I'm probably going to refinance my house in late January, and will be looking at getting into ClassIII finally...

I want the tri-burst and 4-pos capability, so I'll probably go with a RR or RDIAS...(I'd prefer a RR though)

The LL 'sorta scares me...Doesn't look too reliable...

Anyway, I'd like to surf a few ClassIII equipment exchange boards...

Where do I find them ???
I've been to subguns.com already, are there any others?  
Thanks,

ART

Oops, I guess I'd be better off posting this topic in the M16 forum huh ?

Art,

E-mail coming at you.

AFARR

There are a couple of others like [url]Sturmgewehr.com[/url], but they don't have anything on Bowers. Most of the posts you will find on the other sites are simply duplicates from subguns.

Some people really like LL's and others don't. Personally, I was thinking about getting one just to facilitate getting a few other toys instead of just the M16 and maybe one more thing, but my dealer suggested that he really doesn't like links and that a lot of people he knows have had quite a bit of trouble with them.

If I were deciding between a DIAS or an RR I would take the RR in a heartbeat. If you get a non-Colt RR with the normal sized pushpins you are looking at a very comparable price to a DIAS, which I personally think is a little over priced. To each his own I guess.

What I'd like to find is a pre-'86 legally converted AR...
This way I'll have the RR with the right sized holes in it to swap a bunch of different uppers on to...
Seems the converted AR RR's are about $1000 less than a factory made M16 RR's...
I've seen the converted AR RR's for around $4500+...
Like you said, about the same as the RDIAS...

'kinda seems like a "no brainer" to me...
The USGI auto sears look to be a whole lot easier to fix/replace, than a drop in...
Not to mention, how much more practical a small pin hole receiver would be...

Like you said...
To each his own..  

I'm waiting for Shaggy to jump in with his "rifle flying down three flights of stairs" story [;)]

I've been keeping an eye out for an RDIAS for about 6 months. Nothing's turned up that 1. I was quick enough to respond on, or 2. Was priced right.

Another thing you might want to check out are the Colt model 614's. These are factory machineguns that don't command as much of a premium because they aren't marked M16 though they are the exact same thing minus the markings. These were made for the non-military market and a lot of them come out of PD's. They usually cost a little more than conversions, but as a factory made machinegun I think the price is appropriate.

I had decided I was getting an M16 after the first of the year until I dropped a rediculous amount of money into TI stock the other day at $26.50. I don't see how it can go anywhere but up, so I'll have to wait on the 16. I kept enough to pick up an UZI though, so Merry Christmas to me.

If I remember correctly, Brian Prichard of Tactical Weaponry had quite a few of the 614's not too long ago. They were in the mid $5K range or so. You might contact him and see if he has any left if you are interested.

I won't be able to do anything 'till I start my refinancing....

But...
You can bet I'll be spending like a drunken sailor when I have the extra money...

Are you talking about that story he told of the UZI that pissed him off and he smashed up with a hammer ?

[:)]

Art - Subguns.com is the best place on the net for NFA stuff.  There's other places, but it seems like its always just the same guys from subguns.com

And now, the bouncing M16 story...

Where I used to work I would take my M16 to work occasionally and go shooting on my lunch hour.  It was a small firm and everyone there knew I was a shooter, so not much need to case the thing - everybody already knew what was in there.  So one day, after my lunchtime leadfest, I come back into the building with the M16 slung over my shoulder.  My office was on the 3rd floor and the elevator was running slow, so I go running up the stairs with the M16 slung over my back.  I get almost to the landing at the third floor when the sling slips free (my fault - I had it threaded through that little buckle all wrong) and the rifle goes end over end, down the concrete stairwell, hits the concrete wall, bounces off and continues bouncing end over end down the next flight of stairs down.  Fortunately, no one else was walking up the stairs at the time, and fortunately, I didn't have the bayonnet on.  

I go running back down the stairwell to get my gun before anyone notices the dumbass bouncing machineguns down the office stairwell.  I pick it up and there's some new dings and scratches, but nothing real bad and no major damage.  The point of this story however is that the gun was a postban with a RDIAS - so even if I did put a nice big dent in the lower it would have been no big deal. If it were a factory Colt M16A1 or A2, I would have been crying for a week over just a small scratch.  Thats the beauty of the registered DIAS - you can put it in a postban and beat the snot out of it without having to worry about losing any value on the registered part. Everything else, including the postban lower, can be easily replaced.

Well Shaggy...You make a valid point...
Hard to argue that...
Maybe it would justify looking into a RDIAS...

Although, I DO know how to thread a sling...[:D]

Yeah, but the whole thing about it is that it wouldn't even matter if a DIAS got scratched because it isn't collectable. In a few more years you will be able to buy two DIAS for the price of one factory Colt rifle, even a scratched up one, which is already the case with an A2.

Besides, are you buying this thing to shoot or to help you retire? If the latter, then that should change your choice of weapon quite a bit. I've got a friend with an original Colt Commando in new condition that has never been fired. He paid like $11,000 or so for the damn thing. He really likes it and I'm happy for him to be able to find something that he is that proud of, but I would never drop that kind of money on something that I wasn't going to shoot. I want a rifle that says M16 on the side because that is what [b]I[/b] want. I've wanted one since I was little so when my stock appreciates I'm going to get it. I want the Colt horsey and M16 in big letters, so I can look at it and [:D]. I thought about playing with a link for a while until my dealer talked me out of it, but deep down inside I knew that I wanted a factory gun anyways, so it wasn't hard to talk me out of it.

So basically it comes down to "why are you buying this gun?". Just remember, you are talking about quite a bit of money no matter what your choice. Probably more money than the average [b]sane[/b] person would even consider spending on a gun, so make sure your decision is really your decision or you are going to be unhappy with it.

If you are planning on keeping this thing forever and want something cool to show off to everybody for the rest of your life then spring for a factory Colt. If you want a gun that you know is in spec and will function correctly the minute you get it, but you don't really care about collectability then get a Colt 614 for a little less cash. If you want a shooter that you don't really care a lot about the looks or markings and won't appreciate at the rate of a Colt in the long run then get a RR conversion. If you want something that nobody could care less about how it looks, as long as it works in the gun that they want to put it in, but you can keep the host gun looking new forever, then get a DIAS. If you want the absoluetely cheapest thing you can get by with, that may require a little tinkering to get to run correctly and to keep running correctly, or if you just don't have the money for the more expensive goods then pick up a link. It's better than nothing, but it's still gonna cost you $2.5K at the minimum not counting the host.

Have fun picking out your weapon and make sure you get what [b]you[/b] want, cause your the one that will be stuck with it!