Okay ... I have to ask. I am ex military / LE and I have owned many types of ARs by many manufactures in all its forms. I need to ask... why do many of you folks always speculate on AR reliability issues?  I have never personally seen any of the issues you speak of.

Do you clean your rifle with a paint brush "Vietnam Style?"

Are some of you buying 222 to substitute for 223?

Are like some else had stated are you buying Hesse?

Please explain this to me...

It's Olympic Arms Owners.  You know, Olympic Arm's Tight Tollerances

Probably buying Hesse or Century receivers. Also they might be refering to the original M16 rifles, they were very finicky, no forward assist, non-chrome lined barrel, tighter tolerances than needed and last but, not very important no brass deflecter. Small amounts of dirt in the action and they quit working but, those problems were cured with the addition of foward assist, slightly looser tolerance (ie: mil-spec) and the addition of a chrome lined barrel. The brass deflecter was added to keep you from being binged in the face everytime you fired the weapon.

Yah.. I feel that way everytime I read one of those posts.

I haven't seen that many either. 2 total. 1 was magazine related and the rifle worked without a hitch after it was replaced. The other was on one at our range a few years ago. It would fire with no problem till the last 2 rounds then it would just stop with the bolt halfway back. A slap on the assist would clear it but then it would stop again on the last round. The guy had tried mags,ammo,cleaning etc.He took it to a smith who told him something about it having a "Drop In Kit" installed???? He sold it later and I never heard the outcome. Granted, most of my knowledge is with AK's,SKS's,etc. but I've seen a lot of AR's and they seem to me to be no worse than any other system. I think the key is to take care of your weapon and it will take care of you.

Just my .02

Dunno, I only have 1 AR15 and its been running smooth like a sewing machine....

Because some are and some aren't.  I've seen fully reliable AR-15's made by Hesse and I've seen crap from Colt.  (It's more often the other way around, but I've seen it this way as well.)  

The AR-15 is a great rifle, but it is NOT as reliable as other rifles out there.  There's more out there that'll take it out of service than other rifles.

Mike

My first ar which was a bushmaster(I sold it last weekend) for the first 500 rounds would jam once a mag. It was ripping the rim off the case and then trying to load one behind it. After about 500 rounds the chamber smoothed out and then it ran fine. I also have a friend with a colt m4gery that had the same problem. It happened on every other round though.  Jams do happen.
Scott

Beacuse Wolf ammo is cheap
Because it's cheaper to swap bolt, bolt-carrier from upper to upper, than to buy complete uppers.
Because it's easier to only clean the rifle when it starts having stoppages.
Because cheap magazines, regardless of condition are good magazines.
Because anyone can "build" their own AR without experience or supervision, with the cheapest parts that can be found.
Because that chrome lined barrel should be custom barrel accurate.
Because that stainless .223 chamber barrel will be used as a "bullet hose".  

BECAUSE IT'S EASIER TO BLAME THE RIFLE

Quoted: Beacuse Wolf ammo is cheap Because it's cheaper to swap bolt, bolt-carrier from upper to upper, than to buy complete uppers. Because it's easier to only clean the rifle when it starts having stoppages. Because cheap magazines, regardless of condition are good magazines. Because anyone can "build" their own AR without experience or supervision, with the cheapest parts that can be found. Because that chrome lined barrel should be custom barrel accurate. Because that stainless .223 chamber barrel will be used as a "bullet hose".   BECAUSE IT'S EASIER TO BLAME THE RIFLE

Well said!

I actually posted a similiar thread a few months back, and got over 100 responses. The vast majority of which posted that they had very little if any problems with their AR's.

Something else that came out of that thread, I am also not the only one who has seen an AK jam.

Recently I got to see an M-16 go through enough Beta-C dumps that the handguards started to melt. It seemed to run just fine.

Well, I've had nothing but trouble from my Hesselympicoltarmamaster shorty-full-length M4geripator A2...the thing's a total POS...
Pit

My problems come from in the field. I use to take my AR's out in the freezing Canadian cold, leave them sit for awhile after shooting and then recommenced afterwards and I've had FTE, FTF consistently from almost every single one. And I clean my rifles every 100rds and sometimes more or less but always around there. I have dragged these guns in the dirt, in the snow, in the mud. But I have to admit, I have always been able to get the gun running in the field with no cleaning kit and just a bayonet or pocket too. I am by no means in the military and I use to shoot 5rd mags in my rifles. I've only owned Armalites, Colts, and 1 ZM. Out of all of them the ZM is the one I liked the most and preformed in a manner I expect a Military rifle.

Maybe if I lived in a region of the US where 1 inch of snow means the kids stay home, and that If I never took my rifle off the comfort of the range I would know of these invincible AR's.

And yes I have tried green followers, different mag springs, whole different uppers, different lubricants for all kinds of weather, expensive to cheap ammo, etc etc. The next AR I buy will be a ZM LR300, and that's if I ever buy one again.

I kinda figure if your not a fan of the AR15/M16 your on the wrong site. I don't get all the AR15/M16 deriders who hang out on this site. Maybe because the AR is so popular this is one of the most visited gun sites. Even so, haven't they got anything better to do with thier time than hang out here, blathering on about what a crappy rifle the AR is, this rifle is better , blah, blah, blah. Heck, go find a site for your idea of an ideal rifle and save us some bandwidth.