New to AR-15's and I am ready to order a carbine kit.  I already purchased an Olympic Arms T3 stripped lower.  Just trying to get a general feel for the procuct that M&A puts out compared to J&T (my alternate choice).  This is my first AR and I want this to smooth.  Thanks in advance......
Perrito

a buddy just built an m&a 20" varmit that looks nice. just had some minor fitment issues. nothing he couldn't handle.

My M&A Parts kit worked out perfectly. Very good fit and finish, and matched my Eagle Arms lower. The rifle functioned perfectly from day 1. It has RRA markings on the upper...hmmmmmm.

Thanks for the replies, from what I've read, RRA is a pretty good maker of parts, so M&A should be as good or better quality than J&T.  J&T seems to be the most popular though......hmmmmm

RRA is good stuff, but I would expect that anything marked RRA that isn't sold as RRA is a cast-off.

I believe that J&T uses Colt parts, so I wouldn't knock 'em. I've seen more good and less bad about J&T than any other kit makers.

As a newbie and for my second build, I put an M&A CAR Post Ban kit on a new Rock River stripped lower. Went together perfectly in 45 minutes. Lubbed up with Break Free heavily and went to the range. Accuracy was excellant. Got to round #88 before first FTF. The parts are very tight, and as I said, fit is great. At first FTF, tore her down and cleaned thoroughly (at the range) and put away for the day. Detailed cleaning at the house showes the carrier is riding much smoother now. Still need about 200 more rounds for a proper break in. Accuracy will be fine tuned, as the first outing was a function run. Very happy with the results. Next build will be an M&A Mid Length CAR on a DPMS lower. First, must sell one of the L1A1's!

Haven't been on the board long, but I haven't seen any negative comments on M&A.  I'm gonna give 'em a call tomorrow and get some more info, if they are as pleasant to deal with as J&T when I called them, it'll be a tough choice, based mostly on the price comparison of their CAR kits.

Perrito

I just ordered a 20" kit from M&A yesterday. The guy was very polite and friendly. I called a bit to late for the order to go out as UPS had already been there and he sounded disapointed to tell me it would not ship till today. I am building on a Mega lower I also ordered yesterday. With my dealer having to mail his FFL to them I am sure my kit will be here first any how. No problem as I can try out the upper on my Bushmaster lower.

Got to round #88 before first FTF? Was this a gun or ammo prob? I've never had a FTF or FTE (or any problem for that matter), with my J&T CAR...not knocking M&A, but 88 rounds isn't a lot.

I placed my order with M&A from their website on a Monday. I got a little nervous that it may not be in stock, so I called at 11:00am that same morning, and the guy said--not only do I have it in stock, yours went out 45 minutes ago....I like that.

A FTF with a brand new rifle is not uncommon. Could of been any number of things associated with break-in, or possibly mis-aligned gas rings. My M&A mid-length ran without a hitch and fit was perfect to my Eagle Arms lower.

Can't find many negatives about the product that M&A puts out.  It looks like I'm gonna go with M&A due to the mid length handguard they offer.  J&T doesn't offer that option. Steve, I saw the pic of yer M&A kit all put together on Glocktalk and it looks great.  I like the looks of the mid length handguard.  Thanks for all the replies...my order 'll go in first thing tomorrow (can you tell it's payday!)

Perrito

I bought 2 M&A kits in April, both very nice.  One was a Mid-length carbine.

Fit my Stinger lower great, close to the same color.  Lower parts fit well and had extra pieces!

FF tube on my 20" is same style as RRA.

In ref to the 88 round FTF, I am new to AR's. I am an experienced shooter, but having an AR has been a long dream. After reading as much as I could about lubrication and general operation of the rifle, I probably erred by purposly over lubing with Break Free for the first outing. I did the same on my first build, which is a Century M16A2 kit (modified to AR) on a DPMS lower. Did the same thing in over lubbing for the first outing, and had some FTF's. The first build now has about 500 rounds through it, and it functions so well and is so smooth, I used it in a 3 gun march in May (It placed me 10th out of 54 iron sight shooters and 24th out of 98 total shooters).

I did the same early new build over lub on my L1A1's, and got the same type of failures after the rifle warmed up and got dirty.But, after cleaning, they have all been totally reliable and function perfectly. I used the Break Free heavily, knowing that if something would happen, it would on the first outing. As a result, the M&A is 90% smoother in its operation than it was before the shooting exercise. I am certain that one or 2 more FTF's will occure, but I consider (rightly or wrongly) that to be part of the break in peroid. All I need to do is do more bench shooting with it, and I know it will be ready for the next match in October.

BTW, the FTF result was a round with heavy bend marks in the case side from the extension, and the round chambered and stuck, but not in battery. A cleaning rod tap freed the round easily from the chamber. I guess I could have hit the bolt assist and jammed the round in, but, I didn't want to push it. We did do some quick double taps, so I am certain we have everything squared away. Just more shooting!

Also, we were using USGI used mags, so I would not fault the rifle at all. The mags are suspect, but I use the SA80 mags for competition, and they are perfect.