There are too many manufacturers making AR15s to review each and every model. What is needed is a simple guide to help you understand what you should be looking for in an AR The AR15 design has been around for decades. What resources do they commit to ensure that every rifle that leaves the facility will be void of defects?

We will explore some quality indicators to help you make sure you are choosing a truly well made rifle. There are plenty of reviews on the internet that claim brand X is great, but another person claims brand X is junk.

The simple fact is that every manufacturer can produce a lemon. The question is, will they fix it without a headache? These three principles center around the idea that you want to choose a company who built the rifle right the first time, and has built it with known indicators of quality. This will reduce your chances of getting a problem prone weapon. As a rule of thumb… these are selling points. A manufacturer wants to inform the purchaser that their rifle meets these certifications.

As you are browsing for a rifle, look for the above specifications. This goes for the barrel too.

This is a rule of thumb, so be sure to do your research on the rifle you intend to purchase. Make sure that the rifle your buying has a 5. This allows you to shoot both. Perhaps you stumbled on a forum post that says steel barrels are every bit as good as for civilian use… Or that modern metallurgic processes have reduced the need for HPT and MP inspection of the bolts. My first rifle was a non mil-spec rifle.

It had a batch tested bolt. It had poor staking on the gas key. It had the softer barrel steel. Basically, it was not fit for military quality standards, but it ran like a Swiss watch. It never jammed; it took all the abuse I could throw at it.

In all, the rifle performed well and was accurate to boot… but I was lucky. Many off the shelf rifles will run fine for the occasional range trip and sporadic use… but push a cheap rifle hard and you will then find the flaws come out front and center.

I can train a group of men to run a marathon, but in the end there are some who will fail to finish the race. When you are choosing to buy a rifle that meets certain standards, you are ensuring you get a rifle that can finish the race.

Take 10 of its brothers and pit them against Bravo Company rifles and I would bet cash money a few brand X rifles would go down while all the Bravo Co rifles would still be functioning. This is the difference. If you have read other areas of this blog, you might have caught on that I really like the Rifle length system. I have my own reasons why I like the rifle length system, but right now carbines are popular.

So what type of weapon should you look for? Lets start with gas system length. There are three common gas systems available; carbine, mid-length, and rifle length. Which one you choose will determine how soon the rifle begins to extract the shell you just fired. The AR15 uses gases tapped from the barrel to begin the cycle of ejection and feeding a new round into the gun.

The closer the gas port is to the chamber the higher the system pressure used to cycle the rifle. Ideally we want the pressure to drop to a level where the gun can slide the spent shell out of the chamber easily. The three different gas systems affect extraction in different ways:. The brass case is under tremendous pressure and is sealed against the wall of the chamber.

Optimized by Armalight for a 16 inch barrel, the mid-length system taps gas further down the barrel which increases the length of time before it begins extraction. This results in the pressure dropping a bit more before the case is extracted. Typically this will be found on inch barrels. The rifle length system will have the lowest case pressure during extraction of the three systems. This system will have the best performance of the three systems.

It waits the longest time before beginning to extract the spent shell. I just wanted to preface this next section with that.

Do you want it to look like an M4? Buy a carbine with a pinned flash hider on a It will be a light and very handy fighting machine should you need to use it for defensive purposes.

A pinned flash hider is necessary to bring the overall length of the barrel to the legal 16 inch mark. Do you want a short package like an M4, but care more about durability and shoot-ability?

Buy a mid-length gas system. This is a compromise system. It is a bit higher on theoretical reliability than the carbine, but not as reliable as the rifle. It has a longer sight radius than the carbine system, but not as long as the rifle. If you want a jack of all trades start with the mid-length 16inch AR This will be an excellent shooter.

Do you want an M16 clone or a rifle high on reliability and muzzle velocity? Get a rifle length system. Typically these will come in 18 inch and 20 inch flavors.

With the rifle length system we have arguably the most reliable AR15 of the weapon family.

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It also has the highest muzzle velocity, and it is one of the softest shooting variants of the three systems. So hopefully you are making progress as to what you want in a rifle or carbine. IF you want the nitty-gritty details of pressure, dwell time, army reliability tests, ect.

Here we are going to touch on three popular barrel types. Chrome lined barrels will last a great many rounds before deteriorating. Due to slight inconsistencies when applying chrome to the bore of a barrel, they are not thought of as match grade accurate. Keep in mind that the Marines use a chrome lined barrel to hit man sized targets at yards.

These barrels can typically do 1. Long life and durability are what you will get with a chrome lined barrel. As the barrel erodes the match grade accuracy will degrade to very good accuracy. See ADCO firearms test here. This is the barrel you want if you value accuracy over barrel life.

Typically capable of 0. Often cheaper than chrome lined and stainless, these barrels use a bath process to impart an extremely hard layer to the surface of the steel. Nitriding has more lubricity than chrome, it is harder than chrome, and does not add inconsistency to the thickness of the bore.

The Smith and Wesson MP Sport has such a barrel and received favorable reviews. Nitrided barrels are becoming well established and they offer clean looks and good to excellent performance at a budget price. Everything has a bit of a trade-off. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. A double chrome lined barrel from Noveske rifle-works will have match grade accuracy, and the durability of a chrome lined barrel.

If you want the best, prepare to pay the cost. Speaking of expenses, there are other products that add to a rifles overall costs: It is very common to find rifles that come standard with a tactical rail. The question is do you need this upgrade? If that is the case then investing in the free-float system will be a wise choice. Free floating eliminates unwanted interference from the barrel by isolating it from the hand-guard.

Rails are becoming cheaper and cheaper, and modular rails are becoming standard equipment on new rifles. Go ahead and free float to save yourself the upgrade down the road. A monolithic AR15 upper receiver, such as the Aero Precision COP , utilize upper receivers that are milled or forged in one continuous piece.

These rifles integrate the free float rail and upper receiver into one rock solid unit. These receivers are extremely rugged platforms for building an accurate, hard use rifle. While the initial cost of a monolithic or polylithic AR15 upper may seem high, they often come out cheaper than purchasing a separate free float system and they offer substantial advantages over a separate rail system.

So by now you have your carbine or rifle picked out with a certain goal in mind. A carbine with a 16 inch barrel utilizing a stainless steel barrel for match grade accuracy. A great choice for a do it all style rifle. Top this type of gun off with a x variable and you have a jack of all trades.

Accuracy in a small package. A 18 inch stainless steel barreled weapon used by the military. A very popular and accurate configuration. You are likely to find one of these clones in the gun shop rack.

An A2 fixed carry handle upper receiver with a 20 inch barrel and a fixed butt-stock. Overall a good rifle but many view the lack of a railed upper receiver as outdated. The carry handle does limit your optics choices, but is a very shootable as is rifle. You are likely to find one of these referenced online. This build will typically need a This ensures that the total barrel length is 16 inches.

If you choose to buy one of these rifles you must pick a flash hider that you like since it is not going to be user replaceable. A very small and handy AR15 package.

What is the best AR on the market for the money? I am kinda looking, but all I've seen are $+. Or will I spend that much f | Field & Stream

Typically these will be found as carbine length gas systems with a 16 inch barrel and a A2 carry handle. Gun-shops might have a few of these configurations on the rack. Optic options are poor. These rifles can also be found with an 11 inch barrel and a very long pinned flash hider.

I would avoid that configuration due to velocity loss and poor upgrade potential. Clones of this rifle will have a 20 inch barrel with a flat top upper receiver. I used my M16A4 style clone as the featured image at the top of this page and this is my main rifle. Not as handy as the M4 type rifles.

Typically it will have a fixed A2 butt-stock. Mine has a collapsing VLTOR A5 stock as an upgrade. Not a clone of any service rifle per se, but a compact and very shootable rifle that is a great compromise system. There are too many options to discuss in the AR15 world.

Top 10 AR Rifles for the Money

You will encounter many groups of shooters who enjoy building clones of older AR15 variants all the way to the latest military configurations.

Many of these clones are great shooters, but I would recommend that you build a rifle to your needs and specifications. Choose a rifle that suits your needs. Maybe you need a tiny package with extreme accuracy to fit in the trunk. It is perfectly OK to build a rifle with a Not a clone of anything, but if it suits your needs then make the purchase.

I have highlighted a variety of excellent brands in the above guide, but if you want a quick and dirty recommendation, here is what I would buy on a budget: The Aero Precision ACM. This seems like a lot of information. When buying your first AR15, I want you to know what to look for and then decide what is best for your application. Purchase a rifle which meets identifiable standards of quality. What if you already purchased brand X? As long as it functions properly it will probably give you many years of use.

If something breaks replace it with a quality mil-spec components. If you take Brand X to a carbine class you better take spare parts. If you are looking for more detailed information about any one component, search a few forums.

I hope I helped you get your feet wet! How to Build a Lower Receiver.