What are characteristics of a Quality AR?

[Pushbutton2]

I hope this is the proper forum.
My last thread wasn't

If there's already a thread like this would you please point me to it.


I as reading a thread about BCM upper actually being a BM upper.
Thread got derailed by a guy.
I was like What did I miss?
So I read the thread.
I was amused, until someone mentioned Del Ton not being quality nor having a NATO chamber.
I recently bought one. Got me thinking.

I did do a search for Quality AR Characteristics.
Couldn't find one specifically for that. Lots of threads about other things.
I think a thread about quality AR would be good and informative.

A little bio on me.
I'm 6'7" tall and have big hands, generally wear 2xl gloves.
I joined the Marines in 1989. I'm a Hollyweird jarhead
I was a grunt.
I carried what I was issued, M16A2, M249, M203, Mossberg (model 500 I think), Beretta 92FS.
I've been through Security (not Special) Force School and SOI.
I was rif'd in 1993.
I was taught to shoot and such in the Marines.

Now on to my my Del Ton Sport Lite Carbine.
It's not a battle rifle. My intentions is as a plinker and hunting.
I bought it cause I wanted an AR.
I got a great great deal on it.
Only thing I wanted was a 1:8 or 1:7 twist. It's got a 1:9 barrel swap will change that.

I'd like to build a good shtf/ hunting rifle, long range hunting or maybe a carbine possibly an SBR maybe.....

I have so many question I don't know where to start. I've read that the barrel and BCG and trigger are the heart. Let's start there.
Barrel.
My research has me leaning towards a stainless bull barrel. Why? It's heavier and should hold up to mag dumps better. I'm not looking to do mag dumps but......
410 or 416 stainless. I was reading about the SAMR
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit...Marksman_Rifle
I got to say I'm intrigued. But it's a 20" barrel, not conducive to CQB..
Rifling leaves me confused. Polygonal, etc.....
Than there's hand lapped and machine lapped.
Recess crown or not. If I want a can what crown do I need, does it matter?
Rifle, carbine gas tube.

BCG
I've read that full auto is the way to go. I'm aware that won't make it full auto.
Chrome or chrome lined. Or melonite?
I've read I want a carpenter steel bolt.
What about the firing pin?

Triggers are even more confusing.
I didn't like my stock trigger. I was looking at Geissele but never could narrow down which one. Plus the $ was about 1/3 of what I paid for my rifle.
I was talking with my buddy and his gunsmith about which would be better for me, 1 stage, 2 stage. Lock time, flat bow curved bow, total pull weight etc.
My buddy got me a 3.5# single stage trigger. I forget if they said it's a CMG or CMMC.
I've not shot it with the new trigger, but I have dry fired it, man! It's lighter than my factory!

I've been reading up on buffer, buffer springs etc
flat vs round
Carbine length vs carbine length
Weight as it pertains too cycling.

Which receiver? Miller or forged? Are all forged recievers hammer forged? Is that good?

I think we know we could write volumes upon volumes about this to add to the volumes that have already been written.

I'm still not sure what caliber. I know that will determine which pattern or is it platform I need. AR10 or AR15

So now that the Blah Blah Blah I'm too lazy to research for hours blah blah blah is over.

I'd like to know why or what makes x better than y.
i.e. Stainless is the best choice for barrels because it.....
This profile works best because of these reasons.

[Kdubya]

I'm projecting that you'll get two answers here.

1) Essentially no answer. Too many questions on too many parts. Read this thread or that thread already out there. You need to better define your intended use; not just for the rifle, but for each component you've inquired about. What problems are you actually trying to solve. Etc...

2) A collection of random responses that do not form a cohesive thread. A bunch of personal favorites and preferences that will leave you with more questions and few answers.

In light of that, I'll try to help in a more general sense. Above all else, just go shoot it. Invest in ammo, and enjoy putting rounds down range. If you find any issues (reliability, ergonomics, etc) you can then start asking more detailed questions about specific parts. On that same vein, don't get caught up in believing the rifle you purchased is garbage and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. It's amusing how some of the more contentious topics involve items that are of little consequence. Now, there are some very knowledgeable people here. If you have a problem, you'll find solutions. But, when it comes to throwing brand names around, it can become a cesspool of second-hand information and tired claims. There are some who develop their opinions based upon actually first-hand experience; and may be genuine in their evaluations. Then, there are others who develop opinions based upon what they read here, or elsewhere, when they were new. Positions are taken up without much more reason than, "well, the groupthink says..."

Bottom line. Go shoot your rifle. Evaluate if it functions in a way that meets your expectations. The more you shoot, the better you'll be equipped to pose questions regarding things you've actually found you need or desire.

[ColtSeavers]

Too long ; Didn't read.

Read the stickies.
Use the search function.

Clean it up to some succinct questions, individual threads for those questions (provided the search function provides no relevant results) and not a rambling odyssey about wanting to finally learn about the AR

[Pushbutton2]

I'm projecting that you'll get two answers here.

1) Essentially no answer. Too many questions on too many parts. Read this thread or that thread already out there. You need to better define your intended use; not just for the rifle, but for each component you've inquired about. What problems are you actually trying to solve. Etc...

2) A collection of random responses that do not form a cohesive thread. A bunch of personal favorites and preferences that will leave you with more questions and few answers.

In light of that, I'll try to help in a more general sense. Above all else, just go shoot it. Invest in ammo, and enjoy putting rounds down range. If you find any issues (reliability, ergonomics, etc) you can then start asking more detailed questions about specific parts. On that same vein, don't get caught up in believing the rifle you purchased is garbage and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. It's amusing how some of the more contentious topics involve items that are of little consequence. Now, there are some very knowledgeable people here. If you have a problem, you'll find solutions. But, when it comes to throwing brand names around, it can become a cesspool of second-hand information and tired claims. There are some who develop their opinions based upon actually first-hand experience; and may be genuine in their evaluations. Then, there are others who develop opinions based upon what they read here, or elsewhere, when they were new. Positions are taken up without much more reason than, "well, the groupthink says..."

Bottom line. Go shoot your rifle. Evaluate if it functions in a way that meets your expectations. The more you shoot, the better you'll be equipped to pose questions regarding things you've actually found you need or desire.

Too long ; Didn't read.

Read the stickies.
Use the search function.

Clean it up to some succinct questions, individual threads for those questions (provided the search function provides no relevant results) and not a rambling odyssey about wanting to finally learn about the AR

Thank you

[Mr. Goodtimes]

I got tired of reading. Everything you need to know is here, either in stickies or searchable. Not to piss in your Cheerios Delton is not a good rifle, don't lie to your self.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Quality+AR-15+b....m4carbine.net


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[opngrnd]

You have the right idea, and quite a few people start off with a non "hard-use"AR like you are. People who stick with it tend to end up with a few different rifles for a few different uses.

I'd shoot a whole bunch and try to address the things that stick out to you as you go. Personal example-my first AR had a 1/9 twist barrel that was pretty over gassed. So when I got around to my second AR, I went with a 1/8 twist properly gassed barrel, and eventually added the Vltor A5 that everyone was suggesting. Viola! A much smoother shooting carbine.

id be happy to PM you some general build info if you want it.

[Wake27]

I'm far from knowledgeable on all of the specs, I prefer to just stick with the companies I know are good. ARs here are usually judged off of a few things that relate to being up to the military specification. Search "TDP/technical data package" for more info there. But to answer a few of your questions (these are all generally speaking):

Barrel - stainless is for precision, chrome lined is for high volume of fire. You'll get longer barrel life out of chrome lined and the better barrels will still pull in 2-3 MOA accuracy. If you don't know that you need a stainless barrel, you don't need it. Pick either a 14.5" or 16" barrel. I'll leave SBR to a different discussion. Milspec is chrome lined with a 1:7 twist. I don't remember the mil spec requirement for barrel steel but 1:7 will give you the widest range of bullet weights to shoot with. If you plan on rebarreling your Delton to a 1:7, a good barrel will be at least $200 which sounds like it's about 1/3 the total cost of your AR. You see where buy once, cry once comes from. Gas port is also on the barrel. Too small and it won't cycle properly, too large and it will be more violent to the shooter and the internals.

Gas system - M4s use carbine length gas and it works well.

Bolt - carpenter 158 and chrome lined is best. Durable and corrosion resistant.

Trigger - all kinds of options here. Geissele is gold standard. BCM, ALG, and Sionics are all respected cheaper alternatives. But you'll get a standard milspec trigger in most ARs and they can range from almost BCM/ALG enhanced feeling to down right shit.

Buffer system - milspec receiver extension/buffer tube. Ignore anything that says "commercial" in that regards. The buffer itself depends on the gas system. I want to say with a carbine length system it should be an H buffer but I could be wrong.

There's way more, but that's a start. I have my favorites but tried to stick to what is a minimum for a good rifle. It can be confusing on what is actually better than milspec (which is a term that is abused and thrown around all the time) and what is just shit.


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[daniel87]

Honestly pushbutton2

Shoot it till it breaks or mod it. It depends on your goals and intent

The lower is the body of the ar 15. If the lower is in spec, swap parts till its how you want it. have the reciever checked by someone with a print and a mic/ caliper. Then you will know its a good baseline to start with

To me if the lower is good, swapping the trigger, furniture, buffer and tube, or upper should only make it better. You will only know once you shoot it.

I dont know enough about most brands first hand. I am a recent convert to the ar (3 years or so) before that i was an ak guy.

My wife has a sig400 and i have a Franken lower (mix of parts) and an aac 9 inch 300 blk upper. At the time Aac was the company to get the true 300 blk upper, i spent a while deciding what i wanted to do before i spent the money. Yes its a pistol

I checked most of lower using a m16 print i found online. It matched within the tolerances.

Check out the forum here and look at brownells for rifle parts. They have a lifetime warranty. Most of what they sell is good.

Other than reload issues due to preconverted brass from a gun store, my upper and lower have been flawless


To me

Plinking = shoot it till it dies and practice with it. When the gun malf, you get to practice your drills. At the ranges i have been to, plinkers need a heavy barrel to handle all the rounds shot. Mag dump after mag dump.


Hunting = accuracy, then the rest. It may get knocked around in the field but it only gets used what 5 rounds per deer hunting day. As long as it charges once and it shoots it is good enough for one deer.

Home defense = you have the ability to transition to a handgun, or another longgun. You also have your gear and supplies for reloads and possible malfs



I would put a huricane snow storm or short duration riot here. It may last a couple months. But.things should return to normal. You hopefully still have your home, and your supplies. Hopefully your neighbors are friendly and willing to protect the community collective (aka) neighborhood



Shtf = pure reliability first with good to great quality parts, then everything else. You only have what you can carry. You may bug in but what about 5 years later. When the house is burned down. Your arsenal and parts are left behind. Every round counts. Can you afford to do a malf drill every few rounds (loosing time, and ammo in the mud) quality spare parts may/will be limited.

A battlefield pickup is great, can you be sure its reliable and has not had bubba fudd hammering inside it.are you sure the right parts are in it. Do you want to spend precious ammo sighting in the buis and optics for you


I hope I make sense. I have trouble editing on my cell


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[JC5188]

Geez...I remember being new to these...

Well, the good news is you're asking all the right questions. The bad new is you just asked ALL the questions, lol.

If I could give one piece of advice to new guys about a rifle they already have, it's go shoot it. You'll figure out what you like and don't like. Then, as you encounter the individual issues, address them as such. Research JUST THAT. You'll learn more that way.

Go shoot it, and come back in 6 mos and tell us what you're changing.


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[Pilot1]

Get a Colt. I prefer the M4, but there are others.