Back then I was on a couple forums and you wouldn't believe the Chronic A-holery exhibited when I asked people supposedly in the know about my new AR. Now I have been training with military and LEO guys for many years and been around guns and owned them for over 40 years and I have never seen before any single platform so filled with D-bags in my life. I think it's because a lot of these people on forums with ARs are young. They are in mommy's basement telling me how my gun ain't **** because it isn't a Daniel Defense, with a BCA BCG and blah, effing blah.
^ I do think there's that crowd.
There's also the Gucci-gun/snob crowd, too.
But there are also those who truly are industry SMEs -like those in that marathon of a 4-hour P&S ModCast- who are truly trying to educate the newer and/or less knowledgeable/experienced out there about the actual and oftentimes invisible to the naked-eye difference between parts of differing QA/QC tiers.
Odds are I could shoot circles around those guys the very first time I shot it. Odds also are that even though they say **** like, " If it's time to hide them it's time to use them", they would break down like little girls if they were ever in a situation where someone was shooting at them, much less some people that know what they're doing. I could take them to any given street I work on, on any given day and they would be pissing their pants. The last thing I am interested in is getting advice about anything from morons like that. So I no longer involve myself in any internet forums that are gun related ( Other than this one).
^ Ah, but that interjects a lot of external factors to the discussion.
It's not really about whether or not a gun will function on a mechanical level or even how well that gun shoots (even excepting end-user and ammo differences), but just the merits of manufacturing.
Both of these rather subjective manifestations of objective factors has the HUGE variability of the end-user interjected into the equation.
A novice buyer may not even recognize that the high-end complete rifle that he was handed off-the-rack at the LGS actually missed critical QA/QC for some weirdness of production, and didn't, for example, have a properly staked receiver end-plate or even a mis-aligned hand guard. Should the buyer miss that level of scrutiny, what's the likelihood that they'd realize that the gas-block/tube alignment may also be off or that the gas key staking was improper or even absent? What's the likelihood that they'll note problems with headspace of the bolt, or even understand why certain of their magazines may fall free, while others not?
This, versus a well-experienced shooter like yourself. Someone who knows the platform can pick that winner of an Anderson or even Aero lower by checking on-the-spot at the store, even without gauging and before taking possession -or even return it to the manufacturer- that the critical dimensions are good-to-go, and so-forth.
None of this applies to you
@TSiWRX, I'm just ranting.
Understood, bruddah. No worries there.
And the same goes back to you as well. The reason why I am taking the counterpoint is to show that there's two different ways to think about this, that's all.
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And I'm just saying that most "Budget friendly" ARs are going to be fairly decent quality.
Pretty much.
I tend to see it like a lot of other consumer goods these days: that by-and-far, most of the stuff really is pretty darned good!
As for me, the first place I will spend "High end" money on ARs will be on triggers, BCGs and barrels. As far as the " Intended use" question I'll say this. I am a guy who has been shot at several times, had to dive in holes more times than I can count, I've been stabbed 3 times in my life and I am no stranger to pain or fighting and I am not scared ****less every time I hear or see bullets flying around me. Nevertheless, I am under no illusion that I need a combat worthy AR-15. If I did, I would absolutely buy a Noveske and stick an ACOG on it. There is a 99.9% chance that the only place any of mine will ever be fired is on the range. That said, my crappy Anderson/BCA 10.5", unbraced, Viridian HS-1 and Romeo 5 equipped 5.56 pistol has my complete confidence should I ever need to defend myself or my family in my home with it. And that sir, is good enough for me.
^ So, let's be brutally honest - most of us (especially the newcomers) don't know you from Jim or Jack, but just about everyone knows this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YbuK8SAfU Kris Paronto, more affectionately known as "Tanto," is one of the most recognized names in the military community, and for
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