MacCool

Bushmaster, DPMS, CMMG, Olympic Arms....these are all generally considered to be lower tier rifles. This is objectively based on the materials used in their construction, the level of QA, and observation of failure rates in high round-count situations. Subjectively, people who shoot a lot and have experience with these brands wouldn't have one. As a budget range toy, that you can take out, show your buddies your new "Army rifle" shoot a couple of hundred rounds a year then put back in the closet, those lower tier rifles can be perfectly fine. You just wouldn't want to bet your life on one. The difficult part is that in many cases you'll pay as much for a DPMS or Bushmaster as you will for a Colt. For my part, there are several brands that I own or have owned and that I'm a fan of. My suspicion about Bushmaster and its ilk is based on lots of shooting, lots of hanging around guys who shoot, many instructional carbine courses from nationally known instructors. I've heard what they say, and I've seen those rifles break in courses when they're put to the test. There are a lot of DPMS rifles around here (DPMS HQ is about 60 miles from here). Like I said...range toy?...have at it. Gonna bet your life on that rifle or take pride in owning demonstrably high-quality firerarms?...get one that's well made and reliable. Me? I'm inclined to buy the best quality I can afford. I buy my tools from Snap-On, not Harbor Freight.

Go over to M4Carbine.net and do a search (use the orange search button in the top header) on Bushmaster, or Rock River Arms, or DPMS.