NEA vs Norc AR - help me justify spending more $$$

Suputin said:
Gun owners surely are a strange bunch.

I bet not one of the guys going on about how everything else is overpriced compared to the Norc drives a Yugo or some other kind of crap cheap car. Why not, you rush to buy the cheapest gun possible, why not the cheapest car possible? Or even the cheapest house possible? Do you have an old B&W TV with rabbit ears or a nice big flatscreen?

Why do people buy Mercedes or Porsche when they could drive a Lada? Grocery shopping or taking the kids to school, what are you getting for all that extra money spent on the Mercedes?

If we look back through this forum there are many calls for Canadian manufacturer's to produce an affordable black rifle. This has been the Holy Grail of CDN Gun Nutz. Now that a company is doing just that all we hear is how it is too expensive compared to a Norc. :HR:

We know from the past that the Chinese put lead in children's toys and rat poison in dog food all to save money on production. Does anyone really want to argue that they are only using the best metal stock and components in their export guns?

We never seem to hear the end of that stupid ARFcom table. Does anyone think the Chinese are mag-particle testing or any of that other ND testing deemed so important on N American guns on any of the parts in their export guns?

This entire thread is ridiculous to its core. Someone already said it here. If you can't work out why an NEA rifle costs a few hundred bucks more than a commy built rifle then you are clearly too cheap to distinguish the benefits of a better built and better quality rifle.
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Amen. Cheap crap will always be cheap crap, no matter how its sugar coated
 
Suputin said:
This entire thread is ridiculous to its core. Someone already said it here. If you can't work out why an NEA rifle costs a few hundred bucks more than a commy built rifle then you are clearly too cheap to distinguish the benefits of a better built and better quality rifle.
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For f--k sakes...

The point of the thread is me looking for reasons NOT to buy the Norc and instead spend money on a better built rifle. Read the title... "HELP ME JUSTIFY SPENDING MORE $$$" on my first AR. I can't tell the benefits of the NEA because I've never handled one and I know some people here have, so just wanted some first hand opinions to seal the deal.

But asking that makes me a cheap and ignorant communist, eh? It's nice to feel welcome.

For reference, useful responses (instead of soapbox rants) would have been along the lines of:
-It's made out of metal X which should last longer...
-It's made with more precision so should be more reliable...
-The barrel is coated with unicorn tears making your bullets go "wheee" as they come out of it.

Now that a company is doing just that all we hear is how it is too expensive compared to a Norc.
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There hasn't been one person in this thread say that the NEA is too expensive compared to a Norc.
 
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I think there is just no answer other than "it's a better quality gun".

I mean are you looking for an explanation of what "better quality" consists of in regards to ARs?

Are you looking for an explanation of why people find better quality guns preferable?

It's just difficult to explain other than saying, "one is a cheap gun built with suspect parts and one isn't." But it's hard to imagine how that is not self-evident, so it's difficult for those of us who have a point of view on the subject to give an answer that doesn't sound like, "if you have to ask you won't understand the answer."
 
misanthropist said:
I mean are you looking for an explanation of what "better quality" consists of in regards to ARs?
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Exactly.

What makes a higher quality AR a higher quality AR? Better trigger? Better fit for parts? Nicer finish? Built in quad rail... Etc... Like I said, I'm new to ARs. If someone says it'll have a better trigger and last longer, that's all I'm really looking for. The price tag is in my budget and I don't mind spending the cash on a better built gun, just need a tiny bit of a push.
 
You are getting a CNC machined billet lower with the NEA vs. cast Chinese lower that may or may not be within correct specs. NEA stands behind their product 100%. If something manages to squeek by their QC, they will make it right 100% of the time. The fit, finish and overall quality of NEA products trumps the Norinco on every level. When you add in the "extras" that you're getting with the NEA rifle, the decision should be a no-brainer. Once the NEA rifle hits the market, you're going to see AR prices, whether Norinco, or US manufacture drop across the board. I think NEA is going to own the entry level AR market unless something really strange happens.
 
Easiest way to get a grounding in what AR quality looks like is to start by reading through the notorious "The Chart".

Ignore the chart itself...read the explanations of everything.

This is not the be-all-end-all of AR quality, but it will generally give you some idea of where manufacturers typically skimp.

Chinese guns, in my experience, have good large components, and lousy small parts.

Receivers and barrels and slides, things like that...generally not an issue.

Lower parts kits, and SPRINGS especially...absolutely can not be trusted.

Anyway here's the chart, which irritates many but does contain useful information and will give you a good basic idea of why a Colt costs more than a DPMS, anyway.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pwswheghNQsEuEhjFwPrgTA&single=true&gid=5&output=html
 
Perfect!
Thanks guys, I'm in. Now just have to decide what barrel length to order it in!
Good read with the explanations on that chart as well. Looks like I've got a lot to learn about the platform.
 
the_klenzer said:
Exactly.

What makes a higher quality AR a higher quality AR? Better trigger? Better fit for parts? Nicer finish? Built in quad rail... Etc... Like I said, I'm new to ARs. If someone says it'll have a better trigger and last longer, that's all I'm really looking for. The price tag is in my budget and I don't mind spending the cash on a better built gun, just need a tiny bit of a push.
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The answer to your question has been said already, but here goes...

The reason NEA-15 will be worth extra money is,

-Machined Billet Upper (Strength & Appearance)
-Machined Billet Lower (Strength & Appearance)
-Free Float Quad Rail (Strength, Performance & Appearance)
-Barrel and receiver internal coatings (Performance)
-10.5 or 14.5 Barrel Options (Variety to suit your needs)
-Type III Ano (Better Finish)
-Canadian Warranty (No brainier)
-Canadian product support (No brainier)
-All parts Canadian manufactured (No brainier)
-Canadian quality Control (Better then child labor control)
-Supporting the Canadian Economy (No brainier)

I think thats about it, is that worth the extra 200 bucks?
 
50calshooter said:
The answer to your question has been said already, but here goes...

The reason NEA-15 will be worth extra money is,

-Machined Billet Upper (Strength & Appearance)
-Machined Billet Lower (Strength & Appearance)
-Free Float Quad Rail (Strength, Performance & Appearance)
-Barrel and receiver internal coatings (Performance)
-10.5 or 14.5 Barrel Options (Variety to suit your needs)
-Type III Ano (Better Finish)
-Canadian Warranty (No brainier)
-Canadian product support (No brainier)
-All parts Canadian manufactured (No brainier)
-Canadian quality Control (Better then child labor control)
-Supporting the Canadian Economy (No brainier)

I think thats about it, is that worth the extra 200 bucks?
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well lets see machined billet upper and lower. everybody talks about billet like it is a codeword for awesome. with good casting technology (which the chinese have) there is little to no difference in any measurable quality between cast and billet parts. castings are made and then machining is done on cnc machines. moreover the ar upper doesn't need to be strong, the bolt locks into the barrel. buy what you want but there is not a thing wrong with the norinco ar. making a decision to support a Canadian company is a great idea. I want a strong and much bigger firearms industry in Canada and that starts here I think. no more companies will take the risk unless NEA succeeds in a big way. also a successfull ar product could lead to the holy grail we all want the non restricted canadian made black rifle,
 
FA m16 bolt carrier, dry film lube, Tungsten Impregnated Coating in the (stainless steel, polygonal 1:7 twist rifling) barrels, free float quad rail... to name a few.
Everything they're doing is function over form as far as I can tell. which is what one would want from their rifle (in theory).
all for 200 bucks more!? If you could get a Porsche for a couple thousand more than a chevy cavalier would you?
Even if your going to get a norc it may be advantageous to wait until these are released and then take a look see at norc prices on the EE.

Edit: look up what buying a comparable barrel is going to cost you for a glimpse of the value.
 
Own Nork. Love it.:)

Fast forward 16 months and theres a NEA on the shelf ,side by side with the CQB for 200-250 more.
No brainer. It will be an NEA for me please.:cheers:

Will it be any good some say? Hmmm...., if my nork which I think is great, and is considered the Worst by AR professional's,.... then that middle tier, pushing upper tier NEA AR, is going to be one hell of a Rifle for 995:canadaFlag:.
 
Norc AR with rails = $780 at most stores
NEA AR with rais = $995 at introduction

I think it's a no brainer to buy the NEA for an extra $215. Simple enough of a decision, no?
 
RememberTheSomme said:
Own Nork. Love it.:)

Fast forward 16 months and theres a NEA on the shelf ,side by side with the CQB for 200-250 more.
No brainer. It will be an NEA for me please.:cheers:

Will it be any good some say? Hmmm...., if my nork which I think is great, and is considered the Worst by AR professional's,.... then that middle tier, pushing upper tier NEA AR, is going to be one hell of a Rifle for 995:canadaFlag:.
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did you ever wonder why the high dollar ar guys hate the norc?. because it makes it way harder to sell a super expensive ar that is only a little better than the norc but costs 2-3x as much. The NEA will change the ar market because the 2000 dollar AR is going to look pretty silly in comparison providing that the NEA lives up to the hype.
 
People who buy Norincos generally are not people who buy 2000 dollar rifles to begin with...not a lot of market crossover there IMO. The existence of the Norinco really means that people who would ordinarily only buy $500 guns can now also buy ARs or whatever.

I don't think it makes it any harder to move a quality AR.

If it has an impact on any ARs, it would be the bottom of the barrel North American stuff like DPMS et al. But the high end stuff is not affected by the existence of made-in-china lookalikes.
 
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