Poll: My first AR

[Logan Wilson]

I am finally in the process of getting my first AR. I have been searching daily for the past few months and believe i have found one in my price range that i like (ill leave the link below). I would like my first AR to be a 5.56 as price per round is within my plinking budget. I dont have or know anyone in my area with experience building one or i would be going that route. Budget is in the $900-1200 range. Any thoughts or comments immensely appreciated!

http://grabagun.com/cmmg-mk4-rce-5-56mm-rifle.html

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[Capn Jack]

Remember....In most states you can only hunt varmints and tin cans with a 5.56.
so you might want to consider another caliber. Look at one that only requires a barrel swap.

If you just want a plinker, buy a .22lr

 

[Logan Wilson]

I do not intend to do any hunting with this tin cans and paper targets are just fine . I would at a later date like to do some competitive events

 

[etrain16]

A couple of things come to mind - bearing in mind I'm no AR expert. First, since it doesn't come with sights, do you have room in your budget allowed for at least a set of decent iron sights or maybe a red-dot or scope? Assuming you'll want to shoot right away, keep that in mind. Second, with the keymod hand guard, think about what kinds of accessories (if any) you may want to add later - at this point I see fewer options for keymod than a regular rail - just something you might want to look into. Third, if you do this one, Bud's has it for about $30 cheaper and free shipping if you pay without a credit card (that's what I do), so you'd save enough to cover your transfer/BGC on the same gun (Link: http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...oducts_id/716008558/CMM+MK4+RCE,+5.56MM+RIFLE )

Seems like a decent setup to me, but I'm sure other more learned folks can weigh in with more info.

 

[Larrytpdx]

This is a good deal

 

[Logan Wilson]

I have put aside a couple hundred for flip ups/red dot thanks @etrain16 if i do end up with this one ill go through buds. I saw that deal posted earlier today for the M&P Sport, my thoughts were this would be a much better quality gun than the sport... at that price point i could get two and have one as a safe queen/back up! Thanks @Larrytpdx

 

[Joe13]

This is a good deal

+1 to that!

IMO you will be wasting your money spending 900-1200 on your first AR.

Buy a $500 rifle and then figure out what you do and do not like about it. (Especially, something like that S&W where it is a complete build and you can nit pick at what you want to improve - then go buy/build your dream rifle)

Where do you live? Lots of AR hobbie builders on here that generally are very helpful.

 

[Logan Wilson]

+1 to that!

IMO you will be wasting your money spending 900-1200 on your first AR.

Buy a $500 rifle and then figure out what you do and do not like about it. (Especially, something like that S&W where it is a complete build and you can nit pick at what you want to improve - then go buy/build your dream rifle)

Where do you live? Lots of AR hobbie builders on here that generally are very helpful.

I live in west seattle and im willing to travel within an hour of so to get to help, and to make new gun friends and as i have a very few of those here . I wanted to buy one gun and be done for a long while but its sounding like the cheap option/deal may be a better start.

 

[etrain16]

@Joe13 has a point. That M&P is a decent rifle and would be a great place to start. Plus, with the way things have been going, it might be a good idea right now to sink some of the money you would save into buying plenty of ammo (before the .05/round tax hits WA state) and stock up on plenty of magazines. You can always sell the rifle later and trade up to a different model if this one didn't suit your future needs.

I would also recommend taking some of the money you save and buy 1 or 2 stripped AR lowers - you can get them easily for under $100 each, and it's a great place to start for your future build(s) (there will be more than one ).

Honestly though, once you get one, you'll simply realize you need more than one. As @Stomper often says: "One is none, two is one and three is glee"

 

[Logan Wilson]

My first choice was this beauty

<broken link removed>

 

[2A2Dend]

If you're buying the rifle for looks, it will haunt you to no end in the upgrading game. Buy good known basic, best bang for the buck, with a hit list for upgrades, later. At $1900+, you can do the same cheaper by starting off with a good basic platform now. The trigger and the barrel (and the ammo) are the heart of the beast. Anything else is purely cosmetic.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

m&p sport 2 , ar556 by ruger or the new aero precision basic rifle would all be excellent sub $700 guns. and aero precision is not too far from you.

 

[Boboclown]

Honestly at that price you could get a name brand upper (BCM) and a PSA lower. After that just get a quality BCG and CH.

Second, with the keymod hand guard, think about what kinds of accessories (if any) you may want to add later - at this point I see fewer options for keymod than a regular rail - just something you might want to look into.

Or, he can, you know, get rail sections. A keymod rail has the advantage of only having rails where you need them.

The trigger and the barrel (and the ammo) are the heart of the beast. Anything else is purely cosmetic.

Let's not forget the BCG... One should get a good BCG.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Oh dear lord, please pass on that $1100+ rifle.. Thats a straight up scam. You can build one for cheaper than that.

Plenty of great ARs in the $600-$800 range. Do NOT pay anymore than that unless it is radically different in design or comes with many extras or bells and whistles than standard ARs. And even then, you may be able to just buy and add those later.

They all operate the same, many "high end" companies brag about superiority.. When in reality they are nearly all the same. Seriously.

If you're paying $1200 for an AR you're getting cheated. Ill proudly put my money where my mouth is and stack my $680 franken AR againsts someones "high end" AR.

So thats my .02¢.
Just dont over pay or buy into brand name hype its the biggest scam in the firearms industry. Sure there are real crappy ones like Vulcan arms.. But 90% of the stuf out there is GTG and a lot cheaper than that $1100 CMMG

 

[Logan Wilson]

Oh dear lord, please pass on that $1100+ rifle.. Thats a straight up scam. You can build one for cheaper than that.

Plenty of great ARs in the $600-$800 range. Do NOT pay anymore than that unless it is radically different in design or comes with many extras or bells and whistles than standard ARs. And even then, you may be able to just buy and add those later.

They all operate the same, many "high end" companies brag about superiority.. When in reality they are nearly all the same. Seriously.

If you're paying $1200 for an AR you're getting cheated. Ill proudly put my money where my mouth is and stack my $680 franken AR againsts someones "high end" AR.

So thats my .02¢.
Just dont over pay or buy into brand name hype its the biggest scam in the firearms industry. Sure there are real crappy ones like Vulcan arms.. But 90% of the stuf out there is GTG and a lot cheaper than that $1100 CMMG

So what would your $680 Franken AR build be? If i could make a beast with less money i would be up for that.

 

[Larrytpdx]

Oh dear lord, please pass on that $1100+ rifle.. Thats a straight up scam. You can build one for cheaper than that.

Plenty of great ARs in the $600-$800 range. Do NOT pay anymore than that unless it is radically different in design or comes with many extras or bells and whistles than standard ARs. And even then, you may be able to just buy and add those later.

They all operate the same, many "high end" companies brag about superiority.. When in reality they are nearly all the same. Seriously.

If you're paying $1200 for an AR you're getting cheated. Ill proudly put my money where my mouth is and stack my $680 franken AR againsts someones "high end" AR.

So thats my .02¢.
Just dont over pay or buy into brand name hype its the biggest scam in the firearms industry. Sure there are real crappy ones like Vulcan arms.. But 90% of the stuf out there is GTG and a lot cheaper than that $1100 CMMG

What he said!

 

[etrain16]

Here's one way you can do a build:

If you're not comfortable doing the building, you can buy pretty much everything pre-assembled. There are quite a few options out there to do it that way. Palmetto State Armory is one that gets a lot of mention for builders - prices are usually decent, as is quality. They're not premium quality, but not bottom of the barrel either. Basically you need:

* Complete lower (lower receiver, lower parts kit/trigger/hammer, buffer tube/buffer, stock)
* Barreled upper (upper receiver, barrel, gas block, rail/handguard, bolt carrier group, charging handle)

Buy those two sections complete and just stick them together and you're good to go. Here are just some examples from PSA - just remember that the lower or complete lower receiver is considered the 'firearm' and must go through an FFL. All the other parts, including the complete barreled upper can be shipped directly to you.

Barreled Upper Option #1 $399.99: <broken link removed>

Barreled Upper Option #2 $499.99: <broken link removed>

Complete Lower with Magpul Stock $189.99: <broken link removed>

Bolt Carrier Group $89.99: Palmetto State Armory 5.56 Premium Full Auto Bolt Carrier Group - 8779

Charging Handle $24.99: PSA AR15/M16 Charging Handle - 438

In just this one of many examples, if you did option #1 for the barreled receiver, plus the complete lower with Magpul stock, the bolt carrier group and charging handle, you would would have the complete rifle for ($399.99+$189.99+$89.99+24.99) $704.96 (plus S/H and FFL fees). And you wouldn't need any tools to bring it together.

And that's not the cheapest options out there. You can beat those prices if you shop around - even looking at the classifieds on this forum - folks selling complete uppers, lowers, etc. at sometimes less than what you can buy online.

 

[Boboclown]

PSA is pretty good. I have an upper from them I'm happy with. For the price they're good.

 

[Logan Wilson]

Here's one way you can do a build:

If you're not comfortable doing the building, you can buy pretty much everything pre-assembled. There are quite a few options out there to do it that way. Palmetto State Armory is one that gets a lot of mention for builders - prices are usually decent, as is quality. They're not premium quality, but not bottom of the barrel either. Basically you need:

* Complete lower (lower receiver, lower parts kit/trigger/hammer, buffer tube/buffer, stock)
* Barreled upper (upper receiver, barrel, gas block, rail/handguard, bolt carrier group, charging handle)

Buy those two sections complete and just stick them together and you're good to go. Here are just some examples from PSA - just remember that the lower or complete lower receiver is considered the 'firearm' and must go through an FFL. All the other parts, including the complete barreled upper can be shipped directly to you.

Barreled Upper Option #1 $399.99: <broken link removed>

Barreled Upper Option #2 $499.99: <broken link removed>

Complete Lower with Magpul Stock $189.99: <broken link removed>

Bolt Carrier Group $89.99: http://palmettostatearmory.com/palm...remium-full-auto-bolt-carrier-group-8779.html

Charging Handle $24.99: http://palmettostatearmory.com/ar15-m16-charging-handle.html

In just this one of many examples, if you did option #1 for the barreled receiver, plus the complete lower with Magpul stock, the bolt carrier group and charging handle, you would would have the complete rifle for ($399.99+$189.99+$89.99+24.99) $704.96 (plus S/H and FFL fees). And you wouldn't need any tools to bring it together.

And that's not the cheapest options out there. You can beat those prices if you shop around - even looking at the classifieds on this forum - folks selling complete uppers, lowers, etc. at sometimes less than what you can buy online.

Ok im digging it now. So if i went with the first Barrel upper, and an Aero complete lower, I would just need the charging handle and Bolt carrier group in addition to that right?

 

[2A2Dend]

My first choice was this beauty

<broken link removed>

With a little reading, I feel it a good choice given the quality and options. I think that you've done your research well enough for your desires and expectations. You need to weigh the options in the benefits. Excuse me for reading you in the manner I am, but I think you already know your direction. Go with it.