What makes an AR-15 high quality? Just read an article from Pew Pew Tactical (11 Best AR-15s: Ultimate Guide [2022 Hands-On] - Pew Pew Tactical) that list High quality as DDM4®V7® and Entry level as PSA. I have. Stag Arms that wasn’t cheap by any measure and it’s just as good as my PSA ARs. They are all mail spec lower and upper receivers so what makes one better than the other? The add ons?
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To me the big items are barrel, trigger, and bolt carrier.
Then the add ons…
And I don’t consider PSA low quality. I consider it a mid tier and up, worthy of upgrades. Otherwise I wouldn’t be buying and supporting them.
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Right. For them to say the PSA AR-15 is entry level is misleading. They just selected the least expensive model available at the time. I would rather articles like this go into more detail about the differences. I’m sure a PSA AR-15 with some upgraded components is just as High Quality as the DD.
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I’m of the opinion that there is way too much price variation in ARs. I don’t understand how PSA keeps their prices so low. Nor do I understand why people are willing to pay what they do for a lot of the Gucci guns. And this is from a guy who has a purchased a few of those Gucci guns through the years, but most of the time for significantly below the MSRP, or I wouldn’t have.
Unless there are proprietary items (i.e. piston systems), a Colt gun should be comparably priced to PSA gun, an LWRC DI to a DD to an FN to any other brand - on their conventional ARs at least. Throw in some coating upgrades, maybe a better trigger, etc., and you can add a couple bills, but I really think a lot of the highest prices some companies expect are simply driven by fanboyism. - cough HK cough 
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I think AR15Parts.com makes some of the highest quality AR15 & AR10 uppers.
If you want a bull barrel that is Threaded.
you wont find a more overpriced AR than DD, IMO
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yeah, I think DD is more name recognition than anything else - good for them - they apparently have excellent marketing.
I just wonder what the comparison would be if they actually tested apples to apples (same components) and not apples to oranges (bull barrels, etc.)
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was discussing PSA AR vs AERO AR and ask the young gentle man if he understood what Mil-Spec meant, and he said yes and that AERO was built to tighter tolerances. So I ask what that did for him and his response was “it just shoots better”. at that point I asked him exactly how much tighter his groups were and that he was referring to quicker cycle times of the BCG, not so much the accuracy.
I finally asked him if his bad guy was deader then mine after we both put 5 rounds in him.
I believe it comes down to what you can afford, what to you plan on using the weapon for.
there are people that believe the more expensive something is the better it has to be.
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I don’t know about you but the BCG operates a lot faster than I can pull the trigger.
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I can’t comment on the AR pricing from experience running an AR business, but the wide range of pricing does remind me of my business, manufacturing high fidelity tube amplifiers for use in home entertainment.
We are the lower price alternative to the companies who mark up their costs 6 to 10 times to arrive at a retail price. The home electronics tube amplifier business has been stable technology for 30 years, so the changes are either ‘features’ that have nothing to do with sound quality, or ‘features’ that only pretend to improve sound quality.
I’m amazed at people spending thousands of dollars for wooden blocks to raise their speaker wires off the floor by an inch or two, or hundreds of dollars for a power cable that according to physics can’t possibly achieve anything audible.
I applaud PSA for bringing AR products to market that the well regulated militia can afford.
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Agreed. I think sometimes the mfr’s also feel like they have to pass along the costs of the sponsorships of shows on the outdoor channels, huge posters at the gun shops and spots in the latest gun (paper and online) magazines. I get that there is a cost there, but shouldn’t that cost be returned on the additional purchases from “getting the word out?” I don’t think the end user should have to pay additional for that. Sorry, just a small peeve of mine.
As for the gimmicky “it makes it so much better” features, I’m with David in that the weakest part of any of my guns is the user. If I perform well, a solid mil-spec AR with my preferred add-ons is extremely effective. If I’m not, even a high end DD or HK isn’t going to get my bullet on a tiny target. Best I can hope for is that my pricier piston guns with fancy coatings need less cleaning attention after the session.
All that to say everyone needs to find their sweet spot. If you have the cash and want a DD, HK or whatever, have at it. Just accept that a skilled “poor” shooting filthy steel cased ammo through an entry level AR will likely get very similar results to yours at the (short to medium distance) range, because the platform is already pretty well optimized for anyone who makes it their own and learns to properly use it.
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my low priced AR15 in 7.62x39. PSA blem lower and Bear Creek Arsenal upper. only upgrade is PSA 3.5lb flat trigger, shooting Hornady SST ammo. 50 yds is what the range made you qualify at before you went to the long range.
was in a bench rest,
50 yards
100 yards
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Bless those that have the good enough fortune to plop down a few grand or more on a firearm, I’m a poor, my lower cost firearms suit my needs. I appreciate the fact all that I own go BANG
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I use those same splatter targets. Order them from Amazon a hundred at a time.
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I can’t fault Daniel Defense.
I would like to have people pay me $1600 for a rifle whose parts cost about $700.
Barrett does an even better job along those lines. Though their parts are more custom machined.
I don’t think it’s wise to sell firearms unless you have a corporation or LLC to protect you from liability. I sold a few uppers and then I stopped.
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Fall 2019. PSA EPT lower, 20" Aero upper. Sighting in (carry handle iron sights) 100yds no bench rest. I would have bought the upper from PSA but never in stock. I threw in piç from same day S&W M&P .45ACP 4.6" at 25yds. First time I fired either weapon. I now pretty much just shoot around 35yds on my property. And then I shoot about 4 rounds each gun. Above mentioned, plus 16" PSA upper and lower, and my wife’s S&W M&P .40 4.0". We both shoot standing, prone kneeling sometimes sitting, but no bench rest. I am not opposed to them, but won’t have the luxury in real life defense situation.
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Only use bench rest to sight in. Want to make sure weapon is sighted in. After that it’s up to me to match what it can do.
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I will probably buy one to take to the actual firing range. But at 35 yds on my property it is cheating.
When I build a proper back stop instead of a tree stump I can shoot from farther away. My property is on a hill top with a road and train tracks at the bottom. I fire towards the ground mainly. My brother in law is going to bring his tractor with front end loader. Gonna make a dirt back stop. And build a slightly elevated shooting stand to still have downward firing trajectory. I don’t shoot a lot because ammo ain’t cheap, and I will not waste what I have for a few minutes of fun. I do believe in periodic training and especially for my wife. She carries every where she goes. She knows and handles her pistol well. The shotgun and our two ARs - she hits what she aims at, but lacks rote muscle memory on safety on/off, charging handle, forward assist, etc. I told her she should be able to do it in the pitch black dark to be proficient. That will save her life…
Sorry for Hijacking another thread. I’m the world’s worst. Back on topic. I was in the military for 20 years. I find PSAs AR-15 to be as good as Colt. The only problem I’ve had was cycling with the 16" upper. I am sure it was due to TULA ammo. My 20" works well with anything. Gas tube length and buffer weight/spring, etc. I learned a lot from the guys on the forum. Never thought about none of that in the military, it is an art form. Too bad the damn Hollywood actors, news personalities and other uninformed people blame this gun for their failure at creating a dystopian society. They can not stand that they can’t control and impose tyranny upon every aspect of our lives, so they seize every and any opportunity to take away our freedom. Stand fast, stand ready.
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i agree
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