For those with experience. What is the best assault rifle on the planet? or the top 2 or 3?

[BillytheFish]

This is why I left my first answer so vague. I've been in countries where we had to strip down berettas, glocks, m4s, aks and their variants in order to see what weapons we actually had that functioned...they are a tool, there is no single 'best'...but there are general weapons that can be multi-use which have already been covered here.

I've spent most of my life with firearms, yet I can tell you now the average American gun hobbyist probably knows more about the inner workings and materials than I do. So unless you're planning on becoming a hobbyist and collector who enjoys tinkering (I don't), then you might want to just keep things simple. Stick to owning something that functions, how to carry out the immediate actions and recognize basic faults...and train on the platform regularly in order to be good enough for it. The majority of weapons outperform the owner in my opinion...

There is only so much shit I can do with my motorcycle and car before I let the professionals handle it (mechanics), same with weapons (armorers).

 

[RerouteToRemain]

what M4´s do US soldiers deploy with? and wouldnt a US military grade M4 be more expensive to purchase than a nice custom civilian version AR15?

Colt and FN.

Well technically yes but no.

The "yes" since the 86 Hughes amendment ban any registered full auto lower or auto sear made before 1986 is worth a minimum of say 15-25k. The no, if the Hughes amendment didn't exist you could most like buy the M4 for like $1200.

Companies like Radian, Knights armament, Noveske, etc are like $2500.

Here is an example of what most deploy with

Radian model 1

KAC SR15

Noveske

what about the high end HK weapons or say Israeli tavor or military or law enforcement grade Berettas and glocks? and Russian made weapons.

You can buy a semi auto 416.

I believe piston driven AR/M4 (that's what the hk 416 is) are very overrated. The recoil impulse is not as smooth, they are generally less accurate, they are heavier and ultimately have more moving parts. The benefits is a cooler cleaner chamber. However you can fire quality AR's/M4 for thousands of rounds without cleaning it so it's really a moot benefit imo. I'd rather have the smoother, lighter more accurate gun.

You can buy the civilian Tavor X95 here. I've shot them. I'm not a fan of bullpup rifles. They are heavy and ergonomics/weapon handling aren't as good imo. There are some benefits but the cons outweigh the pros.

You can buy any Glock the military has. You can also buy the Beretta M9A1 and M9A3 which are basically improved versions of the M9.

Couldnt a person who is handy with metal working, make that FULL AUTO sear?

Very easily. Very illegal.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Cost is not an issue for governments

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

So unless you're planning on becoming a hobbyist and collector who enjoys tinkering (I don't),...

 

[BillytheFish]

If I take something complex apart and put it back together, I'm probably going to have some spare parts by the end...I'd be a terrible armorer

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

If I take something complex apart and put it back together, I'm probably going to have some spare parts by the end...I'd be a terrible armorer

With pistols I'd launch so many springs I'd never even get to the point of having extra parts.

God bless the AR15. So simple a keyboard jockey can assemble one.

 

[BillytheFish]

With pistols I'd launch so many springs I'd never even get to the point of having extra parts.

God bless the AR15. So simple a keyboard jockey can assemble one.

I once dropped one of the collars from the gas block of an M240 into a vent on the vehicle we were using remotely...took us 3 hours of taking the cab apart to get it....the lads wanted to murder me haha

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I once dropped one of the collars from the gas block of an M240 into a vent on the vehicle we were using remotely...took us 3 hours of taking the cab apart to get it....the lads wanted to murder me haha

Outside of firearms, I avoid anything mechanical like the plague.

 

[tinker_190]

No love for the Gallil family here?? I'll throw out the RK 62 for consideration

But OP, this is going to get subjective rather quickly.

 

[newerest]

Due to durability I'd guess the AK. There's a clip I saw where they smeared mud in the guns and the AK still worked fine, when the M4 stopped working.

The clip was on one of the Deadliest Warrior episodes.



This isn't the clip but found this anyway.

That video shows the ar15 to be far more resilient to mud. Which is expected. Its a far more closed system than the ak.

 

[Roaming East]

Only thing Piston driven AR's are good at doing is taking your money, being heavy, and throwing a little bit less spice in your face when you rock it suppressed. Not worth the weight cost and accuracy reduction. I could build you an Aero Precision AR-15 for about a grand that would shit on most of what you'd be issued as a bog standard 11B in the Army. 'military grade' just means 'we bought it cheap in bulk and it meets the most basic qualification for functionality'.

 

[Gregolian]

Only thing Piston driven AR's are good at doing is taking your money, being heavy, and throwing a little bit less spice in your face when you rock it suppressed. Not worth the weight cost and accuracy reduction. I could build you an Aero Precision AR-15 for about a grand that would shit on most of what you'd be issued as a bog standard 11B in the Army. 'military grade' just means 'we bought it cheap in bulk and it meets the most basic qualification for functionality'.

It also means that you're SUPPOSED to be able to dump it all in a vat of solvent, dry them, then a barrel of oil and assemble a gun ala the grease gun.

That's the biggest thing about "mil-spec" rifles isn't it? The interchangeability of the parts.

 

[RerouteToRemain]

That's the biggest thing about "mil-spec" rifles isn't it? The interchangeability of the parts.

Minimum build/material standards and part specs/dimensions.

 

[Roaming East]

Minimum build/material standards and part specs/dimensions.

yeah. with technology and modern manufacturing the way it is, youd have to deliberately make a machine that couldnt get interchangeable dimensions right if you have the basic specs of what you are trying to make.

The real question is, knowing this. Why cant American manufacturers make a Kalishnikov worth a shit?

 

[newerest]

The real question is, knowing this. Why cant American manufacturers make a Kalishnikov worth a shit?

My understanding is the margins would be God awful and the gun would be very expensive for a high quality American made ak just because of the worker's wages involved. It's waaaaay easier to assemble an ar15 than an ak

 

[Roaming East]

My understanding is the margins would be God awful and the gun would be very expensive for a high quality American made ak just because of the worker's wages involved. It's waaaaay easier to assemble an ar15 than an ak

i can see that. Boutique companies like Noveske and SLR and 2A Armament like to act like they are hand crafting some super tight receivers, but the truth is the stuff they put out is really vanilla in terms of materials and complexity. They just upcharge the shit out of their product. A well made American AK would similarly cost in the 2k dollar figure and would absolutely have buyers up the ass as Rifle Dynamics has proven. its just nobody wants to make the damn things because you couldnt get similar profit margin for time invested. Why spend 100 man hours making a receiver that you can only realistically charge 300 bucks for, when you can spend 5 hours making a billet AR receiver and people will spend the same amount?

 

[RerouteToRemain]

SLR

SLR has some nice machine work and parts imo.

Noveske

I feel for gen 1 and 2 they were well ahead of most manufacturers. Tight sets, sub moa stainless barrels that last, m249 double chromed barrels, switchblock, flaming pig for sbrs, high round count reliability, etc. Gen 2 with one of the best forged lowers made, Vltor uppers, partnered with vltor to make keymod, short throw ambidextrous selector, etc.

After John died they had multiple people leave and new quality advances was pretty much at a standstill until recently. Their gen 4 stuff looks really nice imo. Not anything ground breaking but the stuff is looking good, comes with high quality parts.

 

[Roaming East]

SLR DEFINITELY has nice stuff. But they still over charge for them. I know this because i look at the MSRP/MAP pricing, vs the dealer cost I pay to stock their stuff. Stuff like Battle Arms Development and F-1 doesnt leave me much room to play with pricing because the margins are razor thin between dealer and msrp cost. it reflects the cost of production. I get SLR stuff just slightly more expensive than Aero Precision.

Noveske is an interesting case. They make awesome barrels and their gas blocks are nice. But the Gen 2 receivers? are you shitting me? almost 300 bills for a FORGED receiver back when they were available? Its an M4e1 enhanced lower with a different rollmark and extra 200 bucks tacked on. its literally the same in every way.

 

[RerouteToRemain]

SLR DEFINITELY has nice stuff. But they still over charge for them. I know this because i look at the MSRP/MAP pricing, vs the dealer cost I pay to stock their stuff. Stuff like Battle Arms Development and F-1 doesnt leave me much room to play with pricing because the margins are razor thin between dealer and msrp cost. it reflects the cost of production. I get SLR stuff just slightly more expensive than Aero Precision.

Noveske is an interesting case. They make awesome barrels and their gas blocks are nice. But the Gen 2 receivers? are you shitting me? almost 300 bills for a FORGED receiver back when they were available? Its an M4e1 enhanced lower with a different rollmark and extra 200 bucks tacked on. its literally the same in every way.

I see, at least slr runs 20% sales nearly every month. I've seen the receiver sets in the $350-400 range. How is that vs map?

Noveske made that in 2011, nobody was making anything like it at the time. I got mine for like $225 from Rainier in 2011. After sandy hook prices went up. I do know I pay a Noveske tax for the logo though.

Also Aero is an anomaly imo, they go for quantity sales to make their money. They are the cheapest quality manufacturer imo. Aero could get more for their stuff but they steal low end psa, poverty pony, etc by offering something much nicer for just a bit more. They also steal higher end sales from dd, bcm, colt, etc buy making something basically equally as nice but for less.

 

[Roaming East]

Noveske is hard to stock because their MAP planning is fluid. its not like Spikes who is all "20% from MSRP".
Noveske will base their MAP off of available stock and whatever THEY are selling them for so for the most part MAP is MSRP 99% of the time. it keeps the brand value high but sales low. good for them but shit for non high volume dealers. So dealers typically just sell them for whatever their website sells them for. That or get their dealer status yanked. Noveske is quick to hit you with the cease-n-desist.

and youre right about Aero. their quality is crazy good for that price point. got an M16A4 lower with the S-S-B selector markings sitting around cause i got it from them for 40 bucks lol