Remington R-15 or Bushmaster Predator?

I would prefer the Bushy just because I'm confident about the parts interchanging with other AR's. I'm still not 100% sure which features are different on the Remington and when the R-15's came out I got a very vague response when I sent an email to Remington asking about the differences. Basically I was told they weren't mil-spec but that was it they didn't elaborate on which parts would interchange and which ones wouldn't.
 
I think the Bushy has a 5.56 chamber and also has the 2 stage match trigger. I have the R-15 and have been wanting to get the trigger replaced as it is kinda rough and in addition chambers only .223 ammo. I have a Bushy Varminter Special and it has the 2 stage trigger and is a vast improvement over the R-15 stock trigger. The Bryon South edition of the R-15 has a better trigger I believe, but not sure.
 
I chose the R-15 (Remington/Bushmaster)at the time because it was lighter than the predator.
I dont know why it was lighter,seemed to be same construction.
 
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bushy all the way, i have one and am delighted. i pondered the same question as you for months and finally made the decision on the bushy. about the same price give or take but the bushy just 'felt' better to me. i have changed the trigger, not because i did not like it as it was put in another active AR but because i always wanted a CMC drop in. 5.56 is always the way to go if you want to interchange ammo, if you buy into that theory, but you can never be to careful. anyway, either one but i'm sold on Bushmaster...good enough for the DC Sniper, good enough for me! JK!
 
If you get the R-15 spend the extra bucks and get the Byron South model.I first bought a R-15 in 22 inch barrel.It shot ok.But one day I went to the local shop and held and pulled the trigger on that Byron South model and it came home with me! Nice 2 stage match trigger!
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I have both the Predator and the R-15 ( .223 with a 22" barrel, non-collapsable stock). While they both are "manufactured" by Bushmaster, there are some differences.
The Predetor has a 20" barrel vs. 22" for my model. The predator barrel is certainly thicker than the R-15's. The predator is slightly heavier too. The predator will shoot 5.56 and .223 while R-15 is stamped .223. (Some will argue for both sides of what will shoot what so I'll drop it) The R-15 has a 1/9 twist while the predator is 1/8. The both shoot 55 grain V-Max superbly, but the 1/8 Predator will shoot 75grain Hornady BTHP Match like it's nobody's business.
The fore-end are slightly different with the number of cooling slots and the R-15 is tapped for rails/acces.
The bolt carrier in another area of difference. The R-15's key is staked differently than the Bushmaster. The Bushmaster is chrome-lined while the R-15 is standard. While this may not seem like a big deal, and I've never had a reliability issue with either, the Bushmaster is a heck of a lot easier to clean when taken apart. (I'm anal about cleaning my guns so this might really be a non-issue)
I bought the R-15 in August of '08 and the Bushy in January of '09. I've never had any issues with either. They are both excellent calling guns and ergo-perfect. On the bench, I wish the R-15 had a better trigger, but in the field, where it counts, it works. I wish the Predator was camo'd, but there's ways to fix that. I paid $999 for the R-15 at Cabela's and $1200 for the Predator at Gander Mountain.
 
Originally Posted By: snowking
The bolt carrier in another area of difference. The R-15's key is staked differently than the Bushmaster. The Bushmaster is chrome-lined while the R-15 is standard. While this may not seem like a big deal, and I've never had a reliability issue with either, the Bushmaster is a heck of a lot easier to clean when taken apart. (I'm anal about cleaning my guns so this might really be a non-issue)


EDIT: Sorry, I had misread "snowking's" post and thought he was speaking of the barrel when clearly he was reffering to the carrier. I jumped the gun, again I apologize.

Check it out: http://www.bushmaster.com/catalog_xm15_PCWVMS20FPRED8.asp
 
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How interchangeable is the R-15 with AR-15 parts? Can I drop a RRA two-stage NM trigger into a R-15 to correct the trigger problem?
 
Originally Posted By: TURBO6046Basically I was told they weren't mil-spec but that was it they didn't elaborate on which parts would interchange and which ones wouldn't.

This probably means that their lowers are made with commercial spec opening/threads for the buffer tube. Which means you need to use the commercial style buffer tube on them. There are commercial and milspec one, and I forget if it's one way/the other/both ways but if you put one into the other it will be loose and/or may eat the threads out and something about collapsable stocks fitting loosely on the buffer tube if you swap them around. So, if you want to replace your stock on a R15 (and Rem says they're commercial) and need to change the buffer tube to do so (ie. going collapsable to fixed) make sure you get a commercial tube and not a milspec one.
 
I don't own either one. I've a RRA. However, whenever I'm purchasing anything, I'll go with the "parent" verision over the other. IMO you'll be getting a better product. What company is going to manufacture a better product to sell to another company that is going to be selling it as a competitor. Just my thoughts.
 
Neither. Look at how many used R-15s there are for sale.

I'd choose Rock River Arms or Stag Arms or even DPMS before S&W or Bushmaster.
 
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