AR 15

[WoodChuckDad]

I just read thru all 11 pages of this thread. Egads! I am by no means an authority. My MOS in the Army involved a keyboard, not a rifle. But I have been into guns for 30 years, and have built several AR's and bought a few others. Bushmaster, Rock River, LMT, POF, Knock Off's and Frankenguns. I would personally avoid anything that had carbon instead of aluminum for the lower. Then I would question what you want to do with it. IF hunting is your purpose, you need to make sure you can use that caliber in your state. In Virginia you can't hunt big game with anything smaller than .23 caliber so that puts the .223 of 556 out of contention. IF you are looking for a SHTF or bump in the night gun, then I would figure out if ammo availability and reloading ability are key. No matter what I get, I would say stock up on ammo. Always keep a decent supply and don't dip into it when you are hitting the range. Ammo gets scarce from time to time, under peaceful circumstances. Right now, my favorite go to gun is a 16 inch flat top BCM m4 type. Bravo Company makes absolutely wonderful rifles that are very reliable. Any decent AR is better than not having a rifle. But as you get into it you will find differences in quality, manufacturing and testing. Most people will never need to have a professional warriors black rifle. I sure as heck hope I won't.
As for deals....that bushmaster looks like a good basic rifle. If you buy it, run a heck of a lot of ammo thru it to make sure it is reliable, keep it wet (lubricated) and clean it religiously. And the site is probably junk. 600 bucks with optics screams crap for the optics. Got to cut corners somewhere to make that price point....I hope it's the site and not the rifle.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I just read thru all 11 pages of this thread. Egads! I am by no means an authority. My MOS in the Army involved a keyboard, not a rifle. But I have been into guns for 30 years, and have built several AR's and bought a few others. Bushmaster, Rock River, LMT, POF, Knock Off's and Frankenguns. I would personally avoid anything that had carbon instead of aluminum for the lower. Then I would question what you want to do with it. IF hunting is your purpose, you need to make sure you can use that caliber in your state. In Virginia you can't hunt big game with anything smaller than .23 caliber so that puts the .223 of 556 out of contention. IF you are looking for a SHTF or bump in the night gun, then I would figure out if ammo availability and reloading ability are key. No matter what I get, I would say stock up on ammo. Always keep a decent supply and don't dip into it when you are hitting the range. Ammo gets scarce from time to time, under peaceful circumstances. Right now, my favorite go to gun is a 16 inch flat top BCM m4 type. Bravo Company makes absolutely wonderful rifles that are very reliable. Any decent AR is better than not having a rifle. But as you get into it you will find differences in quality, manufacturing and testing. Most people will never need to have a professional warriors black rifle. I sure as heck hope I won't.
As for deals....that bushmaster looks like a good basic rifle. If you buy it, run a heck of a lot of ammo thru it to make sure it is reliable, keep it wet (lubricated) and clean it religiously. And the site is probably junk. 600 bucks with optics screams crap for the optics. Got to cut corners somewhere to make that price point....I hope it's the site and not the rifle.

 

[LD1]

Nothing wrong with plastic stock and grip. I believe he was talking about the lowers

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Nothing wrong with plastic stock and grip. I believe he was talking about the lowers

Scary. There is a waiting list for these things.

 

[bumperm]

I'm in the "build it" camp. Nice billet lower and good quality trigger (JPI Enterprises and many others). As to the direct impingement (DI) vs. operating rod (piston upper) debate, a piston upper is the only way to go if you will be using a silencer (suppressor) on the gun. With the added back pressure of the suppressor on the DI gun, it will tent to spray combustion by products and carbon in your face. Also, the DI gun will run a lot hotter and dirtier. I have DI guns too, and they are fine for most purposes. I use Adam Arms piston uppers with a suppressor.

Consider that if you are using an AR for home defense, and you actually have to shoot the thing in the house, unless you are wearing hearing protection (maybe not likely at 3 in the morning) you will damage your hearing. A suppressor on an AR pistol with 10.5" barrel is of manageable length and is a formidable weapon. Suppressed, it's not supper quiet, about like a .22 rim fire rifle. You would normally want to use hearing protection even at that, but at least if you shoot it a few times without protection, you'll still be able to have a conversation without reading lips.

 

[Sigarms]

Best value for the money IMO is Windham Weaponry. They use to make Bushmaster until Remington bought them out some years ago, and IMO Bushmaster has gone to crap since then. Remington bought the factory in Maine, then proceeded to relocated the manufacturing process out of state. When the old owners no compete clause ran out, he still had the factory and most of his old employees back producing AR's under a different company name. I picked one up (after I swore off AR's getting onto another 5.56 platform), and the Windham has run like clockwork just like my old Bushmasters.

Picked mine up complete for around $750

It's a buyers market for AR's right now. If you wanted to buy one, now is the time, or I'm guessing you'll have until later next year until the elections come up (unless the government tries to do something drastic due to a knee jerk reaction and people get scared that the guns won't be available anymore).

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie,

If you are not busy Saturday morning at 1000 we could meet at the Lock & Load range on the SW Loop and Karen can shoot my AR15. It's in 9mm but the size is roughly the same as the LE6920 or the M4. Mine is a slightly older model of the AR6951 that is only semi-auto.

Colt 9mm Submachine Gun (SMG)

Thanks Randy, I'll bring it up with Karen, but I can't say for sure. We will be in our deer blind and she has been saying all week how she is behind on her homework and is going to work on it all weekend.

Curious why you are going to a range to shoot instead of on your land?

 

[hutchman]

Scary. There is a waiting list for these things.

Co-worker has one. I just don't see the point. I've been using Aero Precision lowers (good quality & price) for builds but then took a chance on buying PSA (Palmetto State Armory) blemished lowers when they went on sale for crazy prices (like $49) and I can't find anything wrong with them. Maybe a superficial scratch in the finish but after you took it out on some shooting sessions it would probably get scratched up anyway (especially doing 3 Gun) so I find them to be sleeper deals!

 

[RobertN]

Build it camp is fun, but thinking forward, I would not be so enthused to buy a homebuilt over a name brand. I think if you went to sell it, it would be better parted out than sold complete.

I'm in the "build it" camp. .

 

[WM75Guy]

Thanks Randy, I'll bring it up with Karen, but I can't say for sure. We will be in our deer blind and she has been saying all week how she is behind on her homework and is going to work on it all weekend.

Curious why you are going to a range to shoot instead of on your land?

My wife told me not to, it scares her horses. :shocked: So I do as I am told. :confused3: Real reason is the land behind me is flat with heavy trees. I don't really have a good berm to shoot into and there are cattle on the land with the occasional person on the property that I cannot see or hear.