Increasing the quality of budget priced ARs

[shadowspirit]

There are the less expensive ARs like S&W and Ruger. Then there are the more expensive ones like Colt, BCM, LMT, Nights Armament, etc.

Can a budget priced AR such as the S&W and Ruger be brought up to the quality of the more expensive ones with money invested in it?

Even more specifically, can the lower priced ARs be brought up to the level or reliability and durability of the more expensive ARs with the infusion of money to replace various parts?

I know the barrel of the Ruger and S&W will not last as long or be quite as accurate as the expensive ARs, so lets not consider barrels in this question.

Possible things to replace are the shoulder stock and the stock over the barrel with something simple but stronger. A trigger/hammer assembly with a good reputation. Maybe higher quality pins and springs. An aftermarket bolt carrier group. Etc.

[JediGuy]

What are you asking?

What is the purpose of the rifle?

The receivers have to be in spec. After that, anything can be upgraded.

[TMS951]

At what point does your junky AR cost more than a Colt that is 800-1150$ depending on the day?

I say either enjoy a cheap junk AR for the cheap junk it is, or buy a decent rifle if you want one. By decent I mean a BCG and barrel you’d never think needs replacing.

[grizzman]

As long as the receivers are in-spec, a budget AR can certainly be upgraded to increase its reliability and durability, up to the point that it's functionally the equal of a 6920. Basically, it would be wise to replace every single component except for the receivers and likely receiver extension.

Going through this endeavor and considering it worth the time and money is a whole other conversation. This certainly isn't a cost saving effort, considering the current prices for Colt 6920s and basic BCMs.

[1168]

Colt actually belongs in the less expensive group. I know where one can get a slightly used one for $700.

[ChrisM516]

After you've totaled up the cost of the upgraded components, just buy an equivalent from a reputable company and get the added benefit of a warranty and customer service.

[shadowspirit]

What are you asking?

What is the purpose of the rifle?

The receivers have to be in spec. After that, anything can be upgraded.

The purpose of the rifle is SHTF.

At what point does your junky AR cost more than a Colt that is 800-1150$ depending on the day?

I say either enjoy a cheap junk AR for the cheap junk it is, or buy a decent rifle if you want one. By decent I mean a BCG and barrel you’d never think needs replacing.

Good point about total investment exceeding the cost of the Colt. OTOH, it could wind up being better than the Colt. For example, I'm guessing there are aftermarket BCGs that are better than Colts. Another issue is some claim the latest Colts went down in quality. I have no idea whether that is true or not. The are marked CR instead of LE. A gentleman with a fairly known YouTube channel, his first name may be Chris, claims the 20" Windham A4 is better than the Colt version, IIRC.

[shadowspirit]

After you've totaled up the cost of the upgraded components, just buy an equivalent from a reputable company and get the added benefit of a warranty and customer service.

The FN 15 Guardian got my curiosity. I recently asked if anyone heard anything else about it in a thread discussing it last spring.

[turnburglar]

The 'cost' of fixing up a budget rifle isn't as much as some people are making it sound. An AR15 IS NOT a car. In the car realm a civic will never be a porsche. But in the AR world you can make a PSA shoot as well as a Noveske (I can already hear the screams).

To make an AR simply reliable is actually very cheap. Let's first make some assumptions. The 'cheap' AR you bought has a chamber properly cut to 556 dimensions and feed ramps that are inspec with M4 style feed ramps. The only things you have to buy that most cheap AR's dont have:

- Good Ammo. $$$
- Good magazines. Pmag is the easy button here. $15
- Spring Co Extractor Spring with the insert. $5
- H2 buffer and a Colt buffer spring. $31 (expo arms/ Primary Arms)

So for a total of ~$60 in upgrades you have a reliable rifle. You should also do things like stake the castle nut on the buffer tube and check the staking on the gas key of the BCG. If the barrel is harshly over gassed (my PSA was not) then you can solve that with a $50 BRT gas tube.

If you actually wanted to 'upgrade' a rifle to compete with the big boys let's see what that would cost. For this experiment let's start with a base gun....

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...ept-rifle.html

To make this gun have the rest of the features that most look for in a high end rifle I would add the following accessories:

Spring Co extractor upgrade kit: $5
H2 buffer & Spring: $31
Larue MBT 2s trigger: $89
Radian CH Safety Combo: $120
Magpul MBUS3: $90
Slate Black Ind Rail Covers & Grip: $35

Brings us to a total price tag of: $1,169 for a rifle that has a pretty high set of features; FN CHF barrel, C158 bolt, ambi controls, a great trigger, BUIS and proper heat shielding (a must on a hard use rifle), all the regular things to make a rifle reliable...

I'm not gonna tell you that spending 2.9k on a KAC is dumb and that PSA is just as good. But for 1.2k at PSA you CAN get a very capable and modern rifle.

[markm]

Yes, it can be done, but by the time you upgrade a bottom quality AR, you're worse off than just buying a good one.

We actually did this for a friend of Pappabear's son. It was that S&W Sport thing. The upgrades weren't optional because we replaced stuff as it failed. Off the top of my head, we had to replace the buffer due to the roll pin walking out and hitting the action spring. And the Bolt catch broke.

There were another couple of thing I had to work on, but I can't remember. Between my labor and Pappabear's parts it was a losing investment, no question.