In this article, We are going to cover everything you need to know about the AR-15 rifles. We have listed out the best places to get the most popular AR-15’s. We have listed out all the best AR-15 by different manufactures so that you can choose your best AR-15 in your own budget.
Who Are The Best AR-15 Manufacturers?
Before covering our picks, here’s a quick breakdown of the best AR-15 manufacturers that we feel comfortable recommending:
Best Overall AR-15 Manufacturers:
- Bravo Company (BCM)
- Daniel Defense
- Colt
- Knight Armament
- LWRC
- Larue
- Rainier Arms
- Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT)
- Noveske
- Yankee Hill Machine
- SIG Sauer
Best Mid Tier and Budget AR-15 Manufacturers:
- Aero Precision
- Palmetto State Armory
- Smith & Wesson
- Bushmaster
- Rock River Arms
- FNH
- Anderson
- Ruger
List Of Best AR-15 In 2020
We will be listing out all the .357 magnum revolvers in the order of their popularity and value they offer in the specific price range. Let’s start:
Best AR-15 For the Money – BCM RECCE-16 Carbine
The first in the list and the most popular manufacturer of AR-15 is the Bravo Company– RECCE-16 Carbine, Also known as BCM RECCE-16 Carbine. According to us, BCM is the most successful manufacturer of the best AR-15 for the money. Each and every component of their AR-15 are of high quality, dependable, and reliable. The product they are offering at the price value is far better than any other alternative available in the market. There are alternatives that are available but they are costlier than the BCM products.
Gun owners are thankful to the Bravo Company for their reliable products. The AR-15 by BCM is considered the best AR-15 for home-defense, duty, or SHTF weapons. They are known for their supplies to the US military and armed forces as well.
We don’t have a complete BCM AR-15 Rifles, the one we have is either AR-15 with BCM upper, BCM rail, or BCM bolt carrier group. If you are someone who is looking to build an AR-15 rifle, you can find a lot of BCM parts in our list of AR-15 parts and our favorite product list as well.
The RECCE 16 Carbine is the best AR-15 for the money in the present time. It is the rifle that has the best specifications with a 16-inch barrel, and a 1 in 7 twists. This can be a great option for shooters looking to do short-range firings within 500 yards. The bravo company added a few upgrades as well to make this a standard combo.
We believe RECCE-16 carbine is the ideal gun for tactical professionals and shooters who are looking to compete in a 3-gun and action rifle competition.
You will also love the furniture of the rifle. It is designed keeping in mind fast shouldering and front sight acquisition with multiple attachments points for one, two, and three-point slings. If you are someone who wants to run their gun with the body armor or kit on, then you should definitely go for this option.
You will also find an integrated compensator with the RECCE 16 Carbine, for flatter and more controllable rapid-fire shots.
Daniel Defense DDM4V11 AR-15 Rifle
Daniel Defense is becoming popular in the last few years for their best ar-15 rifles. They are also becoming the most recommended AR-15 manufacturer for those who can afford their price tags.
With its high-quality products, Daniel Defense is building up its reputation since 2000.
The Daniel Defense DDM4v11 is a KeyMod handguard version of the popular DDM4 line. You can clearly see in the model above, the DDM4V11 has a 15″ free-floating handguard on a 16″ chrome moly vanadium steel, with the cold hammer-forged barrel.
The gas system in the DDM4V11 AR-15 is a pinned mid-length system. As in the case of all the BCG’s, it is auto rated.
The lower of this AR-15 is the original Daniel Defense’s own parts, with their glass-filled polymer pistol grip and buttstock. We have listed this in our list of the best AR-15 rifles for money because it has an ambidextrous safety selector, which everyone prefers with their rifles.
You can consider this as the fantastic all-around rifle, it is considered the perfect AR-15 Rifle especially when compared to some of the other AR-15 rifles from our list. The only potential upgrade which you can consider can be the trigger.
Here are some of the basic information:
- Barrel Length – 16″
- Overall Length – 32.25″-35.875″
- Weight – 6.2 lbs
- Gas System – Mid-Length
Bushmaster XM-15 Standard Heavy A3 Carbine
Bushmaster is also a renowned manufacturer of best AR-15 rifles for a long time, they are known for their high-quality rifle with the strong build quality and amazing finish. XM-15 is one of their best AR-15 rifles which is very popular among the shooters and rifle lovers. XM-15 Standard Heavy A3 Carbine is a plain AR-15 but with some little enhancements, it can consider as the best AR-15 rifle for the money.It uses a 16-inch barrel with the military standard 1 in 7 twists. We have already listed some of the most expensive AR-15 rifles on our list, but the Bushmaster XM-15 is the only AR-15 that doesn’t treat its barrel with chemicals.
You will find the barrel is hammer forged and chrome lined, this makes it a better quality rifle than that of a standard military contract rifle.
The XM-15 rifle is considered durable and the chrome-lined barrel is perfect for the short-range tactical shootings. You will not find it the best option for the long-range precisions.
Bushmaster rifles are known for their reliability and that is why the internals of the Bushmaster XM-15 is ripped straight from the M16 and M4 models, with bolt carrier of M16 and feed ramps of M4.
You will find the military-style bolt carrier group and feed ramps which don’t have great performance with the steel-case ammunition. The XM-15 can be considered the best choice for shooters who use brass-cases rounds.
You can easily remove the carry handle and rear sights via a rail mount, but the front sight is fixed. This combination makes XM-15 the best choice for shooters who are looking for an AR-15 red dot sight that co-witness with their front iron sight.
You will also find the furniture of the XM-15 as the standard M16 and M4. It is a great starter rifle as it has a basic 6-position adjustable stock, a standard M16 pistol grip, and handguards with the standard furniture and the iron sights.
We consider XM-15 as a solid option for everyone who is looking to buy a complete and affordable AR-15 rifle. You can easily upgrade it later to get the best performance.
Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport II AR-15
M&P 15 Sport II is also a very popular AR-15 rifle that is manufactured by Smith & Wesson. Smith & Wesson are known for making rifles and pistols for military and police agencies.
The high-quality rifles designed by them are considered great as they meet the agency requirements at the best prices. You can consider Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport II as the best AR-15 option as it is a perfect blend of quality and price.
It uses a standard 16-inch barrel with a twist rate of 1 in 9, and that is the reason it is best suited for lighter ammunition. The barrel on M&P 15 is coated with Smith & Wesson’s Armornite finish on the inner and the outer side i.e more durable than a chrome finish.
It is a lightweight when compared to other AR-15 rifles. You will find a lightweight barrel and that is the reason it reduces the overall weight. The demerit is that it heats up very faster when you’re having some heavier shoots.
You can consider M&P 15 as the most ideal AR-15 for tactical situations. It also has a removable flip-up rear sight, you can keep it aside if you are using a red dot or any other optic. The threaded barrel will help you in attaching a suppressor or other muzzle devices.
Radical Firearms RF 16
Radical Firearms are considered best in the list of budget Ar 15 rifles for a long time now. Not everyone can buy Ar-15 rifles worth 1500$+ and for those people, We have the Radical Firearms RF 16 as the best option available.
They are known for their high-quality products at the best affordable prices. Radical Firearms RF 16 is one of the best examples of a great combination of quality and value for money.
The barrel os RF 16 is the civil standard 16 inches and a twist rate of 1 in 7 for better performance with heavier ammunition. It also has a melonite coating for more durability and reliability.
It can be considered a great option for hunting, competition, or tactical shooting.
They also applied the melonite coating to their bolt carrier group so as the reliability and longevity of the rifle can be increased. The lower receiver of the RF 16 is built entirely with a mil-spec parts kit, but you can also choose the model with the pistol grip and stock upgrades.
LWRC Enhanced Individual Carbine (IC) AR 15
LWRC is the popular manufacturer of the best gas piston system in the market. The LWRC rifles are more reliable and durable than any other impingement rifle. The LWRC IC-SPR is the best iteration of the extremely popular M6 lines of rifles. The barrel of the LWRC rifle makes this gun stand out from the crowd. It has a 14 inches barrel and a 1 in 7 twists. The barrel is optimized for faster cooling while shooting long strings of fire. The NiCorr surface conversion provides superior durability which can last up to 20,000 rounds, According to LWRC. It also has an IC with a gas piston system. They have designed their system to vent out the gages near the front sight, away from the shooter. This helps up in preventing the gas from being blown back into the bolt carrier group for clean and superior operations and reliability.With the clean running gas piston system, it also uses nickel-boron coating for the bolt carrier groups for smoother operations. It is a durable AR-15 rifle that will run any kind of ammunition.
The pistol grip consists of rubber for better grip and comfort and the forend is completely customizable from the user end. It is best suited for tactical situations and long-range fixed position shooting as well.
If you are a left-hand shooter then also you are going to find this rifle comfortable as it has a completely ambidextrous lower receiver for easy navigation and controls.
The gas piston system has made this AR-15 the most reliable AR-15 in the list of best AR-15 rifles available for the money.
Colt M4 Carbine
Colt is known to be the manufacturer of original M4 and M16 and they have been delivering these rifles to the US military for more than a couple of decades now.If you are looking for a rifle that is being used by the US army then Colt M4 carbine is going to be the exact match for your search.
Just to make sure the rifles are legal for civilians, the barrel used in Colt M4 carbine is 16 inches. The twist you find in this is same i.e 1 in 7 twists and is used for all the military rifle models.
It is also chrome lined and you will find a compensator capped on it. This makes it a good rifle for rapid firing, but remember that the civilian modal has no burst fire option.
All the parts like the bolt carrier, trigger, etc are built with the same standards that are mentioned by the military in their contracts.
It is the best option till the time you don’t shoot a lot of steel-cased ammunition.
Ruger AR-556 MPR
Another popular AR-15 rifle in the list is the Ruger Ar-556 MPR. It is designed keeping in mind the needs of every shooter who’s looking to buy an AR-15 rifle for home defense within a limited budget. You will get everything in this rifle that is required in a home defense rifle and that is the reason it is considered as the most functional and affordable home defense rifle.
Talking about its barrel, it has an 18-inch barrel just to make sure you can own this rifle without violating any rifle laws. The barrel is short and that is why this is an ideal option to handle inside a house. You will not have to compromise on accuracy and muzzle velocity for defensive ammunition.
You will find the barrel with a 1 in 8 twist art which is considered better for ballistics along with lightweight defensive bullets.
You will not find any sights but you can easily mount any sighting system on its full-length Picatinny rail. It is because most of the home-defense shooters will either use a red dot or a holographic sight.
You will also find the pistol grip and stock being the Magpul MOE equipment. Both the stocks of this rifle and the pistol grip are very simple to use and comfortable. It is also a great upgrade over standard mil-spec furniture. Also, the forend is a full-length free-float handguard with M-LOK attachments which makes it easy to mount any light in any position you need.
This is not the cheapest AR-15 rifle but with certain upgrades, it is considered the best AR-15 rifle for home defense.
Conclusion
This was our recommendation for the best AR-15 Rifles that you can buy today. We will recommend you BCM RECCE-16 Carbine for the best budget-oriented AR-15 and the performance-wise we will recommend you to buy Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Rifle.
Do check out our list of best AR-10 Rifles.
If you think we missed something then do let us know