There has got to be an answer being the climate of this website is perfection. I can find a post of every manufacturer that this climate(forum)calls acceptable to of had one(misfire) and some with less shots fired than my $650 carbine. So does that make the upper tier less desirable? Is it the Indian or the arrow? Or is that some drive BMW’s and others Accords getting you to the same place. I can afford either however what is your position that makes you either way?
All rifles are capable of having a malfunction. It doesn’t matter how high up on “The Chart” the rifle is.
What is important is that you buy quality components, have spares for when they DO break and know how to clear malfunctions when they DO happen.
Zero malfunctions would be nice but it isn’t probable. Too many outside variables.
Back up parts…check
Able to clear…check
Now what?
I think that there are many reasons behind purchasing behavior from those who are cheap to pride of ownership. The AR allows room for all. For myself it is the concept of “buy once cry once” or as my Grandfather put it, “even the poor can’t afford to buy cheap”. Anytime in my life that I have skimped or attempted to skimp on any type of technology it has resulted in an epic fail. In a life or death situation an epic fail is unacceptable. The best companies will have lemons just like the worst companies, but the best are likely to have fewer and more likely to fix problems with faster and better customer service. For me it isn’t worth it to have to buy twice.
At the moment of truth when it all counts you want to know that you have done everything possible to ensure success.
Go shoot…?
That is dang well put. Pardon my southern lack of grammar. This is why I posted this thread. Having my gun reworked with much better hardware.
I shoot range is right across the street.
No problem, I saw that you were a fellow Texan so no need to apologize for grammar, straight forward is the best way to get it done. Just remember that when you have to point your rifle at a man who is about to kill you, your focus needs to be on the target and not your BCG. Happy new year and thanks for the post!!
i can only speak for myself here, but it depends on the rifle.
for my old highly-tweaked 3gun race gun, i only need it to operate a few hundred rounds to get through a match between cleanings. it always did it and i considered it reliable, knowing full well it would never have made it to 1000 rnds w/o cleaning and relubing, due to a number of factors like how low i had the adjustable gas port set, and the aluminum carrier.
for my GP carbine, i’d be genuinely upset if ever malfunctioned. i never clean it, just pour lube in it before use, and the only time it let me down was after about 14k rnds i had neglected to change the action spring and got a bunch of mud in the action during a carbine match. hardly the rifle’s fault.
my service rifle is about the same. i expected it to go 88 rnds / match twice/mo with a squirt of slip2k before the match, and i only cleaned it once/yr after camp perry.
my main carbine is a suppressed SBR. it gets dirty fast, despite the switchblock and H2 buffer. i’m experimenting with froglube. it seems like decent stuff, and doesn’t put as much oil in my face as slip2k did, but it also doesn’t wash away the sludge. so it’s a trade off. we’ve gone close to 1k rnds between cleanings a few times, but my guess is that’s close to the limit. i clean this gun more than i want to.
all that said, vast majority of failures i’ve had are ammo related. usually worn out brass that separates. one primer i seated backwards. one that got past the trimmer and wouldn’t let the bolt close.
Great post my friend I believe failures are mostly ammo issues and not so much name brand of platform specific. Point being in times like these that becomes more evident when guys who only talk up a few company’s all of a sudden are ok with others.
Its both. Doesn’t matter how good you are if your weapon goes “click”. Likewise if you had the best AR ever built, it would do you no good if you didn’t know how to use it or didn’t have the right mindset.
Here’s what I know: I’ve got somewhere between 3000 and 4000 rounds through my LMT lower/BCM upper over 3 years. Not one single hiccup of any kind. Not one. Multiple brands and ages of mags. Multiple brands and types of ammo.
In November I bought another rifle that was supposed to be from a good manufacturer. 3 failures to feed in the first 100 rounds and some weird intermittent thing where no mag would seat, regardless of make, model or number of rounds loaded into them.
Can a rifle from one of the vaunted “top tier” manufacturers have a problem? Sure. If I bought 100 Bushmasters, could I get one to run trouble free for a while? Probably. Its the law of averages. I don’t have time to run thousands of rounds through every rifle ever made to really see first hand what works and what doesn’t. I am willing to take the word of credible experts in the field. My limited experience backs up everything I have learned here and elsewhere. When I pull that trigger, I want a boom EVERY time. I will do my job, I expect my rifle to do its job. I am buying peace of mind when I buy top tier stuff.
Dang you must stay busy reloading being your in commifornia. That’s a lot of freakin work. I gotta tell ya I don’t carry just one firearm and the rate of failure with good ammo in the AR is minimal. If its my time it’s my time it’s already been determined(Stonewall Jackson). But the fanboy complex I just won’t buy into it. It’s either your time or it isn’t .
To many variables to say any rifle will not have a malfunction at some time. They all will. Be it ammo, Mag or an actual break in a part installed. Best thing is know how to find out the why and be able to fix it! 
As long as the failure is identifiable and fixable I don’t see an issue. That’s the beauty of the AR15.
My Noveske has a couple 1000rds fired with 0 malfunctions.
All I run is regular carbine gassed 14.5" Colts and one BCM upper, all on Colt factory lowers. They work fine and I NEVER clean 'em because my life doesn’t depend on 'em…
All of my magazines are in good shape, I don’t totally cheap out on ammo and I dump lube in the gun more than I need to.
Not counting a few stovepipes shooting rollover prone, I’ve had two malfunctions in the last 20K or so rounds.
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Badass bolt over base that I induced with 31 rounds stuffed in a Pmag, followed up with a tap, rack, attempt that really clogged shit up.
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A Karma induced failure at a match that I brought on by bitching about all the time we were wasting while idiots were ‘having jams’ with their home-made junk. I’m not sure exactly what happened, I just remember having to mortar my rifle on the clock…
So, it’s gonna happen, but if you buy good stuff that was designed to work together, lube the hell out of it, rebuild the bolt and replace the buffer spring every 3-5K, it’s gonna work as well as it can.
Only you can decide if it’s up to your standards, because… They’re your standards.
Dean Caputo teaches that most malfunctions are attributable to MEAL.
Magazine, spread feed lips
Extractor, worn
Ammunition, under-powered
Lube, insufficient.
Only one of these has to do with the gun itself.
It’s all about peace of mind for me. I don’t spend much money on clothes, or flat screen TV’s, or furniture or any of that type of stuff. I don’t even spend much money on cars, just simple reliable sedan and truck, no flash or glam, no need to look like a baller.
But, things I classify as tools, things that I do or could depend on in a serious situation, I spend top dollar on. My guns are all tend to be top quality, my camping gear, climbing gear and motocross bike and gear, all top quality, well maintained.
I simply don’t want to have to worry about it when it really matters.
I’m not a high volume shooter. More than your regular Joe, but not compared to a lot of guys on here. When guys on this site with solid reputations who shoot a lot, when trainers who see rifles in class after class say “this fails more than this for this reason” that’s enough for me to listen.
This isn’t my opinion.
I shot around 2000 rounds in both Scar and LWRC with regular PMC ammo. not seen any jam yet.
California examples just don’t cut it for me. Not hating but damn takes a while to load ten more rounds eh? That’s like shooting a 10/22.