{"id":134495,"date":"2021-09-02T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/?p=134495"},"modified":"2023-05-22T14:02:49","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T19:02:49","slug":"the-1200-ar-15-vs-the-600-ar-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/the-1200-ar-15-vs-the-600-ar-15\/","title":{"rendered":"The $1,200 AR 15 vs the $600 AR 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

The AR 15 market is easily described as \u2018crowded.\u2019 You can purchase a AR 15 at basically any price point. At one point, DPMS Oracle rifles were going for roughly $399 at gun stores. On the flip side, AR 15s can easily hit the several thousand dollar mark. Today, we will look at the difference between a roughly $600 AR 15 and a $1,200 AR 15. We\u2019ll test reliability, accuracy, and ergonomics. Can the budget AR 15 keep up?<\/p>\n

The Contestants<\/h2>\n

Both guns are mutts. The $600 AR 15 is a PSA Classic upper on an Anderson lower. Everything on this gun is stock, except for the pistol grip and rear plate with the dual sling loops. The $1,200 AR 15 is a Colt EPR upper on a Bravo company lower. Everything on this gun is stock from the factory.<\/p>\n

\"PSA
Two men enter, 1 man leaves!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To keep things fair and eliminate variables, I utilized the same ammo, magazine, and optic<\/a>. Ammunition wise<\/a> I went with 62 grain, brass-cased Federal FMJs. Magazines were the Daniel Defense DD32 magazines<\/a>, and the optic is the new Spitfire 3X prism sight from Vortex. Using the same ammo, same mags, and same optics should eliminate any performance issues between the guns from external sources.<\/p>\n

\"62
Same ammo, same mags, same optics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both of these rifles are mine and were purchased by me. Nothing has been provided outside of the optic\u2019s loan from Vortex.<\/p>\n

Before we head to the range, let\u2019s examine the external differences between the two rifles. Performance is important, but a lot of what you get for your hard-earned dinero is what\u2019s included on the outside.<\/p>\n

AR 15 Contestants \u2014 Initial Impressions<\/h2>\n

First and foremost, what likely grabs your attention the most is the handguards. The PSA utilizes a two-piece polymer handguard<\/a> that\u2019s rather plain. No rails, no slots for rails or accessories, but it\u2019s pretty light \u2014 and light is nice. On the flip side, the EPR AR 15 upper utilizes a Centurion Arms M-LOK rail.<\/p>\n

\"AR
The handguard difference is significant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Centurion Arms rail is a free-floating design with plenty of space to add all your goodies. It\u2019s also longer and allows you to reach further down the gun to control the weapon better. This rail will enable you to mount accessories and is stable enough to utilize a laser and retain zero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now another big difference is the front sight base (FSB) on the PSA AR 15 upper. It\u2019s a fixed front sight, and it works well. It crowds the view through an optic and limits your rail options, but the FSB is a tough front sight. PSA does not include a rear sight with the upper. The Colt EPR upper comes with Magpul pro folding metal sights that are robust, durable, and stay out of the way when an optic is mounted.<\/p>\n

\"AR
Stocks are a matter of preference but I really like the Bravo stock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ander includes a basic M4 style stock and A2 pistol grip. The BCM lower uses BCM Gunfighter furniture. I love this stock and find it provides a ton of comfort, as well as multiple sling points.<\/p>\n

Up Close Differences<\/h2>\n

The external differences are note-worthy, and when you get up close, you can see some more differences worth noting. First, the fit between the uppers and lowers. The $600 AR 15 is sloppier than a pig in mud. It rattles and moves, and the gap between the upper and lower is big enough to see through.<\/p>\n

\"AR
Sights are much different, but both are reliable and perfectly useable.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The opposite is valid with the $1,200 AR 15. The upper and lower have an excellent tight fit that\u2019s clean and doesn\u2019t rattle around. When you look closely at the end of the barrels, both wear A2-style flash hiders. The $600 AR 15\u2019s flash hider is crooked, just a hair from being perfectly straight. That isn\u2019t an issue with the $1,200 AR 15.<\/p>\n

\"AR
Notice the slightly crooked flash hider.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both BCGs feature staked gas keys, but you can see the difference between the staking. Colt\u2019s is done aggressively and uniformly. PSAs not so much. Colt\u2019s is done from the side and PSA from the top. However, some of the PSA marks barely hit both the bolt and key. Colt\u2019s BCG is both high pressure tested and magnetic particle inspection tested. PSA doesn\u2019t seem to do the same testing from what I could find.<\/p>\n

To The Range<\/h2>\n

The first round of testing was simple. Zero and then accuracy test the guns and optics. Both wore 3X optics, and I zeroed at 50 yards. After assuming an excellent prone position, I tried my best to wring out the accuracy of each gun. On paper targets, the Colt immediately showed an advantage inaccuracy. It\u2019s slight but noticeable.<\/p>\n

\"shooting
The Colt rifle proved to be the better shooter overall. Well worth the extra funds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I shot the PSA and Anderson rifle a fair bit more to try and get better and better groups for comparison. At the end of the day, the average group between the two rifles was significant. The BCM lower provided a much better trigger. It\u2019s a short pull, a wall, then bang, and it\u2019s consistently the same trigger pull for every shot.<\/p>\n

\"Colt
The Colt EPR produced much tighter groups.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Anderson trigger was sloppy with a fair bit of take-up and an inconsistent wall. Neither AR 15 has a match-grade trigger, but the BCM proved superior by a fair bit. I also noticed the Anderson\/PSA rifle seemed to have stiffer recoil. Both guns have carbine length gas systems, and both have the same weight buffers. This might point to over-gassing and one having a wider gas port than the other.<\/p>\n

\"PSA
I consistently had flyers with the $600 PSA upper.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

AR 15 Drills<\/h2>\n

From here, I had a little fun and did some various drills. Failure to stop, VTAC 1-5, snapshots, multiple position shooting, and more. I ran through 300 rounds with each rifle. The $1,200 rifle had zero malfunctions, and the $600 rifle had four. Two of the four malfunctions were ammunition-based and didn\u2019t fire when the firing pin struck the primer.<\/p>\n

\"AR
The bolt didn’t fully seat once while shooting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I tossed the two rounds into the Colt upper, and they fired without issue. One was a failure to extract fully, and the final was the bolt failing to go into battery when I reloaded. A quick tap of the forward assist sent it home, and the gun functioned accordingly.<\/p>\n

\"Shooting
The $600 rifle fires mostly fine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The increased recoil from the budget gun does affect par times slightly. The short handguard limits control and doesn\u2019t help with muzzle rise. I also imagine the rough cycling action beats the heck out of the gun and limits its lifespan. The softer shooting $1200 AR 15 just feels fantastic and cuts fractions of a second off of my drill times.<\/p>\n

Predictable Results?<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m not the type to make fun of \u2018the poor,\u2019 but I think it\u2019s important to understand that guns are often like everything else. You get what you pay for.<\/p>\n

There is certainly a place for the $600 rifle and other similar budget-tier guns. I love cheap guns, and as the proud owner of a Hi-Point Yeet Cannon, I think I know that cheap guns can work.<\/p>\n

\"AR
PSA Classic upper on Anderson lower and Colt EPR upper on Bravo Company lower<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, it\u2019s important to acknowledge that when you spend $1,200 on a rifle, you aren\u2019t \u2018just buying the name.\u2019 Is the extra $600 worth the performance difference? Well, that\u2019s up for you to decide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the AR 15 world, you can purchase a rifle at any price point. Here’s our $1200 AR vs $600 AR comparison testing. Does the money matter?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":134510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2616],"tags":[46,2334],"class_list":["post-134495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gun-builds-and-how-tos","tag-ar-15","tag-long-gun-reviews"],"small_media_thumbnail":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/1200_dollar_ar15_vs_600_dollar_ar_15_front-300x169.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134495"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":399696,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134495\/revisions\/399696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}