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Posted: 11/11/2004 6:03:02 PM EDT
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My local local gun shop contacted me yesterday and told me that my no ban Bushmaster A3 carbine (bird cage suppressor) had arrived. Upon inspection I noticed that there were 3 large machining marks on the upper receiver that had been parkerized over and that the lower had several scratches on it. Overall fit and finish were of poor quality nothing like my other Bushmaster that I've had for the past 4 years. My theory is that with the end of the AWB creating a shortage, Bushmaster has let quality control slide a bit. Has anybody out there recently had any similar experiences ? Needless to say, I didn't purchase it, and ordered a Rock River instead. Bushmaster has lost my business for the forseeable future, they shouldn't be pulling crap like this. |
| A lot of the new Bushmasters I have seen have had scratches on the receivers. Thats what I can say that is bad about them. What I can say that is good about them is they are the only company I have seen new style rifles from at all short of a A2 SOF model from Armalite and a AR10 carbine from Armalite. Both of those looked good however. |
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I've got quite a few Bushmasters, and I can say they all have some sort of superficial surface abberation, but it has always been acceptable. Just glad to receive it. One A2 has such sharp flashing left inside the carrying handle, drawing blood from it has not been unusual. Au" contraire", a recent no ban has been the best example of product from them I've ever seen. I believe a lot of my surface imperfections come from local gunshop handling, though. |
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Just picked up a ban free bushy 20". There were 1 or two nicks in the finish on the barrel, the handguard was a little loose, and some little play between the upper and lower, but it's a rifle, not a work of art so I dont care much. Ever handle a military issue rifle? those things are a wreck I take mine on hikes and it gets dropped and kicked and wet so I dont mind a blemish or two. It runs flawless though, and is accurate for nothing but torso shots with irons out to 150 yards. That's all that matters to me |
| I had a feeling these things were going to happen with the recent mad rush. Can you imagine the hours these people are putting in to get these orders filled? I am a Process Engineer for a contract manufacturer that builds circuit boards and everytime we get rushed bad, quality goes down drasticly. It makes me even more glad that I bought parts to build my M4 from smaller companies that aren't as rushed right now like CMMG and Ameetec. |
| I recently checked out a guys new Bushmaster no-ban rifle with an Izzy suppressor pinned on a 14.5" M4 profile barrel. The rifle looked good, but the weld and finnish over the pinned suppressor left something to be desired. I assumed it was do to Bushmaster trying to get as many rifles out the door after the ban ended. |
Well, I'll be the lone wolf here. I got my Bushy M4 2 weeks ago today. And the finish is so nice that I'm almost afraid to handle it. Of course I shot it right away and it shoots as good as it looks. The finish of both the upper and lower match exactly. Looks like there were supposed to be together. Bushmaster is still number 1 in my book.
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i am with you..!!! i have gotten 4 Bushmasters since Sept. 13 & everyone of them is flawless ?? 3 are Mil/Leo only & 1 is not, they are perfect in every way, i could not be happier & i called Bushmaster & told them so. 
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True, however......a lot of people (and manufacturers, too?) were not sold on the ban not being replaced with new legislation until the fat lady was really getting warmed up. I would guess that BM did not want to be sitting in a position where they had a boat-load of "no-ban" rifles made and all of a sudden, a new AW ban gets passed at the last minute. Who the hell knows.... 
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| I ordered my new BM the day the ban expired, and was told that they were getting 500 M4 uppers off the line that day. I guess that dealers ordered a boat load in the days prior to the sunset. I can't say enough about the quality of the one I received......It looked great! Can't say that any more. |
I recently got a no ban lower from BM and was rather unhappy to find out they are using a plastic trigger guard. I called them and asked about that and they said it was 'mil spec' and its better because it the aluminum one breaks it will cut your fingers but a plastic one will not  There does seem to be a lot of reported fit/finish problems lately too. I have also built up a RRA no ban and I think they are every bit as good as BM with a lot more consistent quality currently. Just my 2cents |
| Well, this thread just put a damper on my Friday. I have a Bushy M4/A3 on order, and have waited about 5 weeks I guess so far. I was already on cloud nine once when my dealer called and said my rifle was in, only to find out that Bushy shipped an HBAR. I could have taken it home, but I figured I would wait on the rifle I ordered. The finish looked really nice on that particular rifle, no imperfections that I could see. If/when I get my M4, if it has imperfections, then I am going to be hacked! I don't think you ought to pay almost $1k for anything, and have it messed up from the get go. That is unacceptable in my book. Yes, rifles are made to shoot and not look at, but I like to take care of my stuff and I want them to look like they are taken care of. |
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We seem to getting terribly upset over something that hasn't happened yet. As for the plastic trigger guard, that isn't anything new and I don't mind it at all, however, the new Magpul guard looks good for anyone that wants to replace the stock guard. I have an upper with the SIR on order, a lower and a new Bushmaster carbine on order, if they are as good as the last one, I'll be more than pleased. In the meantime, I'm going to stay relaxed and patient. Blackhorse Allons |
I dont care if they have scratches, I'll add plenty of my own. I do NOT want lowers that are out of spec and cause me problems. Makes sense, right? |
Lumpy- agreed. But the only complaints I've heard about were fit/finish involving machine marks and scratchs. Did I miss a comment where they would not operate? |
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My recent noban M4A3 functioned great when I took it to the range. It sighted in with only three windage clicks and no adjustments to the front sight post. However, it is not cosmetcally as nice as the last Bushmaster rifle bought, but still ranks high in my opinion. There are a few very small nicks through the finish around the front receiver pin, the upper receiver machining is slightly rough under the ejection port with subtle rough texture under the anodizing throughout, and the front sight base has a bayonet lug that does look out of spec with one side being machined down considerably more than the other. In addition there is a small chip out of the front lug of the upper receiver that is under the anodizing. All of these things are superficial imperfections in my opinion and do not affect function. While I don't plan on mounting a bayonet and doing too many charges with this rifle, letting something go that is clearly out of spec does suggest that they may be rushing a little or trying to make there parts stock stretch. |
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I ordered my 14.5" upper the week after the ban dropped. The first shipment looked great except for the gash UPS put in the charging handle and upper receiver, the second replacement was gray and so out of spec the rear detent pin wouldn't go in. The second one wasnt test fired obviously, cause it wouldnt fit on a lower. I'm still waiting for the third upper, hopefully this time is the charm. I suppose color doesnt matter but it does look like crap to see a gray upper that doesnt match anything else on the gun except the barrel. I can only say that after I saw an upper that perfectly matched the lower. I was a bit dissappointed to hear that they have a range of "acceptable" colors as far as that goes. I'll just keep sending it back and see if I can get a black upper receiver like I originally got. I guess if I get sick of playing the shipping game I will break down and give my money to someone else. |
Perhaps that was Bushmaster quality! And decent units are unusual. LOL (Jokeing) Unfortunately I've seen them this way as well. Perhaps with the mad rush to fill orders, they let the quality control slide a bit, just like m4a3bushie noted. Awww heck, get a Colt
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It was an act of Congress, part of the "Crime Bill." |
N/M, Lumpy beat me to it. |
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