Conservatives Defending Liberty

So what is a “best buy” in the AR-15 world? The black rifle market as taken some twists in the past few years and has really become a market all its own. With almost 2 million now sold there is little doubt that they are here to stay. So if you want to buy one without selling off body parts, what are some of the best buys out there? Lets look at a few and see. Remember a few things first, these companies make rifles that come in all price ranges so just because some are less expensive that does not mean all of the weapons a company makes are “best buys”. Also, I did not go into the custom gun makers like Wilson Combat, while they make fanastic weapons and you could argue they are very well worth the money, they are not the way to go when you could buy 2 or 3 of brand X compared to 1 of brand Y. 

First, Stag Arms. They became famous for their left handed rifles, and have really expanded in the past two years. They make a good sized variety of rifles in various forms. Smith & Wesson was buying their lower receivers from them for some time. The quality of these rifles seems fine. I have shot a couple and handled many and have found them very suitable. The ones I have fired all ran well and accuracy was on par with the pack.

Second, Olympic Arms. These guy’s have been at it for decades. They offer so many different forms of the rifle in several different calibers it would take 2 or 3 days to list them all. The basic base rifle they call the Plinker still uses A-1 sights, but hey it shoots. Olympic arms seems to have a knack for getting black rifles black. What I mean by that is that they are not gray, they are black. Again the same thing as above, I have been shooting their rifles for over 15 years and they run as good as anything out there. Remember Olympic Arms is the king of “versions”, they make the Glock lower 9mm and 40 s&w Ar’s which are very popular, they also make the pistol versions like the OA-93.

Third, DPMS. Also called Panther Arms they make several versions including several in different calibers. DPMS has been around a while as well, they make a good rifle and they sell a bunch. They offer people a few very different weapons, including plastic/polymer lower receivers. Its almost boring but they have the whole AR-15 thing down just like the others. The ones I have used all worked without a hitch.

Fourth, everyone else. There is CMMG, Charles Daily, you could toss in Bushmaster but they are not in the same crowd really. Bushmaster is no longer a bargain basement buy. They do make good firearms but they aren’t as cheap as they were at one time. For the money they can be very hard to beat. When you move up to Rock River, Smith & Wesson and then to Colt, so goes the money. Rock River is truly a well made weapon, Colt, well its Colt. They make a very good rifle and still are what most normal production weapons are compared to. Colt has the AR-15 down to a science and has for some time.

Looking at cost is kind of hard because things vary from area to area. Weapons in the $800.00 range include Olympic Arms, DPMS, CMMG, Stag Arms and so on. When you bump up to about $1000.00 you have Bushmaster and Smith & Wesson. A little over that and you have Rock River and then you move on to Colt.  Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here, you are not getting the best or most expensive DPMS for $800.00, but you will get a good serviceable rifle. The more expensive the weapon the better the trigger, these rifles are the same. Rock River uses Wilson barrels and a great two stage trigger, this combination makes for very accurate rifles. Most of these types of rifle will shoot about 2″  groups at 100 yards. Not like threading a needle, but more than enough to get the intended job done. Some of the rifles offer nice little features like Hogue pistol grips. Also, if you have to have a flat top receiver or a specific barrel option you may end up out of the best buy club.

Think about your purchase carefully, one thing you need to know is that the AR-15 is here to stay. Different calibers, maybe. The rifle, for sure. Even Remington who owns Bushmaster now is selling hunting versions of the AR. Its here to stay. One last thing, join the club its not such a bad place to be.