This is what Gun Tests had to say about Armalite. Gun Tests is the Consumer Reports magazine for guns.
ArmaLite M15A2, $992. We could not find fault with the ArmaLite, and in fact liked it very much indeed. It was heavier than the Colt, but steadier in offhand shooting. We thought it was, overall, the best rifle of the test, and that good trigger went a long way toward that choice. A very knowledgeable fellow recently turned down a great bargain on a high-dollar 1911 .45 auto because it had creep in its trigger, and he’d had enough of poor triggers. We’re in much the same boat. Yes, you can pay to get a good trigger, but why should you have to? The ArmaLite was the best looking, best finished, most accurate rifle of the test, and it had a great trigger. Buy it.
Bushmaster XM15-E2S, $895. Conditional buy. The Bushmaster looked like it was missing something with that bare muzzle. Only you can decide if you want all that weight out front. We felt the Bushmaster should have made up that 1.5-pound weight penalty over the Colt with outstanding accuracy, but it didn’t. It wasn’t a bad gun at all, it just wasn’t the ArmaLite.
Colt AR-15 A2 Sporter II, $600 (law enforcement), $1,040 (similar factory configuration), $1,500 to $2,000 (used pre-ban models). If you’re a cop, Colt’s suggested retail price for a pre-ban-configured rifle of $600 is very attractive. The suggested retail price of current civilian Colts close in appearance to the ArmaLite and Bushmaster is $1,040, about $50 more than ArmaLite and $150 more than Bushmaster. Street prices will make some difference. All our test rifles worked very well, so we can’t see going out of your way to get a Colt.