re: Official AR-15 thread

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A $700 rifle will perform and shoot as good as the most expensive Noveske. You decide how much money to waste on a name and rollmark when buying an AR.

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Is that so? I thought that the 10% higher carbon content and the presence of Vanadium in the barrel steels that are mil-Spec per MIL-B-11595E led to a finer grain structure and harder, more temperature resistant, long lasting barrels over their 4140 non mil-spec counterparts. While the cheaper steel isn't likely to "fail" during semi auto use, long before it reaches it's thermal threshold and ruptures, it will lose accuracy due to expansion or deformation. During sustained rapid-fire, a barrel made of mil-spec 4150 cmv steel will retain its shape and thus remain more accurate for a longer period of time than a 4140 barrel.

Even in the best steels, during casting, there could be pockets of alloys that are too large or too numerous within a given area such that it would lower the shear strength of the steel, making the part susceptible to failure under stress. There are tests that stress the parts and then inspect for subsurface defects. Some manufacturers batch test parts, while others test each part individually.

The most expensive rifles are made from better materials and often involve additional cold-working processes that create compressive stress and further strengthen parts. Parts are individually tested and inspected for defects as opposed to no testing at all or batch testing.

Since, admittedly, the differences between the "$700 rifle" and "the most expensive" will be found at the extremes oftemperature and stress, the question is will 99% of civilian ar-15 owners ever notice a difference. Which leads to the next point:

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You will never use it in a combat setting.

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I hate it when people say this. This can't be known. The history of mankind is one of war. Your statement is short-sighted and one born of a prolonged period of peace and ease. Given human nature, peace can never last. It has never, it will never. With the erosion of American dominance, it is but a matter of time.