
Originally Posted by
Army Chief
Unfortunately, the usual practice for those new to the AR is to look around to see what seems to be readily-available, or to scan gun magazine advertisements, rather than to research what might actually be worth owning. Since all of these rifles look very much alike to the casual observer, there is a certain logic to this; however, the truth is that there are considerable differences in everything from component design, specifications and quality to the assembly standards employed in building them.
All ARs are not created equal, and your list effectively reads like a roster of hobby-grade commercial rifles, which are known to fall well-short of the current service-grade standard. Again, this is a common mistake, so don't feel too badly about it; just take the time to build up your knowledge base so you aren't left with buyer's remorse a month or two after spending all of your money.
You may or may not need, or even want, a gun built that closely adheres to the government's Technical Data Package (TDP) for the M4 series, but you will benefit from getting as close to it as you can where metallurgy, parts testing, chamber dimensions and other key factors are concerned. Further, you want to deal with a company that at least understands the nuances of correct assembly -- look up "staking" for starters -- if not an actual government contractor itself.
Most of the rifles that you mentioned are hopelessly-compromised by shortcuts applied throughout the production process. You see this most often in the form of a features-laden carbine that is being built to what seems to be a very reasonable price-point. Since there are no free lunches, what you eventually find is that the features come at the expense of some very key fundamentals, such as correct barrel steels, bolt testing, proper assembly and the like.
Invest in a rifle that is built from the same quality materials (or better) as the one you carried in uniform, developed with the same military/LE service standards in mind and built by folks who take the work being done on the production floor every bit as seriously as what they have the marketing team working on upstairs. We all like slick glossy magazine ads of pseudo-SWAT dudes and scruffy contractors moving to contact with a cool Brand-X rifle in their hands, but relatively few of these rifles are well-suited for serious work beyond the photo shoot. Learn the difference, and buy the real deal.
Assuming that you've been waiting for the Cliff's Notes on this one, here is a common short list around M4C (alphabetically): Bravo Company Manufacturing, Colt, Daniel Defense, Knight's Armament and Noveske. Depending upon what you are after, and in what configuration, Lewis Machine & Tool and Smith & Wesson might also be worthy contenders. While an not exhaustive list, the point is that these companies are all generally-engaged in the business of making it harder to buy a crappy AR.
AC
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