AR15 adivse

[alto8345]

Ok, so I'm going ahead and biting the bullet and purchasing an AR15. Now I don't know much about them, so I would like some advise. I've seen different brands of AR15, but not sure on which one to purchase.. Looking to stay at about $1000 for a brand new rifle. My plans are also to get the .22 conversion kit as well. Any advise?...

 

[goteron]

If you have some mechanical inclination, you can build a great rifle very cheaply, especially if you pick up some used parts.

I know a guy that just built a nice rifle for cheap. I'll let him tell you about it.

 

[CEHollier]

If you have some mechanical inclination

If not Rock River rifles are excellent.

 

[davidd]

I second Rock River. For a first AR, I would not recommend building one. A while back, I dabbled in 1911 parts. I ended up spending more than a good Wilson or Clark 1911 would have cost to buy, but I admit I had a lot of fun in the process (as well as learned a lot). If you want a good rifle that is accurate and reliable out of the box, get an RRA. There are a lot of models to choose from, but I prefer the mid-length models for the longer hand-guard and sight radius.

 

[goteron]

For the price I would strongly suggest getting an inexpensive complete lower and a BCM upper.

 

[alto8345]

i was actually looking at a used s&W mp15.. any opinions on that?

 

[biggie1447]

I have a M&P 15T and I love it. I still need to get a good scope to do accuracy testing but with my red dot it is fairly accurate at a hundred yards. Only malfunction I had so far was some large debris getting in the way of the bolt closing on the chamber. Only have 700-800 rounds thru it so far of the brass monarch ammo from academy. A little front heavy with the quad rail but versatile.

 

[alto8345]

this is the used M&P 15 i'm looking at.. guy is asking $1500..

 

[goteron]

The M&P rifles are a great deal. They are very well made. I wouldn't hesitate to suggest one.

Does it come with the knockoff light and fake Eotech?

I would see how low you can get the price for just the rifle.

 

[alto8345]

well, i know a new one would run me around 1000 stock. I was thinking about offering this guy 1300. the vertical grip is pretty cool because it has the tac light & green laser built onto it. i don't know about the brands on any of the aftermarket stuff he has, but it looks nice in my hands..

 

[tubbs]

For the price I would strongly suggest getting an inexpensive complete lower and a BCM upper.

I say do this. It is way to easy to build one yourself than to buy someone else's frankingun. Not that there is anything wrong with a frankingun, I have several, but I know what parts have been put in it. I say since you are new to AR's buy a new one or build your own. Im moving to Baton Rouge at the end of this month and would be more than happy to help you out building one and getting exactly what you want.

 

[alto8345]

yeah, i was thinking about the whole start from scratch, but my wife is already getting on my you know what about buying the rifle. so, if i have to add to it...well, y'all know how they can be.

 

[tubbs]

Well, you could make her happy if you build it. If you go slow and watch out for sales you can really save some money by building your own.

 

[goteron]

I would suggest not getting the vertical grip with light and laser. That light is junk. I don't know your intended purpose, I would very strongly suggest you not buy a rifle right away. Read up, tons of good information. I wish I had, I would have saved a lot of money.

Get a solid rifle with a proven optic and good light. I wouldn't buy accessories on a rifle until you know what you are looking at. There are a lot of good looking knock offs out there these days.

What are you planning on using it for? Good luck with it, a lot of really knowledgeable guys on here that are willing to answer questions.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

I just built a rifle for under a grand. And close to 300 of that was an insanely expensive stock. All you gotta do is be patient and watch the for sale forums. The M&P rifles are nice. I wouldn't pay 300 for the crappy acessories that come on that one though. The lower with BCM upper is sound advice.

 

[biggie1447]

He is asking for retail price of a new gun for what you are saying is a used one? If the eotech is real then take that and the rifle with the magpul sights for no more than 1100-1200. Any more than that and i would walk away fast because that is a rip off. I got a new gun factory fitted with rail and sights for substantially less than what he is asking. (Will take a picture later.)

Hell Cabelas had some M&Ps on sale not too long ago, and academy has them on sale now for about 900. Both are brand new from factory.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Centerfire-Rifles/Semiautomatic%7C/pc/104792580/c/105522480/sc/105524280/Smith-Wesson-MP15-Semiautomatic-Rifles/709978.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fshooting-centerfire-rifles-semiautomatic%2F_%2FN-1102333%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_105524280%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104792580%253Bcat105522480&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104792580%3Bcat105522480%3Bcat105524280

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

In the sale forum here thereis a bushy upper for sale. Its a little high for me but you may be able to strike a deal. That upper and a lower and you have a decent. Rifle for 800ish. Just an idea.

 

[Sin-ster]

Spikes LE-- http://www.spikestactical.com/new/z/st15-m4-le-carbine-p-387.html?zenid=cc6e515e849ec70555f8cf323dfc4833

Personally, I'd go with the Midlength for like $10 more.

A solid, complete lower with the BCM upper of your choice is also a very good idea. My "good rifle" is a Spikes lower with BCM upper-- and it's a creampuff.

The best advice you've received is to avoid a pre-fit rifle, and all the cost of accessories that someone else has chosen. On top of potentially paying top dollar for knock off stuff, you're (even more) likely to find you don't like the gear itself, or would have preferred something else entirely. My advice would be to get a "plain jane" rifle, put 500-1k rounds through it with the iron sights, and start making upgrades from there. The only upgrade I would consider in the initial purchase would be a QUALITY rail system, for the sake of easier modification down the road when you decide what light you'd like, what vertical grip (if any) you'd prefer, etc.

Note that some people will only ever mount a light, and a quad rail won't be necessary. Many prefer the standard M4 handguards, or some variation thereof. It may be in your best interest to start with this configuration, and potentially add a rail system down the road, depending on your tastes. Start slow, start pretty plain, learn the weapon system and really think about how you'd like to modify it to suit your needs.

 

[James Cannon]

I built my Daniel Defense 16" carbine myself with a Palmetto State Armory LPK on a custom lower receiver. Everything came in well under $1,000 and was more like $750 sans optic. That includes Daniel Defense fixed rear sight. The barrel has the A2 front sight post. I got regular run of the mill Magpul MOE stock and grip that came with the PSA LPK. Tossed on a VTAC sling for $25-30 and it's GTG.

I caught the DD complete upper on a mega-sale for $510 iirc, but you can get a BCM upper for similar price and that's GTG.

Build it. You'll save money and learn your rifle. It's not hard to build it. This is the first AR15 I ever owned, and had only shot ARs 2 or 3 times before. I decided to buy once, cry once, and don't regret it. It's my Self Defense, SHTF, fun, training, range toy gun - it's everything, so I wanted reliable ****. I got an Aimpoint Micro on a LaRue mount so add another $500 for that. I caught the Aimpoint on a sale.

I recommend against buying a cheaper AR15 because for such a MINIMAL amount more you can get a much finer rifle that'll be able to take anything you throw at it without complaint.

 

[James Cannon]

At the recommendation of a friend, I used this guide to assemble the lower, and the upper I bought came assembled, so it was a no-brainer: http://www.ar15.com/content/guides/assembly/lower/