Probably not intentionally, but you’re stirring up a huge hornets nest with this question.
Oops, not trying to stir up anything, just that there are high end and low end M4’s, and I’m just looking to get a good one. I don’t want to settle for the cheapest thing I can get.
I just know too many “old school” geezers like myself that grew up thinking “Colt or nothing,” so I really want to research this before I buy some other brand, that’s all. 
IMHO you’re never going to go wrong with a Colt. My general advice of “buy a Colt 6920, put an Aimpoint on it and a quality two-point sling and go shoot the hell out of it” still stands. I don’t know anyone that’s taken that advice and turned out sorry they did.
So I’m a complete newbie to all of this. I don’t know what all the letters mean or any of that. My knowledge consists of what they taught us in law enforcement on basic shooting. I’m planning on buying (building) an AR that I can use for both patrol and hobby.
My question is more on what pieces do I need? I know an upper and a lower but I’m pretty sure if I just buy any upper and any lower I’m going to be screwed haha. I know I’ll need a handgaurd, probably a rear sight, a charging handle? Does anyone have a list of the basics needed to build a good AR on a budget? (I.E. upper, lower, handgaurd, charging handle, rear sight… and so on?)
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I understand there are big differences between brands and all of that but I think I need to know what pieces I need before deciding what brand of those pieces.
-Nick
Have had good luck with my Bargain Bin CMMG with a 1:9 twist. Reliable with Federal 55. Cost: $599. No complaints so far.
I would would buy a complete lower from LMT or BCM then buy a complete upper from either. Add a rear sight and handguards and you have a high quality rifle.
this thread should be stuckied to the top of every page on this board.
http://www.americanrifleman.org/ArticlePage.aspx?id=2259&cid=4
thought this was a good read, newb’s as well as seasoned shooters.
I know you guys are not that into RRA got 2 with 20" barrels 5.56 and .308 every time I pull the trigger they go bang.I’m hard on everything I own so far so good.Today is veteran’s day God bless all our brothers and sister you’r sacrifice will never be forgotten.Honor Duty Valor you are loved by my family and the entire country.Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
If I am reading The Chart correctly, and comparing it to the comparion of major commercial brands spreadsheet correctly, it seems as though Colt and BCM are the leaders across the board, with BCM edging out Colt due to the lifetime warranty.
Yet folks here prefer DD, Noveske, LMT, and others at times.
Is the reason “feel”? Brand reputation? Corporate service?
Apologies if this question is too basic. I thought it would be better to post here rather than creating a new thread.
I just bought a BCM and I would go with them.The customer service and the parts and fit and finish are all great!If you dont like flashy logos then maybe DD.I have colt and BCM I would take my BCM because it has a hammer forged barrel.Quality I say just as good to not stir up anything.I would care to say go with a cheaper lower good LPK and a bcm upper assembly bcm bcg and I like the gunfighter charging handle.This is all my Bias oppinion not saying bcm is the greatest but I have nothing but good to say about colt and BCM. Oh and the hat, posters,stickers and dvds are a nice touch:D
The quality of the parts Colt, BCM and Daniel defense use are just like the parts the military M16/M4 use except semi auto VS select fire . So with Colt, BCM and Daniel Defense you are buying machine gun quality parts and the majority of the others bolt action quality parts and assembly.
The quality of the parts Colt, BCM and Daniel defense use are just like the parts the military M16/M4 use except semi auto VS select fire . So with Colt BCM and Daniel Defense you are buying machine gun quality parts and the majority of the others bolt action quality parts.
Thank you!! This sticky really helped me in my quest to gather as much info about ARs before I make my purchase. DD looks pretty good so far…
So I’m new to the AR/M4 platform, and there’s so much golden info here that I can gather basic ideas of all the general parts of the weapon. But once it gets down into details , specs, and variances of each part it can become overwhelming. So I’m deciding to go ahead and buckle down and make my first purchase so that I can have something to work with/reference to/learn from when I research and browse these forums. From what I’ve gathered BCM and DD are great weapons and I’ve also heard great about Knights Armament. would anyone suggest any one over the other two for any particular reason? I think this thread has “go with your gut feeling” written all over it when it comes to BCM and DD. So I guess I’d like to hear someone chime in about Knight’s; either an SR-15 IWS E3 CARBINE MOD 2 or an SR-25 E2 APC.
I went looking at AR’s and noticed some uppers and lowers were fit loose and some were fit tight. which ones are better buy? also, do they get looser over time? and will putting pressure on the upper and lower in opposite directions make it looser? (i was told no…)
how much is good to spend on a 1st AR
also. what else do you need to buy when buying an AR. please provide a list of the necessary things to buy. thanks
im new too but the DD rifles looked better finish wise.