Rock River, Oplympic Or Colt

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epr105

New member
I want to buy a new ar 15 type rifle. I have seen good reports about the Rock River Arms rifles. I would not be opposed to a put together kit. If the price was right.
What are the opinions of you the avrage gun person. (I was going to say guy but, there are alot of gals out there)
 
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270Win

New member
I've only shot the RRA, but it was a VERY nice gun with the best trigger of any AR I've encountered (2-stage). Accurate as hell, too. I can safely swing my vote that way.
 
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TPAW

New member
RRA has a nice finish to it, but all things considered, it does not shoot any better than a Bushmaster. JMO
 
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vanfunk

New member
What would you like to do with it? Home defense, range blasting, competition, all of the above?

There are qualitative differences among the makes you mention, which are of varying degrees of relevance depending on the use of the weapon.

For a combat arm, Colt is by far the best IMNSHO.

For target shooting and bumming around at the range, RRA and Bushmaster are good values.

For a fun, accurate "blaster", the Olympic Arms offerings would probably be a fine and inexpensive choice.

HTH,
vanfunk
 
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Houndog

New member
Agree with Vanfunk, what do you want to use it for and how much do you want to spend? I own an Olympic Arms, which I really like. Has free floated heavy stainless barrel and will shoot sub MOA all day with cheap 223 ammo. Paid less than $600 for it and it is not 100% reliable. (However, reliability improved significantly after I put a couple of hundred rounds through it).

The RRA will have better fit and finish and a better trigger and (depending on model) should be at least as accurate. Of course it will cost you more $, possibly a lot more $, depending on model. So will a Colt.

One other way to go, which you seem to be aware of, is to put together your own gun. If you are willing to do a little research you can end up with exactly what you want and probable save a couple of dollars to boot. For example, I have an Ameetech Arms (sp?) lower that I like and that's pretty reasonably priced.
 
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Chris Phelps

New member
Why is it that when someone becomes interested in an AR, DPMS and Bushmaster are always left out of the equation?


My vote is for Bushmaster.
 
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Scorch

New member
I am going through the same shopping right now. I want to get back into High Power match shooting. I handled a Colt (kind of ho-hum after handling them for 10 years in the USMC), a Bushmaster (hmmmm) and an Olympic Arms (nice!). The gun shop guy told me about the Red Rock Arsenal ARs, but did not have one in stock. I would be interested in handling one before I buy. In this case, I am not looking for a cheap AR, I am looking at dropping up to $1500 for a match rifle, so price was not a consideration. Must say, Bushmaster is nice, but not as nice as Olympic Arms. And the cost is the same $$.
 
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FMB42

New member
A buddy had an Oly AR about 16 years ago. It was accurate,

but not so reliable. He had a gun shop owner look at it and the guy changed a few pins with genuine Colt replacements for little cost. A spring or two may have been changed also. This was all in a few minutes right in the shop. The gun was very reliable after that. My buddy used to say that his AR "would eat anything and hit everything" after that.
 
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Duxman

New member
Olympic Arms

The only experience I have had is with Olympic Arms.

My first AR type rifle has a free floating bull barrel and is quite accurate.

Shoots any type of 5.56mm ammo with very good reliability.

Been very happy with it. Of course it is mainly a plinking gun but I would have no qualms using it as a battle rifle.
 
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Lycanthrope

New member
Armalite, Bushmaster, Colt, DPMS, Oly, RRA and Colt all make good rifles.

Colts are overpriced and you can buy a custom gun guaranteed to .5 MOA for the same cost. No base AR should ever run over $900.

Oly's shoot well, but I recommend staking the gas key as those can get loose and cause failures. No option for chrome bore and chamber from Oly last I checked.

As for the rest, buy what's on sale in the configuration you like.

I'm a big fan of cheap kits and built my last one for $515, but everyone should just pony up for thr first one and a few thousand rounds of blasting ammo to get used to the platform and figure out how things work.

(P.S. - to save you posting time after you get your new gun.......yes, that cheap grey wolf ammo is safe to shoot in your AR....it's just not very accurate and a bit sooty)
 
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mxwelch

New member
I hope the Olympic models are better than the one I looked at last weekend at the gun show. The carry handle right in front of the sight was so off center it looked as if you could take your thumb and break a corner. One side was about 1/16 thick (.0625) and the other side looked about 3/16 (.1875). I also noticed some other fit and finish irregularities. Being a machinist I have a tendency to look at these things. It was their base model though, I'm sure they make better rifles that that, but to give that a Q.C. approval when it's a glaring defect surprised me.

I have a DPMS and I'm happy so far.
 
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Rivers

Moderator
I guess perception is a very personal thing, but I can't imagine one's perceiving that an Oly is "nicer" than a Bushy. If you ever need customer service, you'll be glad you didn't get the Oly.

I'd get the Rock River Arms. I really like my Bushy Shorty, but, then, RRA didn't exist when I bought the Bushy. As others have said, the RRA trigger is about the nicest out-of-the-box on any AR without a custom trigger.

I'd prefer the extra bucks for the chrome-lined barrel, if I bought a RRA.
 
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Tim R

New member
Scorch, I sent you a PM. Right now I believe the RRA has it all over the others. Their NM model has a very good 2 stage trigger. I know a couple of guys who started out High Power with a couple of RRA NM's a couple of years ago. These use Wilson barrels. They went from nothing to master.

I know I'm very happy with my RRA NM lower and WOP upper. Good thing is I didn't spend much more than a RRA NM cost off the shelf.
 
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ranger dave

New member
ar 15

its all in the upper. i have an old eagle arms, asa and a colt sp-1 all are kit guns but the colt . i cant tell the differnce good upper good groups. i have stock trigers in all so that may be why?
 
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