Cheap AR’s: Good Enough?

Cheap AR’s. Are they good enough?

At the time this is being written, AR-15 variants from major manufacturers are available from just under $400 US on up to as expensive as you would want to spend on a gun.

A careful shopper who doesn’t mind a bit of DIY can build an AR from parts for even less, but for the purpose of this discussion I’m going to talk about an off the rack gun.

A Cheap AR

The subject of today’s article is a Del-Ton Echo 316L I purchased for $400 at a local gun shop. I chose an optics-read M4 carbine, a flattop without a front sight post since I planned to equip this gun with a red-dot sight. 

Here’s a blurb from the Del-Ton website about the gun:

“The Echo 316L Optic Ready has a 16” light weight melonite barrel with a low profile gas block, 1×9 twist, MilSpec M4 stock, CAR handguards with single heat shields, and A2 flash hider.

The Echo 316L Optic Ready comes with 1x 30rd magazine and a CA approved Gun Lock. Shipped with a Chamber Safety Tool in the chamber, clearly showing the weapon is unloaded.

Optics ready rifles allow for a view unobstructed by the front tower.”

Specs of the Del-Ton

Barrel:

• 4140 Melonite Steel
• 16″ Length, 1×9 Twist
• Carbine Gas System
• Threaded Muzzle, A2 Flash Hider
• Manganese Phosphated
• Melonite under DTI Low Profile Gas Block
• Lightweight Profile

Chamber:

• 5.56 x 45mm

Bolt & Carrier:

• Phosphated 8620 Steel Carrier Assembly
• Carpenter 158 Bolt
• Mil-Spec
• Chrome Lined Carrier Interior
• Carrier Key – Chrome Lined, attached with Grade 8 Screws
• Properly Staked & Sealed Gas Key

Handguards:

• Carbine Length
• Aluminum Delta Ring
• Single Heat Shield

Upper Receiver:

• Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum
• A3 Flat Top w/ White T-Marks
• Hard Coat Anodized
• Mil-Spec
• Ejection Port Cover and Round Forward Assist
• Right Hand Ejection

Lower Receiver:

• Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum
• Hard Coat Anodized
• Mil-Spec
• Mag Catch Button
• Semi-Auto
• A2 Grip

Buttstock:

• MilSpec M4 Buttstock
• MilSpec Buffer Tube
• Carbine Buffer

Included:

• 1 x 30rd Magazine
• Chamber Flag
• Gun Lock

Weight:

• 5.8 lbs. Empty

Length:

• 36.375″ Fully Extended
• 32.625 Collapsed

Looks like a reasonable setup? So what’s the difference between cheap and expensive?

Well, there are several “levels” of AR’s, the cheap guns like this Del-Ton, then “mid-level” guns which are basically very similar to the cheapest AR’s but with upgraded accessories, furniture and components. Higher-end AR’s have vastly upgraded barrels, bolt carrier groups, triggers, handguard/rail systems and other items.

There’s no doubt that a high end guns offer a much better shooting experience… no dobut whatever… but this article is on a prepping website, not a gun journal… so lets compare the effectiveness of a cheap AR vs. a top-of-the-line model from a prepping standpoint.

Are Cheap AR’s accurate?

Yes.

But.

Don’t you just love “yes, but” answers? In this case it’s the truth, however.

This Del-Ton, when scoped with a quality optic (I used a Nikon 223 scope) is accurate to an inch at 100 yards (one Minute Of Arc or 1MOA) in the first group. That’s the yes part.

The “but” part involves the barrel on the Del-Ton. It has a light-weight design and it’s made out of standard materials. When this type of barrel heats up, it starts to lose pinpoint accuracy. 

How much drift in there. In my testing, after 100 rounds the Del-Ton has a 4MOA accuracy level. Is that good? Well, the acceptance level for “rack grade” military firearms is 4MOA, so even hot this gun meets that standard.

Having said that, more expensive guns with better barrels will be significantly more accurate.

Hand Guards / Quad Rails

Put quite simply, the hand guard on the Del-Ton offers basic functionality, nothing more. It’s basically a plastic case with one heat shield (a pressing of metal held in with some rubber knobs). There are holes on the top and bottom, and the guards can be modified to add two rails to hang accessories.

IMHO the front hand guard should immediately be upgraded to something a bit more serviceable (like an inexpensive Magpul front hand guard).

Expensive AR’s come with excellent light, strong quad rail system (often free-floated) that allows easy access to accessories. You can, however, upgrade your Del-Ton but that adds expense.

Stocks

The Del-Ton comes with a functional but unexceptional 6-position stock on a milspec width tube. What does the size thing mean? There are two common sizes, one (civilian) slightly larger than the other. I have no idea why they did this, but just be aware you need the right size to match your firearm.

Upper-end AR’s have much more advanced stocks, often with quick-release options for straps, better cheek weld positioning, build quality, weight, etc.

Bolt Carrier Groups / Charging Handles

The Del-Ton has a perfectly serviceable bolt carrier group (BCG), but it is very basic and frankly there are much better BCG’s out there. Better BCG’s are more robust, longer wearing, lighter & stronger. They also tend to cost as much as the entire Del-Ton rifle. 

Trigger

The Del-Ton has a basic trigger group. In truth the trigger pull is not bad at all, it’s fairly crisp and not too heavy. I measured a 10-pull average trigger pull weight of 5.2 pounds. That’s significantly less than the 8.5 weight that army standards set for US Military triggers. 

Better triggers don’t necessarily mean “lighter pull”, in fact it’s hard to describe premium trigger feel… it’s just obvious when you feel it. Premium triggers are easy to set as far as pull weight goes, they are smoother and have other features that vary by model.

So what does this mean?

Let’s go ahead and bottom line it here, does all of this mean that a cheap AR like this Del-Ton is “good enough” for preppers?

Yes it is, for preppers who are not gun enthusiasts.

For preppers who plan to shoot a lot or use their AR for extensive training? It’s probably going to need upgrades.

The good news is that, as modular as the AR system is, upgrades are easy to do if you buy a Del-Ton and want to upgrade it over time.

A Note On Cut-Rate Guns

There are some very inexpensive AR’s that are not “full feature” guns… generally these are tagged as “sport” models, and they skip features like the forward-assist system, shell deflector (important if you shoot the gun left handed) and dust cover. 

I don’t recommend these cut-rate guns, since full-featured low-end AR’s run about the same price.

Salty’s Mods

The Del-Ton doesn’t look how it was pictured any more… I shot the pictures of the gun bone-stock. I have replaced the furniture with a Magpul MOE hand grip, Magpul MOE stock, Hogue pistol grip and it’s now wearing a Sig Sauer Romeo 7 sight.