It really comes down to this simple fact; does the manufacturer have the US Govt. issued TDP? If they do then they would be classified as a tier 1. Lot's of companies have copies of the TDP, but that is about it.

To the best of my knowledge, only Colt and FN have been given the TDP by the Govt. I would like to believe that LMT has been given it as well (as they have contracts with CRANE), but have not seen proof. Everyone else that doesn't have the official copy of the TDP is a tier 2 or 3 manufacturer.

With that said, will a Stag, BM, Oly, RRA work for you? Most likely so. Are you going to see higher failure rates with bolts, poor accuracy and parts that don't quite fit together? Yes you are.

Two of the most critical areas in the weapon are the bolt and the barrel. If you can get quality made bolts/barrels that are shot peened and HPT/MPI tested then you are more than half way there IMHO.

The best values for assembled uppers that follow the mil-standard are LMT and BCM. They closely follow the reqs and are a reasonable price. CMT (stag) and LMT lowers are first rate as well.

Building your own AR from the ground up, will enable you to choose companies that make high quality products and actually improve upon the Mil-Standard (by using better springs, buffers and triggers).

Here is a list of my favorite components when building an AR:

VLTOR VIS or MUR
LT or DD FF rails
CMT MP tested M16 BCG with black insert and Crane O-ring
PRI GB CH
Noveske SS barrel or BCM 16" Govt Profiled middy
Vortex
LT or VLTOR GB
LMT lower
LMT SOPMOD or Magpul UBR/CTR or VLTOR stock
VLTOR Receiver Extension
ISMI buffer spring
CMT H2 or H3 buffer
CProducts SS mags with Ranger plate from Magpul
Magpul MIAD or TD BG
CMT lower parts kit for the receiver
Geissele Trigger




C4