I have one AR and am looking to expand my collection. While researching, I found this article on popular ar-15s. Just looking for some feedback on what I should look for. TIA

There really is no answer to that. Everyone has their own preferences and there are a lot of quality options. You should really come at this from a different direction. How much money do you want to spend and what do you intend to use the gun for? That will get you much better advice.

I'm not really into the Geissele Super Duty rifles...but they seem to be pretty popular.

I do like Daniel Defense and their new uppers with the RIII rails look real good.  

That article mentions LMT and KAC - you could definitely go that route too.



What brand/barrel length is the AR you already have?  

My recommendations are always the same:

Large Budget: KAC and LMT
Low Budget: Colt

You will also be well served by a BCM and Daniel Defense.  However, Colt is a better value in the "mid tier" AR market.

I'm not interested in G rifles either.  I have plenty of Geissele stuff (lots of SSA-E, SSA, SD3G, G2S, etc, Super Precision optics mounts, DMMR optics, Super Modular Rails, etc), but their guns don't appeal to me.

I buy Colt. Anything beyond that is Gucci to me. The AR is a gun plumber’s gun. I can’t see putting big money into the base platform.

Depends on several things among other things, you should figure out:

1, your budget

2, your definition of "best"

KAC, LMT, DD, LWRC, BCM, and the newer FN offerings are the standard right now (in that order). Colts are nice, but they dont really offer anything (other than a warranty) that you cant get buy building the gun yourself. I mean they use a rosco barrel for starters, and id wager a decent chunk of money that they probably make <10% of the parts on the gun. In full fairness, im just pulling that # out of my ass, but with the other guns youre pretty much starting at 40% and going up from there.  

If it works,it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I am not saying a PSA rifle will be my go to but there are many rifles that will do more than I need them to if and when the time comes and I didn't spend a fortune on them. I am also not knocking anyone who did/does spend a lot on their rifle. If you can afford an expensive gun, I am glad for you, as I have a few things that I thought I would never buy due to price. Colt used to be the standard but things change. There have been more professionals/soldiers who have done more with less. I always bring up Chris Paronto and his Bushy. It served and still serves him well. I have a couple frankenguns-RRA Predator upper on a Spikes lower and a few complete factory guns and have had no issue,not saying that anything man gets his hands on can't fail.

OP this question is asked a lot here and you are going to get a lot of opinions.

I have the following in my collection:

LMT
KAC
Larue
DD
PWS
ADM
PSA

And if I had to pick one brand to live with it would more than likely be my LMTs.  Next would be a toss up between Larue and DD.  My KACs are outstanding but they have enough proprietary parts to make them an issue down the road if parts availability becomes a problem.  

All depends on how much you want to spend.  KAC pricing these days is absolutely stupid.

Nothing will be as good or mean more to you than the one you build yourself.

This is great advice. Other than that, I am a LMT and Larue fan.

By far the very best AR15s are DIY.

Coincidentally the very worst are also DIY.

Just like with ammo.

Still waiting for someone to do a DEFINITIVE side by side field test on the list of guns above that start with the LMT and ends with the PSA. Put them all in a machine rest and fire them. Then, move all the uppers over one gun, and the last upper to the first lower. Repeat until all uppers have been paired with all the lowers. Record the target results and apply the appropriate data analysis.


Then return all parts to their original mates and subject them to a 50,000 round firing string done at a rate to not not burn them up. Rinse the guns with Gun Scrubber every 1-2000 rounds as needed, and Bore snake them at the same interval. Record any parts failures. I'm sure there are a few other factors that could be added to the test as well.

I'm willing to bet the results will be right in line with whatever military specifications on Mean Time Between Failures, and expected replacement/parts lifecycles that may exist.

I believe that the minor differences between the performance of the guns in question to DO WHAT THEY ARE DESIGNED TO DO, which is poke holes in things, will be nearly statistically irrelevant.

A test like the above is the only way I know of to settle OP's question once and for all. Until then, the question will go endlessly on, and on, and on, and keep a lot of marketing folks employed.

OP, buy what you like and can afford, and then learn to run the shit out of it. Master it on any and all scenarios you can imagine, and forget about all the rest of the crap. I've seen guys shooting box stock PSA and Anderson guns shoot rings around folks shooting the highest end guns in DCM matches frequently. Lastly, have fun and quit obsessing about a random and nebulous value like "best"

IMHO
Get the basics covered & and it will run fine for you no matter what it is.
Chrome line barrel & chamber, m4 feed ramps, 1:7, I prefer carbine gas, but mid lengths are popular, decent quality BCG with the MPI bolt, & staked gas key.
Everything else is fluff & a roll mark.  As long as feeds, shoots & ejects fine, your likely never going to have a problem.

The out of the box M&P 15's are decent. You can also just buy a complete lower & a complete upper, get a quality one of each.

All mine are BCM now, but I had Bushmaster, a Colt & a Del-ton.

Colts are ok, but it's a roll mark your paying for.

Yup. These three are my entire stable minus a few budget builds.

Always nice to have a Colt around. The OEMs are great values IMO.

Ditto. Apart from a couple of "budget / training" set ups I wouldn't own anything other than KAC, LMT and Colt.  FWIW, this is coming from a guy that bought his first AR 39 years ago and has owned virtually everything available.

I stand corrected ...

I do have a HK MR556A1 and HK MR762A1.  I have these, because well, HK.  I wouldn't recommend either for "real use" though.  They're neat / novel range guns and seem to hold their value.  However, KAC/LMT/Colt for all other uses.

ETA: Geissele Comment

Did anyone else notice the "up to SIX WEEKS to ship your Memorial Day Sale items" disclaimer on their website?

Colt 6920's will hold their value better than almost any other brand because people trust the lineage.

In the meantime, it will serve you well.

IMO the best AR is the one you build at home using exactly the parts (especially the barrel) that you spec. Home built AR's never hold value because the average person doesn't trust the DIY gunsmith.

Buy a Colt OEM 6920 and add a B5 stock, DD rail that bolts to the GI barrel nut and any Aimpoint RDS you want and you will be well armed.

^^^^This right here^^^^

Also, building your own (**as long as you carefully choose quality components and follow properly assembly procedures**) can produce a very nice firearm tailored to your specific criteria. Plus its fun.

Article seems pretty accurate.  And there's been some good suggestions here.

I lean Colt.  It's gone to war and had .Gov material and testing requirements others haven't.  And per Chris at Small Arms Solutions, the GWOT era LE 6920's came off the same assembly lines as the M4's our soldiers used.

But there's many good choices.

Here's a new Colt OEM-1 I picked-up for $795.  Just needed some handguards, trigger guard, & stock.

I think the biggest problem a beginner make is that they think they need to buy another one to be better. Here's a hint: you already have the best one. That one rifle you already have is the best rifle you got. It's your one and only. If you treat it right, and treat it good, then any rifle you have after that is just a comparison to that one.

My recommendation: use the budget to get ammo, a good optic, a good trigger, and just roll with what you got. You're not going to get good with the best rifle but by being the best with the rifle you got.

Define "best".  Most reliable if well maintained?  Most reliable if never maintained?  Most accurate?  Greatest longevity?  Comes with any upgrade you could possibly want (fully ambidextrous, great trigger, upgraded pistol grip, decent iron sights, top of the line stock, etc.?  Best QC?

Those rifles in the top tier will generally score well in all of the above categories.  I've owned a bunch of AR's over the years and have been very happy with LMT, Daniel Defense, and PWS if you're interested in a piston or want to shoot suppressed.   But, with the exception of LMT (where I have bought their MARS lowers) I generally buy the upper and build the lower myself using parts of my choosing (Radian safeties and charging handles, LaRue of Geissele triggers, ergo pistol grips and B5 stocks with spring and buffer combos based on length of barrel).

This guy gets it

Excellent idea!

AIM Surplus Colt AR

I've spent 39 years chasing "the perfect" AR15. This has cost me more money than you would imagine, involved more AR15s that I will admit, and HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of rounds of ammo down range.  I have some conclusions:

1) Do not chase minutia improvements.  Look for real innovation that has been proven to significantly improve performance.  Otherwise, the Colt SP-1 Carbine I bought in 1984 would be basically just as practical today as it was then.  An example of a "macro" improvement that was worth while: A3 "flattop" uppers.  An example of a "micro / minutia" detail that isn't worth the money: a four prong SF over a 3 prong SF flash suppressor.

2) Don't waste time and money being the snowflake / lottery winner that is going to "buck the system" and be "the one who actually gets a duty grade hobby gun".  Simply listen to the grizzled veterans of the AR15 world and just buy a quality / duty grade gun to start.

3) Not all innovation is proportional to the cost.  Is a LMT MARS (ambi) lower worth 2.5x more than a LMT Defender (non-ambi) lower?  Absolutely not.  Are MARS lowers cool? Yes.  Is ambi handy? Yes, but if you're going to train with an ambi you need to go all ambi.  I switch between ambi and non-ambi lowers and find that my ambi-muscle memory has me looking for controls in places without controls on the non-ambi lowers.  Anyway, I don't think a lower is worth $850+ when the same company sells a non-ambi for $350.

4) Just because JSOC, DEVGRU, Delta (insert your pet special operations group here) uses it does not mean it is a good product or a good product for your needs.  Do we all like to see cool guys with cool guy kit? Heck yes!  Does that mean we should buy the same stuff?  Only if we're LARP'g or Cloners.  I'll give you an example: the Geissele rail on the much loved URG-I has proven (by Crane and others) deflection causing POA to POI deltas when using iron sights or LAMs.  Why would anyone buy this over a monolithic upper like a LMT?  Because it looks cool and people on the internet vomit out praise (mostly because they heard someoen else do it, played with one on a video game or saw a T1 Operator in a picture holding one).  What does the Bible say about a dog returning to its vomit?  Anyway, civilians have a lot of choices.  Choose wisely.

5) Do not over complicate things.  Many people are far too concerned about rollmarks, color matching, etc.  Also, don't add a bunch of gilded crap to your rifle.  For example: there is nothing wrong with a factory mag release and ambi safety.  

6) Stick to the basic rules: quality / proven carbine with SLING, LIGHT and OPTIC.  Everything else is gravy.

Based upon this what do I recommend?

RIFLES: KAC, LMT and COLT.  Honestly, just buy a Colt unless you want to capitalize on the free floating monolithic upper of a LMT (by adding a higher magnification optic and/or LAM).

TRIGGERS: Geissele SSA-E and LaRue MBT-2S

OPTICS: Trijicon ACOG (preferrably with Trijicon RMR piggyback), Aimpoint CompM4/CompM4S or Micro T2 or PRO (if on a budget), Vortex Gen 2 or Gen 3 Razor, Nightforce anything.

OPTIC MOUNTS: LaRue or Unity Tactical.

WML: SureFire "scout series".

SLING: Simple 2pt with quick adjust.

Everything else is just icing.

There are a lot of options and most of them are varying degrees of "good," "better," and "best." Different people will have different opinions of all of them based on preferences and experiences.

I tend to gravitate towards Colt because they are a known quantity, and IMHO an excellent balance of price and quality. They don't have the most up to date features or tightest receiver fit.

The ones you build.

To go off this and the post I made above:
For my daughter's 12th birthday, I gave her a box of parts (stripped upper from PSA, Stripped lower from Stag) after she chose a color scheme and further talked about how she wanted the gun to perform.  About 15 years ago, I purchased 5 sequential serial numbered Stag Lowers to eventually be built up as gifts for my children.
The gun is a 1 of 1 creation and one that she will have the rest of her life.  It is affectionately named "Blueberry."  It shoots sub MOA all day long.
Besides shooter skill, the help create the sub MOA, there is a LaRue Stealth barrel installed, a Geissele 2 Stage trigger, a Gemtech Trek-t, a Palmetto State Chrome bolt, a free floated rail (I forget the company), and a Leupold MK4 1.5-4x20.  She loves it.  I love it.  We built it together.

You hit the nail on the head.

Wow you are a great dad. Will you adopt me? :)

I disagree; you are paying for a known quantity that you know was assembled correctly from quality parts, with a correctly ported and buffered gas system.

Not to mention they are substantially less expensive than a DD or BCM, some of which may have more features, but are in a similar quality range.

I've built Gucci ARs, and bought pre-builts.  My two favorite ARs I've had out of all of them are my Colt SOCOM that I have now, and an M16A4 clone that I built using a Aero clone lower and an FN M16A4 upper.  But that's me.  I just really like the way the military clone rifles look and feel.

It’s funny because I have nice KAC and LMT rifles but my favorite is my Colt SOCOM. It’s just familiar I guess. I grab it first.

Attached File