I have been looking in to building an Ar-15 rifle for awhile now and had my sights set on a LWRC IC-SPR, but the price is a little high right now where i'm at so i was looking in to building an AR with just a lower and upper receiver. I came across a AdamsArms  16" Carbine Evo Ultra Lite Upper for around $850.00 and was wondering about the quality and testing this company does with there products since i cant seem to locate anything newer then 2 years ago about them. First is Adams Arms any good quality wise ( I know there not LWRC) but will this upper run for years to come? Is the upper worth the price for a piston system? Has anyone shot an AdamsArms rifle or Own one themselves? I also noticed that there barrels are not chrome lined is this an issue? Here's a link to what i'm talking about (AdamsArms Upper) Any information would be helpful, also if any one could link me to some Piston uppers for around $8-900 that would be great. Thanks? p.s I will be using a LWRC ambi lower receiver to eventually use when i purchase one of there full uppers. Thanks Again.

I bought an Adams Arms pistol.  Has fired many 5.56 NATO rounds without incident.

I have a AA 11.5" piston pistol that has been great so far. I have a 16.5" DI from Voodoo innovations ( a sister company of Adams ) on order for a 3gun build. So far all there stuff has been GTG for me.

Adams Arms makes good quality stuff.

They melonite treat their parts, which has wear resistance comparable to chrome, but with less friction and somewhat better accuracy. The melonite surface treatment is smoother than chrome, and doesn't "build up" the surface the way chrome does. So when you apply it it doesn't change dimensions as much.

I just got anTactical EVO upper, and haven't shot it yet, but the quality looks and feels exceptional. It has a gov profile barrel.

I have heard that the ultra light EVO's had some gas blocks come loose, and that the new Tactical EVO has a cutout for the gas block to lock it in place.

Thanks for all the responses, ill have to do a little bit more research before i purchase from them, since there are so many dealers to choose from i want to make the right decision on this one.

They're good to go

My 3 gun competition rifle is an Adams 16" mid on a RRA lower. It's solid as shit, yet to have a malfunction in ~2000 rounds. It's accurate enough for the game, 1-2 MOA depending on ammo, but more importantly she eats what I feed her. As others have posted, the Melonite process makes the parts pretty corrosion resistant and they do wipe down pretty easily. A rag and oil with Mobil 1 between shooting and you're good to go. I will always have a DI AR around, but I prefer shooting the Adams piston. I seriously cannot express how great it is to get back from shooting all day in the Texas summer and not have to scrape carbon off anything for hours. Adams also stands by their products and supports the shooting sports. Probably why I keep adopting family members from them...

Ya the more i research the better they seem to get, but still no customer reviews. On another note what is there testing process for there guns? Is it as good as the top tier company's out there? I also have been reading that people are having trouble with the gas block staying tight to the barrel, after a few rounds the gas block becomes loose and wiggles? Has this been an issue for any one using there upper? I am really leaning on getting one but i'm still not totally convinced yet, its hard when i cant find any reviews or videos on there rifles, just things from mid last year, has any thing changed with there products from then until now? thanks again

You're a bit clueless. Most of the posts in this thread have been made by people who have purchased and used Adams Arms products. They ARE customer reviews.

This ^^^^

srsly???

Try actually googling "Adams Arms review" and you'll get a bunch of results.

i wasn't looking to be criticized on here for asking questions. like i stated before there all from a year or 2 ago and just because 5 people responded to me dose not make Adams arms any better where are the reviews on there website or videos on youtube showing off more then 1 type of rifle. all i was doing was asking the questions i couldn't find on "GOOGLE", i did the research on this company and all im saying is there is not a lot of info to be found...

I'm an Adams Evo owner. The good and bad in my opinion rates itself as such:

- Reliability is 8/10. If a weapon touts itself as 'Mil-Spec' to me it means it possesses the ability to shoot any commonly available ammunition chambered for the rifle. SHTF is not for a finicky, race run that only likes certain ammo. Well, it's been well documented that AA's do not like shooting light loads which means expect the gun to not flawlessly cycle Tula, Wolf, and other steel case ammo. I have to knock 2 points off this because almost every other rifle on the market runs this stuff with no issues.

(Sidenote: You can get your AA to shoot the inexpensive stuff - but it requires tuning your buffer / spring / or possibly sending it back to AA to have the gas port in the barrel opened up)

- Material Choice and Quality is  8/10. 1:8 twist barrels would be ideal but the 1:7 is fine. Barrels aren't CHF either (to my knowledge). They don't use forged billet lowers and special super slick coatings. The meloniting process is respectable though and often considered better than CL.

- Fit and Finish is 8/10. These are armorer assembled weapons, not smithed or craftsmen level builds. You'll see some tooling marks here or there. Maybe something you wished would have fit together with better tolerances or more precision. No worse than what you'd fine with, say, Colt - but not the sort of precision, massaging and care found with the higher end players.

- Quality Control is 7/10. Sad to say, but their Q/C leaves something to be desired. It's not frequent, but yet not uncommon to read that new owners of AA rifles need about 150-200 rounds down the tube before the gun runs flawlessly. I also knock off a point for fit and finish. Stuff that is functional, but would never walk out the door of a higher end player (slight color variances, gap tolerances not as tight as others, etc.) is allowed to ship.

- Customer Service is 10/10. They're highly active and responsive on this board.  Should there be a problem, they offer a no B.S. warranty and will take it back for a tear down and evaluation without hesitation.

- Value for Dollar.  10/10. Let's be honest, most AR Pistons come in the door around $1,000 and go up from there. AA manages to best them by $200-400 (If you get a blem sale).

You asked a question.  We answered.





Then you made a comment.  We reacted to that comment.





That's the way these things work.
 

Googling "Adams Arms review" gives more than 5 MILLION results. The first several pages of which are almost all reviews of various AA products by individuals or articles reviewing AA products in various firearm-related publications. Your google-fu is weak, grasshopper...

Its your money and you have every right to ask, to research, etc. You can read up in AA's industry forum page here:  AA Industry Forum Page

Adams products are good but there customer service is lousy at best IMO.

I would have to disagree on this point.
Anytime you reach out to Adams via the correct method (e.g. DO NOT CALL) they've always been responsive, accommodating, and amenable  with quick turn around time.

You want to see what lousy customer service looks like, try H&K.
Their professional and LEO customer service plan is fine, but their consumer side is sorely lacking.

Well my first time e-mailing them from there online contact page it was 5 weeks to get an answer. I did get a better response from Cody after having to hunt to find his email address as in reading posts to find it. I have emailed twice last wed asking about an order that was supposed to ship the 28 so far no responce from Cody or customer support? Not sure what your used too but not great to me? I do like there stuff  just not likeing there service so far from my point of view.

The week before last was SHOT show which is the Firearms version of CES or the North American Auto Show.

Almost everyone who's anyone in the Firearms industry was in Las Vegas supporting the booth space and meetings, and with smaller companies it becomes an all hands on deck affair. No one is home minding the shop.

They're probably bogged and attempting to dig out from follow-up emails for buyer and consumer inquires, plus the normal operational day-to-day business questions.

I say this having been part of a small Consumer Electronics start-up in the past and understanding what happens during the succession of the holiday sales season and the most important industry trade show of the year.

This of course is not making  an excuse for AA, but to add context and perspective.

I've got a mid tactical that has yet to cycle a round through it even once.  Really disappointed.  To top this off it takes a week or sometimes longer to get a response from them.

What kind of ammo are you trying to shoot?
Have you checked the gas settings and op rod? Remove and reassemble?

So no one gets the impression that I'm a AA shill or plant, you can read through my particular struggles in this thread.
6th Post and onward.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_126/661003_ADAMS_ARMS_mid_tact_elite_won_t_go_boom.html

ammo has been Wolf 55 gr. and Federal 62 gr.  I have read that others have had issues with the 55 gr. but shouldn't with the Federal.  Really doesn't make sense to me that it wouldn't run on 55 gr.  It is the most common and cheapest to shoot.  My DI AR's eat everything.  Yes, gas setting is correct.   I have not disassembled it.

Wolf is NOT full-power 5.56, it's medium-power .223. A gun tuned for full-power 5.56 may not cycle Wolf, regardless of whether it's DI or piston. If you want low-power ammo to cycle, you may have to enlarge the gas port.

It shouldn't have problems with Federal, however, keep in mind it's not uncommon to read Adams owners needing 150-200 rounds of break in before it cycles flawlessly.

Also, the poster above is correct. The only way my AA ran 55gr Wolf was to take it to a smith and have the gas port punched out to 94 hundredths - which is about .020 larger than high end range for a carbine port, but I'm also running a Wolff spring and A5 tube. Ymmv.

good info, but I'm having the same problem using 62 grain.

yes, I have.  no response.

Wow,
You're the pot calling the kettle black...... The nights must be lonely in West Virginia....

Wow,
You're the pot calling the kettle black...... The nights must be lonely in West Virginia....

Pros:
AA has run 100% on M193, PMC bronze, Q3131, and AE 223 since day one.
Accuracy on par with other DI's.
No carbon build up in the gas piston like some might claim.
No signs of carrier tilt wear in buffer tube.

Cons:
Adds about 3 - 4 ounces to the front of the gun.
Wolf ammo may require a reduced power buffer spring.
Proprietary parts, but I can only see 4 potential parts breaking and spares could be stocked.
(removable gas piston port, op rod, rod return spring, and spring collar)

It's not a top tier but still an affordable entry into GP AR's.

I'm new to this page so I don't want to over step my bounds, however I joined this page for help on my Adams Arms problem.  I ordered a combo barrel and piston kit on February 14.  I waited the five days and did not get an email that my order had been shipped.  I checked the website and the combo kit was still listed.  I sent an email asking to make sure everything had gone through ok.  No one replied.  I checked the website and the combo kit was gone.  I have called twice and left messages.  No one has gotten back to me.  In eight days will be a month and I have not received any information regarding my order.  I even called my cc company and they advised me Adams Arms had already charged me for the purchase.

I realize I'm not a military member or need it tomorrow for a mission, but I worked a lot of overtime for the money to buy this combo kit.  I do not find that fact that I'm charged for the product when I have received no product nor had anyone even answered me back to be right.

I believe I have no other recourse than to dispute the charge on my credit card unless someone can give me a better idea of what to do on here.  I maybe jumping the gun or I may be wrong in my belief, but I do not believe I am.  So if anyone has any advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank You.

Says the guy where 50% of his total post count is double taps. LOL

A A, 1in7 twist barrel, 16"upper, from Midway on a polymer New Frontier lower;
then on a Aero Precision parts built lower.
~750 rounds on polymer, no problems and
~240 on Aero, no problems.
About 2/3 hand loads. Some are steel reloads as experiment for scarcity.
Always 60 grain or heavier bullets.
A A is gtg.

I am very happy with the quality and performance of my AA upper , it is also an outstanding value.

I have a few Adams Arms Rifles one of them has over ten thousand rounds through it with zero failures.
you cant beat the lifetime warranty, easy to clean, it eats anything i feed it.
by far my favorite rifle i would bet my life on it.  

I bought a blemished AA base mid-length from Bud's in October and I've been pleased with the quality of the product.  I've only put about 500 rounds through it, and only one round hasn't cycled through and that was on the first clip.

Just some thoughts:

--I paid $599 shipped for a new piston AR with a Voodoo Barrel that I could find no blemish on that would keep it from selling as new.  Outstanding value.
--The stories I have read on AA customer service have been very good, and that was part of the reason why I went with AA instead of going with a Colt 6920 or a lower-end DD or BCM.
--Living in FL, I thought it was great to have the opportunity to buy "local" even if I live across the state from AA.  If I have a real problem with the rifle I could potentially speak to someone IRL.
--While the furniture was serviceable on my AR, I did swap it out.  My father also ordered one, but he kept his stock and is happy.
--I've heard it is a pain putting a free-float rail on this model because of the pins.  In other threads some people have taken their rifles into machine shops to get these pins out.
--To be fair, I have only put brass-cased ammo through mine but it has run very clean.
--There is a bit of play in my rifle between the upper and lower, but not enough to send back IMO.

If I had to do it all over again, I would still go with my original buying decision.  After putting new Magpul furniture and flip-up sights on it, it is now a $750 AR if you don't count optics.  Sure, I look at some DD, BCM, LaRue or Noveske rifles when they go on sale and think, "what if?"--but I didn't buy my AR for the name printed on it.  The rifle shoots smooth (stock trigger isn't bad!!), hasn't jammed since the initial clip during break-in, it looks the part when dressed up and it didn't break the bank.

I recently bought the 11.5" evo upper, and it has been eating XM193 flawlessly.
can't wait for my tax stamp!
Does anyone know about the materials and QC inspection methods? are the barrels CHF?
I'd be interested to find out what the bolt and barrel are made of, and if there was MPI and pressure testing done.
Can't find the information on their website.

Voodoo is Adams' barrel supplier.

At the price point the barrels retail for, I doubt they are CHF but they are melonited (as you're probably already aware.).

There was an MPI stamp on the BCG of my AA Evo, but I don't recall seeing it anywhere on the barrel. That said, I haven't read of anyone complaining of a barrel failing on the AA or problems with precision.

I have several thousand rounds through my carbine AA piston AR.  I did get an anti-tilt buffer that is H3 and a Wolf spring,  No issues of any kind.  Did put extended pivot and take down pins in.  And sights, scope, quick disconnect sling, etc.  I do plan on making it free floating, but hear it is not all that easy.  Will have to read up on that.  Customer service has been good to me.

Some time back I purchased one of their piston kits from Midway. I had a small hiccup with the bolt carrier. I corrected the problem myself but contacted AA to give them a heads up.  They sent me a new carrier by Priority mail even after I told them it wasn't necessary.  The kit has run flawlessly on my S&W M&P 15

Follow up on my earlier issues.  Received a RA and sent the upper back.  Aside from shipping time they diagnosed and resolved the issue quickly.  I was told the bolt was out of spec.  Since receiving it have fired 380 rounds through it with one double feed.  Strange one at that.  Live round was in the chamber and tried to load another which jammed the 2nd shell into the feed ramp jamming the shell between the feed ramp and the mag lips.  Took some bit a of work to get it out.  Still baffled by it.  But overall the AA is cycling well.

One thing I noticed and am curious if others have seen this.  The jam happened on my 6th mag of the session so over 150 rounds in.  While clearing the double feed I noticed tiny silver metal shavings on the carrier group, bolt face, lugs, basically all the internals.  The inside of the upper did have two spots where it had already worn through the finish, thus the source of the shavings I assume.  Tough to tell exactly what is contacting, the shells or the carrier.   I was also surprised at how dirty the internals were.  Just as dirty as my DI AR.  So the internal tube of the upper really looks more used than it should after less than 400 total rounds through it with the worn metal.  

Another note but not sure it's anything out of the ordinary yet.  Rifle was cycling hard.  Meaning the carrier group seemed to be slamming forward harder than usual.  Yet the buffer/spring felt spongy.  I know that would be opposite problems but that's what it felt like.  Running a recommended standard carbine buffer/spring.  I know some folks are using a heavier buffer.

May just chalk it up as the break in period.  Will keep running rounds through it to see how it pans out.

Ammo was 55 gr. Winchester.

I have an Adams Carbine Upper on a Bushmaster lower with a Rock River 2 stage trigger and ALL Magpul furniture with the LaRue grip.  With older wolf ammo, it really didn't want to work at all...But....Steel cased AMMO sucks a$$...for many reasons...Dirty powder, weak loads etc...etc...etc...  I run brass ammo now ONLY....and will NEVER buy Steel cased ammo again..it is just to hard on the rifles...Also, way more work to clean up in general.  Last weekend I ran over 500 rounds through it in two days, partially to zero and practice.  It ran flawlessly with Federal M193.  Not one jam, misfire, failure to cycle...

The internals are clean...scary clean...you won't see that in a DI based upper.  Accuracy was surprisingly good (Better than my shooting was).  Before I got tired I was getting 1 moa groups at 100 yards (Bench rest and setup for zeroing, so not my normal shooting stance or posture).

I am selling mine (haven't listed yet), but not because I don't like or want to keep it, I have something else I want more and sometimes you got to make a choice.  I would/will definitely get another down the road without hesitation.  I cannot comment on customer service because I have had no reason to even call them.  If you are shooting quality ammo (basically anything but russian steel cased crapola) I doubt you will have a problem, and even if you do, there are plenty of testimonials that Adams will take care of you.

This is my humble opinion and experience.

I own many rifles and handguns. I have owned hundreds over the last 30 years. Adams Arms offers the best Customer Service I have ever experienced. I needed help changing out the handguard. They did it for me for free and paid shipping both ways. I had my rifle back in 72 hours. They had no reason to help me change a handguard, totally not their responsibility, but they did anyway, and they paid for shipping and charged me $0. Great people. And Cody is incredibly helpful.

AA staff has always answered my emails within hours.

My AA rifles perform flawlessly. I own several LWRCs as well. They cost twice as much, and AA is just as good as LWRC. Their adjustable gas system is even better than the standard LWRC gas system. it handles suppressors much better. Fantastic rifles at great prices. Can't beat AA in every respect. Possibly my favorite company these days. Buy with confidence!

I bought a VooDoo upper ( a Adams sister company ) had problems with the barrel. Adams shipped it both ways on there dime changed the barrel and while they had it I had them put the XLP piston kit in it. they did it free of charge...... gun is back shoots great I'm happy thanks guys.

Regarding AA customer service, I have had a reply/response quickly to every question I have posed to them, always via e-mail.  Not a problem with my AA Piston AR.


Probably 3 thousand rounds through my piston AR, no issues.

I started my AA 'problem' with a Bud's mid-length 'blem' rifle. Enjoyed it so much it has created a monster. Since I typically build all my own lowers, I only have the one AA lower, but I've purchased several assembled AA uppers and built out 4 of my own AA piston kit-based uppers since then.

Bought:
Mid-Base 16"
Carbine-Base 16"
Tac Elite 11.5"
Tac Evo 5.45x39 14.5"

Built: (using AA piston kits and whatever upper I was playing with at the moment, then adding a Samson Evo rail)
10.5" 'Evo"
10.5" Evo ultralight
16" Evo ultralight
16" Evo Socom Profile

I like the Samson Evo rails as they are easy to install and all have been rock steady. They are also the closest to the MWI SSG/SSK rails that I like to use on DI builds, but the MWI rails don't 'fit' the piston kit parts.

With the exception of a batch of Armscor .223 (weak), all of the 5.56 uppers have run like clocks, eating anything I've fed them. 50gr, 55gr, 62gr, 68gr. PMC Bronze, PMC Xtac, Federal (LC, Bulk, American Eagle, white box), Remington (Green box, UMC, coreloc), Fiocchi, PPU, Wolf gold, Silver bear, and a number of custom loads/bullet types.

I did have issues with the 5.45 upper short stroking, FTE, FTLs, and cases getting stuck in the chamber (jammed badly), but it came back from Aro running like a top (they said nothing was wrong with it, but it didn't run before the trip to FL, and ran great when it came back. Maybe it just wanted a trip to the sunshine state).

As far as customer service, once I was able to get in contact with Cody/Aro, communications and service was great.

Replies from the sales@... email address are no so great. They've been better lately, but for a while it was spotty at best.

my main rifle has a voodoo barrel (adams arms), and adams arms piston kit. I run a heavy buffer with it. I have around 500 rounds through it, half of that being steel case. They've been responsive to all requests, and the rifle has been running great. I also run it suppressed with a SWR SpecWar, and it runs so much cleaner then di guns with the can on.

I'm currently working on a 300 blk pistol build with an adams arms kit. my only regret so far is that I couldn't get another voodoo barrel to go with it because they don't make a 9" 300 blk barrel.

I recommend them to everyone that asks about my rifle.

I plan to convert my 18" Socom profile build to an adams piston kit as well.