Good evening,
Amidst the pandemic panic buying, I've decided to buy my first AR15--worst time to buy due to price gouging I know :(
As someone who values the best bang for buck + reliability, which of the two rifles would you guys recommend?
Primary use for the rifle would be home defense / recreational; general plinking and LARPing around the house.
My friend in NV has a Saint and has not had any issues with his, but my research is showing me that while Saint had some QC issues the TREAD rifles virtually had none, not to mention the various gov. contracts Sig has. But man do they look ugly imo...
By the way, I live in CA and will be purchasing the featureless / compliant versions of the rifles; I had aspirations to build an AR as a college student (still in school) and had bought some misc. parts (grips, stocks, slings, etc) and plan to go the break-action method rather than featureless.
(on that note, any CA owners here that went featureless / break action to provide some insight?)
Here are my personal Pros & Cons of the Saint Victor (FEATURELESS, CA Compliant version)
Pros:
- Comes with basic flip-up sights ready to go out of box
- Full length M-Lok rail slots (TREAD seems to stop 8/10 of the way from the front)
- Lighter
Cons:
- $1400+tax
- 2 port MB rather than M400's 3 port (any difference in felt recoil?)
Pros & Cons of the SigM400 TREAD (FEATURELESS, CA Compliant version)
Pros:
- $999+tax
- Gov contracts / QC (supposedly better?)
- built in ambi bolt release (could be a con too i guess)
Cons:
- no flip up sights
- mlok slots stop 8/10 way
- logo / sticker / aesthetics
- lack of possible future upper swaps / proprietary parts (supposedly sig's lower is slightly different?)
BOTH come with ambi safety, not sure about charging handle.
Any thoughts, feedback, and suggestions are appreciated! As we're all stuck at home doing nothing but draining our bank accounts on pew pew stuff I value your guys' inputs :)

I have a sig elite which is similar to the tread, no issues solid rifle.  I don’t own any Springfield armory but it seems they do one dumbass thing on every gun they build, but different every time.

Personally I’d avoid Springfield due to personal issues with the company and their politics. I realize in the current climate you may have to take what you can get.

I bought a Tread on a whim. The lower is mil-spec, so an upper change is no different than any other lower. The only difference are the built in QD mounts to any other lower. The "Tread yellow marking" is just an mlok insert, mine didn't even come with one, but you can easily remove it. The handguard is crap, but I replaced mine with one I found here on the EE.  It has a pretty decent barrel and is reliable, so I can recommend it as a solid choice. I've handled a Saint, and I would definitely go with the Sig.

I would go with the sig. More money for ammo

Fsatureless affords full capacity magazines

@bamaengineer may i ask why you would choose the Sig over the Saint? Purely on the rifle's features / traits wise
how did it feel "better"?

Update: im being told that both rifles are available for ~$1000 should I wait; i guess the extra $$$ is demand / price gouging for the saint

The Saint felt like a decent rifle, but one thing I hated about it was the giant billboard "Saint" on the right side of the lower. For me personally, I also wanted to try out a 416R Stainless barrel. But yes, the Tread felt a little higher quality to me.

Sig isn’t the most popular on the forum, but I’ve never had an issue with my M400.  Probably 2k rounds through it and has always gone bang.

I have builds from BCM, Springfield, Noveske and PSA. I have a lot of love for my BCM because it was my first full build but the Saint is a great rifle off the shelf. That saint victor is 400 above msrp though. That's a $1000 dollar rifle and a good deal at that but you're getting gouged pretty bad at 1400.

In these times, what you want and what is available are two very different things.

I own a Black Rain Spec, a PWS MK116, , a S&W M/P, and a Rock River Arms, all in the $1k range before any additions, and all are incredible guns.

Honestly, I don't think too many bad guns are out there anymore.

Tread, Go to EE for MBUS, Ammo, Profit!

I own the Springfield Saint Victor. I got it for around 900 dollars a little over a year ago. SA ars get a lot of shit from people but it has been a really good rifle. It's basically a bcm with the Saint logo on it.
It's a super soft shooter because of the muzzle device. It's light weight and very ergonomic. I did a few small upgrades I added a radian raptor charging handle and traded the bcg for bcm. I also like how tight the upper and lower fit together it has a retention screw.

Did you decide op?

Hey all,

Still in the process of choosing actually, been calling around the shops to get the best prices (~$1000 for each)

Im leaning towards the saint as it's a more ready to go gun OOB, but it seems that theres no shops in the area that carry it; TREAD seems to be more available however.
As for PWS / piston ARs, Im not opposed to them but would like a DI gun as Ive been around them more. But definitely looking to pick up a PWS or sell my car for a 416 or something LOL

Im located in the OC area (also looking to apply for ccw!) and have been looking ~50mi radius

Before you sell your car or mortgage your house to buy a 416, if you really want a piston rifle (I have a bunch of them) that is "state of the art" you must take a good hard look, and shoot if possible, a Sig MCX Virtus.  Not an AR, but with similar style controls and lower.  Not inexpensive, but not what a 416 costs either.  Check out Garand Thumb and Military Arms youtube channels for their reviews.  The MCX Virtus is a hot item right now.  I have a couple and they have become my favorite rifles.

I will echo all those statements. But yeah that price is wack. They are $800 individual officer or 850 civilian here. I really love the smooth small diameter rail, great for C clamp hold. Trigger is really nice for a stock gun and soft recoil.

Update:

I am now entertaining the idea of building from an Aero M4E1 lower w/ Aero LPK + BCM Complete upper + BCM Stock & Buffer as the price point for the aforementioned rifles do not seem to justify the hardware & features I would like on the gun.

That being said, what are some good triggers for the money thats not Geissele? I only hear great things about their triggers but man are they pricey

Do you think the FFL transfer process / DOJ process take shorter than 2mos?

I hear the Larue mbt is a good trigger