are ar 15s really that bad?

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marlinm60ss123

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hello everybody. i really really really want an ar 15. im looking now at the palmetto state armory chrome lined 16 inch carbine for around 600. now that im reading more on them, people say they jam constantly. are they really that bad and unreliable?
 
lots of idiots then... ALOT of people have that as their shtf/ wrol gun so i figured they had a bad experience. can anyone shed some light on the ar 15 im looking at? alot of ar's ive held felt airsofty
 
I'm a newish AR owner and went with the M&P Sport. 2000 rounds and no jams that weren't related to my reloading prowess. Basically three stoppages.
 
The Palmetto will be fine. I've bought a lot of parts from them and everything is top-notch. As for reliability....its no different than any rifle. Maintain it reasonably well and it will go bang. Use decent magazines and ammo and you won't have any problems. A 16" carbine is a pretty user friendly reliable rifle.
 
Best bet would be to barrow an AR and an AK. Take them to the range and play with them. Throw them to your shoulder, line up the sights and try to change magazines on both. Push the button and see if the empty magazine will drop under its own weight. Does the bolt stay open when the last shot is fired.

Also check the safety, which one can you reach without changing your grip.

Now shoot a couple groups with both at 100 yards.

Then decide what you want.

Personally I've only been shooting AR/M16s for about 45 years and still waiting for the "jamming BS" to kick in. And I've shot them in some pretty nasty conditions.
 
Most AR-15 problems are due to owners using poor quality magazines, poor quality eastern European ammo, or not enough lubrication.
 
AR's are OK. They run dirty so be ready to clean the action. You need to have good mags and good ammo.
If you are serious about getting a good one I would get a Colt or Daniel Defense
 
kraigwy said:
Best bet would be to barrow an AR and an AK. Take them to the range and play with them. Throw them to your shoulder, line up the sights and try to change magazines on both. Push the button and see if the empty magazine will drop under its own weight. Does the bolt stay open when the last shot is fired.

Also check the safety, which one can you reach without changing your grip.

Now shoot a couple groups with both at 100 yards.

Then decide what you want.

Personally I've only been shooting AR/M16s for about 45 years and still waiting for the "jamming BS" to kick in. And I've shot them in some pretty nasty conditions.
Click to expand...

Thinking about sigging this haha.
 
As much as I love to hate on ARs, by any objective measure they're a very capable platform. They don't weigh much, they can be superbly accurate, and as long as you squirt a little CLP in the action between firefights they'll go bang as long as you squeeze the trigger. You can't ask much more from a gun than that!

As for feeling "airsofty," there's a reason - they are. That is to say, the airsoft guns are made of similar materials, and therefore feel similar. This is a compliment to the airsoft products rather than an insult to ARs, since I have never heard of durability issues with any line of ARs except limited cases of stretched receivers over extended firing.

I've never been a fan of the direct-impingment action on ARs because, being left-handed, ever AR I've ever shot has flung propellant gases into my eyes, and I don't particularly care for the whole concept in the first place... poop where you eat and all that. Starting out on piston-powered Commie guns didn't help, nor did my experience with delayed-blowback in my HK93 clone. That said... if the DI system wasn't good, we would know by now. It might require a bit more cleaning, but it's lightweight, reliable, and contributes to accuracy... And I've never had a malfunction in any of the times I've gotten to shoot borrowed ARs.

I'm not convinced that 5.56 is the best caliber for a battle carbine, but there are two things that make this irrelevant: first, nobody cares about my opinion when there are plenty of people dead from 5.56 caliber holes, and second, if there ever were a platform with lots of cartridge options, the AR would be it. I like the AR in 9mm, .308 Win, 6.8SPC, the 458 SOCOM, and the .50 Beowulf. There are others, take your pick. :D

Summing up... ignore the idiots, forget how dirty DI can be, and buy a bit of CLP with your first AR. It probably won't be your last.
 
???

Well I'm not sure about the Palmettos specifically, but I havent seen many problems with AR-15's. High quality AR-15's with the right ammo seem to have an extremely rare problem.
 
It is all relative.

compared to a MINI 14 yes they jam a lot.

just sayin...



But, the mark up on them are great! and any sales guy will say anything to get your money.
 
ar

"lots" of people who don't like ARs. I am not surprised, though I wonder why.
My own experience with my AR is that it has been ultra reliable - no jams over many thousands of rounds.
Pete
 
Buy one and see for yourself. Clean, lubricate and shoot, then repeat.
Keep doing this until you can justify saying either yes or no to your question.

My rifle's answer is no. :D
 
Four secrets if you want to stay alive:

- Use good magazines
- Initially polish/keep the chamber walls clean (really only applies to steel-case ammo)
- You MUST clean the bolt's pivot pin area (minimum) if you're not going to continue shooting
- Shoot it "wiped down" DRY.

Lessons from YoungSon's four tours in the sandbox in an Infantry/maneuver role.
 
>>hello everybody. i really really really want an ar 15. im looking now at the palmetto state armory chrome lined 16 inch carbine for around 600. now that im reading more on them, people say they jam constantly. are they really that bad and unreliable?

>>are ar 15s really that bad?

What exactly is your question? Are you asking about ARs in general or the Palmetto State Armory builds?

1) ARs are the right arm of the most powerful and well equipped army in the world.

2) Palmetto sources a lot of their parts from FN; probably the most respected arms manufacturer in the world. PSA customer service can be spotty.

If this is your first AR buy one that is already assembled from a reputable manufacturer; they are starting to get cheap again.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet... and I'm going to loan you a [SHIFT] key.
 
Bottom line is this if you want to use cheap steel cased ammo and just throw lead down range get a AK.

If you don't mind buying brasses cased ammo and actualy want to do some target shooting with some precision get a AR and I just put together a PSA lower and used it on my M&P15-T and I can say the trigger is much better than what came on the M&P.
 
- Use good magazines
- Shoot it "wiped down" DRY
Click to expand...

I 100% agree. Magazines are the achilles heel of AR15s. Get a good magazine and it will shoot about anything is my experience.

I shoot my M4 dry and never have problems.
 
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