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The AR-15 is America's most popular rifle; and with that popularity there has been a lot of different manufacturers making various different quality AR-15 rifles. Any AR-15 can be made into a reliable AR-15 without spending a ton of money. 

There are a few different things can effect the reliability of any AR-15 regardless of the price and quality:

Cheap poor quality ammunition can make any firearm have problems. Ammunition is just like anything else, you get what you pay for. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get good ammunition that will go bang every time you pull the trigger. Some of the cheap Russian steel cased ammo such as Tula is under powered, and will cause many AR-15s to have cycling problems. Spending just a little more money can get you Wolf Gold or PMC which should work fine in any AR-15. Use the cheap under powered ammo for working on malfunction drills.

You don't need to spend much money to get good quality magazines. Poorly designed magazine's can cause malfunctions in any AR-15. Magpul's PMAGs are incredibly reliable. There are many other good quality magazines avilable from other manufacturers. It's not a bad idea to buy only one or two of a specific kind of magazine to make sure they work correctly in your rifle before buying more.

If a part is going to break on your AR-15 it most likely will be something in the Bolt Carrier Group. The bolt is under a lot of stress. In some of the lower end AR-15s bolts and bolt carriers have been known to crack or have catastrophic failures after only a few hundred rounds. Most of the cheaper AR-15's do not have bolt carrier groups that were High Pressure (HP) or Magnetic Particle Tested (MPI). If your bolt carrier group was not at least MPI tested it's a good idea to get a new bolt carrier group that has been tested so you know its free from cracks. A good quality bolt carrier group costs $100-$150 and while you're are it you might as well get a Nickle Boron coated or Nitride/Melonite treated bolt carrier group which both have lower friction coefficients and are both a bit easier to clean than phosphate bolt carrier groups. Don't forget to use some sort of gun oil on it.

A heavier buffer than the normal H carbine buffer can help by adding a bit more weight behind the bolt to ensure it goes into battery. This will especially help after you have fired a few thousand rounds through the gun without cleaning. However a buffer that is too heavy can cause cycling problems. It may take some experimenting to see what the heaviest buffer weight is that you can shoot reliably in your specific AR. A heavier buffer also has the added benefit of slowing the cycle rate which will help dampen the recoil that is felt by the shooter. If your AR has a carbine length gas system you can probably use a heavier buffer than an AR with a rifle length gas system.

If the quality of the lower parts kit is in question a "Field Repair Kit" is a cheap bit of insurance. Typically a Field Repair Kit contains parts that are somewhat prone to breaking or typically lost. Most of these kits are around $30 and some are even less depending on how many parts are in the kit.

A common question about AR-15 barrels is Chrome Lined barrels vs the newer Nitride barrels. Which is better?  What are the pro and cons of each?  The answer depends mostly on what the barrel is going to be used for.

The standard M16 or M4 barrel is lined with chrome and has been since the 1960's. Weapons with full auto capability would wear out a barrel quite quickly with a bare metal barrel. Chome has good wear resistance and it prolongs the life of the barrel especially when subject to the abuse of full auto fire. An added benefit is chromes excellent corrosion resistance and it makes the barrel a bit easier to clean. When a barrel is Chrome Lined it adds a thin layer of Chrome to the bore of the barrel. The lining technically can reduce the accuracy of the barrel a slight bit. The lining also can wear off over time with use. The outside of the barrel is usually given a black phosphate coating to protect from corrosion.

Nitride is a treatment to the barrels steel that hardens the steel and significantly increases corrosion and wear resistance. This is usually done in a process called Quench polish quench (QPQ). Melonite is a specific version of Nitride but for the most part Melonite and Nitride are the same. Since it isn't a lining accuracy is not degraded and it cannot be worn off. The increased wear resistance means the barrel can hold up over time to normal or even  rapid semi auto fire. Nitride treated barrels are cheaper to produce than Chome lined barrels and easier to clean. 

Stainless Steel barrels have long been used for their better accuracy over Chrome barrels, but suffer from shorter barrel life. Stainless Steel can also been treated with Nitride to improve the wear resistance and improve barrel life without hurting the accuracy.

The YouTube channel Mrgunsngear did a full auto test with two identical 4150 steel Faxon barrels, one Chrome Lined and the other Nitride. The results were interesting and I won't give away the entire test results here. But the biggest take away from the test is the Nitride barrel held its accuracy better.

So which is better? Since most people don't have full auto receivers they won't need the better heat resistance that Chrome offers. With Nitride being cheaper and the potential for better wear resistance over time when using semi auto fire; Nitride would be the way to go on a semi auto weapon.

You can see all the AR-15 barrels we have at this link.

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