Put these AR brands in "quality" order from best to worst

[bcannon]

I built off a Armalite foundation. The only thing left on the 2 rifles that is Armalite is empty lowers and empty uppers. Everything else has been fit to my specs. I truely believe Armalite best foundation for my buck. There again, my opinion. Everybody has 1. ...and its rye whiskey on the rocks

 

[zibby43]

Deleted.

 

[Oppugnall]

Can we just own them all..

I own a Colt 5.56, Daniel defense 300 blackout, Olympic .223 pistol, building 2 as we speak RRA 458 Socom and predator pursuit .223 varminter.. Just bought a YHM lower today, just to have..

 

[mconley]

Here is a list of what I consider to be the top 5. Sorry some are not on your list but I only wanted to give input on the companies that I have personally held and fired.

LWRC
LMT
YHM
rock river
S&W

 

[Faine]

ZOMBIE THREAD!!! SHOOT IT, SHOOT IT!

 

[ViperJock]

On what basis is JP Enterprises in the bottom half of two lists? Is this because of direct experience? Lack of familiarity? ???

My thoughts too. Also surprised to see Yankee Hill so low... And some if the others so high...

 

[02roadster]

I'm hurt, My Sig Sauer didn't even make the list.

 

[HoughMade]

I have a soft spot in my heart (head?) for my old GI M-16A2 which took plenty of abuse and kept ticking, allowing a moderate shot to put rounds on target at 300m through iron sights, consistently....so whoever made that....Colt, I guess, as long as they're made the same.

 

[ViperJock]

Ok here's my list.

I will break mine down into 3 groups: Top Tier, Standard/Commercial Grade, and Cheap Crap I Wouldn't Touch.

The first two categories I wouldn't mind owning personally, the last group I would pass on even if it was given to me. The difference between Top Tier and Standard/Commercial grade is attention to detail and higher quality materials and processes (as I perceive it).

My perceptions are based on many things, including: my personal penchant for hard-use and defensive guns, brands often seen in training classes, those advertised in gun magazines and online, those talked about often here on INGO, and a general sense of "buy once, cry once". Again, these are my perceptions and are subject to future change or being incorrect altogether.


Top Tier (in no particular order)
Colt
Noveske
Daniel Defense
Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT)
Knight's Armament Company (KAC)
Barrett
Clark
Heckler & Koch (H&K)
MSTN
LaRue Tactical
Wilson Combat
LWRCi
POF
Spike's Tactical
Les Baer
Bravo Company Manufacturing (BCM)
JP Enterprises


Standard/Commercial Grade (in no particular order)
CMMG
Sabre Defense
Smith & Wesson
Charles Daly
Stag Arms
Bushmaster
Palmetto State Armory
Rock River Arms
DPMS / Panther Arms
Yankee Hill Machine (YHM)
Remington
Armalite
Tactical Innovations
Ruger
SI Defense


Cheap Crap I Wouldn't Touch (in no particular order)
Olympic
Del-ton
Superior Arms
D.S. Arms
Nodak
Fulton
Double Star
Model 1 Sales
Anvil Arms
High Standard
Vulcan/Hesse

I largely have the same perception/experience. I think it also depends on which model you have of several of those middle tier weapons. The low end dpms for example have triggers that are really rough. As a rule the YHM and Ruger Gas Piston are much nicer than a few others in the same tier. But I agree they all belong in the category you've listed them in.