Deciding on an ar...

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kingdarb

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so I'm prolly gunna pull the trigger and order my first ar very soon. I'm just a bit torn right now.

On one hand, I am considering buying a 16" LMT. A bit pricey but I have heard nothing but good things about these guns.

On the other hand, I would like to support a more local product and NEA fits that bill. Would be looking for something from them in the 16" range also.

Will be using the gun for plinking, maybe some 3-gun type stuff.

Can anyone with hands on with both products give me some input? I have read that the NEA's had some initial teething issues (something like 18 in 400 rifles or so), but that these have been worked out...
 
Buy the LMT, shoot it, and sell it down the road if you get tired of it, or need the funds. The price on them is pretty good right now, and you'll get way more money for a used LMT than a used NEA. Ive owned three LMT's and they were all top notch. I'm a Noveske snob now, but that's really about the accuracy of the barrel, and not because they are any more reliable than an LMT.
 
The LMT is at an excellent price. It's at or lower than US MRP. Which is pretty hard to pass up.

Stag makes an excellent 16" AR as well.
Armalite is actually pretty decent too. The forgings are now perfect, unlike the older ones. Fit/finish is excellent. Worth looking at if thinking of NEA, or Core15, Norinco etc.

The NEA, is also an option but do your reading and know what you're getting. It's a Canadian product but it's first run. You may or may not be beta testing it. The features are excellent, the price is good. But there are trade offs the specs are a bit different. Also if you look at the reviews there aren't any serious accuracy reviews or too much really in depth stuff. Mostly videos of the carbine going bang and making new brass. So at this point there isn't a lot out there about them.

Core 15. Good looking fit/finish on the one I looked at. Good features as well, and good price. Worth a consideration.
 
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I'll second Stag.

I just got a 2T, and the fit and finish on the rifle is TIGHT. At first, I actually thought it was too tight! The takedown pins take a bit of a tap to get moving the first few times, but they're good to go now.

The same with the BCG. The bolt wouldn't freely move in the carrier, even after lubing it up. It was working great feeding/ejecting snap caps, but until I let off 100 rounds, it was snug.

Buy a Stag, and buy confident. (Of course, buy a NEA and you get the lifetime warranty of a Stag, with in-country service... hard to beat that, even with QA issues.)
 
Stag warrenties are for life here in Canada by East Arms, if you are the original owner.

Which might not mean much seeing how it is 2012...
 
I'd go with what is proven (LMT) vs supporting local. Unfortunate but thats just the way it is.

Of course if the AR is mostly going to be used for range and MAYBE (if at all) used for 3 gun... then it won't really matter what you buy?
 
Keep in mind the Stag rifles we get (I have an older 2T) are done up to Colt specs. They aren't exactly the same as the US ones. The ones sold by Arms East are a bit better. H buffer, F front side, proper staking etc. If that matters to you, then they are also good. The only thing with mine is the upper is slightly greyer than the very dark black lower. That's the only criticism though.

The Armalite 16" patrol carbine I have has excellent fit/finish and you can push out the pins without a tool, yet it has a good upper/lower fit without slop. The two stage trigger is very good (better than my stock LMT one). Like the LMT it has dry lube in the upper which may or may not be important to some. The carrier is properly staked as well. It's a good AR15. I found mine for an excellent price.

The LMT. I have the LMT MRP model. It's cool. Excellent fit/finish. Although the Stag and the newer Armalites are as good. It has the dry lube, proper staking etc. The Sopmod stock is nice but many would sell it and go with magpul. The trigger on it is decent once you put some lube on it and dry fire it a bit. It's a great rifle.

Any of the above would work well along with a few others. These are good times for AR rifles.

Now with the above. I have to give Norinco, NEA and Core15 rifle distributors some credit. I don't think the prices would be as good right now if it weren't for the aggressive competition.
 
KMAX said:
Stag warrenties are for life here in Canada by East Arms, if you are the original owner.

Which might not mean much seeing how it is 2012...
Click to expand...

Walter at Armseast stands behind any Stag he sells. He is very particular when it comes to any firearm he sells to a customer. Also if your active Military he gives a 10% discount.
 
With the pricing lately on LMT...that's the way I'd be going. The only gripe I've got with Stag (and this is petty but it did bug me) concerns a LPK I got a while back...was missing a couple parts (a spring and a pin). That small aspect has kinda thrown me off of them. I'm not knocking their rifles...only mentioning what has turned me against them (and again...I know it's petty).
 
Brordo said:
With the pricing lately on LMT...that's the way I'd be going. The only gripe I've got with Stag (and this is petty but it did bug me) concerns a LPK I got a while back...was missing a couple parts (a spring and a pin). That small aspect has kinda thrown me off of them. I'm not knocking their rifles...only mentioning what has turned me against them (and again...I know it's petty).
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The LPK's he sells are not put together by him, it would have came that way from the distributor. Did you contact him about it, I'm sure he would have sent you replacement parts, free of charge.
 
Didn't get my LPK from ArmsEast so that point is moot (not dissing Walter at all...I've bought stuff from him and he's good to go). I was more put off with a sealed bag MISSING parts. Struck me as a QC issue. Yes, mistakes happen but this was my first time dealing with anything Stag so it left a bitter taste (so to speak). I moved on (hence became quite the Spikes Tactical whore :D...for a while). As my tastes have matured I tend to lean more now to the "snobby" tier 1 stuff (Colt, KAC, etc.).
 
Im in the same boat as the OP. Iv been looking for more information on all the AR's available right now and have a couple in consideration.

The stag 2R16LE found here:

http://www.armseast.com/store/right_hand_rifles/stag_arms_2r_le_16_cdn_le_carbine/

the LMT LMT-SPM16-X found here:

https://shopquestar.com/shopping65/shopexd.asp?id=1523&bc=no

and the spike ST-SPIDER-145-556-PKG here:

https://shopquestar.com/shopping65/shopexd.asp?id=1795&bc=no

Im mildly interested in the NEA:

http://northeasternarms.com/platforms-1/nea-15-rifles/nea-15-patrol-carbine

Now that someone other than me has opened te floodgates :) can I have some peoples inputes? iv done allot of reading on all these guns, and learned allot. But I still have no idea who makes the more accurate out of all these manufacturers.
 
Accuracy isn't determined by who makes a firearm. Its the Features and how YOU SHOOT.

Get a heavy barrel to make it stiff to fire. FF THAT SUCKA.
Use appropriate twist rate. DO NOT GET A CHROME LINED BARREL. Get a stainless steel.

HELL IF YOU WANT ACCURACY. Go to ATRS to get a bolt face/carrier made specifically to your upper and the bore mouth/chamber. That way it'll have precise near perfect lockup.

From there you learn to shoot. (not saying you don't but I see old "pros" make rookie mistakes.)
Never rest that barrel on ANYTHING. you wanna sight it in you shoot off the mag. if you handguards aren't FF...you SHOOT OFF THE MAG.
f**k even with FF I still shoot off the mag.

Its the little "5 percenters" as my buddy says that will add up. Its the little things that will make the biggest difference when you combine them all; cuz individually they aren't really noticable (cept FF...thats IMPORTANT IMHO). its the barrel and making sure nothing touches it.

But i anticipate someone will come on and be all like "shooting starts with you" etc etc. and I agree. but if you take out all the factors in your rifle; then shooting stars AND ENDS with you.
See where I'm at with that?

...flame suit on.
 
diagnostic said:
whats FF?
And most of the guns I found are all chrome lined. whats the downside to that?
Click to expand...

Free Floated. (my close friends and I have a more...colourful saying ;))
Its where the barrel is only touched by the reciever and not the handguards.
removes a variable. I endorse it XD

Chromelined is better for cleaning but its less accurate...
As for why; I cannot recall at this time XD but the google's might turn soemthing up.
 
diagnostic said:
lol. sweet, I appriciate the information. exactly what I was looking for went out set out on this info hunt!!
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No problem. But before you get your heart set on anything you must realize the AR15 restriction XD
Its going to be a range and safe queen. So no matter what awesome features you get on it; no matter how much money you sink into it.
Its only going to hunt paper.

I also had this dilema... (spelt right? lol)

I opted out of alot of options I wanted (considerably more expensive options) because I can't hunt with it.

...something to think about.
 
I realize that. I spend allot of time at the range, and im into it. thats why im looking at accuracy whith this purchase. And I know the tools dont always make the mechanic so to speek, but is sure as hell helps!
 
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