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Posted: 1/26/2010 8:05:11 AM EDT
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Looking at buying my first AR... been wanting one for a while now.. just have had no funds...
What do i need to look for.... 1. name brands ? stag / rra / dpms / cmmg ?? 2. steel vs chrome barrell ? 3. factory built vs some guy off the street built ? don't want to spend the $$ on junk.... what to i need to avoid ?? thanks in advance for any input.. t |
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What do you want it to do? IE do you want a long range sniper type rifle or a carbine to carry around like if you wanted to take a class? Maybe something else?
Anyway for a standard 16 inch carbine thats an m4 type rifle I'd look at stag, smith and wesson, cmmg, or rra for lower end rifles. For range duty and a basic course worth of shooting they should be fine. You want a rifle that can be run hard look at a colt 6920, bravo company(prefer mid-lenght gas system), or lmt gun. If you want a high end gun look at a noveske or larue based gun for a very accurate weapon that will run or something like a kac rifle which is just a very nice battle rifle. As far as factory built vs off the steet I'd go factory although buying a seperate upper and lower and pushing the 2 pins together will save you some on taxes. With something like a bravo company gun you have to buy the upper and lower seperate, they don't sell complete guns. Same with larue(with the execption of the new sbr and their 308 rifle). |
| For a good basic gun that would be fine for carry and overall use I'd go with a complete lmt, smith and wesson, or bravo company lower. Add whatever stock and grip you want if you don't like the stock ones(I like the moe grip and ctr stock). For the upper a bravo company bfh 16 inch mid lenght with their bolt carrier group and charging handle. Either get a set of plasic handguards from them or get it with a rail installed. For a rear sight if you want a flip up I'd go with a kac one as it has evelation even though it is kinda expensive. |
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stag / rra / dpms / cmmg would be a good place to start. Maybe look at del-tonmJust saw this, that would be a great deal. Either their pre built or kits.
Like others have said, also look at S&W and others. Go with any of these and you will be happy. I would get a 16 in, either carbine or mid0lenght gas system, and dont get a barrel that is heavy, such as steel of HBARS. ETA: If your doing 500 yards for pigs might consider 18 inch. Maybe even a different caliber such as 6.8 ( I'm from michigan I know nothing about pigs.  )
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so... steel barrel or chrome lined... 1 n 7 or 1 n 9 twist I'd go with a 1/7 twist or a 1/8 twist. Might want to look at a larue upper. Get a 16 or 18 inch with a nice rail. Either get a larue lower and assemble it yourself(they only sell them stripped and to people who bought an upper) or get one of the lowers I had already listed. Chrome lined can hurt accuracy although a good chrome lined barrel can still be accurate. They should hold up better then a steel barrel but a good steel barrel should last you thousands of rounds. As far as a scope goes get a larue mount for it. |
| if $ is not an issue and you want to get hits to 500 yds, id do a recce build. 16" bcm midlength or larue stealth or a noveske barreled upper... any of these will give you accuracy to get HS on a pig at 500yds if you do your job. id definitely get a 1-4x min, maybe a 3-9 with an offset rd. theres a few options, If you want to go cheapper, id get a stag, mine is probably 1.5moa, but ive been shooting wolf and im not very good yet and getting 2, 2.5" groups. |
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90% of the people here don't run there guns hard enough to tell a difference between the "tiers"
I've owned: Bushmaster, DPMS, and BCM all mine have run fine. Just keep them wet. If you plan on shooting $200++ worth of ammo at a time it would probably behoove you to go with an "professional grade" AR. Even then a consumer grade AR will probably be fine. If I were in your shoes I'd get a Del-ton middy kit (comes with a factory assembled upper and everything you need except a stripped lower) and put together my own lower (its so easy a caveman could do it.) Then spend the leftover $$$ on ammo. If you plan to run a carbine course buy a BCM boltcarier group and keep the original as a spare. I recommend a chrome lined barrel. Just my .02 -Will |
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thoughts on a DPMS sweet 16..... ??? Depends on what you want. You'd have to buy iron sights separately. It doesn't have a flash hider. That bull barrel will be heavy. I prefer a collapsing stock. Looks like it would pretty much be limited to a bench gun. -Will |
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If I were in your shoes I'd get a Del-ton middy kit (comes with a factory assembled upper and everything you need except a stripped lower) I read on here to stay away from heavy barrels. The Del-ton says they are heavy. |
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If I were in your shoes I'd get a Del-ton middy kit (comes with a factory assembled upper and everything you need except a stripped lower) I read on here to stay away from heavy barrels. The Del-ton says they are heavy. They have advantages and disadvantages. If you want a lighter barrel you can get it in a carbine length, they sell those too. Just wanted to mention Del-ton because their kits are one of the best values. |
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pigs / target / whatever... 200-300+ yard playing....
If you are going to hunt pigs at night the flash hider would be advantageous. If you wanted to reach out further a longer barrel would help. Barrel length does not directly affect accuracy, but it does affect velocity which affects bullet drop at long distances. There is a chart somewhere on the sight that illustrates this, but I can't find it right now. A heavier barrel will retain its accuracy better during sustained firing because it will vibrate less and handles heat better. Also the Sweet 16 you mentioned has a 223 chamber, which cannot shoot 5.56 ammo. A 5.56 chamber can shoot both. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more Qs. I'm far less knowledgeable than most people here, but I've been into the platform for over 8 years now. -Will |
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I just put together a Stag as my first AR, and I am happy with my choice.
Its beautifully machined and operates flawlessly. If you plan on hunting pigs with heavier bullets than the std. 55gr. I might look at a barrel with a 1/7 twist. Otherwise, I have no complaints about my Stag Model 2H. |
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