No AR-15 anywhere

[bigmac]

AR15 is the common parlance for all of the rifles that are based on the Colt AR15, even on most gun forums. Not all AR15s are created equal, however. Some of the more common brands have a lot of corner-cutting and an inferior QA process. For many people it's not a big deal because they'll never push the gun hard enough to discover its material weaknesses. I've seen many rifles fail to make it through a weekend 2000-round carbine training course and it's usually the same brands.

[DemolitionMan]

Originally Posted by bigmac

AR15 is the common parlance for all of the rifles that are based on the Colt AR15, even on most gun forums. Not all AR15s are created equal, however. Some of the more common brands have a lot of corner-cutting and an inferior QA process. For many people it's not a big deal because they'll never push the gun hard enough to discover its material weaknesses. I've seen many rifles fail to make it through a weekend 2000-round carbine training course and it's usually the same brands.

What brands do you see fail the most?

[bigmac]

Originally Posted by DemolitionMan

What brands do you see fail the most?

Always a tricky question that usually results in angry rebuttal from people who are invested in those brands, exacerbated by the fact that their consumer-level price point makes them among the best sellers. I usually see replies like "I have over 300 rounds through my Bushmaster/Wyndham and it works flawlessly" or "my Rock River Arms will shoot 1 MOA all day long", as if those are valid tests of an AR15. I will say that around here we see a LOT of DPMS rifles since they're located about 60 miles from me. They have a pretty high failure rate when pushed. They're price point consumer-grade rifles. Corners are cut. The frustrating thing is that often a DPMS rifle MSRP will be within $200 of the Colt 6920 that you can buy are Walmart for $1100. Personally, I take pride in owning high-quality firearms. My criteria isn't "probably good enough".

The BEST brands out there IMHO are Colt, Noveske, Daniel Defense, Bravo Company, LMT and probably Spike's Tactical. They are generally recognized as being "professional grade" firearms. IMHO, like buying a Milwaukee or DeWalt cordless drill instead of the cheapest one on the page of the Harbor Freight catalogue.

[Traxx822]

I'm not huge into firearms. Like CR I couldn't put that much money into a weapon thats impractical. However, running 600 flawless rounds out my buddies LMT made me really reconsider getting a nice high quality weapon. I like high quality things. So why not.

That's the main reason I chose the Springfield XDm 9. It was simple, high quality, and so far I love it. No problems with running 200 rounds an hour.

I'm going to look at some of the names you mentioned bigmac. Might get into something nice my the end of the winter.

Too much snowmobile, and boat stuff going on at the moment.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

[bigmac]

Originally Posted by Traxx822

I'm not huge into firearms. Like CR I couldn't put that much money into a weapon thats impractical.

I confess, I don't even begin to get the concept of an AR15 being impractical. I think that overall it's the most practical centerfire rifle platform on the market.

[CantRepeat]

Originally Posted by bigmac

I confess, I don't even begin to get the concept of an AR15 being impractical. I think that overall it's the most practical centerfire rifle platform on the market.

I guess my concept of practicality is based off of use. You're not going to hunt deer with it. As a retiree I'm not going to do any room clearing with it. I don't subscribe to the prepper theory of government collapse so I see no need for this type of weapon for me.

People who like guns and like to shoot might see more use in it. I know there is a big market for tactical weapons. Lots of people like doing tactical marksmanship matches but after doing it for 24 years for a living it's just not my thing.

[bigmac]

As you say, each to their own. Some people enjoy firearms and shooting as a hobby. They like to build them, modify them, plinking, targets, varmints, tactical training courses, tactical competitions...wide variety of things as is true of any hobby. In that regard, the AR15 platform is one of the most flexible and adaptable out there and sales figures reflect that. Although I do think that an AR 15 is an excellent home defense firearm, I'm with you in that I think the whole prepper phenomenon is silly.

[DooSPX]

Owning a custom AR15 with Milspec M4 components, a shotgun, a 30/30 and multiple handguns, I have to laugh when I hear people say that the .223 Remington/5.56 round was designed to kill people. While its effective, the round was designed for small/medium game. Not large game (also see humuns). My 30/30 with its 7.62 round is twice as effective if you wanted to talk about ability to larger game.

The main advantage is the ability to put many small holes in things. (All M4 and AR15 are semi-auto). US military ditched the full auto AR/M .223/5.56 platform after 70's.

I would never use my AR for home defense, that tiny lightweight high velocity round over penetrates easily. I much rather have a shotgun with buckshot. I have done some penetration test of my own with my 16" and it confirmed I wouldn't use it for home defense. Not to mention, I rather have a 90% one shot stop with a shotgun in my house around my family.

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Originally Posted by DooSPX

Owning a custom AR15 with Milspec M4 components, a shotgun, a 30/30 and multiple handguns, I have to laugh when I hear people say that the .223 Remington/5.56 round was designed to kill people. While its effective, the round was designed for small/medium game. Not large game (also see humuns). My 30/30 with its 7.62 round is twice as effective if you wanted to talk about ability to larger game.

The main advantage is the ability to put many small holes in things. (All M4 and AR15 are semi-auto). US military ditched the full auto AR/M .223/5.56 platform after 70's.

I would never use my AR for home defense, that tiny lightweight high velocity round over penetrates easily. I much rather have a shotgun with buckshot. I have done some penetration test of my own with my 16" and it confirmed I wouldn't use it for home defense. Not to mention, I rather have a 90% one shot stop with a shotgun in my house around my family.

You are right on the mark with saying that the .223/5.56 wasn't adopted by the military to kill people, it was to wound people. When soldiers is killed on the battlefield, one person can retrieve more than one dead soldier whereas it takes more than one person to tend to a wounded soldier. It's a numbers game that has several trade-offs. While a bad guy that gets shot with a 7.62 NATO/.308 Win will be much more likely incapacitated than one shot with a .223, a soldier can carry twice as much .223 ammo and the weaopn can weigh less to boot.

[BrooksfamX2]

Originally Posted by bigmac

..........................I'm with you in that I think the whole prepper phenomenon is silly.

What about when the Zombies come............