I suspect what you think of as value has a lot to do with who you are and how you are using your AR. I've been shooting for 20+ years and have probably owned 8-9 AR's in that time. Everything from an Olympic Arms to a KAC. Also own a bunch of pistols and a bunch of other rifles. In all that time I can probably count on one hand the number of parts on any of the guns I've owned that I've had to replace because they broke. I've never broken a bolt and, if I did there are an awful lot of companies that would be willing to sell me a replacement. And what's a complete new bolt carrier group going to cost me? $100? $150? Seems to me I can buy a sh*t ton of bolts for the difference in cost between a KAC and a BCM AR 15.
But of course, I'm not a high speed, low drag operator who's kicking down doors and doing ninja rolls. I'm a 60 something guy for whom this is a fun hobby. Now that I'm retired I will go to the range 2-3 times a week and probably go through a couple of hundred rounds of 5.56/.308 a week, plus 100+ rounds of .22, 9mm or .45. If a gun is 98% reliable, accurate and handles well, I'm happy. Today I shot my LaRue UU with an 11.5" barrel. Was consistently hitting 6" steel gongs at 200 yards from a sitting position. The gun was 100% reliable - as it has always been.
Think I paid $792 for the upper assembled from LaRue. Added a blemished Aeroprecision stripped lower for $75, and I was done.
Would a KAC been any more accurate, any more reliable or any more fun to shoot? Not to me.
But of course, I'm not a high speed, low drag operator who's kicking down doors and doing ninja rolls. I'm a 60 something guy for whom this is a fun hobby. Now that I'm retired I will go to the range 2-3 times a week and probably go through a couple of hundred rounds of 5.56/.308 a week, plus 100+ rounds of .22, 9mm or .45. If a gun is 98% reliable, accurate and handles well, I'm happy. Today I shot my LaRue UU with an 11.5" barrel. Was consistently hitting 6" steel gongs at 200 yards from a sitting position. The gun was 100% reliable - as it has always been.
Think I paid $792 for the upper assembled from LaRue. Added a blemished Aeroprecision stripped lower for $75, and I was done.
Would a KAC been any more accurate, any more reliable or any more fun to shoot? Not to me.
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