AR Sponsor
Posted: 4/1/2009 11:58:58 AM EDT
|
First and foremost I apologize if this is not the correct manner to go about getting this information but I need some advise about purchasing my first AR-15.
Ask me what you weapon you need for any type of hunting and I can either tell you from experience or I know someone who can, but ask me about which AR-15 to buy and about all I can tell you is the black one that shoots .223 caliber ammo. Ya'll have the information I need and I would greatly appreciate it if you would share. I've researched/priced all the brands but beleive or not everybody has the best gun available. I need the answer from the people that have them, shoot them, collect them , and modify them. What brand equals quality? What is the difference, besides the price, of a Double Star, Bushmaster, Colt etc...? is the quality of the weapon reflected by the price? You can spend $5,000 on a "pretty" Beretta over/under shotgun but it does not shot any better than the Benelli SBEII for about $1,500 and my Remington 870 will do the job of all three for $400. What are the absolute musts in the add ons of my first AR-15? Two stage triggers, muzzle breaks, etc...? What optics should I focus on purchasing? I like the Eotech or C-more type sights I'm sure I left something out as my ignorance of the subject is great. Any guidence would be appreciated. |
|
Quoted:
It's hard to go wrong with any decent AR IMO. I own several different brands, and have put together several frankenguns which run great too. I really like the stock iron sights so I save some weight of the rifle in that regard. I have to agree. I just got my first AR and went with a RRA with an EOTech 512 and love it, the trigger is awesome!! You wont be disappointed with a RRA |
|
I am in the same boat as the OP. I am building my first AR right now and have purchased a lower from RRA with an upper ordered. One big thing that you need to decide first is what gas system (assuming you want DI and not piston) you should go with. Most of what you will find available available at your dealer are carbines, then you might see some full rifles. I opted for a midlength. Not saying one is better than another, but I liked what I read about the action on the midlength vs. the carbine.
My friends have Bushmasters, S&W's, and a Rock River and each of them love their AR. I assume you are buying a complete AR and not building it? My advice is decide the big things first like gas system and barrel before thinking about optics and add ons. |
|
Start here: http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=493
This helped me a ton. |
|
I think any of the major brands will serve you well. Bushy, RRA, S&W, Stag, Sabre Defense, LMT, Colt, etc etc ... Of course Colt will cost you a pretty penny.
My personal choice would be a RRA or S&W, however I would try to stay away from ordering one from RRA, find one in stock if you want that one. Otherwise be prepared to wait a LONG LONG time, 6 months + easily. |
|
My opinion is that the best bang for buck is Stag Arms. Basically, if you avoid Hesse, Vulcan, and Blackthorne you'll be OK. DPMS and Olympic should be considered "budget" brands. They're OK for what you pay, but they aren't rifles I'd trust my life with.
Get a flat top (A3/A4) if you want to do customization. I use the EOTech and I really like it. I have it on a Larue Tactical quick detach mount. It raises the sight up so that I can see and use my iron sights in the lower 1/3 of the EOTech's window. Nice if your out shooting and your batteries decide to take a dump on you. For mods, I would recommend a free float fore arm. Many of these also have rails on them, so you can hang anything you want from the rifle. Even if you don't, however, it's worth your effort to free float the barrel for the accuracy improvement. |
|
My advice would be to get a stock M-4 type flat top carbine with removable carry handle from one of the reputable makers, RRA Bushmaster, CMT/Stag, S&W. I made the mistake of trying to trick out my first Bushmaster too quickly before I knew what I wanted and ended up not liking the mods once I put them all together and changing it all once I knew what I wanted
Get a stock weapon, maybe an optic. Get good at shooting the iron sights first, before you shoot with the sight. You'll be that much better once you get a sight. But like many have said, get a quality optic. You get what you pay for. I am an Aimpoint guy and would recommend that. Once you've gotten used to the stock basic rifle and have done a lot of research on this site, then you can start tricking that thing out if you decide to go that route. You may end up liking the stock set up. My first two rifles were pretty heavily modified, but my last 3 have been about as simple and stock as I could make them. I've gone full circle with the set ups. You'll have to find out on your own what works. Be warned, the AR is a disease and will consume your thoughts at night thinking of new projects or ways to modify them. I started with an M-4 and now have 5 ARs and plans for at least another 2 (others have many more than that). If I were just staring out, I would buy a complete 16" M-4 rifle and probably at least 2 stripped lowers to modify later once you knew what you wanted. You've made a great first step by coming to this site for info. Soak it in and see where it takes you. |
|
Check out the "build it yourself" section. I've put together 4 ARs, and if I were to do it all over again I would do the same thing. But do some reading, there's plenty of info to sort through. For the first build, I would buy a complete upper with the bolt carrier group that has been test fired and build the lower half. It's not very hard at all, you need minimal tools, most you might even have. My first one took only a hour. There's detail instructions on how to put the lower together, with pictures.
Personally if I were to only have one AR, it would be a 20" government profile barrel with a flat top upper receiver. I've had great luck with Del-ton and Bushmaster for upper halves and parts. But I do change the bolts, I keep the originals for spares, and replace with a Bravo Company bolt. For lower parts kits, I've used DPMS (some will frown upon these parts) and LMT. For the lower receiver I use Essential Arms. As for barrel twist, I use 1x9 barrels, most will say get a 1x7, lots of decisions, lots to read. If this gun is going to be a keeper, build it, you'll save some money without sacrificing quality. |
|
Look through the AR picture threads, it will give you a good idea of what people are running, what looks like something you would want, give you ideas and expose you to products and companies that you may not have heard of. Once you get an idea of what you want, it will be a lot easier to decide how to proceed.
here is the general AR thread: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=118&t=423762 here is the list of pic threads: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=118&t=428250 |
My advice is to see what is available in your area and check out what you find. That is what I did. Originally, I did not have any desire to buy an AR. 2 years ago I went to a local gun shop at their Smith & Wesson sale to check out what they had on sale in a snub nose 357 and bought a S&W 340PD. While there, I looked at their assualt rifles and noticed the M&P15A. After going in there for the next 6 months occasionally, I was infected with the bug of wanting an AR and wanted the M&P15A. During that time I did a lot of research and decided the M&P15A was what I wanted. Last year when the gun shop had their annual S&W sale, I took first day of the sale off and was their in line waiting for the shop to open. When they opened, I immediatly went to the M&P15A and carried it to the finance line. I had to finance it to get it but is was 12 months same as cash or with interest for 24 months. I was able to pay it off about 7 days before 12 months was up. It was $100 off and had a $100 rebate. Once you get the bug, you are infected for life. I have not done much to it yet but have plans for it and have 8 Pmags and 3 USGI type mags for it. The economy has me in a tight right now. Research and handle some ARs to find out where your interest is in and of course what you can afford. 
|
| This dude got it right! An absolutely overwhelming disease. I didn't even "finish" my first gun (DoubleStar lower assembly and DelTon upper assembly)- now I've already got a stripped RRA lower waiting to become "The Mutt Project". One man's excess is another man's redundantcy! |
AR Sponsor