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Posted: 1/18/2017 8:29:11 AM EDT
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I know this question gets asked a lot and the answers will vary a lot. I'm looking into getting my first AR. I know the argument for building it and I will probably build one (or more) in the future but it isn't an option currently as I don't have the time to research and be confident in part selection and assembly skill due to having a baby in the house.
I was ready to pull the trigger on buying my first AR months ago but somethings came up that prevented it. At the time I had done tons of research into complete rifles and what I was looking for. I had decided on going with the BCM Recce 16. However, fast forward a few month and I can't seem to find them in stock and BCM has a back order time of 14+ months on complete rifles. Since my research is dated I would love some suggestions on good brands to get a quality rifle. My hope is to stay in the $800-1400 range for the rifle itself. I also prefer to not have the fixed sight base and carry handle. The rifle will be a multi duty gun until I have time and funds to buy/build more. So for now it will be a range/training/home defense type gun with potentially getting my feet wet in 3gun. I am aiming for a mod length gas system and a 16" barrel. I really appreciate any advice. |
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Spikes Mid length $975
Spikes Carbine $975 Spikes Mid length at AIM $877 PSA Carbine $680 Ammo Learn to shoot it if you don't know how. |
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I definitely know how to shoot it. I have been shooting all of my life this is just my first venture into an AR. Pinning an upper and lower shouldn't be out of the question. The only reason I'm against building an entire rifle is the lack of time with a new baby to properly research and assemble one with a new baby. As long as the assembly process is short and uncomplicated in open to ideas. I just want a quality rifle and am not too familiar with the quality brands within my price range.
My main reasoning behind looking for a complete rifle is the warranty since I am not too familiar with the platform and would have trouble diagnosing any issues that arise |
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I think it took me 15 or 20 minutes to assemble my first lower. If you don't want to do it, it's no big deal. But don't hesitate on doing it. Just wait for momma and the baby to fall asleep, and run down and put it together.
Also, don't be afraid to buy a less expensive model for your first AR. Regardless what you get, you're going to want to change a few things. I recommend staying away from the handguards with quad rails. Other than that, pretty much pick your poison. Good choice on going with mid-length gas system. I suggest getting a complete upper and a blem lower from PSA if you don't want to assemble the lower. Keep the extra money for accessories and ammo. And something special for your tired wife. |
| With all the has been said so far I am definitely leaning towards getting a BCM Recce upper and a complete lower from somewhere (PSA) seems the popular choice. If I do this can anyone point me in the right direction as far as what is required for assembly. Both the process of assembly, tools, as well as any additional parts that will be required. I really appreciate all of the great advice given so far. |
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Quoted:
Why do you recommend against hand guards with quad rails? Quad rails are hard on the hands, add a lot of size, and a lot of weight. You can do a lot more with M-Lok or Keymod systems, and the handguards are easier to handle. A lot of guys don't mind the quad rails, but I've never liked them. |
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If you're getting a complete upper and a complete lower, no tools are required. Putting them requires pulling out two pins with your fingers (designed to be easy to pull in and out for assembly/disassembly). You can also get a complete upper without BCG or charging handle. Those are easy to purchase separately and require no tools to install.
The downside to all of this is that you aren't going to have a manual to show you how to clean/lube the rifle. If you're getting an upper without a fixed sight, you should look into folding sights and a red dot optic. There a bunch of decent optics in the $150-$200 range. Folding iron sights aren't all that expensive either. |
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Quoted:
I definitely know how to shoot it. I have been shooting all of my life this is just my first venture into an AR. Pinning an upper and lower shouldn't be out of the question. The only reason I'm against building an entire rifle is the lack of time with a new baby to properly research and assemble one with a new baby. As long as the assembly process is short and uncomplicated in open to ideas. I just want a quality rifle and am not too familiar with the quality brands within my price range. My main reasoning behind looking for a complete rifle is the warranty since I am not too familiar with the platform and would have trouble diagnosing any issues that arise For your requirements, I'd look real hard at a Daniel Defense rifle, specifically one of their new V7 series: V7 LW, ( Light Weight - 16" barrel ) V7, ( Gov profile 16" barrel ) or better yet, since you're looking to try 3-Gun, the V7 PRO, ( 18" S2W - Strength to Weight, or heavy profile barrel ). The V7 series ARs have a very light and comfortable M-LOK forend. I just bought one of their new 13.5 M-LOK rails to replace an older, heavier quad rail and the improvement was instant and dramatic. With solid and utterly reliable ARs, Daniel Defense also has one of the best warranties in the business. |
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I bought a Smith and Wesson Sport II as my first and never looked back.
Quality rifle, great warranty, good product. Shop around and you can find them for $600 ( some less ). Spend the extra on furniture or ammo. Worst case - you can sell it for what you bought it for. I love shooting this thing. |
| Great question because that is where I am as well.... but in the reply's I don't see anything about Daniel Defense ... a number of people at the range say can't do better than DD..... is there any truth to that? Does anyone here have a Daniel Defense AR15????? Thank you so much ! |
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DD makes good stuff for sure. Can't go wrong with one.
For a first AR though I'd recommend something less expensive. A PSA completed lower and an Andro Corp upper. Both make nice stuff. ACI doesn't cut corners even on their budget stuff. You get out for around the same as a budget complete AR, but you have a much, much nicer rifle. Something you'll probably hang on to even if you decide you want the DD or whatever somewhere down the road. |
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If I were in the market for a first AR, the Springfield Armory Saint would be at the top of the list. For $800-$850.00 you get everything you need and nothing you don't. Even comes with a decent case, rear sight and 30 Rd mag. Just add ammo.
CALIBER 5.56x45mm NATO (.223REM) LENGTH 35.5" Fully Extended / 32.25" Collapsed WEIGHT 6lbs 11oz UPPER RECEIVER Type III Hard Coat Anodized Aircraft Grade 7075 T6 Aluminum Flat Top, Forward Assist and M4 Feed Ramps? LOWER RECEIVER Type III Hard Coat Anodized Aircraft Grade 7075 T6 Aluminum, Accu-Tite™ Tension System? BARREL 16" Chrome Moly Vanadium, 1:8 RH Twist, Melonite® GAS SYSTEM Direct Impingement Mid-Length Gas System, .750 Diameter Gas Block TRIGGER Springfield Armory® Proprietary, Nickel Boron Coated GI SIGHTS Springfield Armory® Low Profile Flip-Up, Dual Aperture Rear, 1/2 MOA Windage Adj. TRIGGER GUARD Bravo Company PISTOL GRIP Bravo Company Mod 3 HANDGUARD New, Exclusive Bravo Company, KeyMod, PKMR BUTT STOCK Bravo Company 6 Position BUFFER ASSEMBLY Carbine "H" Heavy Tungsten Buffer RECEIVER EXTENSION Mil-Spec Carbine Receiver Extension, 7075 T6 Type III Hard Anodized Aluminum CHARGING HANDLE GI Style BOLT CARRIER GROUP M16 BCG w/ Carpenter 158 Steel Bolt, Shot Peened & Magnetic Particle Inspected MAGAZINE 1 - 30 Round Magpul PMAG Gen M3 |
| I'll probably get flamed for saying this but don't buy into the "high end " AR-15 non-sense. I've been down that road and own a couple of supposedly mid to higher end AR's. I hunt a lot of coyotes and my Bushmaster Predator ends up getting the most action. I have some mods on it (mainly the Geissele trigger) but it loves 69 grain match king bullets and shoots 1moa at 200yds. $5,000 dollars won't buy better. |
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Another vote for a RRA rifle, I have two but I think they are out of the OP's budget aren't they??
Building is a great option if you don't mind buying a few tools(which you'll want anyway by the way). But it will take more than "15 minutes" to build your first lower. If you build, I would recommend an RRA national match trigger, it is a great trigger for the money. |
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Quoted:
I bought a Smith and Wesson Sport II as my first and never looked back. Quality rifle, great warranty, good product. Shop around and you can find them for $600 ( some less ). Spend the extra on furniture or ammo. Worst case - you can sell it for what you bought it for. I love shooting this thing. There is so much LOL here... Ok 1st, this is the exact route I went, when I was shopping I was bouncing between shelling out the extra for the saint, or keeping it more budget based with either the Sport II or the ruger. Landed on the Sport II and I've changed out most of the furniture already. Love the rifle so far, comes with a magpul flip up rear sight, mag, and the warranty so I felt pretty good. The only other contender was a Windham, but I couldn't justify spending more for a rifle that didn't come with any sights. (In all fairness I did buy a vortex strikefire 2 with the rifle... but wanted back up sights too.) The other part that made me laugh was my pops was in a band, they played 8675309, (cause everyone loves that song right?) and when he got a dog, he named her 8675309 Jenny.  Then I realized I totally failed to read the last number of your screename...
All that being said, my next rifle I will be doing like that is also suggested here and getting a stripped lower, complete upper and just putting it together myself. So you can't go wrong either way. |
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Quoted:
Quad rails are hard on the hands, add a lot of size, and a lot of weight. You can do a lot more with M-Lok or Keymod systems, and the handguards are easier to handle. A lot of guys don't mind the quad rails, but I've never liked them. Generalizations can be misleading. Example: The Daniel Defense Omega 7 quad rail is a drop-in free float for the standard handguards. It weighs only one ounce more than Mil Spec shielded plastic handguards, and is actually -- narrower!. It is a little bit larger in vertical dimension, but not much. It comes with rubber rail ladders on all four sides so it is no less comfortable and perhaps more comfortable than the standard hand guards. I prefer smooth round modular handguards over quad for most applications. But for a rifle with an A2 fixed front sight, the DD Omega is very good. I run one on my fixed sight HD carbine so that I can also run an offset scout weapon light and a QD vertical grip on occasion. |
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Quoted:
I'll probably get flamed for saying this but don't buy into the "high end " AR-15 non-sense. I've been down that road and own a couple of supposedly mid to higher end AR's. I hunt a lot of coyotes and my Bushmaster Predator ends up getting the most action. I have some mods on it (mainly the Geissele trigger) but it loves 69 grain match king bullets and shoots 1moa at 200yds. $5,000 dollars won't buy better. I get your point and generally agree. But the hyperbole in that last sentence cannot go unanswered. A simple $400 to $500 match grade barrel upgrade from Lilja or Kreiger can cut that 1 MOA in half or more. |
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I would say build and depend on others on this site for recommendations. Once you have all the parts it only takes like an hour or two to build. If you go with way I would recommend
Upper/Lower/BCG: Aero Precision Barrel: Faxon Gunner Hand guard: UTG (great rail, excellent price) LPK: CMMG |
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AERO PRECISION OEM Midlength at Brownells $529.99
Add a rail that fits on standard barrel nut |
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I did my first AR build for around 450.
Tim Wise Complete lower (Minus Buttstock kit) $100 PSA Complete Upper (w/ BCG and CH) $270 Trinity Force Defnder L1 Buttstock kit $40 Had some extra money for ammo and mags. Really easy to pin together. Next one I plan on doing all the pinning and spending more on but so far it's a good start for me. |
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