Advice needed for my first AR-15 purchase

[BusaBret]

Not sure of the brand I want but no doubt about the caliber

[Professor]

I'm looking seriously at a 300 Blackout myself. It looks to be the best non-223/.556 round for the AR ever.

[newb]

Keep in mind the price of ammo. .223 is cheaper than 5.56. They are all expensive compared to .22. And cheaper than some of the other options. A day of shooting can easily eat up $150.

[BusaBret]

I'm looking seriously at a 300 Blackout myself. It looks to be the best non-223/.556 round for the AR ever.

That's interesting

[2005Hayabusa]

Hey there are a lot of ways you can go with an ar-15. I would suggest lurking around the ar15.com forums section for a while. You will find more on the current AR stuff than you might ever want. Right off the bat I would suggest a mid-length 16" barrel. Spikes and BCM were the best bang for the buck when I built my last one. There are others worth looking at of course also. Del Ton even have a decent reputation and they make some pretty budget rifles. Lots of shops at least were I am carry DPMS. They are probably fine too. With $1000 you will be cutting it close even with a budget rifle if you include ammo and mags which the gun likes a lot. Good luck and be safe.

[Professor]

I'm looking seriously at a 300 Blackout myself. It looks to be the best non-223/.556 round for the AR ever.

That's interesting

Here is a bit of info on it.
300 AAC BLACKOUT (300BLK)

[card16969]

honestly once you get the black gun bug your going to be spending alot on ammo

[skydivr]

I put a CMMG India .22 cal adapter into mine. Once correctly adjusted (oh, and it requires a standard - not notched - trigger or it won't fire) it shoots great and the cost savings over .5.56 make it worthwhile. You can zero and do all the stuff with your farkeled gun you want, the swap back out for the real deal..

[ogre]

6.8 SPC is on my wish list. good ballistics, good penetration, good accuracy. it's the whole package, it's just a little expensive. i'm waiting to see if the army adopts a new caliber with the newer ACR/SCAR weapon system.

[Banger]

While they all go bang... comfort, reliability, and other key features of purchasing an AR come at a price. I was a noob in the AR world not that long ago as well and ended up going with the S&W M/P AR15 after deciding that there was a reason everybody complained about bushmaster/DPMS. Don't get me wrong... there are plenty of people who never have a problem with them - but it's those one-off instances that I don't like reading about.

Be fore-warned though -- after you buy it you will start spending a hundred bucks here and a couple hundred there on accessories for the AR and pretty soon you will have more money invested in accessories than you do in the gun itself. I did this with an EoTech XPS-3, Troy Industries BUIS, and a few other goodies on the rail.

[Fastfrog007]

I've got a Bushmaster,,had no problems with it to date. I'm no expert, just enjoy shootin stuff from time to time. I deff agree with Blanca, the piston system seems better from what I've read. I'd say, DPMS, Bushmaster,Colt, Stag and a few other known names all have a decent product for the weekend shooter.

[newb]

Be fore-warned though -- after you buy it you will start spending a hundred bucks here and a couple hundred there on accessories for the AR and pretty soon you will have more money invested in accessories than you do in the gun itself.

Could not agree more!

[chrisjp]

i built mine just so i knew how everything worked and saved some money... i also got a cmmg 22 conversion to drop in and plink cheaply...

[ogre]

i'd definetely go with a piston driven action if i wanted to cut down the size of the AR for carry. but frankly that would be more of a concern at work, as a full m4 can be a little unwieldy in an aircraft. besides, i have an M134, if i'm using an M4, things have already gone REALLY wrong.

[dsbunton646]

Heres my newest one. It is the Bushmaster M4/A3 patrolman. Nothing fancy, just meat and potatoes so to speak. Out the door price from a dealer was 900.00. That was with the case, collapsable stock removable carry handle and a thirty round mag. Of course as someone mentioned, You will end up spending money along the way on upgrades, I changed the grip, stock, rails, added a gg&g flip up rear sight, took the carry handle off, switched to a magpul twenty round mag, and added a voodo single point sling. I am going to put optics on it next, just haven't decided if I want the aimpoint or eotech yet.
I've shot just about all of them at one time or another. It really depends on your preference and budget. But you will be happy with DPMS, Stag, Bushmaster, Colt, Smith and wesson ,and Rock River. They are quality built guns in the price range depending on when and where you buy them. Personaly, I love our department issued HK416 (piston drive) rifles. But these type can get a little more expensive, if you can even get them (ie not for civilian use).

[wv rider]

6.8 SPC is on my wish list. good ballistics, good penetration, good accuracy. it's the whole package, it's just a little expensive. i'm waiting to see if the army adopts a new caliber with the newer ACR/SCAR weapon system.

Worst thing about 6.8 is the price. My two favorites are the 6.8 and the 308. I wish they would adopt the 6.8 and get the price down a little.

[dadofthree]

you can get a mill spec Ar for under 600 for upper and lower.It will have bare bones stock, sights and grips but you can always upgrade them later.RR does make a nice AR.The AR is nice but I hear of so many of them jam up and need a lot of maintenance.

I've ran a bushwacker ( bushmaster ) for over a decade, cans of ammo, no problems. It helps if you break it down and clean it once in a while and lube the bolt. Great weapon. Colts are expensive and colt parts only fit colts. If you're not in a rush, wait for a sale. Very versatile.

[skydivr]

Gun Porn I'm trying to resist

[1 wheel peel]

....HK416 (piston drive) rifles......

Very Nice!

[dane789]

I'm still doing my research but I'm currently leaning towards ROCK RIVER ARMS. I can get it shipped for $955 plus sales tax. They have a sale going on (see link). I'm not thrilled about the 60-90 day wait time. I'm told that demand for tactical rifles has skyrocketed since Obama took office. Does this seem like a good price? They have included some nice options in the package.

Rock River Arms: SUPER SALE! RRA LAR-15 Operator2 Series