have you ever bought an NEA product/rifle/barrel/part?

how did you like your NEA product?

  • Total voters
    145
I have used their VZ line and recommend it highly.

I wanted to wait on their ARs until they'd built a thousand or so before I got one, and they are now over that number so I ordered one.

My immediate plan for it is to purchase one box each of every ####ty .223 ammo I can find and see what it will eat.

I understand there was a lot of disappointment with the guns that were released here and I don't fault anyone for being choked...it was not the launch I was hoping for either.

But at the same time, try to remember that they started from zero, with a specific price point in mind, and worked from there. If you expected the first 50 guns off the line from a new company who undercut the price of every AR in the country save Norinco to be absolutely cherry, you probably weren't being very realistic.

Of course it's probably also fair to point out that NEA did oversell the guns...having a great barrel is not the same as making a great rifle. On paper their machines looked better than at the range.

But then when you think about a company like Ruger and the number of guns they have had to recall...honestly, the A model from anyone usually sucks. That's why, despite generally being a supporter of NEA, I wouldn't buy one of the first thousand guns.

Anyway the stuff I do have from them works very well, and now that I will be getting one of their current ARs, I'm interested to see if they've sorted out their issues.
 
NEA products are overrated! Less than impressed with the 10/22 barrel from them. To date I still haven't received a missing part from my previous order received three months ago. Customer service is terrible. Will never do business with NEA again!!
 
tiriaq said:
I think these NEA threads have run their course. Enough is enough. NEA is what it is, no need for these threads to continue.
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I have to agree on this point

I have a NEA AR and my opinion doesn't matter much - either you like them or you don't

-- it really amazes me that this company ( NEA ) has taken so much criticism and others go unnoticed , for eg. Ruger has made millions of 10/22 and there far more easier to make than a AR - really a belly button rifle ( everyone has one ) but there takedown model introduced is poor at best in quality control . Almost ALL of there takedown rifles rear sights are "off" and machined improperly -- yet there is no 200 threads bashing them for letting this slip by ?!?
-- Norinco's first AR's were painted finishes !! and had plenty of quality issues , not to mention there business practice ( why there no longer available in the USA ) -- still no 200 threads ?!?
-- M&P pistols front sights fell off while shooting ( smith&wesson knows and replaces these ) -- 200 threads , nope !

on & on - almost all BIG manufactures have these gremlins -- move on --
 
misanthropist said:
But at the same time, try to remember that they started from zero, with a specific price point in mind, and worked from there. If you expected the first 50 guns off the line from a new company who undercut the price of every AR in the country save Norinco to be absolutely cherry, you probably weren't being very realistic.
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I got #59. Zero functional issues. My 12" rail was replaced, and I had to change out my trigger group. My chamber sucked, but didn't cause any issues.

Zero complaints for what I paid for it, and, I happen to like the aesthetic. They came up with a unique shape/design for the receivers, and that appeals to me over a lot of the forgings out there.

I actually think their first batch was not too bad, considering how their subsequent batches had issues I didn't experience. The initial run was delayed a month, and, I suspect that while it wasn't without issues (as already mentioned), there was more effort put into the initial product release.

It's easy to come down hard on NEA because of the claims they made leading up to the release, but, let's not forget, this was their first gun, and, as anyone would expect, it was not without issues. I bought mine as a way of supporting a domestic manufacturer who had honest intentions of making AR's affordable here. I stand behind that decision, and am building a second now.

We can continue to participate in the weekly slag NEA circle jerks, or instead provide constructive criticism as necessary. It just seems clear to me around here that most are content to go blind out of some sort of personal hatred, as opposed to seeing the bigger picture, where we may actually have at some point a manufacturer that can go beyond the small custom one-offs that the Canadian market is forced to accept.

Having a decent sized company willing to do what it takes to provide an ITAR free solution is a big deal.

But hey, if all we want to do is sit around in a circle and see who has to eat the cracker, go to it.
 
hmmm, took longer then I expected to see one of the "usual" non owners vote it down,
which I guess is more then I should expect from the internet...

PLEASE
remember, this is specifically for people who actually have owned the product

please respect that,






I think misanthropist and SPRTN308 have pretty much hit it on the head...

especially in regards to having a non ITAR regulated manufacturer in canada, that is a HUGE plus for the canadian gun community.

in a few more years, who knows what other goodies they could be making?

even the haters are drooling over that PDW stock

maybe we can get a non res out of them someday, who knows.
 
easysauce said:
hmmm, took longer then I expected to see one of the "usual" non owners vote it down,
which I guess is more then I should expect from the internet...

PLEASE
remember, this is specifically for people who actually have owned the product

please respect that,






I think misanthropist and SPRTN308 have pretty much hit it on the head...

especially in regards to having a non ITAR regulated manufacturer in canada, that is a HUGE plus for the canadian gun community.

in a few more years, who knows what other goodies they could be making?

even the haters are drooling over that PDW stock

maybe we can get a non res out of them someday, who knows.
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They can't build a COPY of an old design, you might line up to be a beta tester for a prototype NR rifle but not me.
 
Ive had mixed experiences. Fit was usually quite good, finish was usually less than ideal. Function was always good except a tritium vial that s**t the bed. I'll keep buying their stuff because the price seems to reflect the quality.
 
Bought an NEA 14.5" upper, finish seems decent, I think it is good for the price point, however, I do not like their method for clamping the forend on to the barrel nut, looks unprofessional. Also, have had major function issues, but since I had to supply my own BCG, hard to say what is truly at fault.
 
I voted poor quality.

There have been many issues with my gun so far. I'm hesitant to believe they are fixed.

If I get another 300 rounds down range with 0 problems, I would upgrade poor to average/above. It will never get a perfect with me considering the issues I have already dealt with.

I suspect a certain issue with mine is going to continue.
 
Vz upper and lower, quite happy with them.

I also bought one of the first 50 ARs off the line, a 14.5".
A few minor tooling marks on the finish but overall quite good.
The disconnector went after about 400 rounds, put in a ticket and had a new one in less than a week. The castle nut was not very well staked and came loose at 800 rounds, restaked and 500 rounds since without issue. I have 1300 rounds through the gun and really like it. Due to the few minor issues I had I would have to vote average but I still think I ended up with alot of gun for 1100 bucks.

I've thought about starting a serial number thread, then we could better gauge the number of rifles vs lemons but we all know that would only end up as another NEA bashing s**tshow.
 
As I had posted when I got my 10.5 rifle there are no tool marks on the gun finish key and castle nut were staked properly other than the heavy trigger the quality is as good as my Armalite
 
I purchased the 14.5 rifle, no tool marks, pretty nice and consistent finish, had a few minor issues (bcg staking, buffer tube spacing) everything was exchanged quickly. Shot 500 rounds, had a one in a million chance issue, my emails were responded to in minutes and a new part was sent that day.
I have a flawless $1000 AR backed with one of the best warranties I have ever seen.
 
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easysauce said:
I think misanthropist and SPRTN308 have pretty much hit it on the head...

especially in regards to having a non ITAR regulated manufacturer in canada, that is a HUGE plus for the canadian gun community.

in a few more years, who knows what other goodies they could be making?

even the haters are drooling over that PDW stock

maybe we can get a non res out of them someday, who knows.
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Your post makes the classic mistake by labelling those who criticize the product as "haters". It's not realistic at all. It's easy to label and dismiss by doing this however it overlooks the reasons for the negative responses.

Many that you consider a hater wanted an excellent NEA product. We want a Canadian company producing good AR stuff.

What we don't want is to buy crap or flawed products that are billed as being good. With Norinco you know what you're buying.

Don't put icing on a turd and try to tell us it's a cupcake. Especially after we've all seen the ingredients list.

I want them to succeed. But I also want them to get that kick in the a$$ so they make a good product rather than selling mediocre and having anyone that calls them on it or their business practices banned. The so called "haters" are the only ones that will keep them honest.

I've been following this AR project since they first announced it. Same with that PDW stock. I want these products. What I don't want is the disapointment that's happened too frequently. Hopefully this will eventually be a thing of the past.

The so called haters are actually just cautious potential customers. It's up to NEA whether or not they can convert them to current customers.
 
Epoxy7 said:
Your post makes the classic mistake by labelling those who criticize the product as "haters". It's not realistic at all. It's easy to label and dismiss by doing this however it overlooks the reasons for the negative responses.

Many that you consider a hater wanted an excellent NEA product. We want a Canadian company producing good AR stuff.

What we don't want is to buy crap or flawed products that are billed as being good. With Norinco you know what you're buying.

Don't put icing on a turd and try to tell us it's a cupcake. Especially after we've all seen the ingredients list.

I want them to succeed. But I also want them to get that kick in the a$$ so they make a good product rather than selling mediocre and having anyone that calls them on it or their business practices banned. The so called "haters" are the only ones that will keep them honest.

I've been following this AR project since they first announced it. Same with that PDW stock. I want these products. What I don't want is the disapointment that's happened too frequently. Hopefully this will eventually be a thing of the past.

The so called haters are actually just cautious potential customers. It's up to NEA whether or not they can convert them to current customers.
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But it's so much easier to just label people that think for themselves as "haters".
 
I own the NEA VZ 58 handguard set and am very happy with them the finish on those was awesome. They fit nicely no filing necessary it was just awesome and i never needed to deal with them as a company.

Then I was like ok I will try their AR and unfortunately it was a much different experience.

Not recommending NEA AR rifles to anyone I like for the time being. It's up to them to change my mind. Good PR skills are needed for a successful company. only time will tell, if they have 2 years of solid good quality products, hassle free warranty service if I can actually walk into a store and inspect the rifle before i purchase it. then maybe i will rethink things... as i said it's up to them i will stand back and observe.
 
Easysauce we all get it.. you are one of NEA`s happiest customers.. yay..

some people went out of their way to spread the word on how great NEA platform was and even made excuses on why they used cheaper metals and parts... alot of the said people had a personal connection to NEA and some others were shills.

Alot of AR newbs drank the kool aid and are happy :dancingbanana:

what ever floats your boat :D
 
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