Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Entry Level AR

Stag Arms------less than $1K.

I just looked at my RRA's carbine, the M4 feedramnps are milled in, they look uniform and smooth. Do you own one as well, perhaps you have an upper made by someone else? I don't know if the RRA has a technical data package whatever that is, the bolt and bolt carrier look identical in every way to a Colt sporter bolt and bolt carrier that I just sold. I had not cleaned my RRA Carbine since I got it, I have shot over 30 + boxes of ammunition in it. So far no problems at all, I just cleaned it last week for the first time, mostly I just spray it with CLP, it has a chromed barrel and chamber... It shoots into about 2 inches at 100 with XM193 and with Blackhills reloads using 60 grain Hornady Vmax bullets this is the best I can do with an Comp ML3 aimpoint 2MOA dot. At any rate I misread your comments on Noveske, yes they are good guns, I just ordered one. I am winding up with the Noveske Light Recce with VIS an NXS 1-4 scope on it with Unimount, zero stop and FC-2 reticle. I think I will keep the poor old RRA carbine as well.

It was well known at one time that the feed ramps were dremeled. Perhaps they have started to finally machine them properly? I have not seen one in a while. The ones I am aware of came from the factory dremeled.

The Technical Data Package (TDP) is a set if standards to follow, such as the specific type/grade of 4150 steel to be used for the barrel. Very few manufacturers follow it. Colt and BCM are two I am aware of.

Bolts and carriers will look the same. However, chances are good they are not the same. One of the things that the higher grade/tier manufacturers do is HPT and MPI tests on barrels and bolts. Basically to oversimplify it, proof loads are fired and the barrels and bolts are tested for flaws in the metal. The better manufacturers such as Colt, LMT and BCM test EACH and EVERY barrel and bolt. Others only test one from a particular batch as a cost savings. Rock River does not test them individually.

How many rounds to a box? 20 or 50? If 20 then you've shot probably 500 rounds thorugh your rifle? That may be ok for a hobby gun or varmint rifle. I prefer to assure reliablility for a duty rifle by shooting about 1000 rounds to get it heated up, dirty, dusty, and if see where I have malfunctions, if any. Any parts that will come loose or be prone to breaking will do so during this run through instead of when I need it. The original poster may not need this degree of reliability, but if he plans on using it for defense he should.

Keep on keeping your RRA lubed and it should serve you well as well. Consider FP10 or Slip2000 for lubes instead of CLP, as they will function better in more conditions, including when its cold when CLP will thicken.

Sounds like you have an excellent Noveske setup. I'm jealous on that one... I've had excellent accuracy through blue-box Black Hills reloads aswell. Wish they were more available.

I assume that by "CLP" you're referring to Break Free. Just a point of clarification------------FP-10 is also a CLP, but with a great temp range, and no PTFE flakes to keep in suspension like Break Free. I think some of the Slip2000 products are CLPs too.

Yup, Breakfree. A previous agency of mine got a few gallons of the stuff from the DRMO... that crap lasted forever! It seemed like as people used it, it just multiplied and wouldn't go away. So when I think of CLP I think of the military breakfree stuff.

For the first AR-15, I would get a MIL spec vanilla rifle, like the Bushmaster XM-15.

For defense in the house and carrying in a vehicle, I like the lightweight 16-inch carbines with collapsible stock.

I have extensive experience with Colt, LMT, and Bushmaster. I can recommend Colt and LMT without reservation. Although none of them are perfect all the time, with many of the brands you will learn a lot more about maintenance and repair than you will with the so called Tier 1 manufacturers. Maybe more than you want to. I've run my Colt and LMT carbines hard while going through some training classes and they have held up well. Last year I attended the NRA Tactical Shooter Instructor Course and all rifle problems I saw were with non Colt guns.

For information on different manufacturers see the chart in the link below.
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=6642

I agree. I've learned all of my personal maintenance issues from Olympic, DPMS, and Armalite weapons, and seen lots of maintenance issues still from Bushmaster, RRA, and CMMG.