[The Reaper]

I am a recovering gun nut and have built better then a dozen ARs from parts kits. I have helped build a couple dozen more. As a result of my bad habit, I have owned ARs from eight different manufacturers. I took them all apart and put them back together again in the course of the time I owned them. Off the top of my head, I have used M-16/M-4s from Armalite, Bushmaster, Colt, DPMS, Eagle, FN, GM Hydramatic, HK, KAC, LMT, Oly/SGW, POF, and RRA.

I have been fortunate to shoot government weapons and ammo for many years.

For a couple of years, I was privileged to make the firearms trade show circuit, to meet the manufacturers, and have full access to their weapons and inside info. I have visited some of the manufacturing facilties, and have friends at most of the companies. Some manufacturers make most or in a few cases, all of their own parts. Others buy the from the government manufacturers. A few buy the rejects and seconds from the lower tier makers. These usually go into the parts gun bags. Then they can blame you for assembly problems. Sometimes, a maker's regular parts supplier is out for parts or is no longer able to supply them. There may be some spotty quality while they find a new parts source who has first quality pieces. Others may have a key employee leave and the new replacement takes a little while to learn their jobs. Anyone who has ever had a gas key come unstaked can appreciate how the little jobs can be important.

During the course of probably well over 100,000 rounds, I have seen the good and bad of each of the makers. Colt's quality is not really any better than most of the others, they (along with FN) just happen to have US government inspectors and QC looking over their shoulders, so they are generally built to specs.

Most of the manufacturers can deliver guns that run. They should be able to, the basic design is almost 50 years old. The real question is whether the guns will run ten years and 50,000 rounds later.

To some degree, you get what you pay for. A $1200 carbine is not necessarily better, but the maker who is selling them for $500 is having to use some economies. There are many manufacturers in the "sweet spot" where they are priced to build the basic weapon right and use the good parts. With others, they are using premium parts or designing improved ones. The basic 20" AR-15/M-16 with M193 or M855 should be reliable, it has the optimum barrel length, gas tube length, dwell time, gas velocity and volume, etc., and is designed to run reliably with a specific round. When you can make a 10.5" CQB-R run reliably with everything from LeMas 45 grain to Mark 262 77 grain ammo, like LMT does, you are doing it right.

Unfortunately, some of the makers try to cut corners and periodically get lax with their QC. The worst for that is when they are surging just before some sort of gun ban hits, like in 1994 (and maybe 2009). When that happens, and you get a bad gun, you find out what the company is really about. The companies I want to deal with step up and make things right ASAP. I have been slow rolled for months by companies and offered tons of excuses for why their rifle was not working right. Others have cowboyed up and overnighted extra parts to me on the first phone call. I was in a carbine class, and my LMT CQB-R started choking when a J-spring came unstaked and allowed the hammer pin to walk out. I called LMT at the lunch break and had several extra springs from them in my hands by 1000 the next morning. I have since fired another 5,000 rounds without any problems. A company that will do that when something is not right will generally take the time to ensure that incidents like that are the exception, rather than the rule, or they could not stay in business very long.

Colt, Oly, and KAC do not have a good rep for taking care of business. RRA and LMT do. If your life is going to be riding on your weapon, my advice is to save your money till you can buy a top tier version, unless it is issued to you or you have to have something right now. If you are just getting a plinker, or don't mind having a straight pull single shot, any of them will do.

Crane NWSC has told me that a properly maintained M-4 should be able to go through 5,000 rounds without stoppages or requiring cleaning. One that is semi-only whould be even more reliable. If your weapon cannot make it through a couple of 30 round mags without malfunctioning, you need to try to fix it, and if you can't, then sell it and get one that will.

As noted elsewhere, the best rifle will not run with bad mags or crappy ammo. Use only new GI mags from one of the better companies with green followers, and Milspec ammo. Save the 40 round USA mags and Wolf ammo for the Airsoft crowd. My opinion is that in most environments, the M-4 runs better wet. It is hard to get one too wet to run, but it is pretty easy to get one too dry to work. Clean it properly, lube all of the parts where they are shiny, and feed it right, and it should run fine for you.

Just my .02 based on my experience, YMMV.

TR