NEA AR-15's

I have a 2nd Gen NEA 10" that I have set up for CQB. The only changes I have made from stock is sight and furniture - no internals have been modified or changed. This firearm would be my "go to" if ever the SHTF. Function is flawless with either factory or my reloads. Accuracy literally surprises the hell out of me every time I take it to the range.
 
cr5 said:
Very good points, with Core and Windham on the market now it's nice to have some alternatives for people in the $1000ish price range.
I agree that buying cheap while saving for a high end rifle is dumb and costs more in the long run but some guys are never going to move up and just want a cheapish AR to bang around with while we're still allowed to own them.

Your comment about me be ok with a sub par plinker but no ok with it for defending my life? Yup, absolutely. If I could only have one rifle then I agree with you 100% and would only own my PWS. The reality of my situation is that I own 3 AR lowers and 4 uppers and not long ago I was up to 6 complete AR's. I've tried most brands and I do have a couple that I like better than others but my experiences with NEA products have been good so far and I have friends that run them in 3 gun without issues. If it runs it's good enough for me for what we're allowed to use them for. If I was buying it for battle, competition, hunting or if it was non restricted I would spend the same money on all my AR's that I did on my PWS or my ACR. For a range toy though I don't see the point in getting overly carried away just to go punch holes in paper and ring gongs.

And I would never buy a Norc M-forgery, most of the stories of guys trying to throw aftermarket parts on them sounds like you need to hand fit most parts which tells me they are out of spec by a fair margin. Sure they run but if I have to hand fit any parts I buy to replace broken or worn out parts then I'm not interested. They are like the T-97, a disposable rifle that is only good for a parts rifle for the one you buy to replace it then hope something different breaks on the next one. Hell, I won't even run norc ammo in my AR's. Junk.
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Why buy/own a lesser quality rifle when you already have a premium brand?? Why not own one(or two) good guns and put the rest of your money into ammo and training?? No offence cr5 but there's no logic in owning examples from both ends of the quality scale..

TW25B
 
The 'mythology' behind NEA reminds me a lot of how they talk about Polytech/Norino M305/M14s guns on American gun boards...

Just over 20 years ago the Americans could still import Chinese rifles, and the M14 clone was available. But apparently, in these early days, the bolt material or hardening procedures were insufficient and headspace grew unacceptably. There was at least one series of metallurgic tests (apparently), and it was much discussed in blogs and forums yadda yadda. All the 'patriots' came out and crap talked the m14 clones to death all across the net... Though not many people talked of any first hand experience, and many of those that did actually like their guns (go figure). It was more about a bunch of VERY prolific bloggers who just 'parroted' what they read one time on the internet about some anonymous person (maybe).

Where are all the 'Umarex/Walther make S**T guns!" threads?? With their pot metal frames and slides... Just about every manufacturer has put out a product with design or quality control issues. They either take care of the affected customers and correct the issues or fold the business in short order.

NEA had issues, corrected the issues, took care of their customers, and moved on. It does not look like their business is in trouble to me, or am I missing something? A lot of anonymous pundits who have never made their own beds, let alone a complex product like a rifle, can't seem to accept this and move on.

If no one ever bought a product from a company that had an issue or two, no one would buy anything at all
 
bobbynewmark said:
The 'mythology' behind NEA reminds me a lot of how they talk about Polytech/Norino M305/M14s guns on American gun boards...

Just over 20 years ago the Americans could still import Chinese rifles, and the M14 clone was available. But apparently, in these early days, the bolt material or hardening procedures were insufficient and headspace grew unacceptably. There was at least one series of metallurgic tests (apparently), and it was much discussed in blogs and forums yadda yadda. All the 'patriots' came out and crap talked the m14 clones to death all across the net... Though not many people talked of any first hand experience, and many of those that did actually like their guns (go figure). It was more about a bunch of VERY prolific bloggers who just 'parroted' what they read one time on the internet about some anonymous person (maybe).

Where are all the 'Umarex/Walther make S**T guns!" threads?? With their pot metal frames and slides... Just about every manufacturer has put out a product with design or quality control issues. They either take care of the affected customers and correct the issues or fold the business in short order.

NEA had issues, corrected the issues, took care of their customers, and moved on. It does not look like their business is in trouble to me, or am I missing something? A lot of anonymous pundits who have never made their own beds, let alone a complex product like a rifle, can't seem to accept this and move on.

If no one ever bought a product from a company that had an issue or two, no one would buy anything at all
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Becouse their priced no longer a good deal or cheap enough to gamble on, in a world with $1000 dd rifles why gamble on something with a track record as bad as nea? They handled the issue? No they didnt sure they have great customer service but who cares id rather not have to worry about customer service and they only ar ive ever had serious issue with was my nea.

Hands up folks how many threads do you see about dd, stag,windham, colt ar's being built out of spec?

And you dont see umarex threads becouse informed people dont buy them
 
skoal said:
Becouse their priced no longer a good deal or cheap enough to gamble on, in a world with $1000 dd rifles why gamble on something with a track record as bad as nea? They handled the issue? No they didnt sure they have great customer service but who cares id rather not have to worry about customer service and they only ar ive ever had serious issue with was my nea.

Hands up folks how many threads do you see about dd, stag,windham, colt ar's being built out of spec?

And you dont see umarex threads becouse informed people dont buy them
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Some people just can't let go.. You are confusing your opinion and 'what you think" and feel as FACT .. which they are not. Then you go on to compare USA brands and their current pricing? What does that have to do with a conversation about quality? YES America has a GLUT in supply right now, even with our low dollar US guns can be had for good deals compared to the extortion prices that were happening on guns and ammo when in huge demand.. GO BUY THE GUN OF YOUR DREAMS NOW!! I just bought a sweet ass Stag AR :)

That doesn't change the fact That NEA puts out a decent product and takes care of their clients... Prices of USA goods will go up and down for lots of reasons, so comparing to the rock bottom prices of guns there right now won't always be an option. FTR I think NEA should lower their price to around the $1000 mark, esp with forgings instead of billet.
 
bobbynewmark said:
Some people just can't let go.. You are confusing your opinion and 'what you think" and feel as FACT .. which they are not. Then you go on to compare USA brands and their current pricing? What does that have to do with a conversation about quality? YES America has a GLUT in supply right now, even with our low dollar US guns can be had for good deals compared to the extortion prices that were happening on guns and ammo when in huge demand.. GO BUY THE GUN OF YOUR DREAMS NOW!! I just bought a sweet ass Stag AR :)

That doesn't change the fact That NEA puts out a decent product and takes care of their clients... Prices of USA goods will go up and down for lots of reasons, so comparing to the rock bottom prices of guns there right now won't always be an option. FTR I think NEA should lower their price to around the $1000 mark, esp with forgings instead of billet.
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Did you miss the part where Skoal mentions Ar's from reputable brands for the SAME or similar price?? Did you miss the part where he asked how many threads about out of spec DD, Stag, WW, Colt rifles there are? The answer which is FACT is zero.. There is a never ending list of threads about broken, out of spec, or plain non functioning (new) guns from NEA. What seals the deal is that you yourself bought a Stag, why didn't you buy one of the endless low priced NEA guns that are all over the EE and the internet????

TW25B
 
At poco I saw Deagles NEA explode, compensator pealed back like a banana, pieces of metal and bolt flying off into space. Never seen a rifle do that in my life, it really scared the sh!t out of me.
That is fact, I was an eye witness.
Why would anyone ever buy their products?
 
mikethebike said:
Why would anyone ever buy their products?
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Bingo. Irrespective of whether or not they've fixed their quality issues (and there have probably been more NEA problems mentioned here than all other brands combined) there are so many other similar options available now there's no reason to pick them. If they were the only AR available here, then yeah, I'd probably take a crack. But they're, to me, at or very near the bottom of the list.
 
mikethebike said:
Why would anyone ever buy their products?
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So I can swoop in like a vulture and buy their guns for half of what they paid for it :)

IMO NEA does have incredible customer service. I sent a gun to them and it was a week turn around with extras thrown in the box. In comparison my Keltec took 6 months and another fellow I was speaking too had his waiting on warranty work for 9 months.
 
Its not good when the best part of a company (behind their actual product) that some are trying to sell them on is their warranty and customer service.

I got mine working fine, but I had to replace several parts, and have NEA replace the rail for the new gen.

Its now a solid gun, but would I do it again, given, at the time, pretty cheap US alternatives? (ie dollar at par) In a word, no.

ymmv.....
 
GuiltySpark said:
So I can swoop in like a vulture and buy their guns for half of what they paid for it :)

IMO NEA does have incredible customer service. I sent a gun to them and it was a week turn around with extras thrown in the box. In comparison my Keltec took 6 months and another fellow I was speaking too had his waiting on warranty work for 9 months.
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Customer service like you describe with NEA is what I expect from any manufacturer I deal with, so that isn't something extraordinary. Your comparison with Keltec is laughable as Keltec is far from a quality brand and they are a rather small outfit based in the USA. Big difference between USA warranty and Canadian warranty as well.

TW25B
 
GuiltySpark said:
So I can swoop in like a vulture and buy their guns for half of what they paid for it :)

IMO NEA does have incredible customer service. I sent a gun to them and it was a week turn around with extras thrown in the box. In comparison my Keltec took 6 months and another fellow I was speaking too had his waiting on warranty work for 9 months.
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girl be like: "Why you buy keltec?"
 
I have A PDW , under 700 rounds the bolt sheared in half...jammed the entire BCG in the upper. Nasty failure. Had dozens of emails back and forth with them. Agreed on a replacement upper...they decided to change their minds after I spent $40 to send it to them...after 3 weeks and lots of delays I got it back...nothing done to it except a new bolt...took it to the range 19 shots later it failed again...retaining roll pin that holds ejector in place sheared in half and again jammed the entire works up...and now I'm in the same boat...arguing to have it replaced. Buy a quality AR and you will save money in the long run. Don't buy an NEA.
 
IanON said:
I have A PDW , under 700 rounds the bolt sheared in half...jammed the entire BCG in the upper. Nasty failure. Had dozens of emails back and forth with them. Agreed on a replacement upper...they decided to change their minds after I spent $40 to send it to them...after 3 weeks and lots of delays I got it back...nothing done to it except a new bolt...took it to the range 19 shots later it failed again...retaining roll pin that holds ejector in place sheared in half and again jammed the entire works up...and now I'm in the same boat...arguing to have it replaced. Buy a quality AR and you will save money in the long run. Don't buy an NEA.
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lol you could have gotten a dd bolt from brownells with shipping and conversion for about 90$

gotta love the NEA stellar service hey!
 
TW25B said:
Why buy/own a lesser quality rifle when you already have a premium brand?? Why not own one(or two) good guns and put the rest of your money into ammo and training?? No offence cr5 but there's no logic in owning examples from both ends of the quality scale..

TW25B
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Because one rifle isn't enough for me and I can still afford ammo and I'm going to a CQB course in September and until the rifle with NEA parts (third rifle in pic) has issues it's a good gun in my books. That rifle only has an NEA upper receiver and BCG, the barrel is Bushmaster and the forend is AP customs carbon fiber.

I will eventually swap out the NEA BCG to another Fail Zero nickel boron unit like the one I have in my 300BLK upper that has a DD upper and my custom made stainless barrel.

I agree there isn't much logic in owning high and low end rifles but using their parts makes for a cheaper build. I probably wouldn't ever buy a complete rifle but using a few of their parts in a build works for me as long as everything is built to spec and the rest of my parts go in without issues.

I'm not trying to say or convince anyone that NEA is top end gear but I don't think it's as bad as many like to think it is. They've had some issues and they still have the odd problem but for the most part their parts work and are reliable.

Even owning these I still shop the EE for deals. I'm never satisfied, lol.
View attachment 33059
I've swapped around glass a little since this pic. The 9mm (second from top) now has my Aimpoint PRO and the AR180 is back to iron sights for now.
 
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Repro77 said:
Its not good when the best part of a company (behind their actual product) that some are trying to sell them on is their warranty and customer service.
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Good job security for their armorers though :)

I got mine working fine, but I had to replace several parts, and have NEA replace the rail for the new gen.
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You should put her up on the CQB picture thread here.

TW25B said:
Customer service like you describe with NEA is what I expect from any manufacturer I deal with, so that isn't something extraordinary. Your comparison with Keltec is laughable as Keltec is far from a quality brand and they are a rather small outfit based in the USA. Big difference between USA warranty and Canadian warranty as well.

TW25B
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It's what you, and I, would expect but we both know it's not what we will get. There's tons of stories about big name companies like Remington ####ing off people trying to get warranty repair work done. People waiting over a year. I've heard HK can be pretty rough too. Just heard from someone a couple days ago who had a pistol explode and when he sent it back they decided he was using hand loaded ammo (I know him, he wasn't) and they voided the warranty. Now he's got a 7 month old $1300 paper weight.

IanON said:
I have A PDW , under 700 rounds the bolt sheared in half...jammed the entire BCG in the upper. Nasty failure. Had dozens of emails back and forth with them. Agreed on a replacement upper...they decided to change their minds after I spent $40 to send it to them...after 3 weeks and lots of delays I got it back...nothing done to it except a new bolt...took it to the range 19 shots later it failed again...retaining roll pin that holds ejector in place sheared in half and again jammed the entire works up...and now I'm in the same boat...arguing to have it replaced. Buy a quality AR and you will save money in the long run. Don't buy an NEA.
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That's ####ty man. You, uh, thinking of selling that broken PDW? (seriously)

Re bolded sentence, you're 100% right. NEAs are inexpensive. If you want to spend cheap and risk them breaking go for it. If you want the peace of mind of something that doesn't seem to have a 25% failure rate spend more money.
 
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