Never had a AR, but have wanted one for sometime......what do some of U perfer for a good starter Rifle for the $? I do not or really have any interest in shooting matches with it...more of a plinker, but most of the Rifles ive found in my area (atlanta) are in the $950 and up $ range...any help would be great!

Recommending brands always ends up in a Ford vs. Chevy type discussion, so I'll leave that to the others. But I will recomend that whatever brand of rifle you buy, make sure that it is an A3 model with a chrome-lined barrel. Also, use only USGI magazines, not junky offbrands.

Quoted: Recommending brands always ends up in a Ford vs. Chevy type discussion, so I'll leave that to the others. But I will recomend that whatever brand of rifle you buy, make sure that it is an A3 model with a chrome-lined barrel. Also, use only USGI magazines, not junky offbrands.

Agreed.

You can piece together a 'parts gun' with top quality components for a lot less than $1k (more like half).

I's say get a 20" flat top and learn to shoot a bit with the irons, then decide if you want to add optics, or a carbine upper, or a railed forend and vertical grip, or...

sorry to ask stupid ? what models are A3? can u give me a exsample?

Quoted: sorry to ask stupid ? what models are A3? can u give me a exsample?

The A3 are the ones with the detachable carry handle. Also known as (with) flat top uppers.

Quoted: Never had a AR, but have wanted one for sometime......what do some of U perfer for a good starter Rifle for the $? I do not or really have any interest in shooting matches with it...more of a plinker, but most of the Rifles ive found in my area (atlanta) are in the $950 and up $ range...any help would be great!

As M4 Madness said, whatever you may decide to build or buy, get thge one with the detachable carry handle so you will have more flexibility in setting up your rifle ... AND as Bsbg said, also consider building your own.

That being said, in answer to your original question, here are some brands that you may want to check out as a starting reference. They are not at the high end of the price range amongst AR's and are used by members of the Board. (In no particular order)

Rock River Arms
Olympic Arms
Eagle Arms
Stag Arms
Grizzly
DPMS

Of course at the higher end of the list are your ABC's

Armalite
Bushmaster
Colt

Were would I go to look about building a AR? Ive seen enough to understand uppers and lowers....and if I understand the upper has to be bought threw a FFL delear? I like the idea of knowing what parts are in my gun. but I dont think i have the know how to do a compleate build up.....
And thanks to all of u for your imput..it is all being ver helpfull :)

My advice is to start with the basic, a Plain Stock 20" A2 and get to know the rifle

Black Rifle Disease will take over after that

Quoted: My advice is to start with the basic, a Plain Stock 20" A2 and get to know the rifle Black Rifle Disease will take over after that hr

I like that idea also...I just gota keep looking...prob here in Atlanta is most shops wana sell u the most $ they got and scalf at the idea of haveing a lower priced gun

Quoted: Recommending brands always ends up in a Ford vs. Chevy type discussion, so I'll leave that to the others. But I will recomend that whatever brand of rifle you buy, make sure that it is an A3 model with a chrome-lined barrel. Also, use only USGI magazines, not junky offbrands.

+1

if you get stock rifles: ABCDR

builds: same as above + Stag/CMT, LMT make great parts

Quoted: and if I understand the upper has to be bought threw a FFL delear? And thanks to all of u for your imput..it is all being ver helpfull :)

No, the lower is what needs to go through an FFL (the lower has the serial number on it).  If I were you, I would just look at buying a complete rifle (for your first one), then after you get more familar with the AR you can start piecing them together.  All of the above named brands are pretty decent, and I dont think you would go wrong with any of them.  I prefer a 16" barrel but that is just me.  Good luck in your decision.

ETA---why dont you look at the SEBR that AR-15.com is selling to members?  I think that they are selling for a good price, much lower than the $900+ you have seen.

Quoted: Were would I go to look about building a AR? Ive seen enough to understand uppers and lowers....and if I understand the upper has to be bought threw a FFL delear? I like the idea of knowing what parts are in my gun. but I dont think i have the know how to do a compleate build up..... And thanks to all of u for your imput..it is all being ver helpfull :)

The lower receiver has to be either bought from or shipped to a FFL dealer. The rest of the parts you can have sent to your front door. Building an AR is a piece of cake, especially if you purchase a complete upper assembly (bolt carrier assembly + upper receiver + barrel). Then you only build up the lower receiver and attach the upper assembly. Should not take more than an hour or two.

There are lots of places where you can buy quality parts for low prices. I ordered all my Stag Arms parts from www.eaglefirearms.net but you can also look elsewhere. Check the Industry section on this site for some other dealers.

Peicing together an AR is not a very difficult proposition. If you have ever worked on cars, computers, models, etc, putting together an AR will not be hard at all, especially with all the resources and help here at AR-15.com

I just put together my AR for about $770, but I could have easily gotten it in the high 500 to 600 range had I bought more components online or at the Equipment Exchange (EE in forum nomenclature). If you want a AR for cheap, you can go to del-ton.com and buy a kit for ~$450, and pick up the lower receiver which is "officially" the gun at a local dealer or from the EE and have it shipped to a local FFL holder.

After taking my M4gery to the range, I kind of wish i had started with a M-16 (20") clone as the M4 is not as user friendly, and also, the parts are in higher demand, and as such, cost more. Also, it's the first rifle caliber weapon i've shot extensively, and i've realized the next upgrade I need to purchase is a class for myself

Quoted: Quoted: and if I understand the upper has to be bought threw a FFL delear? And thanks to all of u for your imput..it is all being ver helpfull :) No, the lower is what needs to go through an FFL (the lower has the serial number on it).  If I were you, I would just look at buying a complete rifle (for your first one), then after you get more familar with the AR you can start piecing them together.  All of the above named brands are pretty decent, and I dont think you would go wrong with any of them.  I prefer a 16" barrel but that is just me.  Good luck in your decision. ETA---why dont you look at the SEBR that AR-15.com is selling to members?  I think that they are selling for a good price, much lower than the $900+ you have seen.

Could u send me the link for the SEBR for sale? I looked around either im blind or stupid I couldnt find it on here

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=122&t=366950  here is the link but the info is in the general section.

Thr Bushmaster Dissiaptor is a good first rifle, 16" with full length hand-guards so you wont burn yourself. It also comes with a chrome linded barrel, and forged upper+lower(and of course its a bushmaster). And you can get them for a decent price. Later on you could swap out the upper and make a "M4gery" if you wanted.

Is there a good book that gives information regarding care/maintenance, etc that would be good review for someone new?

Quoted: Is there a good book that gives information regarding care/maintenance, etc that would be good review for someone new?

Click the "Information" button at the top of this page for all kinds of online AR-15 info.

It doesn't matter which one you get first, you're gonna fall victim to the black rifle disease and want the rest of the types, and several of them too. he
What it taught me is that they are both as accurate as the shooter is. You benefit from a longer sight radius with the 20" (or longer) barrel. I'd recommend starting with a 20" A3. It will give you more options later. It will teach you long range shooting. I guess it could be the other way around though, ie. if you can shoot 300+ yards with a 16" iron sights, you'd have no problem with the 20". I dunno, my opinion is colored by the way I started out, so forget everything I just said.Just get one and have fun with it!!! As I said, it doesn't matter much which one you start with because it won't be your last AR.

I'm a beginner, too, in the AR15 world. My likes have evolved. My first thought was to get an AR15 that had a 20" barrel and a fixed carry handle rear sight, and maybe even a "heavy barrel" (called an HBAR - it's as thick beneath the forearm as it is outside it, whereas non_HBARs get thinner beneath the forearm to reduce weight). I'm old enough to remember Vietnam (but young enough to not have to have gone) and so to me the AR15 with a fixed carry handle and the 20" barrel and the plain old standard buttstock represented the AR15 to me more than the modern versions with shorter barrels,  removable carry handles, collapsible stocks, and now even fancy forends for "tactical" stuff like flashlights and vertical forearm grips - even though in Vietnam the rifles didn't have heavy barrels, and there were other differences from what is now called the AR15-A2 style.

Two things changed my mind. Well, three, I guess. (1) my girlfriend and I got to shoot, for just the cost of ammo, an AR15 with a 16" barrel and collapsible stock, (2) my girlfriend, who is new to firearms, loved shooting the AR15, and that collapsible stock was better for her (and so for us) because of the variable length of pull it allows, and (3) I started reading at ar15.com and looking at the pix here, and learning the basics (because I knew nothing whatsoever about this firearm) and then I finally set up a profile so I can do basic searchs over the last 30 days. I got to like the 16" M4 style guns - the M4gerys, as they are called here; and I planned to get one myself.

A lot of people on this site talk about "building" an AR15. There are two reasons, I think, that people like to build their own: they want to save money, and they want to have complete control over what components are in their AR15. But saving money and "having the best components" could be mutually exclusive, so everyone who's going to build an AR15 is chosing somewhere between the two extremes of top quality components and "good enough" components. You have to decide, too, where on that possibly confusing scale of cost, value and quality you want to be with your first AR15.

I had every intention before yesterday of getting a Bushmaster 16" M4 style "Patrolman's Carbine". The M4 style barrel has that step down area that's really there because in the Military version of the M4 that step down area accommodates a grenade launcher. It's a very popular style of AR15 now. Sort of a SWAT concept or CQB (close quarter battle) concept carbine. The short barrel makes it easier to move around in confined areas (hence SWAT and CQB) or to get in and out of a vehicle. You can imagine, too, how that's appealing to anyone who's concerned about needing a firearm during civil unrest. The shorter barrel makes the gun easier to move around with, and imagining needing this in an urban area brings to the imagination the idea of running crouched with your several loaded mags and your short carbine, engaging in close range firefights. Your buddy with the .308 will of course be hidden in some secure area picking off selected dangers and not need a short barrel or a lightweight firearm.

I said that even a few days ago I was planning to get a Bushmaster Patrolman's Carbine, and actually this is one I can recommend to you. The only reason I'm not going to get one myself is because yesterday I was reading in the Equipment Exchange on this site and discovered that a dealer was offering a 16" barrelled complete upper that appealed to me more than what that Bushmaster would have offered. The barrel profile on this upper is different than the M4 style barrel on the Bushmaster (it's not a step down and it's not an HBAR either, although the M4 style also isn't an HBAR) and there are two other differences: the twist rate is 1/7 instead of 1/9 like the Bushmaster has, and this upper has a mid-length gas system, which changes where the front sight is on the barrel: it puts the sight a bit further towards the muzzle. I ordered this upper today. So now I have to buy a lower separatly from this upper and I'm going to eventually "assemble" my first AR15, meaning I'm going to put two pins into an upper/lower combo that I will have bought unjoined. It's possible I might "build" my lower, but right now I plan to buy one completed by the vendor. This AR15 I'm in the process of aquring is going to cost a little bit more than that Patrolma's Carbine, I think, but I'll be happy with it and I don't mind waiting a little while to get what I'd rather have.

My feeling on firearms, and sometimes on other things too, is to chose "quality over quantity." Why have a lot of second rate stuff when, if you're willing to have less stuff, you can have only the first rate? It does come down to money for a lot of us, and we always have to find the right balance between what we want and what we can afford.

GL

Gunlogic what did you pay for the upper? You should be able to get a very good lower for about $225. So unless you got ripped on the upper you should come in under the cost of a complete Bushy. Look into a Mega or Stag complete lower. Both can be had around the price I mentioned and are top quality. Just make sure they have good lower parts kits.