Opinion on Bushmaster Upper

[snakep]

I'm looking for an upper and was considering Bushmaster's 16" flattop heavy contour barrel w/ free floating forend. Quality-wise how does a BM stack up to a Windham, RR, DPMS, Del-ton, etc? Thanks in advance for opinions...

 

[Omaha419]

I wouldn't go for a questionable brand like BM. Stick with Noveske, BCM, Colt, DD, etc.

I would avoid the others you listed as well.

Why my opinion?

Fact checking for hours and hours when I was shopping for an AR.

Bought a BCM.

 

[Indiana Jones]

it stacks up just as well as the others. my complete bushmaster has thousands through it and it hangs very with my Colt. never had a single malfunction. its been dropped, scraped, painted, sat on (yes), and fallen down a flight of stairs. not so much as a hickup with any ammo whatsoever. dont fall for hype when it comes to ARs. a torture test video doesnt mean shit unless someone fails it.

My favorites in no order: Colt, BCM, Bushmaster, Rock River, Hk, S&W

 

[Omaha419]

it stacks up just as well as the others. my complete bushmaster has thousands through it and it hangs very with my Colt. never had a single malfunction. its been dropped, scraped, painted, sat on (yes), and fallen down a flight of stairs. not so much as a hickup with any ammo whatsoever. dont fall for hype when it comes to ARs. a torture test video doesnt mean shit unless someone fails it.

My favorites in no order: Colt, BCM, Bushmaster, Rock River, Hk, S&W

I am sure people had great experiences with with Yugos.

Doesn't mean you should limit your purchase with consumer grade stuff. To counter your story I know three different people with bushmasters that had issues. They bought colts and BCM and not a single issue.

I could've ended my post with YMMV, I suppose.

 

[BradMacc82]

Rock River - nice stuff, but AFAIK no more sales to MD post Oct. 1st (aside from LEO/.gov).

Bushmaster (pre-Freedom Group) was a solid rifle for the money, since the buyout, meh.

Windham is the original owner's/employees of Bushmaster, hear they're putting out a solid performer for the price. No personal experience.

DPMS, not a fan, but I do use their stripped uppers for builds - good tight fit on my lowers.

Del-Ton, no personal experience, but in the same ballpark as PSA - cost-effective and decent.

BCM - No doubt they make a quality product. I've fondled a few of their uppers and they were nice pieces of kit. Wouldn't feel bad if I was handed one to run.

 

[Indiana Jones]

I am sure people had great experiences with with Yugos.

Doesn't mean you should limit your purchase with consumer grade stuff. To counter your story I know three different people with bushmasters that had issues. They bought colts and BCM and not a single issue.

I could've ended my post with YMMV, I suppose.

Same goes for Daniel Defense. I wont buy them for a few reasons. But what I posted came straight from the mouth of a trusted smith on this board. Bushmasters are right up there with the top manufacturers.

YMMV with everything from vehicles, to popsicles.

 

[Omaha419]

I am glad you're a lucky one with what your gun has gone through.

The failures I've seen, there is no way I can recommend them.

 

[Soundman1]

"Windham is the original owner's/employees of Bushmaster, hear they're putting out a solid performer for the price".

Excellent fit and finish .... living up to their vow to make the best firearms on the market.

 

[jimbobborg]

What kind of shooting are you planning on? We can throw manufacturer names out until the cows come home but if all you're doing is punching paper any upper will do.

 

[snakep]

...for the most part just punching paper...that's why I was thinking of the BM upper...I was planning on putting a lower end scope on it (maybe a Nikon P223) and shooting at around 200 yards...nothing too extreme...

 

[Multifaceted]

It has been said that Bushmaster used to make very good quality AR-15 rifles, but were alleged to have had QC issues after being bought by Cerberus. As Soundman1 wrote, Windham are basically the same owners/employees and same shop in Maine where Bushmasters were once manufactured, so some say the quality is as good [Windham] as it once was before Bushmaster was bought out.

I have a complete Bushmaster that I bought about 6 years ago, so I'm not sure if it was manufactured before the acquisition by Cerberus, but the rifle has ran flawlessly and I couldn't be happier. There was one time where I had a double feed, but I attributed that to the POS old beat up USGI magazine that I was using at the time (I no longer use it). Other than that, thousands of rounds shot reliably.

Had I known more about AR-15s back then, I might have bought something other than a Bushmaster, but I don't regret the purchase.

 

[sailskidrive]

I am glad you're a lucky one with what your gun has gone through.

The failures I've seen, there is no way I can recommend them.

Please do share your well travelled experiences...

 

[amoebicmagician]

I am sure people had great experiences with with Yugos.

Doesn't mean you should limit your purchase with consumer grade stuff. To counter your story I know three different people with bushmasters that had issues. They bought colts and BCM and not a single issue.

I could've ended my post with YMMV, I suppose.

New Bushmaster is not the same as old bushmaster, which is not the same as sort of old bushmaster.

The company has gone through several hands, and quality control has been a roller coaster ride.

Back when their logo was not a snake, but the bushmaster 'assault pistol' they were turning out, bar none, the best non custom AR-15s to be had on the consumer market.

That was because the company was run by people who really loved the guns they were building.

They got bought out and now are owned by Cerberus corporation, who owns Remington and a host of other companies.

Trying to make the bottom line a little blacker, they cut costs and started using crappy workers and inferior parts.

Once the name started to suffer, they improved the quality, but it's still not as good as the old school bushmasters.

All the people that built that original company were told to suck an ass and are now running Windham Weaponry, making great rifles.

Bushmaster as of right now is putting out a quality product, but not exceptional like it was in the beginning.

 

[amoebicmagician]

It has been said that Bushmaster used to make very good quality AR-15 rifles, but were alleged to have had QC issues after being bought by Cerberus. As Soundman1 wrote, Windham are basically the same owners/employees and same shop in Maine where Bushmasters were once manufactured, so some say the quality is as good [Windham] as it once was before Bushmaster was bought out.

I have a complete Bushmaster that I bought about 6 years ago, so I'm not sure if it was manufactured before the acquisition by Cerberus, but the rifle has ran flawlessly and I couldn't be happier. There was one time where I had a double feed, but I attributed that to the POS old beat up USGI magazine that I was using at the time (I no longer use it). Other than that, thousands of rounds shot reliably.

Had I known more about AR-15s back then, I might have bought something other than a Bushmaster, but I don't regret the purchase.

If the logo is not the snake, then it is the original company.

If it was the snake, you have about a 20% chance that it was from the old lot, and you can find out by tracking the serial number.

If it works flawlessly though, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Multifaceted]

If the logo is not the snake, then it is the original company.

If it was the snake, you have about a 20% chance that it was from the old lot, and you can find out by tracking the serial number.

If it works flawlessly though, I wouldn't worry about it.

It has the Viper logo on the lower, and yeah, I am curious at times but not really worried about it.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Is there a chance you could buy a Bushmaster upper and it run flawlessly? Sure. Why not? I could drive my car into a brick wall doing 80 miles an hour and I might live.

Doesn't mean it's a good idea.

If you don't feel like dropping the cash on a BCM or DD then grab something from PSA. They are always running sales on their uppers. Going that route would get you a hammer forged 1/7 FN barrel for just a little more than what you'd pay for the Bushmaster.

 

[tvng22]

I have a BM XM15-e2s and a Colt M4. The BM was my first M4 and I've put 3000 rds through it with no malfunctions ( Shooting steel and standard 556/223).

I love the Colt, its my primary rifle, but I'd have no problems taking out the BM to shoot a couple hundred rounds at all.

 

[amoebicmagician]

my old bushy is by far the best running AR I've ever had my hands on.

Never a hiccup in countless rounds, 90% of which are Wolf or Tula steel cased in a variety of boxes (Herters, etc), and groups better than my RRA 22 inch varminter.

It is an HBAR, however, but still.

 

[Omaha419]

Please do share your well travelled experiences...

BCG stuck on two of them, multiple FTF. Followed by stove pipes.

Is that satisfactory?

 

[obsolete]

I have had great luck with Bushmasters. But I did buy mine back when a rifle sale was a handshake between gentlemen. Back then, the only change I made was to add a .040 taller front sight, so I could run aftermarket flips with a Santose zero.

With all guns these day, it comes down to just how good you are at fixing your own weapons. If a chamber is short, I don't mind reaming it. If a part isn't built to spec, I don't mind replacing it. If a gas port is too small, I don't mind opening it. The question is do you cry about it or do you take the time to learn to fix it.

In the last two years, I have seen more problems on every maker's production ARs. Be a man, buy some tools, read a book and make it right. In the end, you may find it's more fun to fix them than to shoot them. Put the word out to your friends that you'll work on their stuff for free. You will never be short of projects and you will learn something new with every repair. I've been doing that since I built my first parts AR back in 1979 with a Sendra lower and a Sarco ad. $289 for a nice M16 kit if I recall. Just had to cut the auto hammer into semi configuration and swap the safety.