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Good deal for a first timer?


http://www.gtdist.com/ProductDetail.asp ... WA3F16M4TX" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


* A3 (removable) carry handle
* Stepped 16” chrome lined 1/9 “ barrel with flashhider
* Oversize hand guard
* 6 position butt stock with staked castle nut
* M4 feed cuts
* Carrier key screws staked
* Sling
* One 30 round magazine
* Hard case
* Texas Star Stamped

At today's prices, yes, that is probably a good price for a fully assembled M4. Bushmaster makes pretty good quality rifles. There are better rifles, but also lots of rifles that are not as good. I own a Bushmaster 24" Varminter, and I like it a lot. It is pretty accurate if I do my part. It functions very well, and I've never had a single malfunction with it.

Fair deal

Stepped 16” chrome lined 1/9 “ barrel with flash hider
You wont be able to shoot the heavier rounds...62 grain is about the highest you will be able to shoot and keep stable

With the massive volume of sales on AR style rifles its surprising the price isn't more...

Did you happen to see my Sub $600 AR link (you can select 16" barrel with either 1/9 or 1/7)...you can build about the same thing for less than $600 bucks (you have to buy a stripped receiver..but the rest of the "kit" has everything you need to build an AR just like that (that extra $200 could be then used for ammo!) [aka 500 rounds at aimsurplus.com for $179.95]

But for getting a "bushmaster" thats NOT a bad deal!

Thank you, now thats something that i didnt know.

So with a Chromoly i can shoot heavier rounds then?

dihappy wrote:Thank you, now thats something that i didnt know.

So with a Chromoly i can shoot heavier rounds then?

Must be...

My Bushmaster has a 1:9 barrel, and shoots the 68 and 69 grain SMKs the best, but it doesn't seem to like bullet weights under that either. It will function just fine with any bullet weight, but accuracy drops off above and below that 68-69 grain weight. OTH, my barrel is a 24" bull barrel and it is chrome moly, 8" longer than yours and not chrome lined, so maybe that makes a difference. My son's RRA with a 1:8 twist shoots the 75 and 77 grain SMKs the best, also from a 24" bull barrel, but his is stainless.

I'm still learning about all this AR stuff myself.

It is the faster twist that allows you to shoot heavier bullets, not whether it is chomoly.

1:9 will stabilize heavier bullets than the earlier 1:12.

1:7 will stabilize heavier bullets than 1:9.

"Due to increased demand, we are currently out of stock on this item but we have many on order. We are still accepting new orders and will fulfill all orders placed in the order that they are received. Thank you for your patience."

Duh!!! I wonder why???

Chromemoly is just the type of steel the barrel is made out of...light and very wear resistant (standard AR barrel material)

Chrome lined bore was made to lengthen the lifespan of the bore/rifling by putting a MUCH stronger coating that resists wear from the high velocity rounds.

1:8 twist is actually a very good rate..my brother has the bushmaster 20" bull barrel for varmint hunting...he says it stabilizes everything from 55 all the way up to the 77grainers. In fact his likes the heavier stuff the 75grain Hornadays gets 1/4" at 100 yards.

Thats great info guys! THanks so much for educating me.

I now know what to look for or ask for when selecting a barrel.

I have another question.

Can anyone explain the difference between 5.56 and .223 lowers?

If i understood correctly, a 5.56 lower will accept both, but a .223 will only accept .223, is that correct?

And why is that? What differences dictate the round acceptability?

Is it better to get a 5.56 lower then?

I think the upper matters more for .223/5.56.

I dont think the lower will matter.

In fact, for most people, they'd argue they are interchangable. I'd check what your barrel/upper is rated at. You should see a stamp on the barrel somewhere that'd say.

Technically, a rifle rated for 5.56 can shoot .223 but not the other way around.

If price isn't an object, go for 5.56. I'm pretty sure you can find something within your price range that'll take it. The parts I got from del-ton will.

dihappy wrote:Can anyone explain the difference between 5.56 and .223 lowers?

Lowers don't have a caliber. Lowers don't accept ammo, they accept magazines; the magazines are the same.

For all practical purposes, 5.56 and .223 are the same (unlike 7.62 NATO and .308 Winchester).

KBCraig wrote:

dihappy wrote:Can anyone explain the difference between 5.56 and .223 lowers?

Lowers don't have a caliber. Lowers don't accept ammo, they accept magazines; the magazines are the same.

For all practical purposes, 5.56 and .223 are the same (unlike 7.62 NATO and .308 Winchester).

I agree with nitrogen and KBCraig. Your only concern should be the upper. There has been a lot of discussion in the past, and I think what has been said as a rule of thumb is that if you have a 5.56, you can shoot 5.56 or .223. If you have a .223, stick to .223 and don't go 5.56. Here's a decent site explaining the subtle differences.

nitrogen wrote:I think the upper matters more for .223/5.56.

I dont think the lower will matter.

In fact, for most people, they'd argue they are interchangable. I'd check what your barrel/upper is rated at. You should see a stamp on the barrel somewhere that'd say.

Technically, a rifle rated for 5.56 can shoot .223 but not the other way around.

If price isn't an object, go for 5.56. I'm pretty sure you can find something within your price range that'll take it. The parts I got from del-ton will.

True...if the chamber can handle hot loaded NATO combat ammo..it can handle civilian .223

The pressures you see between the designations are confusing..but the 5.56NATO wiki helps explain it better
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.56x45mm_ ... _Remington" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Military cases are generally made from thicker brass than commercial cases; this reduces the powder capacity (an important consideration for handloaders[2]), and the NATO specification allows a higher chamber pressure. NATO EPVAT test barrels made for 5.56mm NATO measure chamber pressure at the case mouth, as opposed to the SAAMI location. This difference accounts for upwards of 140 MPa (20,000 psi) difference in pressure measurements. That means that the NATO EPVAT maximum pressure of 430 Mpa (62,366 psi) for 5.56mm NATO, is around 540 MPA (78,000 psi) tested in .223 Remington SAAMI test barrels

NATO brass is usually thicker and can handle more pressure...plus in order to facilitate many different manufacturers of NATO ammo the chamber is usually allowed a bit more "slop" in its dimensions which allow the brass to expand further...civilian thin walled ammo may stretch and get too thin and rupture..but you usually see that in multiple reloads of the same brass

Get the barrel specifying 5.56 not .223, otherwise do NOT shoot Milsurp ammo in it

And yes...7.62 NATO chambers are unsafe to shoot .308 Winchester...the slop in NATO can be in the very dangerous ranges for .308 Winchester brass...even though I have never talked to anyone that has personally seen a catastrophic kaboom. I still shoot Milsurp 7.62 NATO in my Ishapore 2A just to be safe.

KBCraig wrote: Lowers don't have a caliber. Lowers don't accept ammo, they accept magazines; the magazines are the same.

Yup, in fact the same lower (.223/5.56) could be used with a .458 SOCOM upper and also use the same magazines.

For all practical purposes, 5.56 and .223 are the same (unlike 7.62 NATO and .308 Winchester).

The cartridges are nearly identical, but you'll get greater pressure from the 5.56.

The chamber throat (Leade) is different....so you can shoot .223 from a 5.56 chambered barrel, but you may experience a slight loss in accuracy. Most folks don't recommend you shoot 5.56 in a .223 chambered barrel because of the possibility of a pressure spike (the Leade is shorter). There are reamers available to convert the .223 configuration to 5.56

For best accuracy and safety....use the ammo intended for the chamber of your particular weapon.