AR15 purchase..Bushmaster, Panther Arms, or Rock River?

cad

cad

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Guys,

Considering an AR-15 purchase in the very near future. It will be used mainly for plinking. Now I'm trying to decide between the Panther Arms AP4 carbine FS has on the webpage for sale, a Bushmaster M4 carbine from FS, or a Rock River TASC Rifle from AR15sales.com.

Any pro's/cons of these specific models?
 
I haven't had any problems with my Rock River and everyone says their trigger is the best.
 
I got my Bushmaster M4 from FS and have been very pleased so far. I don't have experience with the others.
 
I'm happy with my Olympic.

Note that Rock River was one of the firms which made match rifles for the CMP club programs.
 
I know Bushmaster customer service is top notch.

And Rock River is a very good black rifle. You can't go wrong with either.
 
I've had no problems with the Bushmasters I own.

The Lauer is a little tight in the mag-well, some mags won't drop free.

The Stag has a very tight upper to lower fit, much tighter than I like.(I sometimes need to smack it relatively hard to separate them.)
 
I vote that you go with the Rock River from ar15sales.com. I purchased a mass compliant AR from Pete a few months ago...worth the wait (12 weeks).

I shot a mass compliant bushmaster yesterday...I do not recommend you go with bushmaster.

Let me explain...There is no doubt that bushmaster makes one of the finest ARs. However, when an AR is made to be mass compliant the manufacturer has to make decision regarding what to do with the end of the barrel. I have seen two ways bushmaster makes a mass compliant AR...

(1) Straight barrel...nothing on the end, like a shotgun.

(2) A fake flash hider...looks tacticool...however, it shoots fire like a flame thrower. This is the way the AR was set up that I shot yesterday. The flash was so profound that it made rapid follow-up shots almost impossible. The flash was so bad that if I owned the weapon it would have seen very litter use. Are all mass compliant bushmasters like this? I do not know...but what ever I shot was horrible...very bad. Also, I should mention that the same ammo in my RRA produced almost no flash.

Again, Bushmaster is one of the best AR manufactures! However, they may not be the best choice for Massachusetts customers.

Here is my RRA from ar15sales.com:

ar1.jpg
 
massnee,

Do you remember what kind of muzzle brake was on the Bushmaster? I was checking their website and they have a few different ones.
I am alos curious what muzzle brake you have ?

Thanks,

Andrew.
p.s.
Beautiful rifle by the way.
 
andy t said:
massnee,

I am alos curious what muzzle brake you have ?

Thanks,

Andrew.
p.s.
Beautiful rifle by the way.
Click to expand...

I believe that's one of Pete in New Hampshires fake press-on flash suppressors.

They're a nice looking in-between alternative to a straight barrel and muzzle brake for those in MA.
 
andy t said:
massnee,

Do you remember what kind of muzzle brake was on the Bushmaster? I was checking their website and they have a few different ones.
I am alos curious what muzzle brake you have ?

Thanks,

Andrew.
p.s.
Beautiful rifle by the way.
Click to expand...

Andrew, I am not sure what kind of device was on the end of the bushy. I also have no idea what is on the end of my rifle. Whatever it is it works very well at reducing muzzle flash. I almost wonder if RRA made a mistake and put a real flash suppressor on my rifle. Here are some picks:

RRAb1.jpg


RRAb2.jpg


RRAb3.jpg
 
Thanks fo all the input so far guys, looks like it's down to the RRA and the Bushy. I'll go check both out in person.
 
massnee said:
Andrew, I am not sure what kind of device was on the end of the bushy. I also have no idea what is on the end of my rifle. Whatever it is it works very well at reducing muzzle flash. I almost wonder if RRA made a mistake and put a real flash suppressor on my rifle.
Click to expand...

No, it's not a mistake. Rather, you just discovered one of the biggest
flaws in the dumb MA aw laws. While a muzzle brake is legal, and a
flash supressor is not, it's very possible to have a device with a design intent
of being a brake that also "coincidentally" reduces muzzle flash. Since
theres no specification laid out for this in the law, IMO, if the manufacturer
calls it a "muzzle break" then it's up to the state to tell you that it isn't- and
I honestly don't know what criteria they would use to establish that it
isn't. If it reduces recoil/flip at all, it is a brake. Even the ATF never
really vetted this out fully. they never came out and said anything like "Well,
if the rifle breathes fire, then its a brake, and if not, then its a flash supressor."

-Mike
 
massnee said:
(2) A fake flash hider...looks tacticool...however, it shoots fire like a flame thrower. This is the way the AR was set up that I shot yesterday. The flash was so profound that it made rapid follow-up shots almost impossible. The flash was so bad that if I owned the weapon it would have seen very litter use. Are all mass compliant bushmasters like this? I do not know...but what ever I shot was horrible...very bad. Also, I should mention that the same ammo in my RRA produced almost no flash.
Click to expand...

No, the Bushmaster Modular Carbine and the SuperLights don't have
brakes on them, nor do any of the heavy ass target
guns. (eg HBAR, CMP, Varminter, etc) The reason people order the brakes is
because they look "tacti cool" but if I was limited to a ban style AR, I'd
either use one of the fake FH's or just a plain jane barrel. IMO most
brakes are just nasty noise generators, especially on an AR. Of course
they vary greatly from brake to brake. From the sounds of it, it looks like
you've had a run in with bushmasters wonderful "mini-Y" comp. That
thing is awful. It's noisy and it spits flame. About the only thing it
is good for is clearing a range out and getting other shooters to
leave, if you don't go deaf from it first. [laugh]


-Mike
 
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