Advice Needed on the Quality of AR15 Parts

[garethsk]

Good Afternoon,

I've been looking at buying/building my first AR15 rifle. I understand the basic principles of the build, the options, etc, but have some questions about the actual quality of the parts themselves.

Obviously buying everything in kit form and assembling it myself would probably be the cheapest option, certainly the most fun, and there will always be low end, top end, and everything in between, quality parts, but:

What kinds of issues have you guys seen with regards to lower quality vs decent quality vs higher quality parts?

Is there really much difference between the quality of different manufacturers parts?

Are there certain parts manufacturers to avoid due to quality and/or price issues?

CMMG has their bargain bin rifles for about $600, and based on my research most of the reviews have been good:

Is there a downside to starting with something like this as the foundation for a build?

Is there a better complete rifle to use as the foundation for exploring the bank account draining world of AR15s?

Thanks for any advice you guys can give, and take care.

Gareth

[Kelemvor]

I've got a CMMG M4LEP, and while I haven't put thousands of rounds through it, I have disassembled it and looked over it a million times and put a couple hundred rounds through it, and it's top notch. With a direct gas impingement rifle, you would want to just make sure that you have a staked gas key, really (I'm not sure if the bargain bin rifles do.)

[crashgordan]

CMMG makes a great rifle and bargain bin one is no exception. It's a fine rifle to start with and i highly doubt you could build one of any quality for cheaper.

buy it, take it apart, put it together and learn it inside and out.

agree w/ the 'staked gas key' question as noted by kelemvor, but that's not a reason to buy it. of its not staked go have Predator there in Knoxville stake it for $5.

probably the biggest issue with some some is tolerance in build and metel quality.

stay away from Hesse/Vulcan or Olympic. (no offense of someone loves them, i don't)

Here is one of the most informative links i've seen on this topic.

So you want to buy an AR-15, huh? - Police Forums & Law Enforcement Forums @ Officer.com

best wishes!

[Guest coldblackwind]

From what I've been told the only ones to really stay away from, like crashgordon said, are olympic, and vulcan. Given there are different levels between the others, but they should all work fine.

[gotigers]

CMMG would be a great way to go if your on a tight budget. Buying good productoin AR will be cheaper than building with quality parts. Starting with a CMMG bargain bin flat top M4gery rifle, then learning and upgrading as you go will get you going.