Best Hard-Use AR15s in 2022?

[SecondsCount]

A buddy has a LaRue OBR and a BCM Mk. 12. The BCM has been flawless and shoots 1/2moa. The OBR took nearly a year to show up. It has a nonstandard chamber, seems overgassed even unsupressed, and is less accurate. He regrets buying the LaRue.

Similar to Geissele, I hear good and bad about LaRue.

Years ago, LaRue had issues with their OBR barrels made in house. LaRue will take them back and check them out if there are issues.

About five years ago my friend bought one in 260 and it shoots fantastic. I have seen him shoot two five shot groups that were in the .4s and .5s, and had no issues engaging targets out to 1200 yards. What impresses me more is that the gun has been 100% reliable.

He also has a 20" 308 UUR kit and it shoots sub MOA. My son built a 6.5C UUR kit and traded it off to a guy who hunts with it. The feedback from him is that it runs and shoots sub MOA.

[HCM]

Fair points, to be sure.

And yeah, I'm aware there is a market for the bearded tattooed stick it to the man type. I don't find it appealing, but to each their own. On a more tangible level, I don't want anything on my gun that could be construed to make me out to be some kind of violent person or extremist, seeing as we are in an age where even things that shouldn't be used to consider whether a self defense shooting was justified, are indeed considered.

Let’s just say SOLGW offers the “vanilla” rebellious strips and L9 lowers for a reason.

[HCM]

Similar to Geissele, I hear good and bad about LaRue.

Years ago, LaRue had issues with their OBR barrels made in house. LaRue will take them back and check them out if there are issues.

About five years ago my friend bought one in 260 and it shoots fantastic. I have seen him shoot two five shot groups that were in the .4s and .5s, and had no issues engaging targets out to 1200 yards. What impresses me more is that the gun has been 100% reliable.

He also has a 20" 308 UUR kit and it shoots sub MOA. My son built a 6.5C UUR kit and traded it off to a guy who hunts with it. The feedback from him is that it runs and shoots sub MOA.

LaRue’s early rifles used Lothar Walther barrels. My Larue 308 has a Lothar Walther barrel. They are exceptionally accurate. The current barrels on the stealth uppers and UUR kits are also quite accurate.

There were some issues with their early in-house barrels. In summary, for reasons discussed up thread, their transition to in house barrel production may have been involuntary and therefore a bit … rushed.

[19852+]

What is your definition of “premium?” CHF ? Accuracy ? Durability ?

BA makes most of their barrels but they are not “BA” barrels. BA makes them to SOLGW spec. BA also OEMs for several other companies.

Other than some being a little over gassed they are good barrels. They will perform on par with a Colt 6920. Which is what SOLGW is “shooting” for.

Like almost everyone else in the industry with “premium” BCG (Colt, DD, etc) SOLGW’s BCG come from MicroBest.

My Noveske has a “premium” barrel. It’s exceptionally accurate and has proven reliable, but it’s overgassed. I wouldn’t consider it suitable for “hard use.”

So BA barrels have a tendency to be over gassed? Interesting, my example of one BA barrel is plenty accurate and it forms the heart of my dedicated iron sight gun but it is over gassed. Many will say that the ideal ejection pattern is in the 3-4:00 area and that over gassed is 2:00. Well my BA equipped upper was more like 1-1:30 o'clock. Until I put a Geissele super 42 spring and H2 buffer in it. Now it's 3:00, exactly, which I'll call good enough for my uses.
My more serious AR's have a Colt or Centurion barrel. The iron sight gun is for fun.

[rob_s]

And yeah, I'm aware there is a market for the bearded tattooed stick it to the man type. I don't find it appealing, but to each their own.

Funnily enough, I have a beard and tattoos, and have been accused of having a problem with authority, and even I don’t want anything to do with those kinds of companies that market to that.

Nor the types that market to the Walter Mitty types.

[HCM]

So BA barrels have a tendency to be over gassed? Interesting, my example of one BA barrel is plenty accurate and it forms the heart of my dedicated iron sight gun but it is over gassed. Many will say that the ideal ejection pattern is in the 3-4:00 area and that over gassed is 2:00. Well my BA equipped upper was more like 1-1:30 o'clock. Until I put a Geissele super 42 spring and H2 buffer in it. Now it's 3:00, exactly, which I'll call good enough for my uses.
My more serious AR's have a Colt or Centurion barrel. The iron sight gun is for fun.

No idea if BA’s own barrels are over gassed as Ive only experience with the barrels they’ve made / OEM’ed for SOLGW and Aero. Aero now owns BA but they make barrels for several companies.

The point is that any company that OEM’s for others makes things to the specifications set by the customer.

So while BA makes SOLGW’s barrels they are not the same barrels. BA sets their gas port size, chamber spec etc and SOLGW sets their own gas port size, chamber etc

Same with FN who OEMs for multiple other companies.

The barrel in an FN Tac 2 is not identical to the barrels FN makes for PSA ($200), BCM ($300) or Hodge Defense ($400).

The gas port, chamber, throat, bore and level of QC / reject rate are what the customer specifies and is willing to pay for.

[stinx]

MY agency has had great success with our LWRC rifles. YMMV

[TGS]

The gas port, chamber, throat, bore and level of QC / reject rate are what the customer specifies and is willing to pay for.

And to add on/clarify the extreme other end that equation that represents low end brands, they just get whatever is shipped and don't even know the specifications themselves because none were set. They may be buying components from the same manufacturer as another high end brand, but they are commonly buying reject lots that didn't meet specification. They're just looking for X number of component for Y price, and those specs such as port size can change from lot-to-lot.

Perfect example: Palmetto State Armory has great customer service and wanted to answer a customer question on ARFCOM about port size for a specific SKU but didn't know the answer, so the CS dude asked the technical guys, who also didn't know. They just simply didn't know what they were buying, because there was no specification at all. That tells you more about the quality of the product than the actual answer of port size.

And that's how you're able to get an assembled upper for $179, and why it just might not be the equal of an upper than costs $800. (To be clear, I'm not a hater, I own both )

[HCM]

And to add on/clarify the extreme other end that equation that represents low end brands, they just get whatever is shipped and don't even know the specifications themselves because none were set. They may be buying components from the same manufacturer as another high end brand, but they are commonly buying reject lots that didn't meet specification. They're just looking for X number of component for Y price, and those specs such as port size can change from lot-to-lot.

Perfect example: Palmetto State Armory has great customer service and wanted to answer a customer question on ARFCOM about port size for a specific SKU but didn't know the answer, so the CS dude asked the technical guys, who also didn't know. They just simply didn't know what they were buying, because there was no specification at all. That tells you more about the quality of the product than the actual answer of port size.

And that's how you're able to get an assembled upper for $179, and why it just might not be the equal of an upper than costs $800. (To be clear, I'm not a hater, I own both )

In fairness to PSA, they used to be notorious for that back when they had four separate quality levels, PSA Premium (FN barrels etc), PSA, freedom and PTAC. PTAC were literally other companies scraps and rejects and were notorious for being out of spec.

Tony Soprano said there’s a lot of money in garbage. PSA was able to leverage that money into acquiring manufacturing facilities and other companies to begin making many components such as receivers and barrens in house. At this time it appears they offer their in-house barrels and FM source barrels. I believe F.N also makes all of the PSA/DPMS AK barrels.

Proud, but PSA got into the AK business by buying an existing USA company with a good reputation. Ironically the current PSA/DPMS AKs are superior to their AR’s.

[titsonritz]

In fairness to PSA, they used to be notorious for that back when they had four separate quality levels, PSA Premium (FN barrels etc), PSA, freedom and PTAC. PTAC were literally other companies scraps and rejects and were notorious for being out of spec.

Tony Soprano said there’s a lot of money in garbage. PSA was able to leverage that money into acquiring manufacturing facilities and other companies to begin making many components such as receivers and barrens in house. At this time it appears they offer their in-house barrels and FM source barrels. I believe F.N also makes all of the PSA/DPMS AK barrels.

Proud, but PSA got into the AK business by buying an existing USA company with a good reputation. Ironically the current PSA/DPMS AKs are superior to their AR’s.

Yeah they've gone all in on AKs, even bought tooling and know-how from an Eastern European ammunition manufacturer to begin domestic production of steel-cased Soviet calibers.