Ok gents (and ladies if you are out there) here is your chance to impress me. I want you to wow me with your knowledge, woo me with your prose and bless me with your good advice. Here goes:

Let's say for arguments sake that I have never "owned" an AR. Let's also say that I have qualified on, fired and cleaned lots of them. Let's further say that I finally have decided that I want one of my very own. I have plenty of book learning on my side and lots of familarity with the full length A2 variety...but not a whole ton of empirical knowledge with the variants out there...that is where you guys come in.

Help me sort out the following:
.308 or 5.56? (I know that 5.56 can be quite effective...but I still hanker for a traditional full power rifle round) h?Decaf hePretty simple. I want a handy, lefty friendly rifle that can pop a 8" gong with some regularity out to about 500 yards. What say you one? What say you all?

Quoted: Ok gents (and ladies if you are out there) here is your chance to impress me. I want you to wow me with your knowledge, woo me with your prose and bless me with your good advice. Here goes: Let's say for arguments sake that I have never "owned" an AR. Let's also say that I have qualified on, fired and cleaned lots of them. Let's further say that I finally have decided that I want one of my very own. I have plenty of book learning on my side and lots of familarity with the full length A2 variety...but not a whole ton of empirical knowledge with the variants out there...that is where you guys come in. Help me sort out the following: .308 or 5.56? (I know that 5.56 can be quite effective...but I still hanker for a traditional full power rifle round) Carbine or full length? (In either caliber) Decaf or regular? Big 3? Off Brand? My plans for the rifle: Pretty simple. I want a handy, lefty friendly rifle that can pop a 8" gong with some regularity out to about 500 yards. What say you one? What say you all?

You want AR and lefty friendly.... go check out the Stag 15L... MADE FOR LEFTIES!

20" A1 or A2.......and get an extended bolt-stop. With the extended stop you can lock the bolt back with your trigger finger, works great. That would be my suggestion on where to start, the sky's the limit after that.

( oh, and I'm a lefty too.... )

I like that STAG went out and made true lefty guns...but I am inclined to work with the regular format and tweak it for lefty use by adding an ambi safety and mag release.

Just dropped in to say :  Welcome!

eye_spy - I appreciate the welcome. I've been lurking hear for a year or so...just soaking it all up. Hoping I'll be in a position to finally lock up my very own AR in a few months.

I myself am an eye spy also I have been reading the comments on this site for lot longer than I have been a member but I finally starting to respond and share experience.  My brother is a lefty and he shoots the RRA  just fine. he has the tactical car. i dont know about an 8" plate at 500 yds with it but i do know the rra varmint rifle is as accurate as they claim it to be though.  i have the rra varmint and it is as accurate as you are capable of. Just my 2 cents though.

good times..

This is my opinion for something that will serve you out to 500m.

5.56 or .308? Neither. *Cries of "Burn the Heretic" from the gallery* The 6.8mm SPC cartridge is a very capable intermediate cartidge with a growing industry and user base. It's still pricey in terms of mags and ammunition but that is coming down as more people get with the agenda.

6.5 Grendel is the alternative better long range performance but the 6.8 is no slouch and people are shooting 0.5 MOA at 300m with them. The Grendel is a little more exclusive as you can only get guns and ammo from Alexander Arms.

Carbine or rifle length? I assume you mean both barrels and action. Again...Neither. My pick would be a 18" barrel with a L-W short-stroke gas-piston. If I had to go direct impingement, it would be a mid-length action. The 18" barrels give plenty useful performance while being a little less unwieldy than the 20s.  If you didn't have a 500m requirement, I'd go to a 16" which would be outside SBR territory but still plenty useful for hauling around or self-defense needs.

Decaf? Never.....but I don't get the reference.

If you are a lefty, there's no better way to go than the STAG lefty receiver.  One of the nice things about the gas -piston is that there's no gas coming back via the gas tube as there is no gas tube. Won't need a gas buster etc.

The big 3 don't do 6.8. L-W does it with their gas pistons.

Voila. A none of the above answer to your questions.

Simon

I am more than a little interested in the 6.5mm and 6.8mm cartridges...my concern is keeping the cost down a bit. Maybe I should ask the rifle to do a little less...say reach out to 300 meters or so...and buy another dedicated gun for the real distance stuff.

Quoted: Let's say for arguments sake that I have never "owned" an AR. Help me sort out the following: .308 or 5.56? (I know that 5.56 can be quite effective...but I still hanker for a traditional full power rifle round) Carbine or full length? (In either caliber) Decaf or regular? Big 3? Off Brand? My plans for the rifle: Pretty simple. I want a handy, lefty friendly rifle that can pop a 8" gong with some regularity out to about 500 yards. What say you one? What say you all?

Caliber 5.56
Upper - Stag
bullet 77 SMK
Config - short and lite

Why - if it is your one and only - why would you want a specialty caliber?  In bad times I personally would want something that is very common - thats just me. Also 8" at 500 is 1.6 MOA - a good load and a good shooter shoot be able to make that shot with a stock M4(gy) [all standard caveats implied].

Your stick. Your call.

Good luck

Let me hit you with some knowledge...

If I were you I would build the lower yourself, it's cheaper and easy and you'll be much more familiar with everything, without sacrificing quality. As for the upper,  I'd get a name brand 16 or 20" flat top so you could mount some optics on that mother, making your 500 yard hits a little easier.

Welcome to the site, be sure and post pictures of your AR when it's done!

5.56 mid-length 16" with a flattop.  It's the most versatile design.

+1 on building your own lower (with a stripped lower + parts kit) and then adding a RRA upper.

So far most are confident that 5.56 can do the job (so long as the bullet choice is of the heavier variety). Certainly 5.56 is the way to go for commonality of parts. Some are saying 16" some are saying 20" and at least one of you has said to split the difference. I haven't seen a whole ton of 18" pre-built uppers. Suggestions on one of those?

I will definitely go the way of a build-your-own-lower...great way to save a few bucks, add exactly the parts I want and get familiar with the guts of it.

Any recommendations on the lower itself? I've seen stripped RRA for right around $100. What about the FCG?

Good source for an ambi-safety and a Norgon ambi-catch?

Quoted: This is my opinion for something that will serve you out to 500m. 5.56 or .308? Neither. *Cries of "Burn the Heretic" from the gallery* The 6.8mm SPC cartridge is a very capable intermediate cartidge with a growing industry and user base. It's still pricey in terms of mags and ammunition but that is coming down as more people get with the agenda. 6.5 Grendel is the alternative better long range performance but the 6.8 is no slouch and people are shooting 0.5 MOA at 300m with them. The Grendel is a little more exclusive as you can only get guns and ammo from Alexander Arms. Carbine or rifle length? I assume you mean both barrels and action. Again...Neither. My pick would be a 18" barrel with a L-W short-stroke gas-piston. If I had to go direct impingement, it would be a mid-length action. The 18" barrels give plenty useful performance while being a little less unwieldy than the 20s.  If you didn't have a 500m requirement, I'd go to a 16" which would be outside SBR territory but still plenty useful for hauling around or self-defense needs. Decaf? Never.....but I don't get the reference. If you are a lefty, there's no better way to go than the STAG lefty receiver.  One of the nice things about the gas -piston is that there's no gas coming back via the gas tube as there is no gas tube. Won't need a gas buster etc. The big 3 don't do 6.8. L-W does it with their gas pistons. Voila. A none of the above answer to your questions. Simon

He likes to be different.

Haha j/king! Good stuff Simon, I didnt know a lot of that stuff, it's ashame the grendal is soo pricey and exclusive. I would think people would be highly interested in a heavier long range round such as the 6.5