Colt vs. Bushmaster

B

Bushwacker

New member
ANyone familiar with Colt AR's vs. Bushmaster AR's? I am selling my 20" Colt AR-15 and want to buy a 24" Colt AR but with the war going, they are hard to find. There are Bushmaster Varminters out there with 24" barrels, but am not sure how they compare to Colt as far as reliablity, accuracy, construction, ect. Can anyone shed some light on the comparison?
 
In my honest opinion there isn't much difference between the two except maybe price.There are however some slight differences between the lowers(machining of the insides)some of the pins are different sizes.But functionability(is that a word?)There is not much difference,They both are built to Military specs.

I have a Bushmaster A2 16" and am very pleased with it's reliability,accuracy and the price I paid for it.

Here is The link to Bushmaster if you want to check them out http://www.bushmaster.com/
I read some where that in the past few years Bushmaster was outselling Colt about 3-1.

Bushmaster has the contract with Big Brother to produce some of the wepons used by out Armed Forces
 
If it were me, I would pick the Bushmaster, hands down. In fact, I am on my second Bushmaster. Better warrantee, better quality control, better barrel quality and they are actually built to Mil Spec. Colt's aren't Mil Spec. They use oversize pins, so they don't match other manufacturer's products without a special pin setup. Colt also doesn't mill out the interior fully. You also pay a premium for the Colt name. It is not deserved.
Get a Bushmaster. I promise you will be glad you did. If you don't like it, you can give it to me. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Paul
 
Colts are fine rifles,but I have to be honest. They are no better or worse than any other AR. I have my old favorites too. Although a Colt club wont admit it,it's just fact.
The majority of owners just get them for the name. I have a couple 16 ARs that will out shoot high dollar 24 varmint models.
A real good one here this last year is the RRA 16 SS bull.
A friend took a new one to a shot show and topped many space guns. Shocked alot of shooters.
I like em all. And things change from year to year. I can remember when Bushmaster was sloppy,and RRA. I'v had Colts that were finiky too. They do hold thier values well though.But so do most others I guess. Put sun glasses on, shoot 6 different Ars, and I doubt you could tell any apart. jerryboy
 
Either brand of AR would be fine. As for price, they are both similarily priced, (here anyway) so neither one wins out on the price issue. Quality can vary with either brand. Colt had its QC problems, as did Bushmaster. For example, Colt had different sized trigger pins on some ARs which made some people holler. However, anyone remember those lovely Bushy purple tinted upper/lower receivers? There are also other good ARs out there now. Rock River Arms, DPMS, the new Olympic Arms, Cavalry Arms, etc. Look at as many as you can and pick the one that suits you best. Look here for more info: http://www.ar15.com
As for paying a premium for the Colt, it is deserved. When/if you sell your AR, wait until you see just how much the prancing pony and Colt brand name are worth. God Bless The Troops MI VHNTR
 
Colt's quality control has been poor to none, for quite a while now. Their use of non-spec parts is a pain also. If they were cheaper than everybody else, they might be worth trying, but Colt is usually more expensive.

Jack
 
Jack, I've heard you say this before and I don't see what your talking about on my Colt. I have looked at Bushmaster inside and out and I can't see any difference in quality. Mine will also shoot sub moa groups with several loads and bullet weights. Maybe I just got lucky or maybe they stepped up their quality control. Do you have any major complaints that I may be missing? BTW, I gave $935.00 for my Match Target Competition HBAR II, from what I've seen that's been pretty competitive on price.
 
Tom64
I can only say what my experience has been. People bring problem guns to me when they can not fix them. I get very few problem ARs, that are not Colts, produced within the last 10 years. My experience is not real extensive, dozens not hundreds. Statisticlly, it could be a fluke, but unlikely. I have several 20+ year old Colts that I have been very happy with.

Jack
 
I have a Colt 20" HBAR & a Bushmaster 16". I think both are excellent guns. The main reason I may lean towards a B M today is the ease & availability of easy to change uppers. The Colts do(did ?) have different size pins, which you can deal with by useing adapters. With a bushmaster a guy can easily put on any of the many uppers that bushmaster(or other co's) sells. I don't think Colt has anywhere near the variety or ease of direct to the public sales.
When we settle this let's once & for all figure out what's best, a Ford or Chevy!
 
I must say that any Colt that has been made from 1980 to this time period is not that good. unless you are real lucky and get one made by someone who cares.
I will agree with Jack 100%+ the quality department for Colt is sad....
BushMaster & DPMS are real good and the quality is great.
I have sold several Colts in AR & hand guns that have been sent back for many problem.
 
Well, I don't consider myself as being lucky, but my Colt has never had one problem since I bought it years ago. Yes, it's a pre-ban Colt AR-15, so it's been around a while. I've seen others report similar experiences too. However, I do not argue about someone elses experiences with Colt rifles either. As far as DPMS, don't buy any upper without a ejection port door and forward assist. Yes, they sell them that way, (cheap) so watch it. One more thing, if you look around, you can still get some good buys on those cute purple Bushy receivers too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif This was/is not Bushys only problem either. Take a look on: http://www.ar15.com You'll see lots of info on any brand of AR-15. So, as you"ll see, they ALL have had their share of problems, not just Colt. God Bless The Troops. MI VHNTR
 
Well I have to disagree with the above regarding the dust cover and lack of a forward assist. I use the DPMS High Rise upper without the dust cover and forward assist and it performs flawlessly.

The original AR's were designed without either but the military required such for for obvious reasons. I don't have any problems with mine and all of the thousands of reloads that have been thru it I have not had any failure that was not caused by my own reloading mishaps. All factory ammo has fed without a glitch and I believe for a hunting rig, the forward assist is not needed.

When hunting I always load my rifle before leaving my truck and have not needed to use a forward assist while at a stand. I always make sure I load the rifle from an open locked bolt postition so the bolt will slam home. Never chamber a round using the charging bar, as failure to go into battery can occur.

However if one were to use an AR as a work gun like I do, then I would recommend the forward assist due to the uncontrolled enviroments one may encounter.

Just my .0002 cents worth you may disagree but you will still be wrong /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
I heard that one of the best guns out there is the "Dogcatcher223 Custom". It is still in production and will be unveiled within the next few months, LOL. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
The DPMS without the forward assist and/or the ejection port cover can function just fine, never said it wouldn't. DPMS made it this way to cut costs, nothing more. If you're happy with it, great, glad you like it. If you don't want forward assist, then you bought the right rifle. I CAN chamber a round with the charging bar, since I DO HAVE forward assist and don't have to let the bolt slam forward in order to put the rifle into battery. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif The ejection port cover just helps to keep the weapon clean. That's not a bad idea either. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
God Bless The Troops. MI VHNTR
 
MI VHNTR: do any good during deer season up there in the U.P? I hunted it the last two years and it sucked. We hunted on the east end though near Pickford. The UP sure is remote! those swamps are a real blast to try and hunt!
 
dogcatcher223, the deer season last year was really bad. I hunted just about every day and I only saw 6 different deer. I did see coyote sign, wolf sign, and cougar sign though. Maybe that's why there was too few deer around. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Between the predators, the extremely harsh winters a few years back, and the total mismanagement of the herd by the MI DNR, it won't get better for quite a while either. I'm in the central UP near Marquette. Plenty of land here too, along with LOTS of big timber to hunt, and swamps too. That's what makes it nice though. If you are lucky enough to connect on a swamp buck, it'll usually be a dandy. God Bless The Troops. MI VHNTR
 
Bushwacker,
Based on my neighbor's experience, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a Bushmaster. He's a retired U.S. Navy Seal and has had more experience with more weapons than I'll ever be able to put my hands on in my lifetime. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Good hunting, Bowhunter57
 
I guess I got lucky. I have a Colt, made in early 1995 that I bought shortly after manufacture. No problems & it shoots sub-MOA.

However, I have not handled any Colts made recently, so one 8 year old specimen can't be taken as representative of what they're doing now. I don't any experience with Bushmaster.

I will say that if I were buying a new AR now, I would take a hard look at Bushmaster for the simple fact that the anti-gunners are currently targeting that company, so this would be a good time for them to pick up new customers.
 
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