entertainment purposes only.

Aero, stag, ballistic advantage, vg6 are all owned by the same company. And all 4 have a big presence in multiple forms of competitive shooting and even issued a duty weapons.

Huh. I had no idea that Stag was a part of that family as well. Just looked it up, and it looks like it was bought by White Wolf Capital in 2016. Interestingly, Aero wholly owns VG6 and BA as a subsidiary, while White Wolf holds Stag.

 

[Ggreen]

Torture test will tell you if it will run 5k rounds without failures, or cleaning. Lube is mandatory for all weapons so that's allowed.

My old M4 couldn't make it through a magazine without a failure or five. Total piece of junk. However, after building my own I believe if the armorer would have changed out all the springs it might have ran like a new one.

That experience with a Colt as a young man has tainted my opinion of them. Like I said maybe replacing all the springs in it might have made a huge difference. I'm willing to try out a Colt 6920 sometime.

Torture tests say nothing until it's proven through repetition. They are just entertainment. Will an aero work out of the box? Yes. Will it be the best at the match, no. Will you notice without shooting the higher end guns, no.

And I know there are fanboys here that this will ruffle, and this isn't meant a a personal attack. Colt is(has) not high grade equipment. If I were buying a 6920, I'd buy the fn patrol rifle or a sons of liberty gun works patrol rifle. Czolt is making some positive forward motion though integrating centurion rails. Maybe in 3 or 4 years I'd consider a new manufacture Colt.

If torture tests truly matters we would exclusively carry ak's and glocks. Which is fine by me, but operating got while some ding dong dips it in and out of a mud puddle is pure entertainment worth next to no value in evaluating the gun. The people that do drawn out testing through regular use have much more value

 

[Ggreen]

Huh. I had no idea that Stag was a part of that family as well. Just looked it up, and it looks like it was bought by White Wolf Capital in 2016. Interestingly, Aero wholly owns VG6 and BA as a subsidiary, while White Wolf holds Stag.

You can see the aeroification in everything now. No more Diamondhead or Samson rails, strange zombie green barrels are gone, no more cheaply made piston uppers, they use aero's barrel nuts etc...

All the company's operate independently, but aero has a lot invested in r&d and marketing so you'll see their influence on everything.

 

[DadSmith]

Torture tests say nothing until it's proven through repetition. They are just entertainment. Will an aero work out of the box? Yes. Will it be the best at the match, no. Will you notice without shooting the higher end guns, no.

And I know there are fanboys here that this will ruffle, and this isn't meant a a personal attack. Colt is(has) not high grade equipment. If I were buying a 6920, I'd buy the fn patrol rifle or a sons of liberty gun works patrol rifle. Czolt is making some positive forward motion though integrating centurion rails. Maybe in 3 or 4 years I'd consider a new manufacture Colt.

If torture tests truly matters we would exclusively carry ak's and glocks. Which is fine by me, but operating got while some ding dong dips it in and out of a mud puddle is pure entertainment worth next to no value in evaluating the gun. The people that do drawn out testing through regular use have much more value

I'm not talking about mud puddles I'm talking continuously firing for thousands of rounds accurately as possible without cleaning just lubricated as needed. I know when the barrel heats up accuracy goes down the toilet that's why I say accurately as possible. When a gun gets dirty front firing and hot how well will it hold up?

I don't plan on rubbing mud or sand in my action to see if it will work I'd say most won't.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Huh. I had no idea that Stag was a part of that family as well. Just looked it up, and it looks like it was bought by White Wolf Capital in 2016. Interestingly, Aero wholly owns VG6 and BA as a subsidiary, while White Wolf holds Stag.

Welcome to the gun industry, where in-breeding in the normal course of business.

 

[Fordtough25]

In my experience no, a lot are fairly close but some are junk. Small parts can really vary on quality and fit.

 

[Ggreen]

I'm not talking about mud puddles I'm talking continuously firing for thousands of rounds accurately as possible without cleaning just lubricated as needed. I know when the barrel heats up accuracy goes down the toilet that's why I say accurately as possible. When a gun gets dirty front firing and hot how well will it hold up?

I don't plan on rubbing mud or sand in my action to see if it will work I'd say most won't.

Torture tests are not a way to judge the quality of a build. Crane tests yes. Sample of one dumping mags is something most brands will pass

 

[Trapper Jim]

American made Wyndham or Bushmaster for me. Just me but my guns work all the time.

 

[Lpherr]

Rifle rounds generally go to a soft-point instead of a true hollow point if you are specifically looking for expansion. Note that most hunting rounds are soft points for exactly that reason. As long as the jacket material isn’t continuous around the meplat (point) of the bullet like FMJ (Full Metal Jacket), it flattens out pretty good if it is moving fast enough. Slower pistol rounds generally don’t deform quite as much as rifle rounds, so get a bit more benefit out of a more controlled expansion provided by a hollow point. Apart from that, you have OTM (Open Tip Match, often called Boat Tail Hollow Point or BTHP) and polymer tips that do expand better than FMJ, but aren’t specifically designed for that purpose.

Depending on what your rifle is, Hornady Critical Defense or Hornady Black SBR (similar to Hornady’s TAP offering for) may be suitable. Speer makes a good soft point too (Gold Dot). There are some fancy snake oil offerings as well. Lots of options out there.

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out and see what I can find.

I looked at the previously mentioned Hornady's, but they are out of stock every place I looked.

So, something like the PMC X-TAC 5.56MM and 5.56MM NATO, would be good for target practice? I was given a few boxes of the 55 grain.

My concern is using the incorrect round for PP and over-penetrating. I would think that chance increases, as the distance decreases.

 

[DadSmith]

Torture tests are not a way to judge the quality of a build. Crane tests yes. Sample of one dumping mags is something most brands will pass

If that fancy $2500+ rifle can't make 2000 rds without a failure it is a failure.