If money is not an issue, get the Colt. Keep in mind that I am not a big fan of Colt and thata I do own no less than 3 BM AR-15s.
I’ll caveat this by stating that my last AR was an SBR I build out of an RRA lower and an LMT upper. If given the choice between buying a BM, Colt, or building another rifle using the mentioned components; I’d rather build another one. JM2CW.
If its any consolation I wouldnt pick either, but if it has to be one of those I would say colt.
How old are you?
If you buy cheap, you get to cry (and buy) TWICE…
It’s NEVER a good idea to economize on purchases that your life may depend upon. It’s also a good idea to consider how long you will actually use the item in years and then divide the price by the time to see what the actual cost is over time. You almost ALWAYS find that buying quality and dependability costs very little more.
For example, let’s say our BM M4gery is $850 out the door and has a useful service life of five years of hard training use before it shits the sheets (and that’s optimistic in most cases). The gun costs us $170 per year in raw weapon’s cost.
If we choke up and pay $1300 for a Colt 6920 and we can get ten years of service at the same level of use, the gun costs us only $130 per year and we get longer service.
Those are obviously theoretical examples but you should be able to see the advantage of saving a bit longer and getting what you really want and need instead of buying something that may (and likely will) disappoint at some level.
That…
and in all the years I’ve been on AR related gun boards, I’ve never read someone post that they wish they had purchased a lesser rifle. No one ever regrets buying good gear.
…sits back and grabs the popcorn.
;p
iam 21 years old
I have a Bushy lower from 7 years ago that I have mated to an LMT MRP Upper. It’s been an excellet lower. Back then, as you’ll see if you read enough threads here that most, including me think that the Bushmaster quality has slipped somewhat over the last few years.
Those who have had both Colt and Bushy tend to state that the quality of Colt is superior to the quality of Bushmaster “Today”.
IMHO…Do some more research, get some more “Informed” opinions…and go for it.
Tack
I have owned one Colt (a long time ago before the AWB) and one BM that I assembled from a locally-purchased lower and a “M4” upper direct from BM a few years ago. Luckily my BM does not suffer from the poor fit and finish issues metioned above and has thus far proven to be accurate and reliable. That said, with all of the quality vendors now in the AR business and the apparent recent slide in BM quality control, I will probably opt for something other for my next purchase. But my current BM M4gery is a definite keeper (100 yard target shown below).
As my bro Matt E, AKA Top, is known to have said: “You have have the ‘as good as’ or you can have the ‘as’”.
One of the Colts I owned a long time ago was their 7.62X39 carbine which I purchased new on a whim and sold all long before the AWB. Magazines were problematic with that rifle but once I move to NH in the next few months, I’m inclined to buy a 6920 and hold on to the BM for more informal purposes;
My daughter Emily “behind the wheel” of the BM M4gery (yes, she was wearing eye protection during the actual shooting except for this poser shot).
In that price range my first choice would be a Noveske N4. I’ve seen good Colts and Bushmaster, but would likely choose the Colt if I was limited to those two. Other good choices to consider, in my opinion, are Sabre Defense, Stag/CMT, LMT, Bravo Company. You’ll get lots of opinions pro & con for any brand you mention - good luck!
FWIW: a very good friend of mine has many choices in his toy room, including Colt. His primary weapon is a select-fire Bushmaster lower with a ‘frankengun’ upper. Understand, that he built the upper out of quality parts, knows what makes these tick and performs regular maintenance accordingly. He shoots everything through it including the often maligned steel cased Wolf. I’ve shot it and witnessed tens of thousands of rounds sent downrange. It flat runs! YMMV