What's Your Favorite AR-15 Manufacturer?

[Thompson]

Speaking of LaRue, what I don't get is their Costa gun. $2900 for nothing special IMHO. They claim the barrel life on the gun is 10k rounds... then go on to pin and weld a Surefire SOCOM brake on it.

Seems like if the barrel life is so short, you'd want to go with a 16" so you could at least salvage the brake.

I mean, couldn't you say the same about the Jack Carbine - for all intents and purposes? I'm sure people that get the Jack and the Costa for the same reason - the name they (respectively) bear/rollmark.

Funniest part is when is the last time you've seen a pic of him with this rifle. Every pic I've seen posted of someone attending one of his classes shows him with either a WarSport or a KAC.

Does he still run that Multicam AR? I've seem it in some of his pictures from time to time.

You are forgetting his pistol - remember when he was all about his M&P? Now everything seems to be Glock.

[JGifford]

Speaking of LaRue, what I don't get is their Costa gun. $2900 for nothing special IMHO. They claim the barrel life on the gun is 10k rounds... then go on to pin and weld a Surefire SOCOM brake on it.

Seems like if the barrel life is so short, you'd want to go with a 16" so you could at least salvage the brake.

Costa/Haley/Lamb, those guys are consulted by companies to "put togather the gun they would run". They are then given a gun and maybe some royalties and their name goes on the pile of parts and assembly specs that they spec. The other side of the coin is that maybe this shooter wants something that said company makes (say, if they want a Noveske poly barrel), they go to said company, and trade their name for the gun and spec it out.

It's just like people do on here. They build a weapon how they want, talk about it for 6 months to a year, and then build something else. Nothing at all wrong with it, but it doesn't make it "Excaliber", either. It's just what one person wanted at one time to fill whatever role, and they have the horsepower and pull to get a manufacturer to put it together for them vs. building it in their garage. In turn, a profit opportunity exists, and a "special model" is put out.

[GOST]

Just seems weird to me that someone would be interested in a rifle that the namesake doesn't even run in his classes. Saw where Larue just sold out of another run of them.

[SINNER]

I love my BCM, and it was the lower I chose to SBR, but I have to say Mega. I have a couple of their forged lowers and a billet, plus 2 billet uppers. The quality of the machining, the tolerances and the anodizing are the best I've bought.

Could not agree more about the Mega products. Tolerences on their components are hands down the best in the business. Their forged components are better tolerence wise than most billet sets I own.

[GOST]

Gonna get a Mega forged upper to go with my BAD-15 lower.

[CarbonScoring]

Gonna get a Mega forged upper to go with my BAD-15 lower.

That would be a great combination. From what I've seen, the BAD lowers are outstanding. It's way at the top of the list for my next lower.

[Tyrannosaur]

I want a BAD... Bad....

[Jerry R]

LWRC was missing - my personal favorite. Voted for Ranier - a very close second.

[UWone77]

I mean, couldn't you say the same about the Jack Carbine - for all intents and purposes? I'm sure people that get the Jack and the Costa for the same reason - the name they (respectively) bear/rollmark.


Does he still run that Multicam AR? I've seem it in some of his pictures from time to time.

You are forgetting his pistol - remember when he was all about his M&P? Now everything seems to be Glock.

I would expect the Jack carbine's barrel to last much longer than 10k rounds.

Roll marks do nothing for me. If you were looking for that exact configuration, I suppose the Jack Carbine is a decent deal, but I'd rather save the money and buy a BCM upper/lower that I want.

[Ordnance]

LWRC was missing - my personal favorite. Voted for Ranier - a very close second.

I would buy an M6IC ambi lower in a HEARTBEAT...

[Stone]

Another vote for LWRC since I own 3 of their rifles. My new ICA5 10.5" upper is a work of art...

[MCA]

No love for Daniel Defense? I've only been in the AR world for less than two years but I do love the two DD M4V3 rifles I have. Recently purchased two Colt 6920 MP-FDE rifles as well but Colt already had some votes so I had to get DD some points on the board!

[GOST]

Daniel Defense makes a great rifle and their customer service is top notch. They respond to you emails faster than a lot of small companies.

[Uffdaphil]

I consider six of the brands selling complete ARs to be of equal quality. Here are what I see as the some of the differences between them.

KAC - Best designed complete package. Proprietary bolt and price keep them out of my safe so far.
Colt - Best QC and most field tested. Last to innovate, and probably didn't feel the need to with their huge gov contracts. So cheap now that buying a complete 6920 and selling off parts not wanted makes sense for for a great budget base option if you don't feel like doing all the small part assembly.
Noveske - Top shelf all the way and you pay for it. Love the chainsaw options. Hate paying the Iron Cross premium.
Daniel Defense - Excellent complete rifles and URGs. Medium slow to innovate, don't sell separate lowers and a bit overpriced in my book.
LMT - Most like Colt in their basic Defender line. MRP piston line with quick change barrel system is unique, but expensive. Too lazy to check, but I think they are heavy and I would rather have multiple guns than barrels. But a great option for a dual-purpose CQB/longer range platform.
BCM - Comparable in quality to all of the above. Widest selection of configurations from stripped components to complete rifles. Industry leading innovators.

So while Bravo got my vote I like all these companies and have components from all of them. I didn't list Mega and Ranier as I don't really consider them having a track record as complete weapons manufacturers yet. Big respect for Raniers A5 buffer system and match barrels and for Mega's upper/lower combos and my favorite forged Gator lowers.

FN does not belong on ballot as they just entered the commercial market.

[GOST]

Putting FN on the ballot was easier than listing all the companies they make barrels for. They've been making barrels for the commercial market for a while now.