So you want to buy an AR-15 - FAQs

[XDONBOARD]

This is the perfect AR15 101 I was looking for! Jwise this answered so many questions and I really appreciate it! I'm starting my build next month and am not going in blind now! Thanks!

TOTP

[EricCartmann]

Very nice write up.

Seeing the pics of details of each rifle, that CMMG comes out like a champ, and at awesome pricing to boot.

[nikon777]

Funny, a few of us have mentioned most of this before, and were scawfed at. He even posted " The Chart". I guess its more en-vogue from a different horses mouth.

Anyway...its a cool write up. Love the M4 feed ramp pics. I'm also curious why LMT doesn't use tapered pins.

[XDONBOARD]

Hey Nikon777 I have seen tons of valuable information from many members including yourself and will never scawf. In fact starting my build soon and will have several newb questions guaranteed. I personally appreciate everyones support but have not seen it compiled as of yet!

[EricCartmann]

Originally Posted by nikon777

Funny, a few of us have mentioned most of this before, and were scawfed at. He even posted " The Chart". I guess its more en-vogue from a different horses mouth.

Anyway...its a cool write up. Love the M4 feed ramp pics. I'm also curious why LMT doesn't use tapered pins.

no... this is different. though it says basically the same thing as what we said, this write up was much more detailed with pictures. you know the old saying, "a picture tells a thousand words"

[jwise]

Originally Posted by EricCartmann

no... this is different. though it says basically the same thing as what we said, this write up was much more detailed with pictures. you know the old saying, "a picture tells a thousand words"

I (and a few others at O.com) kinda know what we're talking about when it comes to ARs. Others really don't, but they THINK they do. My mission in this report was to SHOW people what I was saying, and therefore give myself credibility.

It worked. I've been swamped with requests via PMs to answer specific questions. I've also had people asking me to do the same for piston driven ARs, and AKs. And (obviously) I've been asked to come over here!

I believe half of what I see, and none of what I hear. I suppose others feel the same way! (Thus the need for pics.)

[nikon777]

+1

The pics do add that much more impact.

[EricCartmann]

I have to defend Bushmaster.

I have 2 of them and have shot both of them a lot have been very satisfied with both. I also have a Noveske that is considered among the best. I have not shot it as much, but when I do shoot it is not like a "oh my God this this is so awesome" feeling. To me it does not feel that much different than a Bushmaster.

- The stakes on my Bushmasters are not too bad, for one of my Bushmaster it is about on par with my Noveske and Bravo Company BCG. But then properly staked keys are kinda over rated anyways. Have you ever known anyone that have the bolts on the BCG to come out because they were not properly staked? I guess properly stakes is better than no stakes or stakes that were not properly done, but to me it is not a deal breaker.

- I have heard Bushmasters firing pins are not shrouded yet both my Bushmasters have firing pins that are fully shrouded. I am not even sure what the advantage of a shroud firing pin is.

- I have heard Bushmasters have canted front sites and their front sites are not F marked (whatever that means) but yet I am easily able to zero and use the irons on my Bushmaster. The sites felt no different than the Colt A2 I was issued in the Army.

- Another negative about Bushmaster I have heard is the weak bolt. That the lugs break easy, but yet I personally know a guy who put about 18k rounds through his Bushmaster. I myself have about 5k rounds through my heaviest use Bushmaster and it has been flawless. I waiting for the day the bolt breaks just so I can replace it with the spare BCM M16 bolt that I have been dying to put in.

- My Bushmaster does not have the H-buffer, my Noveske does. When shooting the 2 I do not even really notice a difference that an H-Buffer makes. I guess it is better to have the H-buffer, but I would never go out of my way to replace a regular buffer with it.

- My Bushmasters have 1/9 twist barrels. 1/7 twist barrels are nice, but I mostly shoot 55gr and 62gr ammo anyways so it is really a moot point. Also I tend to shoot 40gr varmint rounds more than I shoot 77gr heavy military ammo so the 1/9 is actually better for me as it does not rip apart the lighter bullets. I guess it is nice to have the option to shoot the heavy bullets and if I had only one choice I would get 1/7 twist. But I would not go out of my way to replace my 1/9 twist barrel, or if I found a good deal on AR with a 1/9 twist barrel then I still would buy it over a more expensive AR with a 1/7 twist barrel.

- My Bushmasters do not come with M4 feed ramps. But are these really needed on a Semi auto AR? Both my Bushmasters rarely ever jam, and I am pretty sure (though not definite) that neither have ever jammed with known good mags.

Both my Bushmasters shoots Wolf almost exclusively and yet I have never had problems with weak extraction or jams. Bottom line is my Bushmaster have been good to me. Reliable and eats everything I feed it. The CMMG has beautiful M4 feed ramps, beautiful stakes, a 1/7 twist barrel, but at the end of the year will it have served me as well as my Bushmasters? Probably, but why replace known good rifles"?

It may look like I am endorsing Bushmasters, I am not. Just telling you my experience with them. If I were shopping for a new AR right now I would go for the best value. To me that would be CMMG, but if I found a S&W, Bushmaster, or RRA for a better deal, I would get one of those. Colt or Noveske would still be my #1 choice though because I am a AR fan and to me they represent the top tier of AR's (I may be wrong on this, but I like the feeling that I am buying the best), so I would just save up a little more and get one of those.

[flame suit on]

[EricCartmann]

Since this is a thread that likes to talk with pictures... here are some to show what I am talking about.

L-R
Bravo Company Machine, Noveske Rifleworks, Bushmaster1, Bushmaster2
As you can see Bushmaster2 is poorly staked, but this particuliar Bushmaster has seen about 5000 rounds and no problems. Bushmaster1 stakes are right up there with the best of them.


2 Bushmaster Bolt Control Group, both semi auto AR-15 BCG's with fully shrouded firing pins.


For reference here are the Noveske and BCM BCG's. Both are full auto M-16 BCG's. You can tell these are M16 BCG's by the way the way the back bottom section is extended further than the Bushmaster Semi Auto bolts shown above.