AR Sponsor
Posted: 3/18/2008 2:49:24 PM EDT
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I'm very new at this but have been reading the forums for the past few days and have done a decent amount of research. Unfortunately, I live in NY so I am very limited in my options but would like to get a 16" carbine very simple and relatively cheap as my first rifle. As of now I'm thinking of getting a complete lower receiver assembled locally from http://www.lrbarms.com/m15sareceivers.html which will be $265 and get a complete upper assembly from Model 1 which comes out to $525 with 16'' AR15 Lightweight C.A.R. Upper Half, 5.56 NATO, chrome lined chamber & bore, 1-9 twist, target crown, BAN COMPLIANT; A3 w/removable carry handle, std aperture, $75.00 option; Front sight base w/std front sight; C.A.R. handguard, black; Bolt carrier group & std charging handle, $100.00 option. I just wanted to know if you guys think this a good option for about $800 and if this is everything i need? Thanks, Matt. |
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You may want to consider one of the bargain bin items from CMMG -- they have complete AR-15's that are $570-625 and may do the trick: CMMG Bargain Bin complete AR-15s HTH! |
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I've shopped for AR's for years, and the cheapest way I have found, short of stumbling onto a bargain somewhere by dumb luck is to buy a complete rifle kit and assembling it to a stripped lower. Stripped lowers can be had for just over $100 if you shop around. Kits start at around $425 for a very basic carbine. Buying a complete upper (with BC/CH) will usually run you at LEAST $400 by itself, and you would still need to get a buttstock and LPK to complete your lower. You are looking at at least $100 for these... I would only buy a complete upper (as opposed to a kit) if I was planning to use it on an existing lower. In practice though, I would rather save the $ to buy another lower, and spend $50 more and buy a complete kit. I can always use the upper from my kit on my existing rifle while I scrape together the $ to get another lower. In the meantime, I will have gotten a stock and an LPK for about the price of just an LPK... |
Yeah, you have a good point, but if you follow the instructions in the tacked threads in this forum it isn't bad to build a lower. With $800 you could build a $1000 to $1100 rifle... just something to think about... Remember that if you buy a completed rifle, you are paying the federal excise tax on the whole price of the gun. If you buy a lower receiver you are only paying the excise tax on the price of the lower. Using this reasoning, I think your best buy would be to buy a finished lower AND a kit. Then... sell the extra LPK and buttstock on the EE. A kit is only around $40 to $50 more than a complete upper (meaning it includes the BC/CH) and you could get an easy $100 out of the parts you'd have left over... I see R Guns has good prices on completed lowers in Shotgun News... Just food for thought... |
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