NEW Comparison Chart of Commercial M4 Pattern Carbines

[Tango-Alpha]

To be clear, this is a work in progress first and foremost. As more manufacturers are added the Chart will be updated.

Process by which manufacturers populate this Chart is BY THEIR OWN HAND via an online questionnaire that they complete. Trust, but verify, is in effect and as always, caveat emptor. Any manufacturers wishing to be added may contact me directly via email.

Models included should fit the following description, outlined in the questionnaire:
Choose a model that is as close as possible to the military issued M4. flattop upper, standard front sight base, carbine-length gas system, no rail systems, etc.

As this is being pushed to publication prior to the original target, the legacy Explanation of Features will have to suffice for the time being.

And so, this brings us to the draft copy of the new and improved

Comparison Chart of Commercial M4-Pattern Carbines

ETA:
LINKING TO THIS DOCUMENT
Please feel free to share this document wherever you feel appropriate. Three caveats

1. If at all possible, link to this thread, and not to the documents themselves.
2. If #1 is not possible, please ensure that you provide the link to the Explanation of Features, AND The Chart itself.
3. In either case, please do me the courtesy of sending me a link to the location where you post it. This is not about asking my "permission" to repost as this is not necessary, but I believe that it is best if I am able to keep tabs on things to some degree or another so that I can attempt to make the document(s) better whenever possible.

ETA 2:
So already a few people are wondering "where is my pet brand?" Here is your answer. If you want your favorite brand on the Chart, tell them so!



Just to be clear, I had contacts at Armalite and S&W for some time but both petered out later on in the process, hence the current "no response" status.

Great chart. It would be great if Yankee Hill Mfg (YHM) were also included. They are becoming a popular brand and I know others besides myself who shoot them. Thanks for the time you've invested in the chart.

[C4IGrant]

Great chart. It would be great if Yankee Hill Mfg (YHM) were also included. They are becoming a popular brand and I know others besides myself who shoot them. Thanks for the time you've invested in the chart.

Question for you, why are YHM AR's becoming popular?


C4

[Tango-Alpha]

Question for you, why are YHM AR's becoming popular?


C4

Couldn't really say definitively. There may be variety of reasons. What lead me in that direction is that as I began looking around for my first build, I began talking to people about what they liked and disliked. I met some people who own or had owned YHM in the past and they all had very positive things to say about them. I did talk to two separate gunsmiths, one of which works on a fair amount of AR's and he also recommended them. In fact, he's the armorer for a few PD's here in SoCal and also licensed to sell/service AW's. If I recall the conversation correctly, it went along the lines of...."don't screw around with the cheap brands....just go with YHM and be done with it. They're known for quality and you'll have a gun that will last a lifetime." That wasn't verbatim, but you get the gist of it. Now bear in mind, this is a guy that is THE armorer that LEO's depend on for work on their AR's. This is SoCal, where we have a large population and large police depts and lots of AR's in the hands of LEO's. I would have to say, that testimony was probably the most compelling for me. Aside from that, YHM does make a lot of products that seem to sell very well online and in stores. I've noticed several items which have been sold out for long periods of time. I'm probably reading in to it a bit, but that tells me there's a demand for their products and customers are buying them as fast as they can build them. So long answer to your question...I suppose that's probably why they seem to be popular. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

[C4IGrant]

Couldn't really say definitively. There may be variety of reasons. What lead me in that direction is that as I began looking around for my first build, I began talking to people about what they liked and disliked. I met some people who own or had owned YHM in the past and they all had very positive things to say about them. I did talk to two separate gunsmiths, one of which works on a fair amount of AR's and he also recommended them. In fact, he's the armorer for a few PD's here in SoCal and also licensed to sell/service AW's. If I recall the conversation correctly, it went along the lines of...."don't screw around with the cheap brands....just go with YHM and be done with it. They're known for quality and you'll have a gun that will last a lifetime." That wasn't verbatim, but you get the gist of it. Now bear in mind, this is a guy that is THE armorer that LEO's depend on for work on their AR's. This is SoCal, where we have a large population and large police depts and lots of AR's in the hands of LEO's. I would have to say, that testimony was probably the most compelling for me. Aside from that, YHM does make a lot of products that seem to sell very well online and in stores. I've noticed several items which have been sold out for long periods of time. I'm probably reading in to it a bit, but that tells me there's a demand for their products and customers are buying them as fast as they can build them. So long answer to your question...I suppose that's probably why they seem to be popular. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for the feedback.

You might want to read this: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=56063 & this https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=88634


C4

[Failure2Stop]

Dude, I'm sorry, but you got some bad advice.
Unless the "Armorer" is certified by Colt, it doesn't mean much.
There are a whole lot of "armorers" and "gunsmiths" that work for companies that turn out sub-standard ARs. Any one of them would tell you that their guns are great, but they would be wrong.
I'm not selling any guns to anybody, what I am telling you is simply so you and the readers can be informed.

It's not an insult. You didn't do anything wrong other than get advice from someone that was incorrect.

I did talk to two separate gunsmiths, one of which works on a fair amount of AR's and he also recommended them. In fact, he's the armorer for a few PD's here in SoCal and also licensed to sell/service AW's. If I recall the conversation correctly, it went along the lines of...."don't screw around with the cheap brands....just go with YHM and be done with it. They're known for quality and you'll have a gun that will last a lifetime." That wasn't verbatim, but you get the gist of it. Now bear in mind, this is a guy that is THE armorer that LEO's depend on for work on their AR's. This is SoCal, where we have a large population and large police depts and lots of AR's in the hands of LEO's. I would have to say, that testimony was probably the most compelling for me. Aside from that, YHM does make a lot of products that seem to sell very well online and in stores. I've noticed several items which have been sold out for long periods of time. I'm probably reading in to it a bit, but that tells me there's a demand for their products and customers are buying them as fast as they can build them.

[Tango-Alpha]

Thanks for the feedback.

You might want to read this: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=56063 & this https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=88634


C4

Two excellent threads. Very helpful. Thanks for the info.

[DC3]

Good information! Keep up the good work

[T-Dot]

Thanks for the chart!

[ssracer]

I have got to remember to stop getting into gun discussions on car forums....on a local forum a member was asking for recommendations for his first AR. Everything for Rock River to Bushmaster was suggested. He eventually went with an AA rifle based on recommendations from myself and a few other actual gun people.

This was boo'd because they haven't been around forever. I posted a link to rob's chart pointing out the hard work he put in getting this together.

This was the response from one member:
"Comparing M4's based on those specs is as ignorant as comparing two turbo's because they both are "50 trim wet housing clipped exhaust" turbos."

Must stick to gun forums....

[ssracer]

Hmmmm...double post