In your opinion, what is the best AR brand

I would certainly never trust a DPMS LPK, or anything DPMS for that matter. LOTS of bad things have happened/ is happening with them on the US side, especially their LPK's.

They're generally regarded as a bottom tier AR manufacturer by people who run AR's for a living. But with the kind of crap we've seen here from local companies we won't name, DPMS isn't all that bad considering the plethora of broken bolts and #### we've seen.


Daniel defense is a top tier manufacturer, nothing to do with DPMS. If you can afford both, DD ALL THE WAY!

DD triggers are pretty notorious, though.

Of course...Colt triggers are also pretty notorious.

Anyway it's not surprising to me that someone would find a DPMS trigger to be a smoother trigger than a DD. DD are replicating the M4. DPMS are building a civvy gun and are more concerned with the casual shooter's opinion than ultimate reliability and durability.
 
I'm gonna say PWS. Only because I own 2 of them and they are the nicest AR's I've owned or shot. I don't know if they are the best available but I don't need any more than what they have to offer.
Once you get up to $2000+ for an AR I think it becomes more of a personal preference than a quality issue.
One brand that is often overlooked is ATRS. On par for quality with any high end AR out there and Canadian made for a price close to what you pay for any other high end rifle.

YMMV
 
I currently run a Hera Arms upper and lower with DD guts and DD barrel. Hera delivers an extremely high level of quality... but you pay for it! I happen to like the DD stock trigger. It's actually one of the nicer stock triggers that I have personally felt. At the end of the day, unless it's a bargain basement rifle, you'll be okay... and even then, you might luck out and get a cheap gun that runs and runs and runs and runs... or not.
 
DD triggers are pretty notorious, though.

Of course...Colt triggers are also pretty notorious.

Anyway it's not surprising to me that someone would find a DPMS trigger to be a smoother trigger than a DD. DD are replicating the M4. DPMS are building a civvy gun and are more concerned with the casual shooter's opinion than ultimate reliability and durability.

the trigger in my ddmk18 was horrible, swapped it out for a KAC 2 stage and it is great.... frankly i prefer geiselle triggers as in my other 3 guns and know the limitation of the kac 2 stage so when it blows up I will be swapping it for a geiselle.... mostly the 2 stage ssa-e. going to try one of the spikes "battle" triggers in my ar15a2 build, got it at questar 15% off so is worth it to try.
 
Here's a different tact.. "Best" in my world involves service, warranty, a Canadian distributor, and warranty depot.. When (not if..) it breaks.. just how long to you want to wait.. If it has to go back to the US for repairs \ warranty work.. you can easily lose an entire season... just some thoughts..
 
So far for me, I am leaning toward the DDMK18 or DDM4 and a trigger swap based on price. However if I have excess funds I'd likely go with KAC.
 
Military suppliers are supposed to subject their rifles to some stringent tests before delivery, so I'd say anyone supplying the armed forces makes the best ARs.

I only wish Colt Canada sold to the commercial market.
 
Military suppliers are supposed to subject their rifles to some stringent tests before delivery, so I'd say anyone supplying the armed forces makes the best ARs.

I only wish Colt Canada sold to the commercial market.

Yup, I'd agree. With milspec suppliers you'd be getting something that meets a minimum standard, which is what I did when I bought my first AR's. At that time it was Colt, followed by Bushmaster and FN (which wasn't available for civvies). I was shocked at one or two of my aftermarket AR experiences (e.g. uppers and lowers from the same maker that wouldn't interchange)
Now however, you can get brands that exceed milspec in a number of ways--or so they claim-- (but you'll have to do your homework). I remember a magazine author writing that service rifle milspecs should be updated--That if we were to apply the date of those milspecs to our airforce, we'd still be flying 1960's aircraft (whoops--I guess we still are in some cases!) :)
 
Colt.

Everything else is just a copy.

You mean Armalite?
Eugene Stoner was working for Armalite when the AR was introduced to the world. Colt just proved they could build it in the highest numbers and consistently meet military specifications (milspec) and therefore got the contract.
Not taking anything away from Colt as they do make a nice rifle but I don't think they invented anything, they made the best copy when the contract was being handed out.
 
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