Best Civvie M16 variant

[19114EVER]

I've been told either Colt, or Olympic by a fellow ex-military man like myself. What are the opinions of TFLers? The Knight Armament I was issued in the Army, an M16A4 had it's problems. The day of BRM qual, my ejector lodged outward and cases wouldn't seat properly in the bolt and the bolt wouldn't close completely. Needless to say, I was pissed and the stress caused me to miss a few of the 40 targets. I still qualified Expert, even with someone else's bolt in my weapon, lol. But, I need opinions on this matter. Colt or Olympic? Any other recommendations? Money is not an issue, quality is. This is the one I'm going to purchase before there's any chance of it being banned by the gun grabbers. I think they're going to win on this one, and I want to make this purchase count. Worst case scenario mindset.

 

[dZ]

colt builds them right
they park the barrels separately from the front sight
and then assemble

olympic is prone to over use the chamber reamers and suffers from ejection issues.

Bushmaster is the #1 manufacturer by number of units built

theres a good break down comparision here
http://groups.msn.com/TheMarylandAR15ShootersSite/_homepage.msnw?pgmarket=en-us

 

[lilbiggun]

I just bought a bushmaster about a month ago because of the same reason you mentioned. I've put a couple of thousand rounds through it already and I'm very happy. Only had 1 malfunction in that time. Very good purchase in my book. I had a M-16 for 9 years (on loan of course from uncle sam) and I like the bushy better. Of course the military rifles are beat to hell.

 

[Destructo6]

The top tier of AR manufacturers is often referred to as, "ABC". That is, Amalite, Bushmaster, and Colt.

 

[4V50 Gary]

The major complaints against Colt are unconventional take down pins (oversized - or has that been corrected on current production?) and highly modified bolt carrier (entire bottom of back half is milled flush). Be that as it may, Colt enjoys greater name recognition and a loyal following. It also commands a higher resale value than other makes. As for me, I've a couple of Colts and some BM frankenguns.

 

[Redlg155]

Right now I'm on the Rock River kick. They make an excellent product. Other than that...definitely Bushmaster.

Colts are nice, but as mentioned, unconventional takedown pins, fire control pins, bolt and sear blocks makes the Colt a strange bird for someone wanting an AR15 following the military pattern as close as possible. Of course you can find a Colt with conventional push pins and an unblocked lower, but they are pricey and far between.

Customer satisfaction with Olys differ. Magwells can be tight along with a host of other problems, but otherwise they are a perfectly serviceable weapon. The initial cost and resale value of a Oly will be much less than any of the other major manufacturers.

Good Shooting
RED

 

[JIH]

Rock River Arms puts out good equipment, too. I usually stick to Armalite and Rock River.

 

[SkaerE]

"The Knight Armament I was issued in the Army"

you were issued a Knights Armament M-16?

ive had 6 Colts (not including the 3 Colt M-16A2's from my Army days) and 1 bushmaster.

handled all of the others...

bushmaster, RRA would probably be my choices for a postban AR15.

 

[19114EVER]

Yep, I had one made by Knight, M16A4. Had the removable grips in the front accompanied with picatinny rails underneath along with a removable carrying handle/rear sight aperture with a flat top receiver underneath.

 

[IDPAguy]

Bushmaster

 

[Number 6]

I've NEVER had an ejection problem -

or any other problem - with my Olympic that wasn't caused by poor reloads.

Note that some of the said reloads were so over-pressure (SS 109 bullets seated too deep) that the primers were BLOWN OUT! This was noted when I saw the cases rolling around on the table; not because the gun balked. It kept on shooting.

Just one man's experience.

 

[Kentucky Rifle]

Bushmaster

KR

 

[Correia]

The ejector getting stuck can happen with any AR type rifle. If you punch out the roll pin you can see what I mean. The ejector sits on a spring, and is held in place by the pin, there is a flat space around the pin to allow it to move back and forth.

If anything manages to work its way under roll pin the ejector will get stuck. I've done it myself. Brass shavings got under the pin and ejection went to pot. I hat shavings in the front of the pin so it wouldn't pop out, you Knight sounds like something was gumming up the works at the rear of the pin and keeping it stuck out.

Either way I don't think that one brand of AR would be more likely to experience this malfunction than any other.

 

[johnwill]

I have a Colt pre-ban, the RRA AR15.COM LEGP, and a Carbon-15. The fit and finish on the RRA is as good as it gets, and it's been 100% for about a thousand rounds, not a single stoppage. I'm very pleased with that gun, and I'd recommend RRA anytime.

 

[Kevinch]

I'm happy with my 20" Bushmaster. When I bought it, the dealer had an as-new, but used, 20" Colt in the same configuration. We set them side-by-side on the counter & I went over them close. Except for the Colt possibly having a finish that was applied a little smoother, I could not detect a difference in quality between them - and the finish was almost too close to even mention, as any advantage seemed to disappear if I changed the angle of my eyesight.

I took the Bushmaster home. The $400 I saved will buy a lot of ammunition.

 

[cheygriz]

Whatever brand you get, make sure that you look for, and demand, these items.

1. Chrome lined barrel anbd chamber. This is mandatory.

2. Milspec, NOT SAAMI SPEC chamber. Also mandatory.

Bushmaster and RRA have these available, I know. I think Colt can provide them as well. You may be able to get these features from Armalite and Olympic also. Just be sure that you specify that these features are mandatory!