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I had the same delima. I was looking at a base model Colt, but when I looked at what I got from the Rock River "Operator" package for right at 1000 bucks, it was an easy decision for me to go with the Rock River. I used the extra money to buy an Eotech 512 holographic sight.

That being said, I am not in law enforcement, and I don't compete (but I am sure the Rock River would be just fine in a competition). That being said, I purchsed the "gussied" up model of the Rock River line.

You can buy a really stripped down DPMS for really cheap, but to get a nice one with the rails, grips, upgraded trigger, better barrel, etc, it's going to run more money...but it will be a better rifle.

Colts are nice, but you pay a premium for the dancing pony in my opinion.

I have a Colt Mod 6731, years ago when I bought it Colt was the thing to have and there weren't near as many choices, but now there are and I'm not seeing anything that would make it $400 better. Maybe collector value someday.

I thought long and hard about buying a Colt, but I went with BCM instead. My upper cost me $510 (including the BCG & charging handle) and I purchased a cosmetic blemish lower with a Magpul MOE buttstock and pistol grip for $321. Add shipping and FFL fees and it cost me roughly $900 for an AR that I consider superior to a Colt. BCM has a great reputation for quality parts and construction.

I crossed Colt off the list when they did the non-mil-spec take down pin. Are they still that way?

I'd go BCM or LMT upper complete and either a LMT Defender 2000 lower or build up a nice lower of good quality and a Daniel Defense LPK or a G&R Tactical LPK and put on the stock of choice.

I put my BCM/LMT hybrid together for $875 or so.

AndyC wrote:Colt is nice if you're a collector - but there's nothing a Colt AR does better than any of the other decent brands, to the best of my knowledge.

Depends on the brand. Colts testing and bcg are superior to what some companies are offering.


Iirc all colts still ship with an m-16 bolt.

Just out of interest, do Colt make a left-handed version?

It was the LH thing that sold me on my Stag, which I have no complaints about.

I considered, for about a minute, buying a left handed Stag. Then I thought about it, and realized it was not worth the increase in price. The empty casings do not come back at you, and ambi safeties are about $20. Those 2 things are the only things I can see that would make any noticeable difference. The bolt catch is easily operated with the right hand, and the mag release, in my opinion, is already in the optimal place for a lefty.

All that being said, I picked up my S&W M&P15OR (the same one in the link from eureka40) for $699 with the $100 mail in rebate, for a total of $599. I have yet to have a problem with it after a few thousand rounds.

buy the springfeild socom 16 .308

sybarra wrote:buy the springfeild socom 16 .308

But then you have a rifle stuffed full of MIM parts. I have an armorer friend who has a few military contracts and he has to rebuild most M1A's guts b/c of the inferior metal used on most internal parts before they will meet his contract stipulations. He said the contractor knew of the weaknesses and negotiated the modifications into the contract itself.

I love me some SOCOM16/SOCOM II, but I have held off getting one after he educated me on a few things and also seeing TAM's M1A fail after a few rounds and being brand new basically.

I find most people saying that their (RRA, stag, BM, CMMG, etc) rifle is just as good as a Colt (Or BCM, Noveske, LWCR, LMT) don't "work" with their rifles.

Some of the first group make decent guns for the price point, but when the idea of a fighting rifle is discussed - all of that high pressure testing, bolt carrier group quality, fit, stuff starts coming into play. These cheaper rifles are more than capable for most hobbyist, competitor, and even someones HD use. Heck many LE agencies go with these brands because of value(TxDPS comes to mind). When the zombies come (read: combat) and rounds start flying, there won't be weapon cleaning or replacement parts. That's why the military uses the higher priced weapons - they will be utterly tortured.