Alright guys, so if you're not familiar, Bud's was running a special on 'Factory Blemish' Adams Arms gas piston rifles. $599, free shipping.

I placed my order for a 16" Mid-Length system on Friday (5/2) and after anxiously watching the tracking info, it arrived at my FFL today. I just picked it up an hour ago and decided that you guys would like to take a look.

This is my first AR, so I did the following (everything I felt comfortable with):

• Separated the upper and lower


• Removed the bolt and charging handle


• Removed the front handguards


• Removed the gas piston

...and scoured everything I could find searching for blemishes. I took pictures of any blemish or anything questionable.

Here's what I found.  

Rifle straight out of the box. Pretty oily, but after a wipe down, the finish seems to be flawless. No problems here! (All of these pictures were taken BEFORE I wiped it down)

http://i.imgur.com/p4QWia3.jpg

First thing I noticed was the dust cover. The finish on it looks a little weird. Not scratched, the finish just looks like that. It's like this on the inside and the outside. I'm new to AR's, and I'm not really even sure if you'd count this as a blemish or not.

http://i.imgur.com/ap4BtbF.jpg

After inspecting it pretty thoroughly, the only other thing I could find was a small ding in the locking mechanism on the charging handle. There is some shiny metal exposed. In the indent on the rifle that this hooks into when locked, there were a small amount of metal shavings.

http://i.imgur.com/WwsQTXk.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/LmCnGIg.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wuvHuza.jpg

...and that's it. Those are the only two 'blemish' like issues that I could find on the entire rifle. For $599 (and a $25 FFL fee) I couldn't be happier.

Here are some obligatory pictures that I had to take because I was so excited to put my optic and a mag in!

http://i.imgur.com/ZWkUgfS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/K2IfxQu.jpg

Those of you who are AR veterans, let me know what you think of the blemishes I found, or if there are any other places that I should definitely check.

If you also purchased one of these, let me know what you find on your rifles!

Just enjoy the rifle. For $599, do you really care about the blemishes? Get more mags and ammo and blast it away.

Yg

Just got back with mine too. I haven't broken it down but I see no visible cosmetic blemishes externally. I'll have to check charging handle. The inside of the dustcover on mine looks the same as yours. Quick question, I bought a Gen 2 PMAG and it's not locking into the gun until a round in is the chamber. Is that the norm? Doesn't seem right. Other than that, which may just be me being an idiot, the gun looks great. I'll try to post some pics later.

Edit: scratch that, I was just loading the mag like a pussy.

Looks great.  Those "blems" are nothing to worry about.  Keep the pics coming guys.  Mags are a little harder to load if you load them to 30 rds AND the bolt is closed.  Bolt open no problems.  Some say load to 28.  Better all around for feeding.  Nice rifles guys.  Looking forward to getting mine.

Spend the saving on your a cerakote of your choice, I know I would! Nice deal!

Got mine as well, the FFL looked it over and thought it was a new gun. Only thing I noticed was at the tip of the barrel the finish was not all black as in during the coating process. A very small area really unnoticeable. Overall I'm happy with it can't wait to shoot it.

Can u guys who received it please check your port cover closing, mine won't close as the detent ball/pin needs a push down to close. Again no big deal.

My AR10 was like that brand new. I had to wipe the grease off it to get it to stay closed. Somehow, now, it works fine grease or no.

I'll post pics of mine when it comes in, Paid with that online check deal thru buds cause it was 20 dollars cheaper, didn't know I'd have to wait 5 extra days for processing!

I'll have an eotech waiting for mine. I'll get an aimpoint next time so I can own both. Got a deal on the eotech found in AR15.com's optics forums.

Can you drop in MOE handguards? Those handguards look huge and unwieldy.

I think its a hell of a deal. At least a couple hundred bucks off these guns or more, because they might have a scratch somewhere that you probably won't even know about. Factory lifetime warranty too right?

I didn't pay any tax or anything, free shipping, I paid 599 plus 6 dollars ELECTIVE insurance, and 25 to my FFL. This was really legit and I am pretty darn happy about it. 550 is about the minimum I would expect to get a quality AR so basically this is just above the minimum to get from all accounts, a really great and for me, unique rifle. Never had a piston gun before.

Did I mention I love the market being flooded with ARs right now? Hurts my heart to think back to when I paid 1400+ bucks for my 6920 because everyone was scared of Obama. Totally incorrect. We shoulda been scared of Hillary, but I'm getting off topic. Hell of a deal, gun looks GREAT!

....my bank account needs some recovery time though. That eotech was the straw....

Quick update on my charging handle grinding issue. Less than 6 hours after I picked the gun up, the little exposed area on the charging handle has gone from:

Original image: Rifle when I received it earlier

http://i.imgur.com/wuvHuza.jpg

- TO -

6 hours later, after letting the charging handle snap back into place MAYBE 10-15 times.

http://i.imgur.com/T8fOuUl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tQzZop6.jpg

As you can see, a substantial chunk has been ground off of the charging handle latch.

It's leaving a significant amount of metal shavings in that indentation that the charging handle hook locks in to.

I am concerned with the shavings ending up somewhere that they could cause an issue, or possibly ending up in my eyes when I'm firing.

Am I being overly concerned?

Meh, mil spec charging handles are cheap. Replace and enjoy your rifle. Or better yet spend the savings on a Raptor or BCM charging handle.

Although it does look a bit worn for those few times of reciprocating the handle, the small shavings are pretty normal until it breaks in. You'll notice some smoothing of the contact area on the upper receiver as well. You should already be wearing eye protection when shooting, but those tiny shavings aren't going to affect anything. You'll be getting brass shavings inside the receiver on the bolt from the process of firing and extraction, so the tiny ones from the charging handle are nothing to worry about.

Mine the dust cover can not be closed at all when the bolt is in closed position. When the bolt is open, it can be closed with no issue. Contact buds, they told me they do not have one to replace me. Is this a big deal?

Definitely get rid of that charging handle. If it gets ragged like that, it will marr up the notch as it slams over it upon closing. My AA came with a cheap feeling charging handle as well, but they are EASILY replaceable. Now's your calling to replace it with a Raptor
Don't worry about the finish of the port door, as they're parked steel and usually have that look. But DO make sure the port door closes and stay's closed properly (this is an issue AA had a while ago, and it's not acceptable to have a non functioning door).  Another thing to watch is if the handguard cap can rotate with the handguards on. If yes, this allows the cap to move and scrape the sides of your piston (not only creating scratches, but drag on the piston system and possible bind up if it gets caught between piston and block), mine fit like trash (cap spun easily), so replaced them with MOE's which fit super snug and lock into the cap like handguards are supposed to (my AA handguard had no cutout to lock into the "nubs" in the cap).
Fantastic deal on those rifles! I paid that just for an upper about a year ago! Wish I had gotten in on this deal! Enjoy your new rifle!

edit, thought I'd add some tips for the AA: they have no front swivel, so if you're going to retain poly handguards, you can use a Fortis RAP QD attachment on the rail in front of a folding (or fixed) sight. I did this with a Mbus Pro and both fit on there great. Also, they tend to bind up when new (causing short stroking) due to the cam pin. Dry charge it a lot prior to firing, and expect a few short strokes/FTE's for the first hundred rounds or so. Not to worry, it will slick up and run like a champ once broken in.
Fine rifle you got there! Enjoy it!

Yes, HUGE issue.  Please contact me via IM for proper disposal.  

You'll be fine.  It's a $600 rifle.  Just shoot it!

When they are new, you really have to snap them in hard (they loosen up over time). Don't be gentle on it, give it some good pressure to snap it in.

Thanks for your reply!

I believe it's already started to marr up that notch like you described.

I just placed an order for a BCM Gunfighter Mod4 (The raptor is a bit pricey for my tastes, and I don't need the ambidextrous feature)

Will the new charging handle damage the marred area even further now that it's already started, or should the new handle not exacerbate that issue?

Nice choice for charging handle! No, the new handle will be fine. I'd not use that current chipped handle anymore though. I'd take it out now so your not tempted to play with it and scrape up your receiver anymore.

Thanks! I'm feeling terribly impatient, and I was looking forward to shooting tomorrow, but I'll gladly wait until the new one arrives if it means preventing further damage.

Since you are so familiar with this rifle, I've got an additional question. Do these rifles have a mil-spec or a commercial buffer tube? I'm interested in replacing the stock with a Magpul CTR, and I've seen the Magpul comparison photo, but I am still not sure which it is.

AA's use a "mil spec diameter" tube. That means they are "mil spec" size, but 6061 (instead of 7075-t6). They're fine for whatever abuse you'll throw at it. If you replace the stock, get "mil spec" size.

Awesome, thanks.

Took mine to the range today. Shot fine, no failures of any kind, but I noticed the charging handle showing wear already, similar to that which is posted above.

Take a dremel and bevel the worn area, then hit it with aluma - black. Otherwise just fire and clean as usual. Awesome deal on an awesome rifle

Alright - finally received and installed my BCM Mod 4. Took it out to the range this morning, put 240 rounds through it. Not a single hiccup.

Zeroed my Aimpoint at 100 yards, dumped a lot of ammo at 25, 50, and 100 yards, as well as putting about 30 rounds on target at 200 yards. Holy shit, I love this rifle.

Glad to hear it went well. I think I'm going to order that same charging handle, not liking the stock one. I just took down the rifle, my first time actually taking down an AR. It went well, thanks to a Hickock video. I'm assuming since it went back together that I have everything in the right way. The only thing that was a little confusing was putting the bolt back in and making sure the ejector is on the correct side. I have it facing the side with the AA logo so let's hope it's right.

If you don't have some kind of neurosis that demands perfection in everything or plan on making a showpiece, "Blems" are the best bargains around.
All I purchase are blems and discounted items if I can find it. All my appliances are "Scratch & Dent" specials. My cars, when I purchase from a dealer the first thing I say is, "What do you have in inventory that was lot damaged?" Most all my knives are factory blems. Most of my consumer electronics  are "new" factory reconditioned / floor models.

Enjoy the rifle.

I purchased a "blem" Eotech which is just a factory open box, for my blem adams arms, lol. Now I have 900 dollars in a piston AR with an Eotech, and is an AMAZING value. I totally agree with your post!!! I buy everything I can used unless its a perishable.

If my charging handle starts to chip, I believe that it looks like its just the lever. I have an old lever from a charging handle I put a badger lever on, so I may just change that out. Extra cost of zero dollars.

It is amazing to me that you can get a gun like this, when you can buy a sks for 300 dollars, and buy a killer ar for just a little more but much more for your money. ARs use to be looked at as un-affordable guns to a lot of people but now a days you can get such amazing deals on my favorite type of rifle. Buy them now before an assault weapons ban and you will thank yourself forever!! They are so cheap and awesome guns, use to be 2 or 3x the price.

Next thing I want is a used aimpoint pro, lol. If you open it, then it is used!! Then I will have as AR15.com says "bought both" eotech and aimpoint popular models for very cheap, lol.

PS: these blems have 100 percent Adams Arms warranty so its like the "right to own an Adams Arms gun" when you are buying them. From my research, this is a good American company with a satisfaction guarantee, so these guns were a great deal.

I agree with both of you guys. Great work!

Chances are when you buy something new, there's some sort of less noticeable blemish anyways! Nothing is perfect, and you may as well use your brain and capitalize on the fact that you understand that.

I've had a couple Adams AR's and they were good shooters, after a short break in period...but each rifle came with some minor quality issue, usually very minor, but it just made me question their QC...they often have slightly canted front site blocks. For $600 ok...but when they ask as much for theirs as SIG does for a 516 you have to wonder. their piston system works great!

Got mine today, two small marks on the upper and one on the lower near the trigger guard, great bargain in my opinion. I stripped off the factory furniture and replaced with Magpul stealth gray.

That Stealth Gray looks awesome! Is that the MOE+ grip?

I have all of that same hardware coming in tomorrow, but mine will be Foliage Green. I'll post some pics when everything is on!

Also, are you concerned at all about the magpul front sight mounted on the gas block? I've read mixed opinions on doing that with a non-metal sight.

That's a K2 grip, the front sight is the Magpul Pro, its steel so it won't melt.

NICE!! I went the same route with MOE HG, PG (K2) MOE stock, and Mbus Pro's (but all in black). Looks great in stealth gray! Well done!

I was going to say, the angle of the grip looks too acute to be the MOE+
I've been thinking about switching to the K2 which brings the grip closer to the grip angle of a pistol.
What kind of shooting do you do, and how do you like it?

Ah, sweet

I had been looking at a set of those, but I think I'll hold off for a while due to the price. How are you liking the Magpul Pros over other BUIS offerings?

I think I paid $550 for just the upper "on sale" from Midway. Great deal on a complete weapon!

I bought an Evo-Lite upper from their contract manufactured brand, Huldra on sale for $750 late last year.

$550 for a complete rifle is a stupendous deal for a mid-level market Gas Piston AR that still carries the factory warranty. You really can't beat it.

Even if you looked to the second hand market, the best one can pull for $550 would probably be a low-end AR that's been probably used with less than kid gloves.

It was like Christmas today when I got home from work!

All of the Magpul Foliage Green hardware, the Condor Rifle bag, and 500 rds of ammo from Freedom Munitions sitting in my living room

Here's the haul:
http://i.imgur.com/pIlKv15.jpg

Stock rifle, ready for some new digs
http://i.imgur.com/pnQU1Wi.jpg

Everything laid out before going on
http://i.imgur.com/rXy80PX.jpg

15 minutes later, after searching high and low for an allen wrench that was long enough...
http://i.imgur.com/diIlriP.jpg?1

Ready to head out to the range!
I threw in my only other two PMAGS which happen to be FDE, and because of the contrast, this is really the only picture where the Foliage Green actually looks like Foliage Green. I couldn't be happier with the result.
http://i.imgur.com/98uHsow.jpg

I notice none of you have a sling set up yet. I highly recommend using a Fortis RAP QD swivel mount on your (pinned) gas block. Move your front buis back a tad and it will fit. Here's my set up:



Fortis RAP in front of Mbus Pro (steel). It has to mount this way due to the Mbus having enough room to fold (will not clear the RAP), and the gap between the two is due to how they mount. None the less... they all fit comfortably on the front gas block. Just my suggestion, as AA does not provide for a sling mount, and I see very few thread of people actually mounting a sling on their AA (IMHO, a sling is a MUST, as you need to have a means of transporting it, on person, without hands). Pictures can be deceiving, and no, the Mbus pro is not touching the MOE handguard... it only looks that way in the pic (but the Mbus pro will NOT clear the factory "Basic" AA handguards).

I have been seriously thinking about getting one.

My new CTR stock has a quick detach point on it, and I've been considering that Fortis RAP due to your recommendation. I would ideally like to have a sling point behind by grip, but I am not interested in un-pinning the castle nut to replace the backplate.

Daniel Defense makes a product that can solve your issue. here

Hey guys, where did you get your handguards? And can you add rails to it? They look really good, I just want to be able to attach a light/laser. Thanks!

They're Magpul MOE handgaurds, too many places to list on where to buy them I would recommend Aim Surplus. Yes you can get rails and light mounts to attach ust check Magpul's website.

There is a really good ebay seller named Ecop, I think, that always sells good stuff at a good price. That's where I got mine, they are legit.

Ok, quick rundown:

I got my AA rifle today. Here are my honest opinions:

Its a really GREAT deal @ 599. Seriously, if you woulda told me you could get a gun like this for 599 2 years ago, I wouldn't believe it. I paid 1400ish for my 6920.

Its got a really great barrel, really great piston system, and probably the best BCG I've ever had, and the rest of the gun is average.

It has a pretty below par charging handle. I had to take mine apart and polish and reshape it to keep it from doing the break apart thing. It must use the less hardened aluminum. Also the roll pin is only held in by the spring on the latch for mine. After polishing it was fine.

The spring had a very audible noise upon operating the charging handle. I took it apart, cleaned it very well, and greased it with some Aeroshell 33ms to see if that fixed it, it did. No noise, but the spring is stiff. I assume it is a stiffer spring to counteract the small backspring on the piston.

The piston is freakin awesome. Best piston I've ever seen, so easy to clean and take apart, and very high quality stuff.

The trigger on mine, at lest, is the worst trigger ever in an AR, and I will be replacing it. It has tons of creep, and that creep is the type that doesn't "reset" so it will creep and just stay there, like its very very rough and sticking. It is about 7lbs roughly, and just a crappy trigger. I'm gonna go with a new trigger asap. This may just be my rifle.

After a lot of speculation, I've decided the blemish on mine was a very light speckeling of missing anodizing on the carrier assist. I used some bluing to dull it, then put some automotive touch up and rubbed it in, can't tell it was there, easy as pie. It has some mars in the anodizing along the body but its fine. Laughable to sweat it, the amount of marring is such that it would appear on any big name AR, even beloved DD and 99 percent would accept the transfer.

With the trigger upgrade, the polished latch, and the cleaned buffer tube, this sucker is a damn, damn fine rifle for the price I paid. Got an aimpoint on the way. Again, its no 6920, but it should be worth as much as a 6920 when you consider the BCD, and the piston system.

It seems like AA is a piston conversion company that decided to make whole ARs as quick and dirty as they could, to take advantage of that audience. I applaud that, because with this deal, you get their awesome, piston system, and a run of the mill AR, for basically what you would pay for a decent piston upper. I can't complain a bit. and hell if I want to sell it, hilary will be in the white house in a few years, and I'll triple my money.

So if there were any left, buy, buy buy. This is an amazing deal. The gun is worth, in my estimation, about 750 legit, and I paid 599. NO complaints. Not the deal of a lifetime, but the deal of the year? Probably. Just dont' forget to pick up the timney on the way out of checkout, lol. ;D

Good shooting! :) Will do pics. Do buy the MOE rail, they are just to good for a non FF barrel. My regular handguards fit fine, but I order the MOE already and they are just good. Magpul is awesome and you should buy from them.

PS: One thing I left out, the melonited barrel is tops. AA didn't spare the money where it counted, so really, you gotta give them props. Solid rifle, great BCD, carrier, and barrel. 599? Shoot, sold twice and friends informed.

Ok, the roll pin in my charging handle had started to walk out and scratch the upper(which happens with any upper a little eventually, but this was months of wear and a gouge in a few hours of working it). Its just a really bad charging handle. I just had to replace the whole thing. My big 3 recommended upgrades out of the box are:

1. New charging handle
2. New trigger
3. MOE handguard

I recommend a ALG quality mil spec, a standard 7075 t6 forged handle, and get the magpul off ebay. You are looking at about 100 bucks, and it really transforms the gun into a much better weapon. I'd also throw in a pair of jp enterprises springs for a future upgrade. Besides those parts my gun was gtg.

The only necessary upgrade is the charging handle. Mine has shown 2 major issues out of the box, one being an incorrectly sized roll pin hole, and 2 being a poor geometry on the latch, and really a third, being a very soft latch. Ditch it and don't look back. It can damage your upper with its epic badness.

PS: You gotta upgrade crap with any sub 800 dollar ar usually, I don't think this counts against the deal.

Hey guys, sorry to triple post here, I am only doing so with the interest of those following the thread knowing there was an update. I shot the gun more than trivially today.

All I can say is WOW, adams arms, your gun is broke or something!!! It don't seem to kick! lol

Ran about 100 rounds through it this afternoon, still with crappy factory trigger, but I didn't even really notice while shooting.

The gun ran super clean coming from a DI gun. Last gun I shot was my awesome ARmalite AR10t, and it runs dirty and wet. I love that gun, and I can say that there is a huge Quality of Life improvement knowing I don't really have to clean this thing much.

So anyway, the gun didn't seem to kick at all. Very easy to stay on target. I'm really impressed. I like this piston thing, lol. 0 ftf, 0 fte. Gun ran smooth and fun. Accuracy wasn't measured, but it hit where I pointed it.

I've pointed out some bad things about the gun earlier, but I just wanted to revise and add that the gun shooting is great. It may be just my first step into piston ARs but I'm really darn impressed with this thing. I have to say, its worth in my mind, more after I shot it, than I would have valued it before. People shooting this gun will be impressed, lol. AWESOME. For the money, 10/10, really, in my book. I'm gonna say that I'm super satisfied and excited about this thing now. AFter shooting, my earlier gripes felt like knit picking. This piston system is something great, very good stuff, color me impressed. The carbine I've been use to shooting is a 6920, and the AA definitely has the shooting ergonomics advantage because of the piston system. I should plug my last 3 post together and call it a user review, hehe. :D

I bought two from Buds; great rifle for the price!

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/r699/Kaskadian/chea_zpsae9b084f.jpg

Looking good! Get some sights on that puppy and go shoot!

Bad pics of mine with my crappy SKS scope.