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Posted: 10/24/2012 8:30:18 AM EDT
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I'm looking for recommendations for my first AR or AR build. There are so many choices I do not know where to start!
Thanks for any help! |
| Here's my advice-do as I say not as I did. Buy a decent carbine up front, buy high quality accessories when buying things like lights and optics. Don't go crazy buying a bunch of stuff for it and don't buy a whole bunch of AR15s. Buy one decent one and get familiar with it. |
| Smith and Wesson M and P sport. It's the absolute best AR15 for the money. Get yourself familiar with the rifle, then start a build from a stripped lower on another AR. Most people get what's called black rifle disease. I told myself i only needed 1 AR rifle, but now i have more :-( |
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Quoted:
Smith and Wesson M and P sport. It's the absolute best AR15 for the money. Get yourself familiar with the rifle, then start a build from a stripped lower on another AR. Most people get what's called black rifle disease. I told myself i only needed 1 AR rifle, but now i have more :-( I am going to politely disagree. You do not have to buy one of the cheapest AR's just because it is your first. As one of the other posters mentioned, start off the right way and get a decent mid-level carbine. A friend of mine that I hunt with purchased an M&P Sport to play around with. Had FTF/FTE issues from the beginning and problems with the bolt. M&P does make quality AR's, but not the Sport. It doesn't even come with a dust cover or forward assist. My friend was against doing a build and wanted something fully assembled. He no longer has the Sport and got a Colt 6920 instead, which has been a great rifle so far. OP, what is your budget? If you want to get something complete, I would suggest Colt. Although supply cannot keep up with the demand these days, you should consider a complete lower and complete upper separately. Stag, RRA, CMMG, Spikes Tactical, and of course BCM are all great AR manufacturers. |
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Here's my advice-do as I say not as I did. Buy a decent carbine up front, buy high quality accessories when buying things like lights and optics. Don't go crazy buying a bunch of stuff for it and don't buy a whole bunch of AR15s. Buy one decent one and get familiar with it. Pretty sound advice,even if it is coming from a New Yorker. 
Wish I would have done the same. |
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Quoted: I would recommend this. http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/featured/psa-16-mid-premium-patrol-rifle-package.html Best deal your going to ever get |
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Whats the quality of Windham Weaponry? I own one and it seems well built. I would put them as upper middle of the road. They dont have a "pony" on the side but they are solid and mine functions flawlessly. And for $800 plus tax, i'm quite happy with it. I would absolutely recommend one to someone as a first AR. |
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I'm new myself, but I found that above link 2 weeks ago and it helped. I also Googled reviews and went to the industry forums.
I went with a PSA before I even joined this site, but because of that link and lots of research, I knew PSA was 1 of 3 I was looking at. Then I happened on one at a local dealer and bought it on the spot. Besides, I wanted one before the election. Today, I'm watching sales go like free phones at a voting booth. Haven't seen prices really go up, but things are going fast. BTW, my PSA purchase was what I was comfortable with, and happened upon it. You or others may not be comfortable with it. If the PSA hadn't of been there and the RRA that was there would of had a 1/7 twist, I might of bought the RRA. Then again if I would of had $1350 a Colt M4A1 SOCOM would of been leaving the gun show with me the weekend before, but I just want one of them. Just like I want a LaRue. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Smith and Wesson M and P sport. It's the absolute best AR15 for the money. Get yourself familiar with the rifle, then start a build from a stripped lower on another AR. Most people get what's called black rifle disease. I told myself i only needed 1 AR rifle, but now i have more :-( I am going to politely disagree. You do not have to buy one of the cheapest AR's just because it is your first. As one of the other posters mentioned, start off the right way and get a decent mid-level carbine. A friend of mine that I hunt with purchased an M&P Sport to play around with. Had FTF/FTE issues from the beginning and problems with the bolt. M&P does make quality AR's, but not the Sport. It doesn't even come with a dust cover or forward assist. My friend was against doing a build and wanted something fully assembled. He no longer has the Sport and got a Colt 6920 instead, which has been a great rifle so far. OP, what is your budget? If you want to get something complete, I would suggest Colt. Although supply cannot keep up with the demand these days, you should consider a complete lower and complete upper separately. Stag, RRA, CMMG, Spikes Tactical, and of course BCM are all great AR manufacturers. Well, I will politely disagree with you. The Sport is a quality made rifle. Your friend must have gotten a bad one, happens with all manufacturers. Thing is, the S&W customer service is there to make it right. When you say that S&W makes good ARs, but not the Sport, you do realize that the Sport has the same bolt and BCG as the rest of the line, right? The melonite treated barrel is also now being used on the M&P 15T. Yes, it is missing the dust cover and forward assist, but that is not due to quality...it was a cost savings measure to provide a rifle to compete at at low price point. |
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The sport cuts a lot of corners, lower quality barrel steel, no heat shields, no ejection port door cover, no forward assist. You can argue whether you need some of that stuff but most others have them And the Sport comes in at a much lower price point than a Colt or most others too. It isn't "cutting corners"...The Sport was built to meet a different market segment than Colt, DD, Noveske, BCM. I guess the Chevy Tahoe cut corners since it isn't optioned out the same as the Cadillac Escalade? I will give you the heat shields, cheap move....but 95% replace the stock handguards anyway, so why pay extra for heat shields that are going to sit in a box in the garage? The Sport is a quality rifle, but the consumer does need to be informed on what the Sport offers at the low price point. When I purchased mine, if you wanted a complete rifle, nothing could compare. Today, I would look at the PSA for close to the same price. |
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Here's my advice-do as I say not as I did. Buy a decent carbine up front, buy high quality accessories when buying things like lights and optics. Don't go crazy buying a bunch of stuff for it and don't buy a whole bunch of AR15s. Buy one decent one and get familiar with it. Best advice in this thread. Wish I would have done the same. Quality = Colt, BCM, Spikes, PSA, just to name a few. 
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Colt 6920 is the "safe" answer. It may have dents and scratches but Colt has a reputation for turning out reliable AR15s, if not very pretty ones. ...and all my Colts have been pretty too. Don't buy a low price/low quality AR to start with. It will taint your opinion of the system. |
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