Here’s something you can file into the “Good idea” category from Bushmaster. A simple, no-nonsense 16 inch carbine with a chrome lined barrel that comes from the factory with a red dot optic and streets for less than a grand.
I like things like this. I like it when companies do whatever they can to lower the bar of entry for people looking to get into shooting without having to shop around for a million different things. In the future, I envision a sales model where Aimpoint partners with Smith & Wesson to sell M&P15 MOE carbines with Micro H1s on risers direct from the company shipped straight your FFL of choice.
A boy can dream…
I’d want to take a closer look at it before I bought one… On the other hand telescopic stock, decent sights, appears to accept non-proprietary mags, bushmaster has a decent name and it’s a really low price point to get people in the door! All things being equal this is a good thing.
When you did a break down of the tiers, as you saw them, of the AR world, I seem to recall Bushmaster wasn’t a brand you held in particularly high regard. Has something changed in the quality of their manufacturing, or is this simply a comment on them selling an entry level model with a red dot,?As in the sort of thing you’d like to see as the norm for the industry?
Yeah, but a 1/9 twist, though. If they marked this down to the $800 price point, then perhaps.
It’s like the chrome trim on an Edsel
no matter how cheap AR are , here in Connecticut you have to buy a pre ban 20 year old rifle for ordinary citizen to own one. And to pay top dollar for a gun that’s exactly the same .
Between the decreasing cost of decent entry-level AR’s (this, M&P Sport, etc.) and the increasing availability of good low-cost optics (see your “Optics that don’t suck for under $500” post) the price point is already there. But I can completely understand the logic of integrating optics with the factory gun, provided the optics don’t suck (looking at you, SIG). I guess the only potential issue would be the gun manufacturer’s factory warranty applying to the optic (as part of the factory package). But it really shouldn’t be any harder to warranty a gun sold with an Aimpoint red dot than it is a gun with Magpul BUIS.
I have the Bushmaster Carbon 15 which looks exactly like this, and got it brand new with the red dot scope for $600. It has been a awesome shooting gun. I didn’t care for the scope that came with it and purchased another one for $149,99, but for a total cost of $749.99, You just can’t beat these.