Quality vs junk AR15 parts

Good to know. Thanks!

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Didnt they fix those issues about 3-4 years ago? I know they used to be crap but I thought they came around. I know a competitive shooter that has one, he only uses it as a back up but I think he said its at about 15k rounds with the bolt just shearing off a lug.

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Colt really is just the bare minimum for a ā€œfighting rifleā€. They have good QC and all and they are as ā€œmil specā€ as you can get but Mil Spec is pretty shitty in comparison to whats available today. Improvements like midlength gas systems, triggers, buffer systems, free float tubes etc are all huge improvements to AR system over ā€œmil specā€.

I like my Colt but it really is pretty crude by todays standard.

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Not disagreeing with the guys who have much more experience than I with repairing ARs, but I have owned 3 Stag ARs (still own one) all right handedā€¦no lefties; and they were all accurate rifles that ran without fail and never gave me a lick of trouble. Maybe Iā€™m just lucky, but that is my personal experience with Stag.

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I know that just before and after their owner was busted by the ATF their quality control and service sucked. My biggest experience is with their left hand gunsā€¦
The machining tolerances are just not there. They are like Midwest industriesā€¦ more of a hit n miss with a lot more misses. Hahhaha

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Good! Always good to hear about people without issues.
Something I usually have to consider is that when I see guns, it is because there is an issueā€¦ not that they are running great and they just need an oil change.
If I have brands that consistently come into the shop with issuesā€¦ I stop recommending those brandsā€¦

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Might also be(i am only guessing here) that they make both crap and quality , kind of like PSA with their freedom vs premium lines.

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:thinking:
Could very well do thatā€¦ if they do, another reason not to like them. Either put out quality or go into the ranks of HI-Point

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This does make sense, those crappy rifles do damage their credibility. Its hard to believe that 3-4 years ago PSA was comparable to Spikes, now they are more comparable to DPMS.

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YES!!! EXACTLY!!!:+1::+1::+1::+1::+1:

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Now PSA has been complete crap in my experience. Bad barrels, out of spec partsā€¦poor quality control. I just donā€™t buy any of their junk anymore.

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Stick with their premium line and you should be ok. The ptac is complete trash(imo) and the freedom line is ā€œiffyā€. Big things to look out for is buffer tubes (make sure they are staked or have loctite on the threads), BCGs (check staking on the gas key) and out of spec gas ports. If you know how to diagnose and work on an AR15 most problems should not be a big issue. For the price I really like their premium line but then again I know how to tinker with my rifle and have no issue with replacing small parts here and there. Just my 2 cents, ymmv.

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Iā€™ll take High Standard or Brownells over a CMMG part. Their complete guns seem to run, but every home built gun Iā€™ve ever had to fix was due to out of spec CMMG LPK pieces.

LBE has been my ā€œgo toā€ for small parts for a lot more lately. Iā€™m very appreciative of their price:quality ratio. Not top of the line, but definitely priced right.

I used to hand fit the CMMG parts, but my time was worth more than a replacement LPK from Spikes or LBE.

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Ok, Iā€™ve heard more than once that DPMS is junk. Soā€¦ I have an old AR10 that I got about 20 years ago. Iā€™ve probably only put 1K rounds through it. Itā€™s super accurate and has never given a single problem. I did put a Jewell trigger in it. What issues can I expect from this rifle? It has the 24" stainless fluted bull barrel. If itā€™s really going to be a turd later on, now is a good time to know.

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Its probably good to go. You would most likely see the problems in the first couple hundred rounds.

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Itā€™s funnyā€¦ people call them junk but the only thing specific Iā€™ve ever heard is the lower cracking around the pins after several thousand rounds of abuse.

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I dont know about now but used to be there were alot of small things such as using sub par bolts, using commercial buffer tubes, they didnt like to stake or loctite the castle nut, they didnt properly stake the gas key etcā€¦from what ive seen their .308 platform has alot less issues then their older AR15s, thats all I have to go off.

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I have had no issues using a DPMS upper on a build I did. It hasnā€™t gone through thousands of rounds yet but we shall see. It was originally going to be a truck gun riding around with me on the old property I sold off in NC, but the underfolder AK took its place.

Also +1 to @RogueGunnWorks. My S&W M&P 15 sports my Aimpoint Pro and is my workhorse.

Hereā€™s that DPMS upper. Less sand and pine trees here in GAā€¦ the oogily paint job needs an update to match the local vegetation.

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What I have run into with customerā€™s rifles is the parts just wearing out prematurely on DPMSā€¦ or, very sloppy fit and finish that leads to the inevitable (my rifle is not very accurate)

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What a great post. Nothing beats real world experience. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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