View Full Version : Bushmaster on the way back?
They have a website under construction and it looks like they're using the same logo from previous. Should be interesting to see how this goes and what products they decide to bring back:
https://bushmaster.com
Waiting for the Travis Haley Blackwater Edition...
Probably got bought by Anderson.
Probably got bought by Anderson.
Or CZ.
:jester:
titsonritz
02-12-21, 23:53
Or CZ.
:jester:
Oh no, you didn't. :stop:
Diamondback
02-13-21, 01:45
Probably got bought by Anderson.
Franklin Armory, actually.
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/bankrupt-remington-sold-off/
titsonritz
02-13-21, 02:06
Franklin Armory, actually.
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/bankrupt-remington-sold-off/
Sportsman’s Warehouse Inc. won the Tapco brands :lol:
Diamondback
02-13-21, 02:09
Sportsman’s Warehouse Inc. won the Tapco brands :lol:
Sportsman's and Crapco were made for each other. Gonna be fun seeing how Elmer Fudd Getz Teh Stampyfeetz over having his store shelves defiled with Timmy Toys...
titsonritz
02-13-21, 02:13
Sportsman's and Crapco were made for each other. Gonna be fun seeing how Elmer Fudd Getz Teh Stampyfeetz over having his store shelves defiled with Timmy Toys...
That's why it's so damn funny. Like the article says it is a match made in heaven (or hell depending on how you look at it).
Sportsman’s Warehouse Inc. won the Tapco brands :lol:
Actually read that article awhile back. Completely forgot.
Waiting for the Travis Haley Blackwater Edition...
I'm holding out for the Kris ParantoTribute....
Funny how real operators get the job done with whatever they have......
I'm holding out for the Kris ParantoTribute....
Funny how real operators get the job done with whatever they have......
Warrior mindset and training, training, training....and more training.
There was a nice replica build in the Black Rifle forum in GlockTalk, a few years ago by one of the frequent posters. I believe he also posts in this forum as well.
I like this Bushmaster logo better:
https://i.imgur.com/WF1BgoAl.jpg
Coal Dragger
02-13-21, 21:22
Well now that sales are hot again on AR’s we need a manufacturer of cheap out of spec crap!
Bring on the tight out of spec .223 chambers, non staked carrier keys, and other shoddy garbage. We need something to make fun of and complain about.
I have an A2 from 1999, made in Maine, when it was Quality Parts Company. It's been a good rifle. Many rounds without a bobble. Sorry to hear their QC is bad.
Coal Dragger
02-14-21, 00:22
It was bad at the end, the Windam Arms that is the old Bushmaster plant and employees has a better reputation although I have no first hand experience with them.
It was bad at the end, the Windam Arms that is the old Bushmaster plant and employees has a better reputation although I have no first hand experience with them.
While certainly not a 1:1 with Colt or anything, Bushmasters were hardly "bad" compared to a dozen "bad" manufacturers I could name. At least BM seems to have gotten their gas port size correct on SBR's compared with manufacturers like Daniel Defense who were considered superior. Every BM rifle I've seen had staked carrier keys.
But lots of people pay twice as much for that Springfield Saint piece of crap. S&W really doesn't offer anything that a Bushmaster doesn't and people consider them good to go. I'm still unconvinced the Ruger AR-15 (or Remington for that matter) is in any way superior.
I think Bushmasters rep is a carry over from that stamped receiver piece of crap (Bushmaster ARM and Bushmaster Assault Rifle) they started with and the fact that they picked up that Carbon 15 hunk of junk.
Coal Dragger
02-14-21, 09:11
A friend of mine had a Bushmaster (a name he could not pronounce always: “brush master”), and it had constant issues and malfunctions. The chamber was way too tight being the most notable one.
This guy has had a whole slew of AR’s that haven’t worked right because he won’t listen to good advice.
My first AR was a BM in 2008. I’ve have had a problem with it through many classes and over 10k rounds. I don’t know when their QC went south but my sample of one ran like a champ. Still have it, but haven’t shot it in years.
My first ar was also a BM. Bought it at 18 yrs of age in 2002. Back during the Clinton ban. I put so many rounds through that gun and it never choked.
Being a Clinton gun it had a m4 looking fixed stock and it had a 14.5" barrel with a horribly loud pinned brake on it.
With the sunset of the ban I put on a real m4 stock and removed the brake and pinned a flash hider on it.
Then eventually I got more ar's and traded the BM for a boat. That was a big mistake. I traded a reliable firearm for a horribly unreliable boat.
Soli Deo Gloria
The only issue I can recall seeing frequently was canted front sights resulting in excessive windage adjustment to zero(or sometimes not).
Early in the internet era that got Bushmaster customer service a good rep on the email lists because they would fix it quick. Eventually that transformed to WTF didn't they just set it right before sending it out in tbe first place.
They even had a DIY tutorial in their website tech section on how to smack the barrel/receiver in to alignment.
MA2_Navy_Veteran
02-14-21, 10:53
My Bushmaster A4 clone... (Windham, Maine, 2008)
Can't speak as to the quality of other BMs, but I custom ordered this one (with 1-in-7 twist gov-profile barrel) @ Dec 2007 (& delivered to my FFL in April 2008), and it has run like a champ since day one.
Maybe I got lucky? I don't know...
https://www.m4carbine.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=65203&d=1613321327
https://www.m4carbine.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=65199&d=1613320548
https://www.m4carbine.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=65204&d=1613321449
https://www.m4carbine.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=65205&d=1613321511
There weren't a lot of choices back in the 90's and BM was one of the better ones. Mine all worked fine during multiple classes but I did see inconsistency in both kinds of staking and tight chambers. I saw maybe two broken bolt lugs in classes with dozens of rifles but only after many thousands of rounds.
I sold all my BM uppers decades ago, but I still have the priceless (in my state) pre-ban lowers that work just fine after having the parts upgraded multiple times.
Dennis.
In Bushmaster's last catalog (2019), they were advertising their carbines as having milspec buffer tubes, staked castle nuts, HPT/MPI bolts, 4150 CMV barrels with 1:7 twist, and other things. Of course, by then the end of the road was in sight.
I bought this M4A3 in February 2020, just before the hysteria hit the fan. Haven't shot it due to the current ammo situation, but seems decently put together. Bushmaster went with the slimmer profile handguards instead of the "fat" type seen on some other brands, but I'm good with either.
https://i.imgur.com/GYOYBkpl.jpg
Kevslatvin
02-14-21, 13:57
. I'm still unconvinced the Ruger AR-15 (or Remington for that matter) is in any way superior.
My cousin has a Ruger AR-15. I got a call from him not long after he got it about this thing that holds the buffer tube in(buffer detent pin) flew out when took the upper off the lower. At the time I didn't know if the buffer tube wasn't in far enough from the factory and told him to file a warranty claim. He didn't listen. By the time I got over to look at it a week later he had loosened the castle nut by hand put the pin back in and got the buffer tube back where it should be. Due to ammo situation gun probably had a mag or less through it. I've told him not to shoot it until I can get a wrench to tighten that nut to spec and stake it.
Same gun, same time. Also my first. Except mine choked a lot. Horribly overgassed, and it would stick cases frequently. Ridiculous muzzle brake. I don’t know if it was the gas to the face, or what, but my nose would bleed sometimes after shooting it, which is not an issue I’ve had before or since. Gas key screws came loose in the first mag or two. It was a stoppage machine, in general.
It left a very poor impression. Castle nut was staked, at least.
I sold it to a buddy with full disclosure.
My first ar was also a BM. Bought it at 18 yrs of age in 2002. Back during the Clinton ban. I put so many rounds through that gun and it never choked.
Being a Clinton gun it had a m4 looking fixed stock and it had a 14.5" barrel with a horribly loud pinned brake on it.
With the sunset of the ban I put on a real m4 stock and removed the brake and pinned a flash hider on it.
Then eventually I got more ar's and traded the BM for a boat. That was a big mistake. I traded a reliable firearm for a horribly unreliable boat.
Soli Deo Gloria
A friend of mine had a Bushmaster (a name he could not pronounce always: “brush master”), and it had constant issues and malfunctions. The chamber was way too tight being the most notable one.
This guy has had a whole slew of AR’s that haven’t worked right because he won’t listen to good advice.
Sample of one and might have been several factors such as poor maintenance, bad ammo, bad mags, etc. They really didn't have an across the board failure rate like Olympic and they were produced in much larger numbers.
I do suspect, but don't have any supporting evidence, that QC probably did vary widely over the years and good ones are good ones and bad ones are bad ones. But it isn't a case of don't stake keys (all of the ones I've had did) or anything like that.
dwhitehorne
02-15-21, 08:44
In 2014 I received I received a batch of 75 used Colt M4's from another Federal agency. 15 of the barrels were shot out so in 2015 I received approval to purchase barrels. Bushmaster's complete barrel assembly was the lowest price so that's what I was approved to purchase. I ordered thirteen 14.5 inch barrel assemblies and two 10.5 inch assemblies. These were complete barrel assemblies marked 5.56 with gas tubes and roll pins. All went together easily and I test fired them all on our indoor range across the hall from the armory. I was using 223 frangible ammo on the indoor range.
Thinking I had a batch of rifles to put on the street I scheduled a couple of patrol rifle classes. After the first classroom day I have the 10 officers meet at the outdoor range for the start of day two. I bring 12 Colts with the Bushmaster barrels and 10 cases of our Winchester 5.56 duty ammo. So I am 30 miles from the office with 10 officers ready to zero their patrol rifles and I can't get through one magazine without the rifles malfunctioning. Some rifles fired only one round before failing to extract and others would fire up to 10 rounds before malfunctioning. Total confused about what was going on I plugged along trying to at least zero the rifles while someone bought me the training .223 ammo I had test fired the rifles with. After getting some .223 training ammo the rifles functioned perfectly on semi and burst mode.
Then the other major issue occurred. I ran out of adjustment in the front sight before being able to get the rifles zeroed at 50 yards. Apparently Bushmaster has a different height front sight assembly than Colt. Using our Matech rear sights caused me to run out of adjustment with the Bushmaster front sights. After some research I found out that Bushmaster has a longer plus .40 front sight that I needed to buy to get the rifles to zero.
Not a good experience with Bushmaster having 5.56 rifles that won't reliable shoot 5.56 ammo and couldn't zero with the supplied front sight post. About $2500 worth of barrels I ended up getting rid of. Quite an embarrassing day at the range that day. David
Sample of one and might have been several factors such as poor maintenance, bad ammo, bad mags, etc. They really didn't have an across the board failure rate like Olympic and they were produced in much larger numbers.
I do suspect, but don't have any supporting evidence, that QC probably did vary widely over the years and good ones are good ones and bad ones are bad ones. But it isn't a case of don't stake keys (all of the ones I've had did) or anything like that.
I've owned and do own many of them. There was a big retailer in town that sold them by the train car load pretty cheap for over 2 decades so you see lots of them at the gunshows and pawn shops. In the past I was able to buy them very cheap- $350-450 apiece, barely used in most cases. I never had any real issues with any of them honestly. But, I will say this- I thoroughly go through each gun- I have found several bolts with minimal gas key staking, very rarely were the castle nuts staked, they didn't use O Rings or 5 Coil extractor springs- little niggling crap like that. They all had AR15 bolt carriers and not the heavier M16 carriers. Typically I would sell off the AR15 carriers at the gunshow ($100) and buy a Palmetto/Toolcraft replacement- $69 for their Milspec bolts, that, combined with a H1 buffer usually took care of any over gassing issues.
Personally, between over and under gas, I'll take the better function of over gassing every time- it gives you a margin for weak ammo or a dirty gun, cold temps etc.... As far as "excessive wear"- 1. 99% of guys don't shoot enough for it to matter 2. Shit breaks, check your gun regularly and replace parts as needed. In a perfect world where there was only "milspec ammo", it wouldn't be an issue- but as I have said and is now pretty much proven- if your rifle won't run "off spec" ammo- you have a TOY not a TOOL. Good luck finding your Special XYZ Super Terminator Ammo that shoots so well in your gun now...
I have trained under several guys that are Third World trainers. They train people in places like South Africa, the Philippines, Brazil etc....It gives you a different perspective on what "works". The interesting thing? The people they train are usually the Elite or near Elite of their given society- or they wouldn't have a friggen gun in those places, much less be able to afford to train with it! They tell stories of students showing up to class with 30-40 year old, mixed, Russian surplus x39 ammo- because it it all that can be had, along with AK's that were made before they were born, CZ 75's, Beretta Clones, shooting locally manufactured ammo with lead bullets, Chicom steel case 9mm etc...It's what they have, or what is available- and they make it work....It's one reason I'm a fan of the big, ugly, old Battle Rifles- the Fal, G3, Galil etc....those old guns just chug along and they don't require whiz bang special ammo to make reliable and effective weapons.
I bought this M4A3 in February 2020, just before the hysteria hit the fan. Haven't shot it due to the current ammo situation, but seems decently put together. Bushmaster went with the slimmer profile handguards instead of the "fat" type seen on some other brands, but I'm good with either.
Those look like Colt carbine handguards as far as the profile is concerned. IIRC Colt stopped making those in 09 but there are still a boatload of them on the market and they are very inexpensive.
I bought 3 or 4 sets just because I could and love 'em. Have them on more than a few carbines because they just 'feel' right to me over the fat ass M4 guards.
, CZ 75's, Beretta Clones, shooting locally manufactured ammo with lead bullets, Chicom steel case 9mm etc...It's what they have, or what is available- and they make it work....It's one reason I'm a fan of the big, ugly, old Battle Rifles- the Fal, G3, Galil etc....those old guns just chug along and they don't require whiz bang special ammo to make reliable and effective weapons.......................................................................................................................................................
That reminds me of an article in SOF many years ago of some resister forces in some shitty African country armed w/FAL's who pulled the bullets from 30.06
rounds, used the powder and seated bullets by chambering multiple times in FAL's to produce a hand full of really dubious rounds that might work for real.
Maybe somebody else recalls it, not something you could do with a m16 variant anything .
, CZ 75's, Beretta Clones, shooting locally manufactured ammo with lead bullets, Chicom steel case 9mm etc...It's what they have, or what is available- and they make it work....It's one reason I'm a fan of the big, ugly, old Battle Rifles- the Fal, G3, Galil etc....those old guns just chug along and they don't require whiz bang special ammo to make reliable and effective weapons.......................................................................................................................................................
That reminds me of an article in SOF many years ago of some resister forces in some shitty African country armed w/FAL's who pulled the bullets from 30.06
rounds, used the powder and seated bullets by chambering multiple times in FAL's to produce a hand full of really dubious rounds that might work for real.
Maybe somebody else recalls it, not something you could do with a m16 variant anything .
I don't recall that specifically but I just look at what people actually use in the Third World. I'm not saying the AR platform is not reliable, is not accurate- is not a fine weapons system- but it IS a product of High End First World engineering, production methods/tolerances and logistical support.
It will run fine with milspec mags, good ammo, properly lubed etc....
But as CIVILIANS (In this context, meaning Uncle Sugar doesn't issue me my stuff) in what is rapidly becoming a non permissive environment with endless and perfect re supply no longer a credit card and phone call away....Some of the older designs make good sense- ergonomics etc...be damned. Hell, I was still buying Wolf x39 last month at $300 a case, as much as I wanted to....
Waiting for the Travis Haley Blackwater Edition...
Given that Bushy is my preferred rollmark...........I'd buy that for a dollar :D
Given that Bushy is my preferred rollmark...........I'd buy that for a dollar :D
Interesting article on The Specs of the Haley Najaf rifle...
https://thereptilehouseblog.com/2020/05/21/in-the-wild-travis-haley-najaf-blackwater-dmr-analysis-by-cade-johnson/
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