I have been through many AR-15 websites. As in my previous review, building AR-15s is a very fun hobby of mine, and I love to look online for the best prices I can find. And on the note of Florida AR-15 stores; I came across AR-15 Thunder Tactical/Guns. They are an example of some very good things, and some not too stellar things when it comes to the customer experience online. Lets get into my experience with Thunder Tactical.
Navigating their website takes a certain level of dexterity and patience. There is no search bar, even though the products are tagged, so it is impossible to search for an item you are looking for specifically. The picture range goes from good to bad. It is good that they have a wide range of products, but the navigation of the website can be a little tedious.
They’ve got all kinds of AR-15 parts. They sell p80s, AR-9s and DMPS style .308 lowers. So there really seems to be something for everyone on the Thunder Tactical website. You definitely won’t be disappointed in their list of products.
Apparently they are slammed with orders during the current time, with the “outbreak” of COVID-19 forcing people to post up for some post apoc. So because, of that it is very hard to get a hold of them. calls are almost never answered. emails will take at least a few days. But being the adventurer I am, I decided to stick with it and try to get some contact with them. Email is the best way, by far.
One thing that I did not enjoy, was the waiting time. I think one reason for this is that they do a LOT of back ordering. Customers are able to order and pay for items that are not in stock. I view that as being a major problem that stifles the overall efficiency of their operation, where they could be sending out orders in a wee max with live inventory. But maybe, they virus got to them. My order was made in Early March, and I did not see it until Very early April. It took a range of about 3-4 wees to receive my order even thought hey were working on a 15 day lead time. Its really just not a length of time I should have to wait to get my parts.
However, the quality is not bad. The quality of shipping especially was very good and I noticed it was packed very securely on the inside. There is definitely no way to get any dings on your order from the shipping process.
Other than those nitpicks, I wouldn’t say Thunder Tactical is a no go. It definitely has some great potential that I feel they could reach with a little more clean up. They definitely aren’t mean folks either. However, if no search bars and long waits are a deal breaker for you, then you might want to look somewhere else. Click here to check out Thunder Tactical’s website.
Where does it ship from?
Hey uhh do you know what happened to their site? I just opened it the other day and now there is an ominous message in place of their home page.
If you don’t mind catastrophic failures and you want to spend additional money to get the rifle operational then get one. The rifle that I received was so overgassed that the bolt face broke and caused brass flow in to the BCG and broke the extractor spring.
Complete junk, don’t buy from Thunder Tactical. Firstly, I bought a lower and they couldn’t manage to mill the trigger guard correctly. Already completed the build so didn’t want to deal with their BS return, just shaved down on the trigger guard itself to get it to fit. Mill spec? Ha! What ever, it is what it is.
Next, I take the other kit out to shoot. Fired 90 rounds and the bolt assembly fell too pieces, metal shavings inside and the firing pin would no longer move. Took it apart to find the metal shavings inside and the port for the firing pin increased about 3x. Junk. Junk. Junk. Find another source for your firearms.