I have many Aero components and they are well made and reasonably priced. I’ve been looking to do an M16 clone build at some point and the Aero version is very appealing. Thanks for the in-depth video. 🇺🇸👍🏻
I have the Aero Precision M4A1 clone lower for a build ,and it's marked."M4A1", and "Property of USA" and with "Auto" selector marked. Really nice. And it has an adjuster to take up slack between the upper and lower. Beautiful. And it was $120 bucks.
Navy guy, still love the full length A4 more than the M4, despite being on a DDG and having to work with it around inside in tight passageways. I had a Mk 18 for serious stuff; always issued myself the one A4 with an AimPoint Pro on it on my duty armorer days.
I have an Aero M16A4. Slapped a surplus P&S rail, vert grip, and a Strike Eagle 1-6 on it. Once i figured out that the reticle on is kinda tuned for a 16" barrel, and I needed to establish my own holdovers for various distances, I was shocked by the accuracy and capability at diatance. Im used to 16" guns, and this just feels like a laser gun. It is a noticeable increase in range. 600yd shots are pretty easy and repeatable. Love the gun.
Half the people out here hating on Aero, more than likely have rifles with numerous Aero parts but are branded differently and they don’t even know it. lol 😂
Aero Precision follows the typical American manufacturing business model of making a product with virtually 0 quality control, then spending a ton on marketing to build up hype and buy good reviews. You can then sell cheaply made goods at an inflated price, and the average consumer wont test the product enough to realize its flaws. No military on the planet does or ever has issued an Aero Precision rifle. If they truly made the same quality product at a cheaper price then they'd be flooded with orders. FN won out the M4 contract from Colt this way; they made the same quality rifle at a lower price.
Yes they have sir. I really don’t know where you get your info from. Several of the OEM contracts have used Aero Parts. I know of several personally from various companies. I have worked in this industry in OEM for nearly 20 years. You are spreading misinformation on my channel sir.
@@SmallArmsSolutions the guy is talking about aero branded products which have quality control issues and are not mil spec. They very well may be able to manufacture to a high quality but branded products are not the same as what you get with a colt or fn.
The m16a4 clone I went with was dsa. It's pretty close. it uses a chrome lined barrel and came with the metal magazine sling vertical grip and quad rail. Only parts not correct are the bcg isn't 158, it uses m4 feed ramps and says auto instead of burst on the lower. Chris when i was in the marine corps we used knights backup iron sights did it change at some point
+1 on Windham making great rifles. I bought mine back in January 2019 for $650 (I miss those pre-Covid prices). In recent years they made a rifle called the "A1 Government" model. It was a hodgepodge assembly of A1 handguards, pistol grip, rear sight, and flash hider along with A2 upper receiver, buttstock (A1 in later production), front sight post, and barrel. Seemed to have sold quite well, especially to those that just wanted the A1 look. Some have mentioned that the A2 upper with A1 rear sight would be a good start for a C7 build.
I would have been interested in that, considering that an A2 rear sight with an A1 barrel would be my goldilocks rifle. When I was looking for an A2 upper, Windham along with everyone else was sold out with no idea when a restock was coming. I think they didn't start coming back until H&R started making them.
So far i built one off and aderson lower rest came from PSA. So i know not a true clone but it runs and holds under 2 MOA. Better than what my GOV issued M16 A4 grouped.
In the last few years I've given up on building "correct" clones and I've never found an oem that really pulled it off right. Aero used to supply lowers to military contractors and I've been after one of those old lowers for years lol. Magpul too. No now I still make my own clones but I'm no longer concerned with roll marks and end engravings so much as I'm concerned with materials and production methods for individual components. I'm making an A2 carbine now, I'll be making an A2 20" next and then a modern suppressor host.
I have an FN15 Rifle. It's a clone A4. It's not the military collector series. It came out prior to the collector series. It was discontinued some time ago. Kinda sad. It is a nice rifle. I got it for around $1100.
17:26 I can’t speak for any unit but my own, but I never once saw a backup sight. Honestly didn’t know they were a thing until a few years after I got out.
The need for shorter barrels is drastically overstated. I Carried a mossberg and A4 during training and combat duties. This included serving in a mounted platoon (dismounted from vehicles), T.R.A.P - dismounting from a Helo and point man duty in close quarters combat. I never once had an issues with the barrel. If I was ever in a really tight space I would just pull the rifles pistol grip close to my face and have the buttstock over my shoulder. There is likely no longer a need for a 20in barrel with Modern .224 projectiles. With that said there is certainly no need for general troops to be issued anything shorter than 16 inches of barrel length. The increase in chamber pressure and decibels as well as the decrease in velocity truly isn’t worth it.
Stag also makes a very cool m16A4 homage rifle. And if you are unfortunate enough to live in a ban state or have been born left handed, they have versions specifically for you.
My Aero is a tighty. Fit and finish was superb. She broke in just right. Shoots .25-.5 moa all day with 55gr ball. No joke. She even likes Russian steel case. It’s 18 inch .223 Wylde 1/8
Chris, have you checked out H&R’s version being made by PSA? Just curious what you think of those. Likely not quite as well made but it looks correct. H&R of course made some rifles for the government back in the day before the original company folded.
Built my clone off an M16A4 marked Aero lower. It has the BURST marking, but an FN Military Collector's A4 I looked at had an AUTO marking, oddly enough.
@@SmallArmsSolutions Thanks, I thought it was weird because I was pretty sure my issued A4 said burst. Can't believe FN would mess that up on their expensive military collector rifle
I doubt that. They probably don’t think my channel has enough reach compared to the big ones. But small channels do grow and that reach extends. Small channels don’t forget who helped them during the growing phase and who did not.
Be aware that just because a company subcontracts out to another company does not mean that every component that the subcontractor makes is made to that one purchasing company's spec. Shops can have multiple lines of similar products that meet a more or less stringent standard. One need only look at PSAs normal products and their sabre line to see this.
How does this relate to the quality of Aero Precision? I have never come across in nearly 20 years any out of spec components that needed returned. This goes back before they even went into business selling pun parts under their own brand. You don’t get OEM contracts if you don’t know QC. Lots of money to be lost when an OEM refuses a lot of parts due to QC. Few manufacturers have multiple lines per quality. The cost on different lines of quality would be expensive and it would also be a threat to your company reputation and ability to get OEM customers if your name is bad from making shit parts. To quality OEM will just accept a box of say upper and just throw them together. They will batch check at minimum the reviewers to be sure they are in spec. If they are not the whole batch is rejected. Higher tier OEM will not let their reputation in someone else’s hands. Not sure where your industry let alone manufacturing knowledge is coming from.
Mr. Bartocci what are your thoughts on Sweden adopting the "AK-24" which is an AR pattern rifle/carbine? I've only seen small amounts of information on it.
1:30 I’m curious about these firearm components here. An upper receiver that appears to be pseudo-monolithic? Bottom handguard is removable. And then pieces of what look like M-LOK or Picatinny rails. Yeah. I’m stumped.
Aero's Pro BCG is better than most "high-end" BCGs and their barrels or their sister company's barrel are better than most "high-end" barrels. For instance many BCM barrel have very soft extensions that get messed up when you remove the barrel and the rounds will string and the group will dance around when the barrel heats up where as the Aero barrels have a consistant dispersion even as they heat up
@@LawlessNate I see you commenting a lot in this comments section. I have an Aero Precision AC-15 (vanilla M4 style) with thousands of rounds through it with no parts breakages and it's been reliable. Not a ton of rounds but way more than 1000. I got it in 2015.
@@yupyup4209 Great. That's a sample size of 1. You can find a plethora of people, more than just a few and more than there should be, who didn't have a similar experience. Aero precision AR15s have a reputation of not lasting. Poor QC is their MO.
Chris is simply using the term as it's commonly perceived these days, but it's really sad that 'budget' has become synonymous with 'cheap'. BUDGET means good quality at a relatively low price. Aero is the very embodiment of a budget product.
I enjoy the retro ARs having used almost all of them all while in the military. But, what grinds my gears is the lack of attention to detail. Wrong bolt carriers in the older M16 models. Nitrided instead of chrome plated BCG. Nitrided instead of phosphate BCG. Nitrided instead of chrome plated bores. Cheap, retro furniture. Lowers with incorrect reinforcements. Etc... Etc... I'll pay the money if you make an actual correct copy.
@@SmallArmsSolutions Maybe purchase one then sell it sometime after the review, if legal. If not, maybe a Springfield owner can lend you one for review.
@@SmallArmsSolutions The outlay of funds to purchase one would be mostly temporary. Sell it afterwards, law permitting. You would probably get 90% of what you paid for it. Maybe more if the prospective purchaser knows it was yours. Another good point about buying one off the shelf is you know Springfield (or any manufacturer for that matter) didn't look it over carefully before sending it for review.
Sir, to be honest, most of these videos are not monetized period. I would not make enough money to cover 1/4 t 1/12 the cost. TH-cam has gone out of its way to make this not profitable, not to even break even. Especially for us smaller channels whom don’t own gun shops that they can bring in, review and then resell. I will say, Springfield has never sent had selected guns. Relatively few do.
Some of these manufacturers are only about sub numbers. Smaller channels eventually become bigger ones. The smaller channels will remember who supported them and the one that did not
Don't understand why people think Aero is lower quality than colt,but I see colt as inferior. I don't build anymore but noveski and aero matched receivers are 2nd to none. And you use a criterion or fn barrels, there is nothing better, but higher cost. The only factory complete gun I have is a rock river, but the barrel needs to go and a criterion will go on it. And if you research there is only a few foundries that cast parts for all manufacturers. As for carry handle sites, I mount them on my hand guards for backup,I have front site posts on all my built ar's,it's pinned.
No clue. BCM will not talk with me nor return calls. I have tried and Paul has ignored my requests for nearly four years., maybe longer. I do know that they manufacture nothing in house.
I would only be guessing I am afraid. i will say the majority of the OEM carriers are Microbest and Toolcraft. Microbest is the largest US Govt supplier.
As a old school dude myself I LOVE the look of these A4s. Yeah, they may be "obsolete" by modern standards, but I would love one regardless. Let's hope when The Conservatives win in Canada in 2025 they can overturn the AR-15 ban that Castreau introduced. I'm not holding my breath though...
The funny thing about the A4 is that they slapped a carry handle on it with added material, plus two gigantic tightening knobs that lay against your body for some reason and imbalance the weight to the left. Then they added the KAC rail, which while great in theory, and good in practice on the M4A1, adds, again, a large amount of weight to the fore-end due to the increased length of the handguard. It's no surprise that the USMC got tired of lugging these things around. I'd rather have an A2 if we're talking iron sights. They shouldn't have even bothered with those silly carry handles, and focused on manufacturing a decent minimalist rear sight. With the KAC sights and normal handguards, I think it's probably not as bad. Of course, the greatest legacy of this thing is Harrington and Richardson manufacturing A2 "clones" with an F marked FSB because they wanted to save a few dollars.
If you do not want the carry handle, but want a true A2 rear site I have found the best option is the rock River arms pick rail A2 rear site. It’s basically an A2 carry handle rear site quadrant with nice close form fitting Allen bolt attachment instead of large knobs. I have a couple of them and they are fantastic.
@@stephen_crumley They also had the site I mentioned with about 3-4” of pic rail that acted as a riser for any RDS mounted in front of it. Don’t know if those are still available.
What's really surprising to me is that even after all that, going from an M16A4 with the rail covers to one without, you see a very noticable difference in weight. M16A4 with carry handle and no rail covers doesn't feel especially different than an M16A2, but with rail covers, it's extremely noticable.
@@sorryociffer I bought the RRA mini A2 rear sight, the only downside is it's 6061 aluminum instead of 7075. It is noticeably softer material compared to a forged 7075 carry handle. Other than that, it's what I was looking for.
There are so many AR manufacturers out there now, if it's not a Colt, LMT or Knights Armament, then they are budget rifles. Other companies should advertise more about how their companies got started to let more people to get to know about them.
There are many more high end manufacturers than that, including DD, Noveski and Centurion Arms for starters. If I cared about that nonsense, I would probably pick up a BCM and call it a day, but I'd rather have 3-4 mil-spec TDP rifles than one boutique vanity gun.
Id rather have an in spec anderson than an outta spec DD in a fight anyday. Thats what mostly seperates good rifles from bad is the qc. U got a way better chance of getting an outta spec psa than a geisselle. Correct me if im wrong.
Until you pull the trigger you never know what you have regardless of the manufacturer. I have had highest tier guns with problems. I have had lower tier that have 100% reliability but not all the non performance related upgrades. It’s not difficult to make a rifle that runs properly as long as the key parts are controlled. It all depends on your needs. Check out the destruction tests done by Golden Webb. Now Im not one to take these test to seriously as to how the gun performs because the guns are not designed to function like this. You will see many high tier weapons that fail first. Most of the guys who buy AR rifles, they will not need one which exceeds the performance of an Aero, PSA, Colt….. They will shoot reasonably accurate reliably, it’s the 20% who want enhanced features, precision bbl, etc. Those guns are at a price point that is not out of reach for your average income American. But they are no less equipped than the guys who have the Gucci guns. Just my 2 cents.
@@illiniarmory3142 I mean I told you the origin of the rumor, it got disproven on reddit too. Also no real need to set it straight when it outright doesn’t make sense
Not an A4, looks more like an A2 like the one I used from 1997-2003 Then we got the M16A4’s with the rails on forward grip and an ACOG with the removable carry handle / iron sights. Got promoted and carried the M4 which was a 16 inch with a collapsible stock/ ACOG. Retired in 2015. So I think I know what I carried Unless civvies just call is something it’s not?!
confession time... after the hours and hours and hours of 20 yrs worht of weapons maintance. i never ever paid attention to the markings..etc my serial number..lol.. after i got out is when i learned about all these codes and markings and whe made what...lol
I have NEVER experience this. I report only on my experiences. I cannot verify anyone else’s rumors. I learned along time ago that many internet reports are unfounded. I stand by my own observations. I have reviewed many Aero guns over the last 20 years. They have been stellar in performance.
@@SmallArmsSolutions Do they send them to you from the factory? If it does come from the factory, it is cherry picked/looked at closely before it is sent out.
Competitor Ben Stoeger showed how Aero's barrels (Ballistic Advantage) have less longevity compared to others. I think he compared them to BCM. Maybe it doesn't matter as the vast majority of people will not shoot it enough to wear out the barrel. I'm curious of Ballistic Advantage's "premium" line of barrels. I don't know how long they have been out. Competitor Ben may have mentioned something else about Aero quality but it escapes me. A person can find it in his videos.
We had A2s, there's nothing obsolete about the A4 apart from the weight. Marines carried them in combat well after the US Army switched to the M4. It has all of the capability of an M4A1 plus a full length barrel. The M4 in theater was actually having a bad time with M855 green tip, which has anemic lethality past 100 meters or so. Hence the Army's recent obsessive quest for increased "overmatch" bullets to overcompensate for the deficiency. If anything, the M4 wasn't a complete combat system until it was paired with the new Mk262 / M855A1 ammunition which are much more reliable in terms of terminal effectiveness. I would personally not want to carry an M4 into combat with green tip. M855A1 on the other hand doesn't seem to care much about barrel length.
Your opinion is noted . Aero precision is a great company. And is top tier. I have 2 of there uppers 10in 300 quantum rail. And 11.5 r1 rail. Both are freaking great.
@@tk9wtky I have some PSA and aero. But that is as far as I go with budget. I have a Aero pro upper that I am in the process of putting a ton of rounds through to see if it holds up. It's doing well. I wouldn't even consider spending on BCA or any of the other very low budget company that pump out stuff without even halfway checking any specs at all. Just thrown together and out the door in a box.
How you looked at the forgings? I doubt you could see much difference between colt,FN or any other high dollar rifle. Your paying for the name that’s all. They aren’t magic forgings.
@@cagneybillingsley2165 Aero's terrible QC is very well documented on Reddit. They're fantastic rifles so long as you don't shoot them 1k+ times like 99% of shooters wont. If you actually shoot your rifle frequently then paying a bit more for something else would be worth it.
One of my Aero bolts broke two lugs off after 1,000 rounds of 300 Blk. I also have a slick slide Aero upper I built in 6.5 grendel and the quality of that forging sucks, as the cam on the Faxon BCG has eaten a huge divet into the upper but the new different brand upper with same components is perfectly fine with the same amount of rounds. Ben Stoeger has 3 broken bolts on his 4 Aero uppers and the barrels last about 4k rounds before starting to key hole with real shooting. There's a reason Aero uppers are like $300-400 and one step up from PSA and BCA.
I have an M4E1 receiver set and it is ok so far. My Aero slick side non M4E1 upper forging sucks though, so much that I tossed it and put everything into a new upper and it's all good now
I consider Aero High Quality Budget, but I don’t recommend buying a whole gun…I recommend using their parts to build. I want their new hand-guard, looks nice💯🦾.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
I know it's been said a million times, but shooting a 20" AR just feels right, you can tell it was designed from the get go that way
@@jdizzy01 Amen. Sooo smooooth.
The A1 and earlier (how it was originally designed) balance differently from the A2 and later profile barrel though.
@@timewave02012This
it really does.. incredibly smooth.
I have many Aero components and they are well made and reasonably priced. I’ve been looking to do an M16 clone build at some point and the Aero version is very appealing. Thanks for the in-depth video. 🇺🇸👍🏻
Thanks Chris and Heather For Highlighting This Fine Rifle Manufacturer 😮😀😊
I have the Aero Precision M4A1 clone lower for a build ,and it's marked."M4A1", and "Property of USA" and with "Auto" selector marked. Really nice. And it has an adjuster to take up slack between the upper and lower. Beautiful. And it was $120 bucks.
Navy guy, still love the full length A4 more than the M4, despite being on a DDG and having to work with it around inside in tight passageways. I had a Mk 18 for serious stuff; always issued myself the one A4 with an AimPoint Pro on it on my duty armorer days.
@@mealteam6masterchef you're accusing me of being silly and having fun on youtube, wow guilty as charged you got me. Wasn't a snipe btw
Chris, I value your judgement and expertise. You say Aero makes good rifles, I believe you. Thats all I needed to hear. Thanks.
A4 is life.
Before enlightenment, I built rifles using Aero parts. After enlightenment, I built rifles using Aero parts
Aero is a great producer of AR15 parts.
I have an Aero M16A4. Slapped a surplus P&S rail, vert grip, and a Strike Eagle 1-6 on it. Once i figured out that the reticle on is kinda tuned for a 16" barrel, and I needed to establish my own holdovers for various distances, I was shocked by the accuracy and capability at diatance. Im used to 16" guns, and this just feels like a laser gun. It is a noticeable increase in range. 600yd shots are pretty easy and repeatable. Love the gun.
Depending on the ammo you use, 20-inch barrels are known to be extremely precise. Original 55-grain ammo was known to exceed 1000m/s muzzle velocity
I have one of these A4 clones that I built. It’s a really good shooter. Thanks for the video.
I bought an a4 upper from aero about a year ago and its easily my favorite rifle
This is making me itch for an A2 or A4 copy, even though I am an A1 fan, first and foremost!
Half the people out here hating on Aero, more than likely have rifles with numerous Aero parts but are branded differently and they don’t even know it. lol 😂
There are different specs and quality control procedures. The gauges don’t lie. When I gauge aero branded products they have a failure rate above 50%
Aero Precision follows the typical American manufacturing business model of making a product with virtually 0 quality control, then spending a ton on marketing to build up hype and buy good reviews. You can then sell cheaply made goods at an inflated price, and the average consumer wont test the product enough to realize its flaws.
No military on the planet does or ever has issued an Aero Precision rifle. If they truly made the same quality product at a cheaper price then they'd be flooded with orders. FN won out the M4 contract from Colt this way; they made the same quality rifle at a lower price.
Yes they have sir. I really don’t know where you get your info from. Several of the OEM contracts have used Aero Parts. I know of several personally from various companies. I have worked in this industry in OEM for nearly 20 years. You are spreading misinformation on my channel sir.
@@SmallArmsSolutions the guy is talking about aero branded products which have quality control issues and are not mil spec. They very well may be able to manufacture to a high quality but branded products are not the same as what you get with a colt or fn.
@@dan6163Wow 50 percent failure on all their stuff that sounds totally true. You even used gauges
The m16a4 clone I went with was dsa. It's pretty close. it uses a chrome lined barrel and came with the metal magazine sling vertical grip and quad rail. Only parts not correct are the bcg isn't 158, it uses m4 feed ramps and says auto instead of burst on the lower.
Chris when i was in the marine corps we used knights backup iron sights did it change at some point
I have a hand full of AR's and the fit and finish on my aero M5 is flawless the best of the bunch and I have some high end AR's les bear being one.
+1 on Windham making great rifles. I bought mine back in January 2019 for $650 (I miss those pre-Covid prices). In recent years they made a rifle called the "A1 Government" model. It was a hodgepodge assembly of A1 handguards, pistol grip, rear sight, and flash hider along with A2 upper receiver, buttstock (A1 in later production), front sight post, and barrel. Seemed to have sold quite well, especially to those that just wanted the A1 look. Some have mentioned that the A2 upper with A1 rear sight would be a good start for a C7 build.
I would have been interested in that, considering that an A2 rear sight with an A1 barrel would be my goldilocks rifle. When I was looking for an A2 upper, Windham along with everyone else was sold out with no idea when a restock was coming. I think they didn't start coming back until H&R started making them.
@@tedhodge4830 I prefer an A1 upper with an a2/a4 barrel. The a1 upper is all anyone ever needed.
Nice rifle, would swap out the barrel though, add a chrome lined 4150 button cut or hammer forged. Thanks for another great show.
So far i built one off and aderson lower rest came from PSA. So i know not a true clone but it runs and holds under 2 MOA. Better than what my GOV issued M16 A4 grouped.
In the last few years I've given up on building "correct" clones and I've never found an oem that really pulled it off right. Aero used to supply lowers to military contractors and I've been after one of those old lowers for years lol. Magpul too. No now I still make my own clones but I'm no longer concerned with roll marks and end engravings so much as I'm concerned with materials and production methods for individual components. I'm making an A2 carbine now, I'll be making an A2 20" next and then a modern suppressor host.
Excellent video with Excellent information 👌 👍 👏
I have the FN I love it.
my favorite build is an Aero M4e1 upper and lower mated to a Daniel Defense Rail, with a faxon 14.5 p/w running a SOCOM RC2.
The lack of sound in your intro clip always makes me think my volume in muted.
I got a Colt AR15-A4 before WA banned semi auto rifles. Haven't taken it to the range nearly enough.
I prefer the A4 style rifles. I was in the Army Guard in 89 so I always liked rifles with 20 inch barrels.
The FN guns are made in the Columbia plant now. FN had a merger between FN America and FN MI. My personal m16a4 has the Columbia, SC markings
I have an FN15 Rifle. It's a clone A4. It's not the military collector series. It came out prior to the collector series. It was discontinued some time ago. Kinda sad. It is a nice rifle. I got it for around $1100.
@@DV8-q6n Good deal. I’d classify FN as mid tier with Aero but with a name that has “cashe”…
I have the exact same rifle, and it's fantastic. Probably my favorite rifle I've ever owned.
Was the FN15 barrel an HBAR or Government profile?
@@paulbarnes2752
HBAR
@@paulbarnes2752
Heavy Barrel.
This is absolutely a very well put together video. Nice work. Thank You.
love this kind of video
That's a cool range. Don't know if I've ever seen one set up like that. Good video
I split the difference and prefer a "Disipator" Classic look with the 16 in. barrel.
SEmper Fi 0369 94-2014... bgining back memories! i love this channel! best memories!
17:26 I can’t speak for any unit but my own, but I never once saw a backup sight. Honestly didn’t know they were a thing until a few years after I got out.
My go to SBR is built on an Aero receiver set.
The need for shorter barrels is drastically overstated. I Carried a mossberg and A4 during training and combat duties. This included serving in a mounted platoon (dismounted from vehicles), T.R.A.P - dismounting from a Helo and point man duty in close quarters combat. I never once had an issues with the barrel. If I was ever in a really tight space I would just pull the rifles pistol grip close to my face and have the buttstock over my shoulder.
There is likely no longer a need for a 20in barrel with Modern .224 projectiles. With that said there is certainly no need for general troops to be issued anything shorter than 16 inches of barrel length. The increase in chamber pressure and decibels as well as the decrease in velocity truly isn’t worth it.
Pretty much agree with your statement. One notable exception is a shower gun, I have to go as short as possible for better maneuverability.
My first AR was a 20"!
LO❤E the 20” A2 and A4!
Stag also makes a very cool m16A4 homage rifle. And if you are unfortunate enough to live in a ban state or have been born left handed, they have versions specifically for you.
@@Maelstrom8 I thought stag closed up…
@@sorryociffer isn’t stag owned by aero
@@ismaelrecinos5300 yes
@@sorryociffer They just dropped a new bolt action rifle.
A few years ago Stag's Retro A4 HBAR barrels came with a 1:8 twist. Now I believe they're 1:7.
My Aero is a tighty. Fit and finish was superb. She broke in just right. Shoots .25-.5 moa all day with 55gr ball. No joke. She even likes Russian steel case. It’s 18 inch .223 Wylde 1/8
Thank you. 👍
Let's go!! 🔥🔥
Chris, have you checked out H&R’s version being made by PSA? Just curious what you think of those. Likely not quite as well made but it looks correct. H&R of course made some rifles for the government back in the day before the original company folded.
20" for the win.
I was lucky enough to get a surplus or over run FN upper with the cage code for the A4. Just need an Acog………….😢
Love the historical background explanations with your videos. 👍
Big fan of Aero , my 6.8 SPR is aero and have an M5 308. Don’t consider them “budget” like some other brands (we know who they are).
Built my clone off an M16A4 marked Aero lower. It has the BURST marking, but an FN Military Collector's A4 I looked at had an AUTO marking, oddly enough.
FN was not clone correct. The A4 never had an Auto setting unless unauthorized conversions and the receivers would still be marked BURST
@@SmallArmsSolutions Thanks, I thought it was weird because I was pretty sure my issued A4 said burst. Can't believe FN would mess that up on their expensive military collector rifle
It’s amazing how its the most obviously thing that is overlooked
Great Video. I am a big fan of the Aeroprecision rifles I own.
🇺🇸
The "new" Bushmaster is producing an A2 clone. Haven't heard any feedback on that one, though.
I made several attempts after SHOT Show to get one for review. I guess my channel is not large enough for them to consider viable.
@@SmallArmsSolutionsmaybe they are afraid?
I doubt that. They probably don’t think my channel has enough reach compared to the big ones. But small channels do grow and that reach extends. Small channels don’t forget who helped them during the growing phase and who did not.
Great Video
Be aware that just because a company subcontracts out to another company does not mean that every component that the subcontractor makes is made to that one purchasing company's spec. Shops can have multiple lines of similar products that meet a more or less stringent standard. One need only look at PSAs normal products and their sabre line to see this.
How does this relate to the quality of Aero Precision? I have never come across in nearly 20 years any out of spec components that needed returned. This goes back before they even went into business selling pun parts under their own brand. You don’t get OEM contracts if you don’t know QC. Lots of money to be lost when an OEM refuses a lot of parts due to QC. Few manufacturers have multiple lines per quality. The cost on different lines of quality would be expensive and it would also be a threat to your company reputation and ability to get OEM customers if your name is bad from making shit parts. To quality OEM will just accept a box of say upper and just throw them together. They will batch check at minimum the reviewers to be sure they are in spec. If they are not the whole batch is rejected. Higher tier OEM will not let their reputation in someone else’s hands. Not sure where your industry let alone manufacturing knowledge is coming from.
I’m pretty sure the marines use the KAC BUIS it was the army that used the MaTech BUIS
In experience i haven't had luck with aero being in spec, just my experience
My new colt a4 has a “carbine” roll mark. Keep up the lazy work colt
Iron sights and fixed bayonets ..only if it was the m5 in 308 with enhanced bcg with sand grooves.
Trex arms had a m5 308 break during evaluation.
Always wondered how MPI worked.
Mr. Bartocci what are your thoughts on Sweden adopting the "AK-24" which is an AR pattern rifle/carbine? I've only seen small amounts of information on it.
Aero is great 👍
I so wish they offered the Armalite pattern AR 10 like they did long ago.
Any plans to review the Geissele GFR in 6mm ARC? They seem like a natural successor to the MK12. Would love to get your take on them.
I have a Geisselle Super Duty Mod 1 ready to review next month. I have difficulty getting 6mm ARC ammo
The Marine Corps still has so many M16A4s😂 our armory maintains about 20 with old ismit M16s and civilian market purchases when needed.
1:30 I’m curious about these firearm components here. An upper receiver that appears to be pseudo-monolithic? Bottom handguard is removable. And then pieces of what look like M-LOK or Picatinny rails. Yeah. I’m stumped.
The top rail is monolithic with the upper. The rails are constructed with those components
They're called Aero COP uppers. I believe aero stopped selling them because they infringed on a patent?
@SmallArmsSolutions can you tell us what make & model that charcoal grey front rest is & where to procure it? Thanks!
There’s an Amazon link to it in the description box.
👍🏼👍🏼
Aero's Pro BCG is better than most "high-end" BCGs and their barrels or their sister company's barrel are better than most "high-end" barrels. For instance many BCM barrel have very soft extensions that get messed up when you remove the barrel and the rounds will string and the group will dance around when the barrel heats up where as the Aero barrels have a consistant dispersion even as they heat up
Plenty of Aero bolts have broken in less than 1k rounds. The company's QC is awful and that fact is very, very well documented on Reddit.
@@LawlessNate I see you commenting a lot in this comments section. I have an Aero Precision AC-15 (vanilla M4 style) with thousands of rounds through it with no parts breakages and it's been reliable. Not a ton of rounds but way more than 1000. I got it in 2015.
I have several my self which have well over 5K including .308 BCG’s. I have never broken one.
@@yupyup4209 Great. That's a sample size of 1. You can find a plethora of people, more than just a few and more than there should be, who didn't have a similar experience. Aero precision AR15s have a reputation of not lasting. Poor QC is their MO.
The barrel company Aero owns does not have an excellent reputation.
Chris is simply using the term as it's commonly perceived these days, but it's really sad that 'budget' has become synonymous with 'cheap'. BUDGET means good quality at a relatively low price. Aero is the very embodiment of a budget product.
I enjoy the retro ARs having used almost all of them all while in the military. But, what grinds my gears is the lack of attention to detail.
Wrong bolt carriers in the older M16 models. Nitrided instead of chrome plated BCG. Nitrided instead of phosphate BCG. Nitrided instead of chrome plated bores. Cheap, retro furniture. Lowers with incorrect reinforcements. Etc... Etc... I'll pay the money if you make an actual correct copy.
Glad you removed the beard :)
Springfields making a m16a4 right now, can you review that one?
I tried, they only send guns to the Leviathan group members. I am not one of them.
@@SmallArmsSolutions Maybe purchase one then sell it sometime after the review, if legal. If not, maybe a Springfield owner can lend you one for review.
I requested one from Springfield to review. SAS does not make enough in profits to purchase weapons for review. TH-cam is very cruel to us
@@SmallArmsSolutions The outlay of funds to purchase one would be mostly temporary. Sell it afterwards, law permitting. You would probably get 90% of what you paid for it. Maybe more if the prospective purchaser knows it was yours. Another good point about buying one off the shelf is you know Springfield (or any manufacturer for that matter) didn't look it over carefully before sending it for review.
Sir, to be honest, most of these videos are not monetized period. I would not make enough money to cover 1/4 t 1/12 the cost. TH-cam has gone out of its way to make this not profitable, not to even break even. Especially for us smaller channels whom don’t own gun shops that they can bring in, review and then resell. I will say, Springfield has never sent had selected guns. Relatively few do.
Any idea what that front rest he’s using at the bench?
I bought 3 Aero m16a4s. 2 had clocked extensions and 1 was out of headspace. The carry handle is cheap. Aero is not good quality. Just buy a colt.
Ouch.
Can't trust Colt anymore
@@SAR0311 What do you recommend for something priced around a Colt?
Amy chance we’ll see a video on the reddit special?
Not sure what that is
@@SmallArmsSolutionsBcm upper mated with an aero lower. It’s kind of meme rifle set-up that’s also viewed as a good cost to performance ratio.
BCM does not answer my calls nor emails. Been trying for years to get product for review
@@SmallArmsSolutionsI’m sorry to hear that. I definitely value your opinion, and wish you had better recognition from a lot of manufacturers.
Some of these manufacturers are only about sub numbers. Smaller channels eventually become bigger ones. The smaller channels will remember who supported them and the one that did not
Windham Weaponry is in bankruptcy?
Don't understand why people think Aero is lower quality than colt,but I see colt as inferior. I don't build anymore but noveski and aero matched receivers are 2nd to none. And you use a criterion or fn barrels, there is nothing better, but higher cost. The only factory complete gun I have is a rock river, but the barrel needs to go and a criterion will go on it. And if you research there is only a few foundries that cast parts for all manufacturers. As for carry handle sites, I mount them on my hand guards for backup,I have front site posts on all my built ar's,it's pinned.
Who makes Bravo Company's bolt carrier group.
No clue. BCM will not talk with me nor return calls. I have tried and Paul has ignored my requests for nearly four years., maybe longer. I do know that they manufacture nothing in house.
@@SmallArmsSolutions I'm asking because everyone says that their carriers are the benchmark.
I would only be guessing I am afraid. i will say the majority of the OEM carriers are Microbest and Toolcraft. Microbest is the largest US Govt supplier.
I have a BCM , BCG and it's good .Only have a few rounds through it though.
Microbest. They're the OEM for BCM, Daniel Defense, and SOLGW. No clue who manufactures their barrels. Rumor has it they're made by FN.
Mr. Stoeger, paging Mr. Ben Stoeger. Please pick up the nearest courtesy phone, line #4.
I really don’t care what Ben Stoeger thinks
lets get more AK vidoes likw WBP and beryls
As a old school dude myself I LOVE the look of these A4s. Yeah, they may be "obsolete" by modern standards, but I would love one regardless. Let's hope when The Conservatives win in Canada in 2025 they can overturn the AR-15 ban that Castreau introduced. I'm not holding my breath though...
I'm borrowing Castreau, hope you don't mind.
@@tedhodge4830 please - be my guest. It's an appropriate title.
The funny thing about the A4 is that they slapped a carry handle on it with added material, plus two gigantic tightening knobs that lay against your body for some reason and imbalance the weight to the left. Then they added the KAC rail, which while great in theory, and good in practice on the M4A1, adds, again, a large amount of weight to the fore-end due to the increased length of the handguard. It's no surprise that the USMC got tired of lugging these things around. I'd rather have an A2 if we're talking iron sights. They shouldn't have even bothered with those silly carry handles, and focused on manufacturing a decent minimalist rear sight. With the KAC sights and normal handguards, I think it's probably not as bad. Of course, the greatest legacy of this thing is Harrington and Richardson manufacturing A2 "clones" with an F marked FSB because they wanted to save a few dollars.
If you do not want the carry handle, but want a true A2 rear site I have found the best option is the rock River arms pick rail A2 rear site. It’s basically an A2 carry handle rear site quadrant with nice close form fitting Allen bolt attachment instead of large knobs. I have a couple of them and they are fantastic.
@@sorryocifferrock river arms also made an integral rear sight & pic rail upper, the UTE2 upper.
@@stephen_crumley They also had the site I mentioned with about 3-4” of pic rail that acted as a riser for any RDS mounted in front of it. Don’t know if those are still available.
What's really surprising to me is that even after all that, going from an M16A4 with the rail covers to one without, you see a very noticable difference in weight. M16A4 with carry handle and no rail covers doesn't feel especially different than an M16A2, but with rail covers, it's extremely noticable.
@@sorryociffer I bought the RRA mini A2 rear sight, the only downside is it's 6061 aluminum instead of 7075. It is noticeably softer material compared to a forged 7075 carry handle. Other than that, it's what I was looking for.
There are so many AR manufacturers out there now, if it's not a Colt, LMT or Knights Armament, then they are budget rifles. Other companies should advertise more about how their companies got started to let more people to get to know about them.
There are many more high end manufacturers than that, including DD, Noveski and Centurion Arms for starters. If I cared about that nonsense, I would probably pick up a BCM and call it a day, but I'd rather have 3-4 mil-spec TDP rifles than one boutique vanity gun.
Cue the “if it ain’t BCM, DD or XYZ, it’s CRAP!”…..
Colt?
@@joeyskinner8366 and KAC, and HK. As price goes up quality CAN go up, with diminishing returns. KAC and HK are at the top of that heap.
@@sorryocifferthere are many guns just as good if not better. People are to much brand fanboys. They dont really look at what performance is.
Id rather have an in spec anderson than an outta spec DD in a fight anyday. Thats what mostly seperates good rifles from bad is the qc. U got a way better chance of getting an outta spec psa than a geisselle. Correct me if im wrong.
Until you pull the trigger you never know what you have regardless of the manufacturer. I have had highest tier guns with problems. I have had lower tier that have 100% reliability but not all the non performance related upgrades. It’s not difficult to make a rifle that runs properly as long as the key parts are controlled. It all depends on your needs. Check out the destruction tests done by Golden Webb. Now Im not one to take these test to seriously as to how the gun performs because the guns are not designed to function like this. You will see many high tier weapons that fail first. Most of the guys who buy AR rifles, they will not need one which exceeds the performance of an Aero, PSA, Colt….. They will shoot reasonably accurate reliably, it’s the 20% who want enhanced features, precision bbl, etc. Those guns are at a price point that is not out of reach for your average income American. But they are no less equipped than the guys who have the Gucci guns. Just my 2 cents.
Rumor is Aero provides a lot of parts to Colt.
@@illiniarmory3142 really?
@@joeyskinner8366 yes. Really.
Completely untrue rumor that was started on Reddit by an aero fanboy who pretended to work for Colt. Why would Colt buy what they can make for less?
@@ShepherdOfTheSilkies I’m sure Chris can set the record straight. I said it was a rumor. Not a fact
@@illiniarmory3142 I mean I told you the origin of the rumor, it got disproven on reddit too. Also no real need to set it straight when it outright doesn’t make sense
Not an A4, looks more like an A2 like the one I used from 1997-2003
Then we got the M16A4’s with the rails on forward grip and an ACOG with the removable carry handle / iron sights. Got promoted and carried the M4 which was a 16 inch with a collapsible stock/ ACOG. Retired in 2015.
So I think I know what I carried
Unless civvies just call is something it’s not?!
No, A4. A4 indicates the flattop upper receiver. The KAC M5 handguards were put on A2 rifles as well
confession time... after the hours and hours and hours of 20 yrs worht of weapons maintance. i never ever paid attention to the markings..etc my serial number..lol.. after i got out is when i learned about all these codes and markings and whe made what...lol
Stop gaslighting us by saying that aero clone is interesting lol
Seriously. What traded hands to make this video happen? Why is this comment section full of obvious shilling?
Wow, you're pushing Aero when their QC is well known and well documented to be awful.
I have NEVER experience this. I report only on my experiences. I cannot verify anyone else’s rumors. I learned along time ago that many internet reports are unfounded. I stand by my own observations. I have reviewed many Aero guns over the last 20 years. They have been stellar in performance.
@@SmallArmsSolutions Do they send them to you from the factory? If it does come from the factory, it is cherry picked/looked at closely before it is sent out.
Mostly the parts come from Brownells I get. I would love to some something that shows this cherry-picking?
@@SmallArmsSolutions Did the Aero rifles or uppers and lowers come from Brownell's or from Aero?
Competitor Ben Stoeger showed how Aero's barrels (Ballistic Advantage) have less longevity compared to others. I think he compared them to BCM. Maybe it doesn't matter as the vast majority of people will not shoot it enough to wear out the barrel. I'm curious of Ballistic Advantage's "premium" line of barrels. I don't know how long they have been out. Competitor Ben may have mentioned something else about Aero quality but it escapes me. A person can find it in his videos.
Nitride 🤢
Calling Aero "budget" is insane. Too many guntuber snobs out there who have to crap on everything to justify themselves dropping $2500 for a carbine.
M-16A4, a weapon so obsolete that only the Indiana and Mississippi NG have them, lol.
Yet is currently still being used in the Usmc and in Ukraine.
@@Hyrule-uh1sc True on all counts, lol.
@@Hyrule-uh1scnothing against the A4, but to be fair DP-27s, Maxims, and Mosins are also still being used in Ukraine lmao
Not currently issued does not equate to obsolete or ineffective.
We had A2s, there's nothing obsolete about the A4 apart from the weight. Marines carried them in combat well after the US Army switched to the M4. It has all of the capability of an M4A1 plus a full length barrel. The M4 in theater was actually having a bad time with M855 green tip, which has anemic lethality past 100 meters or so. Hence the Army's recent obsessive quest for increased "overmatch" bullets to overcompensate for the deficiency. If anything, the M4 wasn't a complete combat system until it was paired with the new Mk262 / M855A1 ammunition which are much more reliable in terms of terminal effectiveness. I would personally not want to carry an M4 into combat with green tip. M855A1 on the other hand doesn't seem to care much about barrel length.
Aero is budget.
Lots of things look budget against overpriced stuff…
Your opinion is noted . Aero precision is a great company. And is top tier. I have 2 of there uppers 10in 300 quantum rail. And 11.5 r1 rail. Both are freaking great.
Colt use to use many parts from aero in their overpriced outdated crap.
It's inexpensive mid ranged but ok. Budget is PSA, Radical, and so on.
@@tk9wtky I have some PSA and aero. But that is as far as I go with budget.
I have a Aero pro upper that I am in the process of putting a ton of rounds through to see if it holds up. It's doing well.
I wouldn't even consider spending on BCA or any of the other very low budget company that pump out stuff without even halfway checking any specs at all. Just thrown together and out the door in a box.
Aero is one step up from the bottom of the barrel. Absolutely budget.
youtuber who sounds like a subject matter expert vs random guy in the comments justifying paying extra for a brand name
How you looked at the forgings? I doubt you could see much difference between colt,FN or any other high dollar rifle. Your paying for the name that’s all. They aren’t magic forgings.
@@cagneybillingsley2165 Aero's terrible QC is very well documented on Reddit. They're fantastic rifles so long as you don't shoot them 1k+ times like 99% of shooters wont. If you actually shoot your rifle frequently then paying a bit more for something else would be worth it.
One of my Aero bolts broke two lugs off after 1,000 rounds of 300 Blk. I also have a slick slide Aero upper I built in 6.5 grendel and the quality of that forging sucks, as the cam on the Faxon BCG has eaten a huge divet into the upper but the new different brand upper with same components is perfectly fine with the same amount of rounds. Ben Stoeger has 3 broken bolts on his 4 Aero uppers and the barrels last about 4k rounds before starting to key hole with real shooting. There's a reason Aero uppers are like $300-400 and one step up from PSA and BCA.
I have an M4E1 receiver set and it is ok so far. My Aero slick side non M4E1 upper forging sucks though, so much that I tossed it and put everything into a new upper and it's all good now
I consider Aero High Quality Budget, but I don’t recommend buying a whole gun…I recommend using their parts to build.
I want their new hand-guard, looks nice💯🦾.
One thing i cant stand about windham weaponry are the semi auto only uppers