Thread: which AR15 for $1300 input needed

Well Ive owned a few ar's in the past. I havent been looking for awhile. Im looking to spend about $1300. What would you guys buy. Spend my money. Dont know if ill keep the gun for ever so resale value is always good. What am I going to do with it? Play around. Go shooting. Zombie protection..... I do like magpuls stuff and I end up putting all there stuff on it. Seems like Ar15 prices are still way up there am i right?

Meeeeeee??? Easy!

Rock River 6.8 Coyote Carbine....$1200 Rock River Arms: RRA LAR-6.8 Coyote Carbine

Build 2 and by a case of ammo. Asking prices for some AR's might be way up there still. Selling price for the informed is not.

Some quick thoughts:

BCM mid-length w/ 14.5" barrel is a nice rifle for <$1300.

Rainier Arms has a nice rifle out these days for <$1300.

Shop around you can get a Daniel Defense for $1300 +/-.

You can get a LMT for <$1300.

S&W M&P's are nice. They have a new mid-length MOE coming out.

You're in a good price range for a lot of gun and options.

There are also some good deals on this forum if you keep tuned in.

I don't think selling prices are way up there. The first one I built was just after Obama took office and it ran me $752. The second on was just built 6 or 7 months ago and it was just over $900. I buy quality not names. The last build I inspected 5 different lowers before I settled on one I had never heard of. DPMS and S&W are big names that had shoddy machine work, in fact the stamping if the S&W logo and serial on their lowers cause an inward bow in the magwell. The one I chose was a SLR15 CY6. Very good machine work finishing, excellent finish, very tight tolerances and it was at least $40 less than the big name ones with visual defects in them.

COLT

They even have a few magpul edition's coming around also.

Kudos for LMT & Noveske if you can find a good price!!

Originally Posted by Crispy

COLT

Right now a few shops have the COLT magpull setups for 1150. I think colt would be a good resale if needed. But I think im paying alot for the name. I REALLY like the bush ACR but I dont know if I can get one close to my range. I could possibly come up with 1500 for a ACR if thats possible.

I ended up plunking down $1500 for a new Ruger SR556FB. That was a lot of money for me. A heck of a lot more than my old Colt AR cost when it was new. I was intrigued by the gas piston technology vs. the older Direct impingement system my Colt had. My Colt was a great gun that never threw me a problem, but it had a fixed M-16 style carry handle, so adding optics ended up being a problem and I really wanted to get into a flat-top rail system rifle.

What I will say is that the Ruger is a sweet shooter and you get a lot of stuff with it. (3 Magpul P30 mags and Troy battle sights come with it as well as a fairly nice soft case.) I've never had a better AR-15 than this Ruger. I know there are some out there, but I'll never be able to afford one. The Ruger is chambered for .223 and 5.56mm ammo.

The Rugers come with mil-spec guts and all important surfaces are hard chromed. My SR just doesn't get dirty in the chamber and bolt carrier area like my Colt did.

The FB model has a removable/replaceable flash hider so I can pretty much put any kind of mil-spec hider on the end as I want. The only drawback to the Ruger platform is the fact that all the interior parts are proprietary and you need to go to Ruger for replacements. That isn't much of a problem for me, but I know some people wouldn't like it. Ruger customer service is one of the best going.

There are lots of other great AR platforms available in a wide variety of price ranges. I hear that Rock River makes some good guns and so does Stag Arms.

I suppose that in the end, it is going to depend on how much research you can do on the various manufacturers, what they want for their guns, and what you can afford. Personally, I would shy away from home builds.

honestly all my guns as of now are ruger..... I have heard alot of goods things about it. For a standerd AR im just trying to stay under the 1300 mark. I guess it is possible I could find a used new one.

Simply answer, go with the best...Noveske.

Unless you're looking for competition accuracy, just build one. Look at something like a kit from Del-Ton and pick up a lower locally (due to FFL requirement, lots of kits don't include lower but have all parts to complete it).

You get the benefit of being able to know every part and how it fits should any future repairs be necessary. Outfit it with all the goodies that catch your eye and end up with just what you want for a lot less. Since your desire is "just shooting" and "zombie defense" you'll have a great weapon for that purpose. Just won't have one of those "High Status" names.

I'm a big Spikes Tactical fan. ESPECIALLY for zombie protection ;-)

Originally Posted by jmurray192

honestly all my guns as of now are ruger..... I have heard alot of goods things about it. For a standerd AR im just trying to stay under the 1300 mark. I guess it is possible I could find a used new one.

Sent you a PM

6.5 Grendel. It's supersonic to 1200 yards. Shoots flatter and farther than the 6.8. Has recently become SAAMI certified. Very easy on the shooter and the rifle. You need to build, you can get much more rifle for the money. And, you will probably get better accuracy since you'll know what's going into the rifle. People have taken plenty of deer and elk this year using Grendels.

But, don't buy a .264 lbc knock off. The chambers are different and they don't use the same Grendel specs.

Here is an excellent place to get your build parts. I think upper are 85 bucks and lowers are 125 or something like that. This is where I get all my uppers and lowers for AR builds.

Surplus Arms and Ammo


Edited to Add .......

Here's what you can build for about 1100 ...........

Originally Posted by jmurray192

I do like magpuls stuff and I end up putting all there stuff on it. Seems like Ar15 prices are still way up there am i right?

AR prices are at a all time low. Colt 6920 for under 1K, PSA sells a mil-spec M4gery for under $600, it's $500 if you build. You can spend big bucks for a Noveske, LMT or Danial Defense, great AR's and hold a good resale price.

If your a Magpul fan build your own rifle.

COLT 6920.

Originally Posted by SigFanWA

COLT 6920.

+1

Colt 6920

Honestly if your thinking of raising your budget to $1500, go with a LaRue PredatAR and be done with it. Accuracy is covered, durability, reliability, craftsmanship, resale, relatively lightweight - all covered. You'll never look back....

Since you like Magpul stuff,

Colt SP6920MP



Can be had for under $1300