thoughts on armalite

[fivefivesix]

im building a third rifle, my first 2 builds were with spikes and bcm so please no pissing match. im just looking for honest no bs comments from people who have more experience than me with this company. i was wanting and looking at using armalite upper and lowers as the basis for a build as ive heard tha many le agencys and millitarys use them thoughts please

[OneInchPunch]

i sell Armalite AR's at my store, and i will tell you what i tell my customers. they are great guns to start a build with, but to bring them up to the level of a BCM you will need to put some work into it. why not just go with a BCM anyway? they are similar prices.

[6933]

Better options out there. AFAIK the US mil doesn't use Armalite. Any LE agency that does has made a poor choice. Why not build a BCM, DD, Colt, or Noveske?

[SHIVAN]

im building a third rifle, my first 2 builds were with spikes and bcm so please no pissing match. im just looking for honest no bs comments from people who have more experience than me with this company. i was wanting and looking at using armalite upper and lowers as the basis for a build as ive heard tha many le agencys and millitarys use them thoughts please

The lower itself is a good starting point, as it's forged and I am pretty sure they use type III hard anodizing per the milspec.

I would buy my own receiver extension to ensure milspec diameter and consistency, and would use someone else's trigger group, unless the single stage was Ok for this build. I don't care for their tactical two stage feel, and their NM is a little light for a HD/Carbine setup.

From the specs on their site, they are using better barrel steel now, but still not sure they are fully complying with the testing of the bolts, carriers and barrels.

All that being said, their upper and lower receivers are fine starting points for a custom build where you select all the critical parts yourself and assemble them to something better than you can buy.

[6933]

Shivan- I say this in a questioning, not asshole way. Wouldn't going with Armalite be inviting a higher probability of issues with either the upper or lower, as in out of spec, due to QC that isn't as good as BCM, DD, or Colt?

[rychencop]

Any LE agency that does has made a poor choice.

and why is that exactly?

[Iraqgunz]

I recently converted an Armalite M15A2 musket into a carbine for someone locally. I couldn't find any issues with the lower. Everything else was swapped out.

I think using the lower will be fine. I have an Eagle Arms (Armalite) lower that I used on my Noveske for about 18 months and it worked 100%.

Shivan- I say this in a questioning, not asshole way. Wouldn't going with Armalite be inviting a higher probability of issues with either the upper or lower, as in out of spec, due to QC that isn't as good as BCM, DD, or Colt?

[Iraqgunz]

rychencop,

C'mon. You have been here long enough to know the shortcomings that are common to Armalite. I think we have even had a few recent threads regarding it.

and why is that exactly?

[Quentin]

I'd say ArmaLite stripped uppers and lowers are as good as most other brands. They are well finished and everything is within spec.

If you want to have the ArmaLite logo right now Impact Guns has stripped lowers on sale for $119. DSG Arms sells ArmaLite single stage ($82) and two stage LPKs, etc. I agree with SHIVAN that you should look for a RE and stock kit other than ArmaLite. I've got a couple BCM kits and they're pretty hard to beat.

If you really, really want a midlength upper in 1:9 twist then a complete ArmaLite upper isn't a bad choice (since last time I checked they were $450 including BCG, CH and handguards) though you might want to upgrade the BCG with BCM, DD, etc. Another issue is the A2 height FSB, you'll probably need a taller front sight post like the one Bushmaster sells for $5.50. I got one last year and with those two upgrades it doesn't have any major deficiencies. (The barrel is only batch tested for HP and MPI but at least MIL-B-11595E milspec barrel steel is used.)

If you want a 1:7 twist of course as pointed out by others it makes sense to go with a BCM, DD, etc. upper. Such an upper on an ArmaLite lower should be an excellent rifle.

[SHIVAN]

Wouldn't going with Armalite be inviting a higher probability of issues with either the upper or lower, as in out of spec, due to QC that isn't as good as BCM, DD, or Colt?

Their receivers are not where they chose to take their shortcuts. They took shortcuts in MP testing, barrel steel, twist rates, receiver extensions, stocks, and staking.