Lately I have been introduced to the AR world and have been trying to read up and research all I can about them.  To be quite honest its almost like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant.  
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where to get started? What gun would serve a newb best? :)  Any help is appreciated.

-styx

A factory built gun will serve you best as a first time owner. That way you'll know how one should look and operate. Plus, any warranty service if need be.

As for the configuration, what are you going to use it for?

As to the maker, well, anyone who knows me knows that answer. [:D]

I figure for the first gun I would just use it for target shooting(maybe hunting).  Any recommendations on brand?

First off, welcome Styx!!!  

Second off...RUN, RUN while you still can, once the AR fever hits, theres no stopping it, believe me

Seriously though, glad to have you aboard.  I'll be honest with you, I'm definitely no expert, but I was in your shoes about a year ago, so I'll try to help a little, a very little mind you, with the big overload of info.  Read all you can.  This site is where I learned everything I could about AR's before I got one.  It is great, and there are some real experts here.  

I got my first AR this summer.  Its a Bushmaster 20" A2.  It's as plain as they come, but I love it.  There are several reasons why I chose this model/brand/type.  After reading through a lot posts on here I decided that Bushmaster rifles seemed to be really reliable and most people had great things to say about them.  The reason I chose the 20" A2 was that I wanted to start out on the basic model so that I could become comfortable with the iron sights and learn to really appreciate the AR as a great rifle.  You will find that there are tons and tons of things you can add to your gun later on, but I didn't wanna get too fancy and miss out on how much fun the bare bones system was.  I've always felt that once you get into the fancier stuff it is harder to move back to the more basic things.  I decided that I wanted to kinda progress through this whole "AR Thing", and get more advanced, or not, depending on what I liked or disliked. Eventually(hopefully this coming summer) I'm gonna move up to the flat-top, fancy scope stuff, but I am so glad I started with the A2.  There will be some folks tell you to start with a carbine, and not the full size, but its just up to you, you'll find that a lot of this stuff is just a matter of opinion/comfort and what not.  Anyways, that's kinda what I've taken from my first year or so of AR's.  Hopefully it all made sense, I was on my way to bed and hated to not type anything to you.  Good luck deciding on an AR and take care.  Later.

OlBoy

Thanks for your advice olboy :)  There is a gunshow coming up in houston next weekend.  I'll nose around there and see what I can drum up.

You can hunt with 5.56? For both of those uses velocity is helpful and mo velocity be bettah. So a 20" barrel, possibly free floated. Scope or iron sights? If hunting is a potential use I'd stay away from the bull barrels. mebbe even away from the HBARs depending on the terrain I would be crossing.

Brand is going to depend on which features you deem necessary. I prefer Colt but they don't offer the options/models that other makers do.

if i'm off on anything, i'd welcome any corrections.

i went msany moons ago with a 16" pre-ban carbine because my purpose is plinking at moderate(100-200yds)ranges. i suppose you can hunt at that range, too.

1. i'm a short guy, so a 16" handles best for me.
2. flat top version because of the flexibility in optics. you can purchase a carry handle for around $70 in the EE. i'd hold off on scopes and red dots for now until you're versed with the rifle.

3. pre-ban because you're in a free state and can install a telescoping stock. i love these stocks because you can adjust length-of-pull, what you do give up with traditional iron sight is a solid cheek weld that a traditional stock gives you, but the cool factor can't be beat...lol

4. bushmaster gives me the right combination of price, quality, standardization of parts.

5. regarding magazines, buy usgi and unless you like new shiny mags, i'd buy used ones for around $15-$18, maybe even $12. the things i look for are uncracked feed lips and intact baseplate tabs, straight baseplates and good welds(although  welds always seem to be solid). i wouldn't care about finish because you're lucky to live in a free state and can choose from millions that are out there. the EE always has good deals. U.S. made thermold mags are good, too, and they look great on the rifle.

6. for now fight the desire for lights, forward grips, magpuls, bipods, grips, slings and all the accessories out there. they're great, but they are accessories and are better suited when you're better versed with the rifle.

7. ammo is the important thing. you really can't go wrong with name makers. they're all pretty accurate, and there are some nice deals floating around from industry forum partners. you'll read about wolf until the cows come home. bottom line for me is they're fine whether with my bushmaster or ASA(yes, ASA!). ammo is really touchy with people, you'll just have to shoot various kinds and find what's best for you.

my current, favored setup is a bushmaster 16" pre-ban flat-top with an eotech 511(the old blister button kind) and an ARMS 40 backup iron sight. i made a ghetto tac-sling out of a standard silent sling and some paracord. simple, light and works great for me.

8. check the EE for your first rifle, there are some nice deals that come up all the time. pric-wise the pre-bans seem to run around $1,200, but you can buy a pre-ban lower and use a post-ban upper and save a couple hundred.

i hope all this didn't further confuse the matter. and i would welcome any corrections.

regards,
tony  

I'm new to the AR world and have a couple of recommendations. First is go with a carbine. The 16" or 14.5" versions are lighter and more manuverable making them more fun to shoot. Also the weight allows you to add things on without the weight getting up to high. Second is if you have the chance to see it or shoot it first would be best. Instead of buying a bare bones model it would turn out cheaper in the long run to get what you what to start with, you will find that accessories will soon out cost the rifle. I would stick with one of the major manufacturers too, Bushmaster, Colt and Armalite are considered the big three but DPMS and RRA are also considered good guns. Last is continue to ask all of the questions you want answered until you are comfortable with your purchase. Don't worry if you buy something and it ends up not being what you wanted after shooting it, if you take good care of your equiptment it keeps it's value great.

Thank yall :)

Once you go "Black" ya never go back!!
[:D]