New AR Tier Chart

[Brad69]

Carbine 1 is about 250/300 so it’s not high round count class.

Carbine 2 is going to be about 500.

 

[Expat]

The home builds are not surprising because that is what I have read that the big national trainers have observed. They said if they have a rifle go down it is invariably a home build. I am a little surprised that PSA is that bad. Anderson doesn't surprise me. I got one of their lowers where the grip screw wasn't threaded deep enough, so I have always had a bad impression of them.

 

[Brad69]

IMO
PSA quality control is spotty some are ok and some all out of wack.
I think the two that were shooting all over place had faulty barrels.

 

[DadSmith]

So here is the “list” !

This a sample of 5 classes about 80 students. I have excluded user induced malfunctions.
Wilson - 0
SIG - 0
SA- 0
Ruger - 0
LaRue - 0
Bushmaster - 0
DPMS - 0
Colt - 0
FN - 0
Windham - 0
HK - 0
LWRC - 0
BCM - 0

PSA - 4 broken firing pin, bad extractor spring , failure to extract , multiple stove pipes

Anderson - 3 pattern like a shotgun like 12 MOA x 2 , bad trigger spring

S&W - 1 weapon was dirty but should have worked IMO

DD - 1 broken trigger spring it was a LEO duty weapon

Frankengun - 10 too many to list

Other
Bren - 0
Beretta - 0
All AK,s - 0

Wow I'm surprised that several are considered lower mid tier yet preformed well.
Ruger
Springfield
Bushmaster
Dpms
Colt depending on which rifle you buy.

 

[sheepdog697]

New LMT QC should probably move them down a few tiers on this chart.

 

[Gabriel]

Wow I'm surprised that several are considered lower mid tier yet preformed well.
Ruger
Springfield
Bushmaster
Dpms
Colt depending on which rifle you buy.

To be fair, anything should run for 500 rounds. That's a pretty low round count.

 

[DadSmith]

To be fair, anything should run for 500 rounds. That's a pretty low round count.

Should. a DD and S&W went down 4 PSA.

This again is why I say buy, clean it lube it and run it at least 1k rds lube as needed no cleaning. If your rifle or pistol can't handle that you better fix it or get rid of it. That's a bare minimum. Run the self defense rds you plan to use as well.

 

[Gabriel]

The home builds are not surprising because that is what I have read that the big national trainers have observed. They said if they have a rifle go down it is invariably a home build. I am a little surprised that PSA is that bad. Anderson doesn't surprise me. I got one of their lowers where the grip screw wasn't threaded deep enough, so I have always had a bad impression of them.

I'm not. My experience with PSA is building the rifles people bought as kits from PSA. I've noticed every time that the springs are weak. You can just put the pivot pin spring and detente in by hand with no tools easily by hand without a tool. When building from a reputable lower parts kit, installing those particular springs is substantially more difficult. It's a small thing, but it says a lot about the quality of the PSA products as a whole. There is also a reason that, even during a panic, PSA is still churning out rifles when reputable companies are long out of stock... they will source parts from anywhere.

 

[Creedmoor]

To be fair, anything should run for 500 rounds. That's a pretty low round count.

My Thing 2 did MC jungle warfare training in Okinawa a few years back. In a 24 period he shot during a live fire about 2400 hundred rounds out of his FN M4, he said when it started slowing down pops, I hosed the bolt down through the eject port and like Dave Chappelle says.
****** I'm back in the Game.

While they were doing the 3-4 weeks in the jungle at Camp Gonsalves when covid started and when they walked out they were given the option to go back to a locked down base or go back in the jungle for another month. Back in for another month.

That platform likes running wett.

 

[Brad69]

Carbine 2 is in the books !
Round count about 350
S&W - 0
DD warrior poet - 0
PSA - 0
Anderson - 0
Franken gun - 1 failures to extract that’s one out of five present

I used my SIG MCX to demo - 0
@nad63 used his home build to demo - 0
@SmileDocHill used whatever he has - 0

 

[OneBadV8]

Carbine 2 is in the books !
Round count about 350
S&W - 0
DD warrior poet - 0
PSA - 0
Anderson - 0
Franken gun - 1 failures to extract that’s one out of five present

I used my SIG MCX to demo - 0
@nad63 used his home build to demo - 0
@SmileDocHill used whatever he has - 0

Does @SmileDocHill still have the giant barrel one? Like an 18” or 20”?

 

[Brad69]

No he was shooting something different it seemed to be normal carbine length.

 

[SmileDocHill]

Does @SmileDocHill still have the giant barrel one? Like an 18” or 20”?

I still have it but it has been relegated as my prairie dog gun. I was shooting a poverty pony with a broken leg. (Anderson blemish lower, self built upper)
I had forgotten about that. for those who don't know he's talking about me taking a defensive carbine class with an over 20 inch barrel varminter/target style AR. I'm having a tough time counting how many years ago that was. :-)

 

[camaroz2808]

Always thought Daniel Defense was way up there but I guess I'm too much in the poverty level to know.

 

[DadSmith]

Does KAK make a good AR-15?

 

[edwea]

I've heard good things about kak. I prefer their handguards on my builds. Their upgraded bolts and bolt carriers are worth a look too. I would put them in mid tier a or b.

 

[DadSmith]

Budget AR-15 uppers both shooting 1 moa with proper ammunition.

As I've said before AR-15's are accurate with anything but M193 and M855. Go with heavier bullets as in 69gr to 77gr. Unless you have a 1/12 twist. But 1/7 or 1/8 twist barrel will shoot better with heavier bullets.
Can a cheapo barrel shoot moa. Yes they can.
Can a BCA barrel shoot moa yes they can.

 

[Osprey]

Meh. Marketing ploy. Any weapon, name brand to home build, are basically the same unless you're doing it for money/professionally or shooting thousands of rounds a day. Bottom line is they are all lethal and they will keeeeell.

 

[sixGuns]

After watching Garand Thumb's video on the PSA $300 upper the only "serious" con I can really see is the barrel gets shot out pretty quick. Now, I'm not saying there are other nitpicks, but if one is trying to upgrade something like this over time..

PSA AR-15 Rifle Kit

What would you do to make it more bulletproof? I mean, I'm not talking about something to traverse the wasteland with during the end times. More along the lines of a 'decent' rifle that won't let you down if you do your part to keep it there.

If so many uppers & lowers are all made from the same materials and mil-spec why does it matter what the roll mark says? I'm not against high end brands, just generally curious as I'm finally getting around to building one from a lower I bought years ago and never used. Initially I'd rather allocate more towards ammo and some rifle classwork.

Also, are these a waste?

Leapers UTG Accurizing Wedge AR-15

 

[Osprey]

After watching Garand Thumb's video on the PSA $300 upper the only "serious" con I can really see is the barrel gets shot out pretty quick. Now, I'm not saying there are other nitpicks, but if one is trying to upgrade something like this over time..

PSA AR-15 Rifle Kit

What would you do to make it more bulletproof? I mean, I'm not talking about something to traverse the wasteland with during the end times. More along the lines of a 'decent' rifle that won't let you down if you do your part to keep it there.

If so many uppers & lowers are all made from the same materials and mil-spec why does it matter what the roll mark says? I'm not against high end brands, just generally curious as I'm finally getting around to building one from a lower I bought years ago and never used. Initially I'd rather allocate more towards ammo and some rifle classwork.

Also, are these a waste?

Leapers UTG Accurizing Wedge AR-15

I think it's like everything else. People buy based on name brand. Whether it be for reliability or part of the "Joneses". That's the great thing about having options and choices. I am not a metallurgist but I make sure the barrel is at least made known metals and i don't trust the thin barrel type that I believe would run hotter than a heavy barrel. One thing I am picky about is the bolt. I've seen so many lousy made shot-peened bolts of all prices! I make sure I get a bolt that looks aligned and tight. As for the wedge, I almost bought some but decided not to. If the rifle you built or purchased is incredibly loose and makes a lot of noise, either you built it with bad parts or it was built badly by the company. The wedge might fix it but fortunately, I haven't needed one.