Noob question here: buying my first AR, looking for A3 M4-gery style CAR. No reason (I can think of) to spend the $$ for a pre-ban for what I want to use it for (general plinking and maybe 3-gun). Looking at olympic, bushmaster, and colt, would appreciate any advice or comments about my options here. Specifically wondering about:

1) Differences in m4 configuration between brands. For example, I have not yet seen the oly up close, but it's post-ban comp seems to be very different then the design on the colt and bushmaster. Does this difference matter in terms of practical range duty? Should I care about it? Any other small differences in actual config that I should look for when I get up close?

2) differences in brand quality, to the extent that you can make a general statement about one vendor vs. another (I was not considering hesse or CAI as an option for me here).

I've looked through the forum and found some mixed comments on oly quality control. some folks have apparently had some poor experiences, but there were many other positive responses as well, so it seems like a wash.

I've read lots of other positive comments about colt, although some of that reverence seems to be for colt's history as much as for the value of its current product. I don’t know much about AR’s, but I do some shade-tree 1911 pistolsmithing, and Colt’s products of recent years have been ok, nothing better. Few years earlier, maybe quite a bit worse, although admittedly nothing else has a slide that says “Colt” :).

Appreciate comments and advice.

Thanks,
Jared

Not to put the other brands down or anything, but I feel that Bushmaster is the best deal for the money. [:)]

I was asking myself the same question, decided to go with Bushmaster A2 shorty.

No regrets.

TG :)

As far as quality goes, I would rate them in this order:

1. Colt
2. Bushmaster
3. Olympic

If I were you and wanted a good deal but still have a decent chance of getting a good rifle, you might also consider the Rock River Arms and D.P.M.S. versions.

Let me also say that I hate the post-ban muzzle brakes that come on the Colt, Bushy and Olympic. They are noisy, look horrible and IMO, have to go. If you get one of these send it down to Kurt's Custom and get him to remove that brake and install a fake flash hider or one of his A2 style brakes. They look much better and are also much less noisy. Or you could just get a model that doesn't have any brake at all and not have to worry about it.

And do you really even want an M4? If you want it because it looks cool or because it will offer you some performance advantages (i.e. compatible with various optics such as Aimpoint, EOTech, ACOG, lights, etc) then by all means get one. But M4's seem on average to be priced higher than a flat-top AR carbine that doesn't use the M4 type barrel, handguards and buttstock. Think about this because it may save you money and still give you a good gun that's just as adequate for your purposes. A good 16" Colt Sporter with lightweight 1:7 twist barrel and A2 buttstock is about perfect for me. Of course others will have different preferences.

Another low cost option for you is to buy a kit and build your own gun. I would recommend the J&T kits, as they seem to be good quality. You can check them out at [url]www.jtdistributing.com[/url]. You can get models with the features you want and leave out the rest. Plus, by doing this, you get to learn a great deal about how your weapon works.

Oh, and if it were me, I would get one that uses a 1:7 twist rate if at all possible. It will give you the best range of options when it comes to ammo. Slower twists may not stabilize some of the newer heavy match ammo. This ammo could come in handy should you ever want to use your gun for long range, accurate shooting or for home defense, since it also happens to perform well in that regard. Good luck in your hunt!

-Charging Handle

My vote would go to Bushmaster for a complete rifle.

Armalite, Bushmaster, Colt
you can't go wrong with the ABC's

Stay away from colt.   get an armalite, rock river arms, or a bushmaster.

Since I live in CA I was forced to get a Fab 10 lower reciever but everything else is produced by Bushmaster.  Everything works and fuctions properly.  The rifle is also very accurate.  BTW its a BM 20" Heavy barrel upper. No regrets here.



Just curious why you would tell him to stay away from colt ???

-William

BUSHMASTER, ahead of the rest!

We've got some guys on here that are serious brand loyalist(Ford vs. Chevy).  They all claim that there brand makes the best rifle.  You know what, there are all right!

You will not go wrong with Colt, Bushmaster, Olyarms, Armalite and Rock river arms. They all make fine rifles that will fall into the parameters of an M4gery rifle.

I myself own an Oly and am very happy with it and would recomend it to anyone.  I also own an Armalite AR10 and love it too.  Both rifles I have are great shooters, top notch in quality and nicely done in finish and fit.

I find that Colt is too expensive for what you get(a great rifle but with non standard proprietary parts) especially with the other brands that are out there that don't demand the high premium price

Armalite(Standard parts) is the next expensive but a great rifle.

Bushmaster,RRA and Olyarms all have standard parts and all are of the same quality and will sell within $50 of each other. Meaning all three will be no more than $50(from least expensive to the most expensively priced brand) range of each other.

So on the above note Bushmaster, RRA and Olyarms are a good choice.  Either one of the those three will give you the best bang for your buck

Quality of merchandise, price of merchandise, customer service.    In my experience, they all suck.   You will get better treatment in all categories from Armalite,  bushmaster and Rock River arms

as also mentioned above, messed up dimensions on parts not matching all the rest of the ar15's in the world.  

Thanks for everyone's detailed replies. I'll probably stay away from colt, if only because the extra $$ won't buy me much in the way of added functionality. Also (hate to sound like a dumb@ss) I was not aware that colt internals were not interchangeable. I've obviously got a lot of reading up to do before I make a purchase here. Between the others, I'll probably try to get some time up close with different brands at the next gun show and see if one stands out against the others.

Charging_Handle - thanks for the suggestion about a kit from J&T. Sounds like a pretty cool idea, but I'll probably just buy a complete firearm as my first rifle. Work sucks up too much free time for me these days as it is, when I finally get a chance to head over to the range, It'll be nice to have something ready to take with me. Plus, I don't have much experience with rifles -- if I buy a new bushmaster and still get 5" groups at 50 yards, at least I'll know it's not the rifle's fault.

regarding your question about why an m4 lookalike? No special reason, just thought they looked cool. As I mentioned, I don't have a lot of range time with rifles or carbines, will probably be doing most of my range practice with this one at 50-75 yards against steel. when I start to get consistent at ranges that I can also hit with a baseball, I'll start thinking about a firearm set up for/capable of hitting at medium ranges and longer. or maybe I'll just go back to a 1911 against plates at 10 yards, cause it's just way too much fun.

Thanks again for everyone's advice and assistence,
Jared

one more thought on the kit.  if you take a look in the main page you'll find assembly instructions for a lower (jt kits come upper complete).  I put mine together having never worked on a ar platform.  it only took about an hour and was really fun.  just check out those directions and see what you think.

on the side, my 20" A2 JT/Dpms lower came to just over $600, so there's a place for comparison.  lurk around the build it yourself section to, it's an interesting read if nothing else.  happy hunting

Get a Colt or a Bushy. Stay away from Oly.
Pat

In the family are 3 colts, 1 bushy, 4 olys, and 1 EA. No safe queens, all are up to the task at hand. Lean toward Oly due to lifetime warranty. Don't think any others offer this. You really can't go wrong with either. The best to you.

I believe off the top of my head that armalite has lifetime warranty to the first purchaser.