NEA AR-15; A good first AR-15?

Alright, drop some knowledge on me then.

What has happened so many times thus far that MPI is a critical factor of quality control in any way. There must be gads of evidence
based on your arrogance.

Likewise about the gas key. There must be massive accounts of bolt carrier failure on any "sub par" AR15's. Where do I find all the information you base your opinions on?

Educate me.

i seem to recall Magpul making a insert for their grips to hold a spare bolt in case the one you are using breaks.
either they designed this specifically for NEA or there are a lot of other reported bolts breaking... and basing your product on such a small target market is not good business.
funny... this Magpul product was released before NEA started making rifles...
 
Just because you can't tell the difference doesn't mean there isn't one. And yes, there most definitely is. For example, ensuring the proper grade of fasteners is used for the bolt carrier key, or even proper staking of the key. Or HP and MPI testing. It's not about fit and finish.


I always find people bashing them for using YMS screws for the carriers to be rather funny since no one bashed DPMS for doing it. I supplied NEA with many of those early carriers and they were made by DPMS :)
 
Alright, drop some knowledge on me then.

What has happened so many times thus far that MPI is a critical factor of quality control in any way. There must be gads of evidence
based on your arrogance.

Likewise about the gas key. There must be massive accounts of bolt carrier failure on any "sub par" AR15's. Where do I find all the information you base your opinions on?

Educate me.

Lol, you said it, not me. No need for the hostility. All bolts will fail eventually with enough use. They are a component with a finite life, and should be replaced as part of a maintenance schedule. No, they won't explode or shatter from wear, the usual mode of failure is cracking. Typically one of the bolt lugs beside the extractor, or the skinny part of the bolt beside the cam pin hole. HP testing and MPI is simple quality control to ensure that the maximum service life is obtained from components. Some earlier NEA bolts showed a preponderance towards early cracking, there were a couple of mentions of it on here. I believe they said they were part of a bad batch which they obtained from a supplier. If they had gone through proper QC, it likely would have been spotted. And yes, there are many accounts of loose bolt carrier keys from sub-par manufacturers. Since you asked for where to find the information, here you go: http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=13766

I will also say this, the majority of users will not run their guns hard enough for most issues to surface. A lower quality AR might be fine plinking at the range every so often for a long time, but you start seeing issues when you put it to hard usage, such as high round count courses. If you research comments by notable firearms trainers, they mention that they see much higher failure rates in classes from certain manufacturers. There is much information out there, you just need to look.
 
I always find people bashing them for using YMS screws for the carriers to be rather funny since no one bashed DPMS for doing it. I supplied NEA with many of those early carriers and they were made by DPMS :)

I actually wasn't referring to NEA specifically, just giving a general example of differences between manufacturers. However, I have no love for DPMS, and will freely bash them for you, as they are definitely guilty of making a sub par gun.
 
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I've been avoiding chiming in on NEA threads but I think someone needs to at least get this back from the past.. Lots has changed; They've been shipping with milspec stocks for quite a while. The parts kits and BCG's are a domestic. I can't remember the last time I saw them release a rifle that was poorly finished and their latest quad rails are secured underneath and have a QD point at the fore and aft of the rail. Barrels and Bolt carriers are nitrided with a procedure that makes it almost impossible for carbon to bond to them and virtually impervious to salt water corrosion. Not bad for a rifle priced at what they are. And the only complaint on here lately is that when people ask a NEA question the haters now have to tell them to expand their search to 1-3 years ago.

Last I spoke with them they expanded once again with more machines, more staff and have a client list that would make any AR company in this economy envious. In fact they're sitting in their booth at IWA in Nuremberg right now. I'd say they've been doing pretty good for a Flash in the Pan company.

They've always learned from their mistakes and never gave up. You've got to give them that.

.. I should have bought stock when I was with them. But all I have are these naked pictures of Jeff in the shop. Oh well. Savings Bonds are just as good. ;)



well now that Dave is not "with" NEA I might reconsider them in the future lol

just jokes no hate here I had a bad experience with my NEA but I am still hopefull the new generations are better. the billet machining marks were ugly on mine and I just wanted to know if it is standard that way or if I got a bad one ... still don't have an answer..... but anyways the shop I bought through made it right and I now own a Daniel Defense. I thought i remembered hearing about a monolithic AR Upper NEA was going to produce did that ever happen?


Cheers all even you Dave ;)
 
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It's part of the deal they made with the supplier.

I know the supplier, and they are exceptional. But unless their contract changes, NEA won't tell you and I am bound by an NDA. I do think it's unfortunate they can't reveal the maker, though.
Thanks for the info. I'm waiting for the next dry day to take my new toy out to the range.
 
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