Just for grins.
Hypothetically , say you have an urgent need to grab an AR off the shelf to protect yourself or in defense of a third party. Your choices are new Bushy, RRA, Smith & Wesson (no Colts available)
All three brands are configured similarly. (price is not an issue)
Which Carbine do you grab?
Oh boy, those choice look like my options for picking up a good looking date in boot camp. 
I would have to say the S&W simply for the reason that the parts used in them come from CMT which is where Colt buys a lot of their stuff.
C4
Colt.
That’s all I have on the shelf. No money to buy new stuff.
I guess you guys missed the part where he said “no Colts available” 
S&W hands down!
Nope. Just figured if BM, Bushy, and RRA are available, why wouldn’t Colt?
Since it’s just for grins, why is Colt not available?
RRA!!
Yeah…me too, probably. But see, that’s the beautiful thing about doing this on my own dime - I don’t have to settle for whatever some administrator decides is best for me:D
I have Colt AR15 sporter - just sold it intend to buy SAW LE6920 BUT…just thought I’d consider a Bushy, RRA o r S&W
From what I have learned so far The smith has all the features I want right out of box 16" 1/9", Bayo, birdcage FH, collapsabble stock, WARRANTY
It does not have M4 feed ramps or full auto bolt. I have no idea about the open sear ability of any of these (wich is a non issue)
But I do know That given these choices or my COLT, 'I’d grab the Colt
Say what you want about name & high price I could rely on it.
Having said all that I dont know about these “also ran” versions. To make it fair I figgered I’d use off the shelf offerings cuz I know you can build one thats arguably superior to all…So that puts us back to Who makes the most reliable “trust your life with it” AR Right out of the box. ( excluding Colt )
I have a bid in on a Rock River, If I win it Will I regret it & wish I’d spent the extra & gotten the SAW??? I suppose I’m trying to justify what I already know…
thanx
My FAL Carbine with 155g AMAX TAP…
Such a scenario you offer would never happen to me…
Rmpl
As long as you haven’t laid any money down…
I would go with a more custom made weapon…
Given what’s available right now…that’s a lot of good choices…
Get a VLTOR MUR and a Noveske Barrel…DD or La Rue Rail or wait for the
VLTOR VIS Middie…For a lower I’d go with STAG and if you don’t like the logo
there are a few venders…G&R Tactical,Bravo,GTS,and Noveske roll their own…
roll marks anyway on CMT lowers…(same as STAG)
Want a Cr lined barrel and chamber…there is BCM,Sabre,CMMG,LMT likely some
others I forgot to remember…
Randall Rausch at ar15barrels.com can also give you some good advice…and
is right up there with the best of the custom barrel cutters…
Then for furniture and accessories you got more options…than buying ‘off the rack’
hth
Talk about veering off target. I hope you guys don’t shoot like you answer questions.
Colt:D
I just had a S&W M&P 15 come through my basic patrol rifle class this M-W. It went through 850 rounds in very dusty, hot, nasty conditions and only had one malfunction that I witnessed, which may have been due to a failure to, “Push-Pull.” I was very impressed.
As to Bushmaster, I used one for a rifle class in June that put 1500 rounds thru the rifle in two days, with no problems, except for when I was tired on the second day and tried to tac load mags with thirty rounds, instead of 28.
I have no experience with the Rock River.
I’ll go with Bushmaster… If I had to grab one off the shelf…
DT!
RRA…just because that is the only brand I have but if it was a SHTF situation I probably wouldn’t stop to look at the brand. I would just grab the first one I saw :D.
Yeah, that would be my answer. No real sense of picking or choosing considering all the rifles were configured the same way.