Hi guys. I am a pistol shooter interested in purchasing an AR15 or other assault rifle. I know almost nothing about assault rifles. What postban gun would you recommend me buying in the $800-$1300 range? What features are "must have?" What barrel length is recommended? Any good advice you could give me about "how to buy an assault rifle" would be appreciated.

What will the homeland defense rifle be used for?

We would need a little more info.  What type of shooting do you want to do?  Close quarter combat?  Long range/high power?  Coyote hunting?  Quick acquisition shots or 10 ring at 300 yds?  There are approximately 22,342 Bushmaster v. Armalite threads to read. [:)]  Those are the two most popular brands.  What caliber?  5.56/223?  308?  (speciality weapons up to 50 cal)?  If you can narrow it down you'll get a lot more replies.  Welcome the board.

I smell a [:k]. First off if its a post ban then it is not a assault rifle, It is a sporting rifle per our government.[smoke]

First off its not an assault rifle its a semi auto rifle and next if your a handgun shooter you purchase a rifle the same way you do a handgun according to your state law.

I do agree Boom.

Yep, TROLL for sure.  I just checked all past posts by this Troll and he/she wants to know everything from where to shoot full-auto to what type weapons do LEO's carry.

[size=4][b]This Troll is a waste of time.[/b][/size=4]

[b]Assault rifles are illegal.[/b]


What kind of pistol and where do you shoot?, what type of ammo do you feed your "handgun"?



Answer please.

[b]rmz
 

Name: Richard Zapf

State:
Country: USA


Forum Posts: 10
Last Posted: 8/3/2003 7:44:24 PM
Last Login: 8/3/2003 7:19:16 PM
[/b]

Could be Dianne Feinstein under an assumed name collecting weapon nomenclature for the next inclusive ban. It seems so ridiculous when they ban rifles by brand name rather than a specific class of rifle only. Shows that the people writing the legislation really had no idea what they were looking at other than "they looked dangerous".

OK, guys. Sorry about the nomenclature. I am looking for a "sporting rifle." This would be for target shooting- probably at 200 yards mostly.

rmz,

 Best advice I can give is to visit several gun shops/shows and see what feels balanced and fits you.  Like pistol shooting there's alot out there and it boils down to personnal taste.  Once you narrow it down then we can recommend manufactuars, barrels, sights, etc.

De Oppresso Liber

Edit to add that if just range work and under 200m look at some of the carbines.

I would recommend you first browse this site and then the manufacturers sites to get a good idea what is out there.  There are so many variations of an AR, it's amasing.

Do your best to figure out how you plan to shoot it and how often for this will help with your decision.  

Here are some basics.

Chrome lined barrels are better for ease of cleaning and life compared to number of rounds but you will get a bit better grouping not chrome lined. A non-chrome barrel is fine for the average shooter (and I don't mean once a year but shooter) but a heavy shooter will opt for the chrome.

The middle of the road barrel length is the standard 20" which gives you a moderate tactical but good acuracy out to the ranges you mentioned.

The AR is a gun system, no matter what you buy you can change it later to other configurations.

Forged lowers and uppers are better for strenght and retain their resale better. You can tell the difference by the texture which can be easily learned by looking at rifles with cast and forged lowers.

Good luck in your quest and welcome to the home of the Black Rifle.

Tj

Before you commit to any configuration, get a stripped lower and assemble it (build your lower first that is), and in the mean time surf this site and read and read and read, that will give you an idea of what you want and how to get it within the limits of budget and law.

I disagree. One should save the build for he second rifle. You'll have a known good sample to reference, and you won't make any mistakes rushing to finish it.