[HawkI]

This might be an age-old debate put to rest many times, but I'd like all of your humble opinions. I'm looking for a civvie rendition of an M4 carbine that is solid, shoots well, and has decent prices on ammo. I know that RRA, Colt, and Bushmaster all make their own M4's. I've researched a bit and it seems to me that people go more with the RRA LAR-15 and the Bushmaster M4A3 over the Colt (which is odd since doesn't the military use Colt?). I'd like the weapon to be in .223 Rem/5.56 NATO (strangely enough I've seen them in 7.62, or maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me) and not to cost too much more than $1000. Or... is building one from scratch less expensive?

So everyone, what is your pick?

[NPD5946TSW]

Buy the one YOU wanted in the first place...... Every time I have settled to save a couple bucks, I've regretted it, and ended up buying what I originally wanted. If it really doesn't matter to you, then just shop those 3 brands, and find the best price. For moderate use, any of those will do you right. If you plan on running a suppressor or getting the gun hot for a prolonged period of time, I would definitely get the Colt. Personally, I shoot LMT's. But I'd take a Colt any day.

[1911Jeeper]

What do you want to do with the rifle ? Target shoot, self defense, plinker, or just a safe queen. Which fall within your budget ? Any mil-spec rifle will go bang. You can buy a complete rifle or build your own from mil-spec parts.

Colt, BushMaster, RRA, and Smith&Wesson are well known brand names, but many other companies like DPMS, Fulton-Armory, Stag, DoubleStar, ArmaLite and other make accurate and reliable rifles.

[TXnorton]

Buy whichever AR floats your boat. Your three options are all very fine rifles. As NPD said above, get which ever one you wanted in the first place. I have an old Colt SP1 and a newer RRA 16" carbine. I love them both!

[cpttango30]

I got a Rock River.

[bkt]

Of the three you list, I'd go RRA. Bushy's fine, too. I'd stay away from Colt only because I've handled two or three that cost a lot and had a truly lousy fit between upper and lower.

Building your own will save you money.

[HawkI]

I will probably just buy my own parts and assemble the weapon. Does anyone know the list of parts I need to purchase in order to assemble the full M4 carbine? Tools needed?

[IGETEVEN]

Originally Posted by HawkI

I will probably just buy my own parts and assemble the weapon. Does anyone know the list of parts I need to purchase in order to assemble the full M4 carbine? Tools needed?

Look at the stickies at the top of this page and they will give you all the information you need to build a quality AR stick, if you still have questions, then ask.

As far as which brand of AR-M4 to go with, all that were previously mentioned are very reliable AR's. Just take parts from all of them and build you an AR, one piece at a time. Then you will have the best of all, in one rifle.

It can be done.

Jack

[robocop10mm]

I have a Colt and a Bushmaster. The Bushy sports a Colt bolt because I do not trust Bushmaster's claim of "mil spec" (their bolts are not MP tested).

My Colt is my daily companion, my "go to" carbine. My Bushy is a tack driver (20" HB).

Colt - you do pay a premium for the name, but they have been making them longer than anyone. Upper/lower play? I have yet to hear a good reason why that matters. If you really want a tight fit, install a short piece of pipe cleaner between the upper and lower at the very front and it will be rock solid (AMU trick). Pin size and lack of front push pin are my chief complaints.

Bushmaster - well built rifles, but their bolts are not MP tested. This "may" be a problem or may not. Gas keys not staked well or at all. The ones in our inventory require more maintenance than the Colts or S&W's

RRA - I have never heard any complaints.

S&W - We have about 30 of these and they run well. IMHO, very good value.

Stag - Some problems reported, but overall better than average.

[Wambli]

Originally Posted by HawkI

This might be an age-old debate put to rest many times, but I'd like all of your humble opinions. I'm looking for a civvie rendition of an M4 carbine that is solid, shoots well, and has decent prices on ammo. I know that RRA, Colt, and Bushmaster all make their own M4's. I've researched a bit and it seems to me that people go more with the RRA LAR-15 and the Bushmaster M4A3 over the Colt (which is odd since doesn't the military use Colt?). I'd like the weapon to be in .223 Rem/5.56 NATO (strangely enough I've seen them in 7.62, or maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me) and not to cost too much more than $1000. Or... is building one from scratch less expensive?

So everyone, what is your pick?

I have built ARs on many different brands of lowers and they are not all created equal. I have been disappointed with several name brands that had pretty loose tolerances but the most consistent and tight so far has always been RRA. Two of my most accurate rigs are built on RRA lowers and the last one actually required a fair amount of handfitting just to get the upper/lower to join up. The end result is a sub .5 MOA rifle so I'm NOT complaining.
Building one from scratch can be less expensive because you get to choose EVERY part so you end up with EXACTLY what you want right from the begining.