Ar-15

[Tegu]

I have quite a few firearms, including a couple SKSs and an AK, but I have yet to own an AR-15. I figure now is the time to buy, because you never know what type of 'assualt rifle' ban will come out of congress next year. I am thinkig either Bushmaster or Colt. I dont want to go nuts right now, I will probably 'trick it out' later. I am thinking $1500 or less for the gun, and maybe a kind of crappy scope, but it is not neccasary.

Any advice on models or other brands I should look at?

 

[elderboy02]

S&W M&P 15
Rock River Arms

 

[Soundwave13]

Stag-Arms.
You can by the uppers & lowers seperate, assemble yourself & save money.
I'm thinkin of buyin few lowers just in case some feel-good legislation comes next year..

 

[rick12string]

I’ve got an Armalite and love it.
You can look at DPMS, Rock River Arms, S&W makes the M&P AR15, all good rifles.
I personally don’t like Colt. They changed the size of the take down pins years back and are not interchangeable with all other milspec parts. They may have changed other pins also but I’m not sure.

 

[elderboy02]

Stag-Arms.
You can by the uppers & lowers seperate, assemble yourself & save money.
I'm thinkin of buyin few lowers just in case some feel-good legislation comes next year..

I have 3 stripped lowers :clap: :rifleaim:

 

[rick12string]

Stag-Arms.
You can by the uppers & lowers seperate, assemble yourself & save money.
I'm thinkin of buyin few lowers just in case some feel-good legislation comes next year..

:thumbsup:

 

[rick12string]

Also,
If I was to buy another I would be looking at this one.
Z-M Weapons. The LR 300 is a variant of the AR15. The difference is in the action. The gasses are not ported back into the action to operate the bolt carrier. It uses a gas piston design over the barrel kinda like the SKS with the recoil spring up front as well. It keeps the action much cleaner and you can have a folding stock on it because the recoil spring is no longer in the stock.
http://www.zmweapons.com

Hope this helps

 

[Mitch]

Strongly recomend you stay away from the Colt. Colt's version of the AR uses a smaller hinge pin on the lower reciever and key parts of the triger grouping are not the standard military configuration that everyone else uses. You may have compatiability issues if you want to do upgrades later.

Also, it will be harder to find a pre/post ban Colt with a threaded barel, etc.

I've got and had lots, two of my favorites are Bushmaster and Olympic Arms. I think the Olympic is the most accurate of the stock I've tried, but you'll only notice the difference with bench shooting a very long heavy bareled version. For a simple M4 style I like the Bushmaster and they have some configurations better for optics.

Do you plan on optics? if so a flat top is a must and one with a flip up or removable front sight is a nice bonus. It is very ackward mountiung optics on weapons with handles.

If you do optics and want flip up back up sites, it is way cheaper to pay for them up front than try to do an upgrade later.

 

[Tegu]

LR-300 looks sweet, a bit out of my price range though.

I have been researching and there is so much info out there I am kinda stumped.

I am thinking of just going to Academy and grabbing a Bushmaster, I am thinking flattop.

Any reason not to do this?

 

[Tegu]

Do you plan on optics? if so a flat top is a must and one with a flip up or removable front sight is a nice bonus. It is very ackward mountiung optics on weapons with handles.

If you do optics and want flip up back up sites, it is way cheaper to pay for them up front than try to do an upgrade later.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Yes I plan on optics, eventually I'd like to put a nice scope that is at least 15x.

 

[Mitch]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Yes I plan on optics, eventually I'd like to put a nice scope that is at least 15x.

unless your shooting ground hog that is way too much scope for one of these. I've got an EoTech 552 on one and like it for out to about 150 yards. a low power scope of 3-4x will get you to 300 yards and still have good field of view and be compact. I've used shotgun scopes for this with good luck. Past 300 yards your looking at the wrong caliber weapon to be of any effect on man size tagets, you need an AR-10 for that in 7.62x51.

With quick detach rings you can have the best of both worlds and swap out what you need, but I'd recomend keeping it low mag. High magnification dosn't help your shooting that much and makes dusk and dawn shots much harder.

If it is a varmit gun I had a 24" Olympic Arms with a Tasco 6-24x40 that was great for that. Shoot quarters at 200 all day long.

 

[elderboy02]

I also recommend a 1:7 twist barrel so you can shoot the heavier grain bullets easier. (i.e. Hornady TAP)

 

[Tegu]

I will probably throw on a 3x9 to start out with and go from there, it is really just a toy and I enjoy trying to hit small targets at about 150-250 yards. Let me ask this what about 5.56 vs .223?

 

[Fox]

I’ve got an Armalite and love it.
You can look at DPMS, Rock River Arms, S&W makes the M&P AR15, all good rifles.
I personally don’t like Colt. They changed the size of the take down pins years back and are not interchangeable with all other milspec parts. They may have changed other pins also but I’m not sure.

Colts are fine if you get one of the early pre-bans that were made well before Colt went PC. The Mil-spec size of the trigger and hammer pins are .154 in diameter. The front take down pin is .250. When Colt went PC, they decided to change everything to prevent any easily transferred auto sears from being installed. They also instituted the sear block into their lower receivers. Newer Colts use hammer and trigger pins that are .169 - .170 in diameter, with a front take down pin of .311 - .312, just in case you run into one and want to check. While there was little variance in pins sizes during the pre-ban years, I have seen some size differential with new models.

There are lots of good AR brands available at the moment. Avoiding Colt pretty much guarantees that you will get Mil-spec sizes, which is a great thing since it maximizes flexibility of available parts.

 

[elderboy02]

5.56 barrel can shoot .223.

A .223 barrel can't shoot 5.56

5.56 is preferred b/c it is faster.

 

[Fox]

I will probably throw on a 3x9 to start out with and go from there, it is really just a toy and I enjoy trying to hit small targets at about 150-250 yards. Let me ask this what about 5.56 vs .223?

5.56 is the military round and .223 is the civilian designation. They are two, distinct SAAMI specifications. While rarely an issue, in some rifles the hotter 5.56 military rounds have been known to cause over-pressure situations in a .223 chamber. Get an AR with a 5.56 SAAMI chamber and you will have nothing to worry about, regardless of which ammunition you choose.

 

[Mitch]

I'm not aware of a single AR-15 type in production that can't shot either round. This shouldn't be an issue at all.

Also, because the metals used to make firearms today is so much better than back when the .223 Rem round was made SAAMI it's a safe bet that any modern firearm chambered in .223 can handle 5.56 Nato ammo. I wouldn't put 5.56 Nato in a semi-automatic made 30+ years ago though. They are two different SAAMI specs, but the real difference between them is just how hot it is loaded.

 

[Jwrussell]

LR-300 looks sweet, a bit out of my price range though.

I have been researching and there is so much info out there I am kinda stumped.

I am thinking of just going to Academy and grabbing a Bushmaster, I am thinking flattop.

Any reason not to do this?

Flat top is definitely the way to go IMHO. What's your price range? It's really hard to beat some of the M&P offerings out there. A buddy at work picked up the one fully outfitted with rails and got it for a great price. Jealous, I was.

 

[jwintosh]

dang! you guys know your weapons!! i was recently given a new Colt AR-15 (govt model). all i know is it shoots real straight!!

 

[Tegu]

Flat top is definitely the way to go IMHO. What's your price range? It's really hard to beat some of the M&P offerings out there. A buddy at work picked up the one fully outfitted with rails and got it for a great price. Jealous, I was.

$1500

I am really leaning towards the bushmaster ORC 5.56 $899 at Academy

Product Description:
This top quality Bushmaster Carbine was developed for the shooter who intends to immediately add optics (scope, red dot or holographic sight) to the rifle - as it is shipped without iron sights. Various add-on rear iron sights can be easily attached to the flat-top Upper Receiver, and Bushmaster’s BMAS Front Flip-up Sight for V Match Rifles (Part # YHM-9360K) can be mounted over the Milled Gas Block. The premium 16” M4 Profile Barrel is chrome lined in both Bore and Chamber to provide Bushmaster accuracy, durability and maintenance ease.

5.56mm / .223 Rem. Caliber


16” M4 Profile Barrel with A2 Bird Cage Suppressor


Receiver Length Picatinny Optics Rail with Two 1/2” Optics Risers


Milled Gas Block


Heavy Oval M4 Type Handguards


Six Position Telescoping Stock – reduces overall length by 4” when collapsed for convenient carry