Anyone familiar with Windham AR style rifles?
I am looking at one and don't want to get a clunker.

Thanks

Good stuff.

They are a good 'middle-of-the-pack' AR rifle. For 95% of us they will do everything we want to do with an AR and couldn't tell the difference between it and one costing $500 or $1000 more. I think they were bought out years ago (Bushmaster?...don't quote me on that). Story goes they had a non-compete clause for x number of years. The years have passed and they started up production again in their facility.

Plinker grade.

IMHO way better than plinker grade. They make a great rifle. I would put it against any Colt made today. I sell them in the shop.

Are they a Daniels Defense, Noveski, lWRC, nooooo but there price isn't that high either.

The story I heard/read about Windham was that the original owner of Bushmaster after selling his business simply sponsored quite a few of the former employees to start up a new company in Windham, Mass. hence the name. Bushmaster firearms were a good AR15 in it's day and can't imagine the Windham products being any lesser of a product?? AR15's of the highest quality are indeed fine rifles, but having shot them and built them for some 40+ years it is rare that the most basic of one if properly lubricated, maintained, and fed good ammo won't deliver fine accuracy in a dependable fashion.

I stand corrected, the location is in Maine and not sure why I posted Mass. but it is good to know exactly where they are, thanks.

Windham is in Maine, the owner of BFI started it after the noncompete from his sale to FGI ran out.

Perhaps not plinker grade but not a good choice for patrol or self defense either. Certainly a workable sporting rifle. Not the equal of Colt.

Ryan, please quote specific differences that make the Windham unacceptable for patrol or self defense...

Oversized gas ports, questionable thread concentricity, occasional lack of staking at critical locations, a reputation dating back to BFI for parts failures during prolonged fire.

Until Windham proves that they have improved since they were BFI they should be considered hobby guns.

Colts are a known quantity, even if the better commercial guns are now better.

I dissagree. Did you shoot and check out the new Colts 6920's. I had two brand new ones in shop. Both were single shot jam o matics.

It seemed they drilled the barrel gas block hole to small. Not to mention after 200 rounds the upper and lower now rattel, loose fit, poor finish, sloppy triggers. But it does say COLT.

Two Windhams have well overb 2000 rounds each, no problems what so ever.

You want to see a GREAT High End AR15 go to www.miltacindustries.com and looka at the Alpha. To expensive look at the Echo.

JCP

I've had four Colts, shot them all a bunch, never had a malfunction in one tht wasn't taxed to a bad mag or ammo. I put 700 rounds through my silenced Colt SBR without cleaning or reliving it.

We're you shooting Wolf ammo?

With the exception of barrels and high end triggers, I have yet to hear a convincing argument about how some AR-15 parts are "better" than others. It always ends up in the same place. Mil-Spec vs. non Mil-Spec, with each side beating their chest as to why one is supposedly "better".

Most all major AR-15 parts, (lower and upper forgings, complete bolt carrier groups, standard trigger components, etc.), are all made by just a handful of manufacturers who supply the entire industry. Some, like Daniel Defense, claim to manufacturer everything in house. That may or may not be true. None of us have any real way of knowing, unless you actually saw this with your own eyes in an in house tour. And even if it were true, it is no guarantee their quality is better than anyone else's. Companies like Continental Machine Tool supply many, if not most, of the AR-15 world with a variety of components they sell in bulk to all the different manufacturers. The exception of course, are specialty components like Nickel Boron treated Bolt Carrier Groups, ambidextrous safeties, rail forends, (both Delta Ring and free float), etc.

Again some will argue this, or else argue they provide different levels of quality to different manufacturers. All of it is based on hearsay without a shred of actual proof. CMT is bound by contract not to reveal who they manufacture for. So no one has any way of knowing. I've seen CMT bolts in Colt, as well as Stag Arms weapons. Common sense dictates they are the same quality. Why would they be different? It costs more money to manufacture at different levels of quality, because you are complicating the process. Both physically, and with more paper work and people in order to manage the different materials, processes, and certifications.

I have AR-15's from 6 different manufacturers that run the gamut in price........... and arguably quality. And I have never broken a component in any of them in tens of thousands of rounds, in well over a decade of shooting. That said, I don't "torture test" my rifles, or abuse them. I keep them clean and well lubricated at all times. Am I "lucky"? You tell me. In any event, 100% reliability in half a dozen different brands of weapons tells me if there is in fact a difference in quality of these weapons, it is meaningless to me from an operational standpoint. With 100% reliability in all of them, is it really going to matter which one I grab if I hear "bump" in the middle of the night?

I think there is way too much concern over all of this. None of which can be proven either way. When you look at the millions of AR-15 rifles out there, along with the millions more that are sold every year. And take into account all of the aftermarket parts sold, I highly doubt there is much, if any measurable difference in overall quality in the service lifetime of said part. If there is, I haven't seen it in well over a decade of shooting AR-15 rifles. As always YMMV.

Any gun made on a production line can have problems. They turn them out fast even high "custom" guns can come out with problems.

One of the worse jamming ARs I own and shot was colt SP1 made in the mid 70's. I been shooting them for close to 40 years.

Most AR manufactures are buying their parts from some one else very few if any do all production in house.