Tips on buying an AR-15

[gaijinsamurai]

My advice? Get a 16", 1:7 or 1:8 twist (these will shoot pretty much every weight and length of bullet well).
Yes on chrome lined. Magpul CTR stock, and MOE+ grip.
Get a 5.56 chamber (not .223...they are not the same).
Buy a complete rifle from a respected manufacturer (Spikes, Colt, S&W, maybe Palmetto State Armory...these will come in right around your budget).
Don't go fancy on rails or optics yet...save those for your next builds.
Shoot it with iron sights, learn the weapon and platform, then make the enhancements that will benefit you.
"Conversate" me if you have any specific questions.

^ This.

 

[jb11]

Stop buy curts discount shooters supply. I have had great experiences there, good prices and good people
and they way you can look at some options, build vs buy.

 

[cookie]

I forgot to add I have never met an Ar owner with only 1 AR.

 

[Nickb]

I forgot to add I have never met an Ar owner with only 1 AR.

I only have 1... Complete... I have 2 more pieces of aluminum ready to go from paper weights to lowers.

These things are addicting, even down to the mags, walk into a store and walk out with 2+mags you didn't need or intend to buy.

Have fun, buy a good name brand like mentioned above and figure out what you like/don't like.

 

[Classic]

Here is a link that will answer allot of questions for you...
http://www.702shooter.com/community-awareness/ar15-primer-beginners-guide-purchasing-building/

Stay away from Poly lowers and remember that AR's are the legos of guns. Parts are pretty easy to swap out.

 

[Kruel J]

I forgot to add I have never met an Ar owner with only 1 AR.

I have just one. And just one AK. That's all I can shoot at once

 

[mjbskwim]

The whole thing is ,how much are you really gunna shoot this gun?
Any AR will work if you ain't gunna shoot it a whole bunch.
(Still keep away from carbon,JMHO)
Never mind what lining or metal the gun has,all will shoot better than most people can.
Just make sure it is mil spec so you can change out parts when you get the bug.
If you have bucoo bucks and are going to shoot competition then buy the best you can afford. Otherwise buy the best your budget will allow and change parts as necessary. (most times there won't be much to change)
So a chrome lined barrel and a cool foregrip or better sites will be what you are looking for at $1000. A normal AR can be had at around $700 easily.

 

[Kruel J]

The whole thing is ,how much are you really gunna shoot this gun?
Any AR will work if you ain't gunna shoot it a whole bunch.
(Still keep away from carbon,JMHO)
Never mind what lining or metal the gun has,all will shoot better than most people can.
Just make sure it is mil spec so you can change out parts when you get the bug.
If you have bucoo bucks and are going to shoot competition then buy the best you can afford. Otherwise buy the best your budget will allow and change parts as necessary. (most times there won't be much to change)
So a chrome lined barrel and a cool foregrip or better sites will be what you are looking for at $1000. A normal AR can be had at around $700 easily.

Exactly. I have more fun with my 17HMR and its of course cheaper to shoot. But my AR will always be in my collection.

 

[GunRightsCoalition]

I only have one and I swapped the barrel to make it a 300 Blk. Not going to be out there every weekend though and the barrel will likely outlive me. (Assuming I keep it clean which I do with all of my firearms anyway)

 

[redmud]

I agree with much of the advice you are getting. But this right here I agree with the most because this is what I did.

+ 1 here, it really isn't that hard to put it together and you will know exactly how to break it down, clean, upgrade or repair it. And you will be closer to what you like without spending to much extra on things you don't like
Get a good quality barrel and bolt carrier group, a flat top upper with M4 feed ramps, as far as hand guards its preference but light weight and adaptable is always good, so railed or the ability to ad them and probably a free float one. don't forget your gas block these days the clamp style looks like a good option verses staked or set screws,

For lowers a flared mag well is good and then there is the debate of billet or forged. A butt stock with a 6 position mil spec buffer tube/receiver extension, spend what you like here, you can pick up one from a gun show for around $30 that was installed on a factory build and replaced with an upgrade or just go for the Magpul kit. I would start out with dpms lower parts kit or the one from Palemetto with the Magpul grip and trigger gaurd

You will need a few tools like a barrel nut wrench, castle nut wrench, for the receiver extension/buffer tube, vice blocks for your upper and lower receiver to make assembly easy, punches and a hammer.

As soon as you start to upgrade a sport model AR you will be buying these tools any way and in a SHTF scenario you will want these tools in the ready bag.


Best of luck be safe and have fun.

Edit: I just went to the Palmetto State Armory website and it looks like you could put together a 16" PSA carbine from a kit and a blemished lower for under.......... wait for it $550 then you will have money left over for ammo a nice set of tools and upgrades or 16" ptac upper with bcg and charging handle for $319 the Ptac lower build kit for $79.99 and the blemished lower for under around $450

 

[Classic]

Use Code DD20002 and get this for $660 OFF the normal $1759 price! I love mine
Not sure how long the deal lasts.............................
http://www.primaryarms.com/Daniel-D...rs+at+Primary+Arms&utm_campaign=April+Showers

 

[cookie]

One of my friends has a dedicated 22 lr upper for his AR and it is a blast to shoot. FYI

 

[Kevinkris]

i read through articles for months before investing in my AR-15. all youve done here is open a can of worms lol. this is all you need to do: buy yourself an off the rack rifle, some mags and ammo. its easy to get pulled into buying one based on the brand but very few parts on the rifle matter a whole lot when it comes to reliability. unless youre a marksmen you dont need to get one with all the great parts. its actually difficult to find one that isnt going to be any good.

this will help you find direction if you want one thats a bit better than off the rack. again, it will only point you in the direction.

you arent going to go wrong with picking up one for $700 or even finding one in the classifieds here.

 

[mjbskwim]

i read through articles for months before investing in my AR-15. all youve done here is open a can of worms lol. this is all you need to do: buy yourself an off the rack rifle, some mags and ammo. its easy to get pulled into buying one based on the brand but very few parts on the rifle matter a whole lot when it comes to reliability. unless youre a marksmen you dont need to get one with all the great parts. its actually difficult to find one that isnt going to be any good.

this will help you find direction if you want one thats a bit better than off the rack. again, it will only point you in the direction.

you arent going to go wrong with picking up one for $700 or even finding one in the classifieds here.

Then by chance something breaks,you buy the next better replacement part. IF you ever shoot it that much.
I haven't broke any part in 5 years but I don't take the AR out that much. It still has over 2000 rounds through it.I just shoot other things more

 

[rick benjamin]

NWF Rifle Classifieds, OR

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

I would recommend you look at a Bravo Company ARs. They are really built to mil spec quality . The lesser ARs are built with what I like to call bolt action steel, the quality ARs are built with what I like to call machine gun steel. Read the materials and processes used by Bravo Company then choose. http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/ This link filthy 14 shows what kind of life a quality ar can have.https://www.slip2000.com/blog/s-w-a-t-magazine-filthy-14/ There are other high quality ARs besides Bravo but Bravo has the best for the $$$$ I like the 20" and the 16 inch mid length. You probably would like that! I have been playing with ARs since the early 1970s and the quality ARs run and run. The lesser brands usually choke up when run hard. only buy a 1/7 twist you can run 55gn to 77+ gn bullets. AR15.com and M$carbine.net have tons of AR info for you to study up on before making a proper decision.

I would agree with this. BCM builds VERY good rifles. Another I'd consider is Daniel Defense. When I got my first AR I got an Olympic arms. I didn't know much about the different brands. Pretty much any of the major brands will serve you well if you want to punch paper. After learning more I went with a LMT lower and BCM upper. The Oly is relegated to running my CMMG .22lr upper now.
There are other quality rifles like colt. Noveske is a great one also but the cost can go up.
If it's just for punching paper and fun at the range pretty much any decent AR will do. If it's something you'll call on for more (TSHTF/Terrorist incursion/etc., a quality one will be less likely to let you down. I think now it's better to buy a quality one rather than a so-so one and then buy a higher end one down the road.

 

[SON*OF*LIBERTY]

-Matched upper/lower receiver set +/-$200
-Stock Assembly +/- $100
-AA Gas piston kit +/-300 (Has BCG)
-M4 barrel +/-$90
-Handguard assembly +/-$100
-Lpk +/- $65
-Muzzlebreak/Flash Hider +/-40
-BUS +/-100
-Lucid H7 $200
and a mag

All inclusive custom build for under $1200

Experience of selecting and building it yourself >>>>> PRICELESS

 

[clearconscience]

Your best advice is to just know you can't buy just one.
When you get a carbine, then you want a rifle, then oh a pistol looks cool, they are the mr potato head of guns and so many configurations that you could have 1000s ARs and every one different. Makes them addicting.
Don't go cheap, but don't spend too much because like i said whatever you buy you WILL want to change and add on too

 

[Tony617]

Get a 16" barrel and be sure you get a 5.56 NATO chamber so you can fire both .223 and 5.56mm rounds. If you want to shoot the heavier rounds like 77gr then get a 1/7" twist otherwise a 1/9" twist is fine. I have a 1/9" in my 16" barrel and I shoot BH 5.56mm 50gr TSX up to BH 69gr .223 match ammo. For range use I use LC XM193 or PMC XTAC 55gr ammo.

If you plan on using your AR for HD then you should plan on purchasing an LED light and mount, and SD ammo. You should also buy some spare magazines, cleaning kit, and ammo as you can afford it. The amount of money you spend really adds up quickly.

 

[cookie]

Why don't you read these postings then you can decide for your self what really makes a quality Ar and decide if you want quality or a range toy.http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?7009-AR-Technical-Discussion-FAQ-Knowledge-Base-Threads