I am milspec
Looking to purchase a new AR any suggestions?
- Thread starter CBGJAY
- Start date
I used to be.
Bought a PSA once and cried zero times, so seems like the better option to me
That is true. They started using that term in the civilian market to more less imply that all parts would interchange and accessorize like the military rifle. And you’re exactly right the colt is the same tooling for most parts this is what I was suggesting as a milspec rifle purchase for the budget price. minus fcg and lower receiver being milled/cast to hold the semi/fcg. Didn’t mean to high jack post btw I meant to post on the OPs post just forgot I was reading down when I decided to add my 2$ Lol thanks for tolerating my rudeness 
Ok I think this thread has went beyond the original question. Just a bit. I couldn’t take it any longer. I work in an aerospace R&D lab and Milspec really doesn’t mean much. It is just the tolerance that someone decided was sufficient. Most of the time Civilian contracts that I work on have tighter tolerances. I am not picking sides on this but that term is simply used as a marketing gimmick for non military parts to make people believe they are somehow better. Believe it or not some milspecs are written because some company paid for some military guys kid to go to college so they would write the spec based on what their company offered to cut others out of business. I am not saying this is the case with rifles but if they do it with Military aircraft’s and their armaments they probably do it with small arms as well. I think we get lost in marketing terms and forget that most of it means nothing. With that being said most of the things can be corrected. Barrel is critical, type of bolt and carrier are critical. Most receivers are about the same. Triggers can be changed as well as most other parts. I personally don’t trust any manufacturer so I re torque everything to spec. Sometimes tuning and tweaking your rifle until you achieve peak performance is the fun part.
Hey op - I am willing to bet you didn’t think you would get 21 pages of replies. Do this, next big gun show go to it. Pick up all the ar’s there and see which one you like in your budget. Compare prices there and online and buy which ever the one that YOU want.
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Yes and no. Milspec defines, as part, the tolerance range parts can be cut, minimum quality materials used and assembly requirements. Plenty of mfg's go above and beyond minimum milspec standards and keep much tighter tolerances. That still falls within milspec.
Many companies have turned "milspec" into a marketing gimmick just slapping the term onto their products, when in fact, they are not milspec. PSA is bad about this, especially in their assembly. Which is another reason I don't like them or their products. Bold faced lies about their rifles. They are not alone in this practice.
In the interest of reducing the amount of bad info being spread on the internet I have to say that for some items (electronics components for example) Mil spec does define the minimum quality materials that can be used but In the case of the M16/M4 the TDP is the Mil Spec/ Mil Std and it defines the exact materials that must be used. For instance the bolt must be Carpenter 158 steel, the barrel must be 4150 CrMoV steel etc. There are steels out there that exceed the quality of 158 Carpenter steel in every way but if it was submitted to a Military inspector it would fail because it is not Mil Spec. In other words, when it comes to military rifles manufactures that go above and beyond minimum milspec do not still fall within Military specifications. Mil Spec for military rifles is not a minimum standard. It is an exact standard. As for tolerances, another word that gets tossed around a lot by non machinist types who really don't seem to understand it. Tolerances are written as a measurement +/- a certain amount. That plus or minus is the tolerance. For example 1.146" +/- .005. The +/- .005 would be the tolerance range.
EXACTLY !!!
Aero Precision has 30% off on one of their lowers. It's completely lower with the nickel boron trigger group, adjustable stock and A2 grip. For the excellent price of $214.00... it's a daily deal so don't think about it too long. You can find an excellent lower and team there up with one of their uppers for for a great price and be all in and around 7 to 800 dollars. The one good thing about Arrow Precision that you can't say for shelf guns and a lot of the competitors is they have a one MOA guarantee on their barrels. That's saying a lot about their confidence and quality control. Building a sub Moa AR-15 is not an easy task with all the trash there is out on the market. Arrow Precision makes an excellent entry level rifle. PSA can't hold a candle to Arrow precision. They used to be an aeronautical and Aerospace manufacturing facility so quality control and precision is in their blood and I firm believer that that carries over into their rifle Market. People scoff at him because of their price point but don't even listen to that nonsense. I know a very well respected armor on here that uses Arrow Precision receivers on a lot of builds for customers. They will cuss Arrow Precision but then turn around and glorify him in the same sentence. Take a look at their Deals they have 30% off on a lot of other parts and good sales on the upper as well. Take a good long serious look at their line of uppers. One of those combined with the inexpensive lower like they have on sale right now would make an excellent rifle that would last a long time. I have used many Aero Precision upper and lower for builds for other people and I have never once ran into a problem with one of their parts. They always go together like they should and I've never had a problem with any of their barrels bolt carrier groups or receivers. I've tried to use PSA three or four times and every time I've been disappointed. There was a problem each and every time I ordered one of their parts. That should tell you enough right there. One of their four or $500 rifles can't hold a candle to an arrow precision rifle in the seven or $800 range.
