As of right now, Ford, Jeep, Harley Davidson then Rokon! What are we taking about again?
we can leave stag out
Battle Rifle Company
Bushmaster
Del-Ton
DPMS
Loki
Model 1
Olympic Arms
That's all I got.
Stay away from:
Colt, their fit and finish is horrible.
Noveske, just paying for a name.
Knights, proprietary crap.
BCM, ugly rollmark, BCM written everywhere.
Daniel Defense, all their rifles come with an A2 grip.
LaRue Tactical, made in Texas!
Centurion, owner is always out of the country and is probably French.
LMT, very heavy monolithic uppers, over priced standard uppers.
H&K, customer service is horrible and they hate you.
Bushmaster
Del-Ton
DPMS
Loki
Model 1
Olympic Arms
That's all I got.
Stay away from:
Colt, their fit and finish is horrible.
Noveske, just paying for a name.
Knights, proprietary crap.
BCM, ugly rollmark, BCM written everywhere.
Daniel Defense, all their rifles come with an A2 grip.
LaRue Tactical, made in Texas!
Centurion, owner is always out of the country and is probably French.
LMT, very heavy monolithic uppers, over priced standard uppers.
H&K, customer service is horrible and they hate you.
My choice was clear, I knew exactly what I wanted and I waited till I got it. It was definitely the most expensive one available at the time (this was before small super smiths like Les Baer started making AR's) and the hardest to find, at least at that point in time. I could have chosen any number of other brands but, IMO, there was only one for me and that was my Colt LE6920 (pre-roll mark changes). In my mind I wanted the very best and something that, hopefully, is around 100 years from now (hopefully still in the family) making people say "oooooh, a Colt!".
That's not to say there aren't several excellent brands out there but you have to choose something and I chose Colt. My sis bought a S&W M&P15 Tactical and, dayum, it is a very, very nice AR. So nice in fact that if I were to choose a second best, IMO, it would be a S&W M&P.
"The Best" is obviously subjective and actually picking it would be almost impossible, if not impossible. I love my rifle and that's all that matters.
That's not to say there aren't several excellent brands out there but you have to choose something and I chose Colt. My sis bought a S&W M&P15 Tactical and, dayum, it is a very, very nice AR. So nice in fact that if I were to choose a second best, IMO, it would be a S&W M&P.
"The Best" is obviously subjective and actually picking it would be almost impossible, if not impossible. I love my rifle and that's all that matters.
Wisdom right here.
But while picking out the absolute best is subjective, it's very easy to pick out the good and the bad brands.
In all seriousness, I think the absolute best is the KAC SR-15E3 IWS Mod 1. If had to rate it, here's how I would do so with my arbitrary system of weighted values...
Accuracy: 8/10 (it's not stainless steel...)
Reliability: 10/10 (E3 bolt, finely tuned gas system, CHF barrel and a proven track record of reliability)
Durability: 9/10 (rail lacks anti-rotation and castle nut not staked, but neither are likely to come loose and according to KAC, they've never seen them come loose... But still have to remove a point)
Balance & Weight: 10/10 (it's amazing, you have to hold it to understand)
Ergonomics: 5/5 (almost 100% ambidextrous besides the bolt catch, fantastic stock and rail)
"Upgrades" needed: 4/5 (higher score means less changes needed out of the box to suit my personal preferences, does not include accessories nor optics... I'd replace the pistol grip and charging handle)
Backup Iron Sights: 3/3 (best buis on the market)
Fit and Finish: 3/3 (no wiggle whatsoever on any part of the rifle, looks great)
Price: 2/3 (good deal since it comes with so much, but still pricey)
Customer Support: 3/3
Coolness: 3/3 (super subjective)
Total: 60/65
Do you guys pretty much agree that a lower is a lower and it's the upper that defines the brand or that there are significant enough differences in quality, among lowers, that they too define a manufacturer?
I constantly hear people, long time gun people, say that all lowers are pretty much the same triggers excluded, and that when building an AR you should get whichever lower is the best deal and concentrate your money on upper parts. That makes sense until you see many of those same people looking for lowers but only such and such brand. Which is it really?
I'm usually a brand person just because the manufacturer name is often all you can judge something on. Most people don't have the facilities to do magnaflux testing, ultra-sonic testing or the many various means of non-destructive testing on a gun they buy. However, I do believe most lowers are pretty much as good as the other.
I constantly hear people, long time gun people, say that all lowers are pretty much the same triggers excluded, and that when building an AR you should get whichever lower is the best deal and concentrate your money on upper parts. That makes sense until you see many of those same people looking for lowers but only such and such brand. Which is it really?
I'm usually a brand person just because the manufacturer name is often all you can judge something on. Most people don't have the facilities to do magnaflux testing, ultra-sonic testing or the many various means of non-destructive testing on a gun they buy. However, I do believe most lowers are pretty much as good as the other.
Not sure but I think Wormy should be banned again, simply for actually being the first person to answer the OP's question...well, his original question, as stated in the title. I mean, clearly he answered the question but you know he was just doing it out of spite.
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