Hello I am a long time follower and have learned alot from this website.

I have a question.  I recently purchased a POF415 rifle from a friend who really needed money.  Its the basic rifle without the rails and it runs really nice.  However, being former ARMY I guess I like the gas impingement better, in my opinion the piston dont make a lot of difference.  I kind of know a little about the AR15 but not alot as I was issued a M14 when I was a scout.

Because I been out of the loop on rifles since I got out of the military I was wondering what you guys would recommend I do.  I dont have the ability to make a rifle so I would have to buy one.  I do love the lower of the POF, would you guys buy a whole new rifle or just an upper?  However the upper would have to be black and not the parkerized greyish color like my Colt or Bushmaster I carried in the ARMY.  Also I would like a mid-length rifle with a fixed front sight post like the original A2, pinned not loctited, with a hammer forged barrel and I am not too interested in rail systems.  

The rifles I have looked at have been Noveske, LMT and Sionics, as well as Bushmaster.  I am seeking a hard use and reliable rifle for personal defense as well, by that I mean not just good for range work but if you had to use it in a natural disaster setting or something more severe it would hold up and trust your life with.  What would you guys recommend, what do you have, and do you like it?   I would like to keep it under 1400 which is what the Noveske's were going for, I lucked out and paid 350 for the POF415 which was only shot once.

DD & BCM both make CHF barreled mid-length uppers with pinned FSBs.

Thank you I have no experience with either of those companies, how are they?  Which models do you have experience with?

The two I am leaning towards although the LMT is not a mid length is the SPM16 or the Noveske 16" Light Recce, BASIC.

Although with the LMT I dont know if the rear sight is removable, anyone have any experience with it?

I am running a noveske light recce lo pro It is extremely reliable and accurate. Noveske is my Recomendation.

DD and BCM are both great choices. Noveske, my favorite, also makes a basic "recce" upper with pinned FSB on a mid-length gas system. You can't go wrong with any of those three. +1 on lethalyoyo's comment, except you might want the basic model I mentioned instead of the lo-pro, if that's what you're interested in.

ETA: Nevermind, looks like you already found out about the basic recce. I'd go with that. LMT's rear sights are removable. If you like it, you can buy it separately to slap on another upper if you choose.
http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/detail&product_id=265

Add LMT to the list and there you go.

Noveskes aren't bad from what I hear; no personal experience but these 3 are good-2-go.

Noveskes are the top of the top, cream of the crop. Can't go wrong with BCM or D.D.

it came down to noveske or lmt for me. i chose lmt.



part of what factored into the decision is i didnt want to buy a complete rifle, i wanted the experience of building my first one. i went with a CQB MRP upper.



i highly recommend either, you will never regret either company

With LMT and their monolithic rail upper, how hard is it to remove the barrel from the rail to clean it?  I seen alot of hex head screws strip at my shop where we make medical instruments when torque is applied and was wondering if these are hex head?  

The only way I can get a Noveske now is if I buy the upper I spoke to their sales rep and they said end of July they will have the uppers available.

What are some of the pluses and minuses of LMT, Noveske, and BCM?  

BCM is a huge sight lol could spend alot of money there real fast, does anyone have any particular model of BCM upper with a fixed sight they recommend?  

Of LMT and Noveske they are cheaper in msrp, sorry for sounding ignorant does this cost have anything to do with quality and such?

You all have been great at helping me and are atleast pointing me in the right direction.  I wish I could build one from top to bottom but I just dont have the room to do it in my house nor the time with a 2 year old grabbing my tools and taking them.  So far she has my hammer and has hidden a majority of my sockets.  Thats the main reason for looking for a complete upper or just getting a whole new rifle, for lets see what holiday can I claim a gift on, fathers day

it comes with a torque wrench and bit. allen head screws. remove 2 screws, remove the barrel. that simple.

 

Add Laue to your list.

If I had $1400 budget, Larue and Noveske would be my starting point.

http://larueosr.com/obr556.aspx

The Larue comes with the best trigger on the market, Geissele, as a standard part.

my boy has both a Larue and a LMT and he openly admits that he wishes he would have gotten a Noveske insted... every time we go to the range i one up him with my Noveske.

Larue uses a SS barrel, what is the difference between that and hammer forged?  I never shot anything with an SS barrel

Lethalyoyo thanks for the advice,

So the Noveske is more accurate?  How are they for quality and reliability, LMT vs Noveske?

Does your boy own the basic ones or the lo-pro?

like I said these were the high end of my budget, I seen the way Memphis TN gets in tough times especially when there are disasters.  Thats why I want something that is rugged and reliable.  If things got really bad I always have my old FAL this has never let me down in any condition, but 7.62 Winchester is more expensive and I would rather shoot and carry 5.56 as well than carry the FAL if I had the choice.   In the ARMY I didn't have a choice lol.
I dont really care for a piston upper but I do have one for a back up.

Thanks for the help again Gentlemen.

i have about 700 rounds threw mine and no malfunction.....

take sionics off your list

and wilson....both for different reasons

Can you explain why I have a Sionics and never had one problem with mine.

Wait... you own a Sionics?!? Where were you back on the 16th (see link)? I've never even heard of them.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=118&t=539836

Why take Wilson or Sionics off? LOL you got to say why to quantify what you mean,

It sounds like the light recce basic from Noveske is what you want, since it appears that you are looking for a light no frills no rail ar-15.
Their hammer forged chrome lined barrels will be more accurate than LMT's.

I've owned a couple of their shorter barrels and in my experience their hammer forged chrome lined give up very little to their stainless barrels accuracy-wise. The CL barrels are much lighter. Since you aren't building a SPR or long range rifle and mentioned iron sights, I think you'd ne well served with a highly accurate and light CL barrel.  If you want to hang a bunch of stuff off of it obviously this isn't the rifle for you.

I have a Larue OBR 762 that is my most accurate rifle. I'm sure their 556 offerings are wonderful as well.

Yes, I'm interested in this too.
for the record, I own both a Noveske and a LaRue.

seems obvious to me he owns a noveske, his boy wants a noveske, so he rubs his noveske in his face



 

Hello all thanks again for the help, what are the pros and cons if any to LMT and Noveske I have pretty much narrowed it down between the two but cannot decide?

Also why does manufacturers like Larue use SS barrels over hammer forged, do they last longer or something?

Wife wont let me buy one of each even if I say one is for my baby girl when she is of age to shoot... tried that with my SW625 and SW681 and it didnt go over to well.

More accurate.





 

I have Noveske, LMT, and BCM.  I like them all.  They are very good manufactures.
I would probably stay away from Bushmaster and Wilson Combat.
Why pay the same or almost as much as for a rifle that's further from the battle proven spec.

You're are probably just a better shot than he is.  Unless you are shooting at extreme distances, you won't be able to tell the difference between the LMT and Noveske.  I have both, I shoot the same with both.

I would wager that the chrome lined noveske would shoot better than the chrome lined (non-MRP) lmt.

Hello, I understand the difference between Chrome lined and Chrome Molly, what is a chrome lined non mrp barrel?

What would you say the pluses and minuses of the Noveske and LMT are?

Google " LMT MRP "

Prepare to explore tangent.  Or, stay on target.

The best advice I could give is for you to pick a price, that is the absolute max that you are willing to spend, total, at one time. Then determine if you want to get the total package for that figure, or if you could drop that much on a complete rifle, and if and when the desire to add some common sense options (several extra magazines, a sling, perhaps an optic and or a light) you could then add those.

Yes I own one and love it just as much as I love my Spikes plus they are local here and I like to support local business when i can.

Thanks GThirteen,  

I wasn't familiar with that acronym but the rifle I am :-) Too many acronyms sometimes to keep straight in life.

That was good advice.  I currently own a Aimpoint Comp M4S with a LaRue standard AR mount, and about 20 of AR mags, 10 of which are magpul.  Only thing I would like to buy would be the magnifier for this sight.  Those all came with the P415 I bought.  So I guess it comes down to the pros and cons of each, if my wife ever forgot the safe combo as well as to look at the bank statements I could buy both.  But the odds of that happening are slim to none so I can only pick one.

I am leaning more towards the Noveske the more  I read about it, the mid length AR I shot seemed to cycle smoother than the typical Carbine length.  Are there any other benifits to this over the carbine?  
Also what are the benifits of extended Feed Ramps?  
With the Vortex AAC are you able to put a can on it with this flash hider?

Noveske is my pick. Excellent quality rifle and outstanding customer service.

Noveske light recce lo-pro, battle comp 1.0
Anvil arms lower, geselle S3G trigger
Aimpoint M2, vortex 3x

100yrd w/t M2 and 3x

Those are some very nice weapons.  

I think I decided; tommorow I am ordering the Noveske.  It is 150 more but I think there is alot more bells and wistles than the LMT.  So God willing hopefully by the middle of Next week it should be here.

Thank you all for your help when it arrives I will post a pic of it, although it is no where near as fancy as the above weapons