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Nicholsonmotorsports
21 November 2012, 21:09
So as the title states I'm a complete newby to the AR world. Always shot pistols and shotguns for the most part. The AR was always that awesome gun on the "man it's be cool to own one of those". Well me and a buddy went shooting the other day and shot an AR for the first time. Needless to say I'm hooked already. Just looking for some friendly advice. Everything I seem to find and read is geared towards people already "in the know". Thought about building but decided that's probably too much to start with but even complete guns there is just SO MUCH it's hard to know where to even start. So like I said just looking for some friendly advice on maybe what to get and where to start. I'm working with $800-$1000. Thanks for any input

Deckard
21 November 2012, 21:34
You can't go wrong with any rifle from Daniel Defense, BCM, Colt, Noveske, and LMT. I'd read this (http://tacticalyellowvisor.net/8343/9201.html) article to help.

Pork Chop
22 November 2012, 06:13
i love the LMT rifles. wish i could afford them!!

Nicholsonmotorsports
22 November 2012, 06:21
Thanks for that article. Also I forgot to mention the use of the gun will mainly just be shooting around with friends and taking care of some of the annoying creatures I get to deal with living in the sticks.

ronster19
22 November 2012, 06:36
Based on what you've said for uses, I recommend looking at Palmetto State Armory as well.

browcs
22 November 2012, 09:04
Welcome to the forum Nicholsonmotorsports. Thanks for posting. Given your budget and plans for an AR, I suggest getting a base AR, whether 16" carbine with a mild-length (my first choice) or carbine gas system or 20" rifle. For the money you quoted, I would purchase complete upper and lowers (as separate components, i.e., not a complete carbine or rifle) from BCM, here. (http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-AR15-Upper-Receiver-Group-AR15-s/118.htm) They are frequently "out-of-stock" and there's a reason for that: their components and assembly are first-rate and they work very well.

UWone77
22 November 2012, 09:07
For a 1k budget, I'd go get a Colt 6920 (the Gold standard). If you don't end up liking it, you can get our money back out of Colt, I can't say the same for some other brands out there. In fact you can get a 6920 these days at Wally World.

drew
22 November 2012, 11:30
I would also look at Rainier for a complete RUC or mating one of thier custom uppers to a lower of your choice.

Nicholsonmotorsports
22 November 2012, 12:43
Thanks for all the information. The problem with the "your choice" is I still havnt the slightest idea what that would be lol. I'm trying to research as much as I can before I buy. I was all about building it just for the simple fact of I enjoy building things, think it would be cool, and get a real insight as how they go together. I'm just afraid it'd be too much or I'd end up buying cheap (not to be confused with inexpensive) components.

UWone77
22 November 2012, 14:06
Which is why I suggested the Colt 6920. If I was starting all over again with 1 rifle. I'd get a Colt 6720, which is the same but has the lightweight barrel. Colt is the standard. That way you can start with a quality weapon before you decide what else you want or need based on what your shooting needs are.

Deckard
22 November 2012, 15:03
I agree, if I could do it all over again I would have gotten a Colt 6720. Instead I built my own without planning. The rifle I built is great because I stuck to companies I posted above but in the end I spent way more money when I could have just paid once.

Nicholsonmotorsports
22 November 2012, 16:04
Thanks again for all the info and advice. I'm gunna go browse the local gun shops tomorrow and see what their selection is. I know they have quite a few just don't know the models they have.

P39
23 November 2012, 05:02
You're not alone, Nicholsonmotorsports. I'm a noob too but decided to build my own. It didn't appear difficult and has, so far, proven not to be difficult. It's allowed me to "hide" the expenditure from the wife by spreading it over a few weeks and 2 credit card statements, so it made sense for me. And, it's been an excuse to buy tools. This will no doubt lead to building more. It's fun.

By the way....are you affiliated in anyway with Nicholson's in Ann Arbor, MI??

Nicholsonmotorsports
23 November 2012, 06:40
Haha yea everything you just said was reasons I was looking to build also but like I said I am just afraid ill buy cheap components. And as far as MI not that I know of I'm down south in TN.

browcs
23 November 2012, 07:42
Agreed above, if you wish to purchase a complete rifle instead of building something, a Colt 6720 or 6920 are outstanding.

P39
23 November 2012, 16:43
Yea, well....I have to "hide" things like this. Wife does not have access to the gun safe and when I tell her the cost of one of my beloved firearms, she responds with a far less than favorable "WTF??" so given that she has not a clue of the value of a quality firearm, I have to stash cash and DIY an AR.

Nicholsonmotorsports
24 November 2012, 07:21
Well I can't complain there my wife is the one buying it for me (perks on being newly wed haha). So I went browsing yesterday and saw a lot of different guns. The 2 I liked the best were the Colt and the M&P. Is the M&P a good gun? Guy at the gun store sure thought so and it's also closer to the $800 range of my budget instead of the upper end. If it is a good gun to go with I was thinking the M&P and then have money left over for scope, red dot, whatever I decide to do with there.

MoxyDave
24 November 2012, 12:23
Is the M&P a good gun? Guy at the gun store sure thought so and it's also closer to the $800 range of my budget instead of the upper end. If it is a good gun to go with I was thinking the M&P and then have money left over for scope, red dot, whatever I decide to do with there.

Smith & Wesson makes a high quality firearm. I haven't handled one of their AR15s but I have several other S&W guns and they're all high quality. I think you will be very happy with the M&P15 Sport.

Nutnfancy reviewed the M&P15 sport (http://youtu.be/1YdpE6Lpw9E) a while ago and he really liked it. Have a look.

P39
24 November 2012, 12:48
My brother just picked up the M & P 15 Sport. He has modified it a bit however it's a very nice weapon right out of the box.

FortTom
24 November 2012, 14:59
Haha yea everything you just said was reasons I was looking to build also but like I said I am just afraid ill buy cheap components. And as far as MI not that I know of I'm down south in TN.
Also, are you going to be building or assembling? I mean, are you going to buy a complete lower, then a complete upper and assemble them, attach goodies and go shoot, or are you going to start with a bare lower, and go from there?
Although a "build" will teach you basically all you need to learn about an AR, you have to consider the costs of all of the individual components, plus, tools, that you may or may not already have. An "assembly" would be easy, but if it were ME, and I was a complete beginner, I think I'd just go the easy route and purchase any of the above mentioned complete rifles. Break it in, and i't'll probably shoot great for years, depending on how many K rounds you shoot a year. My latest was sort of a hybrid of building and assembling.
I bought a complete LMT lower, and upper, then added own rails, BCU, PRI charging handle, BUIS, trigger assembly (upgraded) and all the other goodies, optics, etc. I could have easily bought almost 2 complete servicable rifles for what I put in mine after optics, mounts, centurion rails, PRI gas buster CH, NiBoron BCU, etc..but I have a rifle that has fired every single shot perfectly. I could have bought one just as reliable for 1/2 as much. With a 1K budget, I'd think rifle and optics (if you're going with optics). Then the next time around, you can "build" one, piece by piece, not only based upon budget, but all the little preferences and nuances you'll develop with the time spent shooting the one you bought as a complete weapon.

FT.

Nicholsonmotorsports
24 November 2012, 15:49
Thanks for everything. I ended up going with the smith & Wesson. Shot it a little today. 200 rds shot great as far as I know and seemed to be very accurate as far as my skills go. Now I gotta decide on where to go with optics. I will definitely build my next one just for the pleasure of doing it....that is if that's still possible when that time comes. Thanks again for everyone's input and help

KevinBLC
25 November 2012, 01:44
I'm in the same boat, let me know how that Smith & Wesson treats you. I'm trying to decide if I want another Colt or build my own.

P39
25 November 2012, 07:51
Congrats on the purchase.

All I can offer on the DIY build is that it's enjoyable. Part of the fun has been searching out what parts to buy as well. I am still waiting on parts to show up and still have a couple things to order but I'm close.

browcs
25 November 2012, 11:03
Enjoy the S&W. Post a review in the member submitted reviews section whenever you have a chance.

Nicholsonmotorsports
26 November 2012, 10:26
Shot another 100 rounds through the S&W yesterday and I gotta say I love this thing. Now granted I don't know one from the other but I absolutely love this gun. Now for the big optics decision. I really like the function of the hybrid being able to magnify the red dot or flip it down and just use the red dot. But I believe that's out of my price range for now. Any suggestions for $200ish?

UWone77
26 November 2012, 11:27
Yeah, save up another $200 for an Aimpoint PRO. If you have to have an optic now for $200, I'd go with the Vortex Sparc or Strikefire.

P39
26 November 2012, 16:59
Yeah, save up another $200 for an Aimpoint PRO. If you have to have an optic now for $200, I'd go with the Vortex Sparc or Strikefire.

I'm kind of in the same position as nicholson.....thanks for the recommendations. For what they are, both of these get decent reviews.

Nicholsonmotorsports
26 November 2012, 17:29
Thanks again for the help. And it's kind of one of those situations where I don't HAVE TO have an optic now it would just be nice. And with the holidays and motor freshen time for the race car money is pretty tight so I don't know when I'd be able to get a $4-500 optic.

UWone77
26 November 2012, 18:32
I don't know what your needs are or what you plan to use the gun for, but I'll say this from experience. Everytime I go with the cheaper option, I regret not putting the money I spent towards the cheaper item to the more expensive item I ultimately wanted.

At $400 with a useable mount, in my opinion the Aimpoint PRO is one of the best deals out there. If you look hard enough, you may find one for less than that.

Creeky73
27 November 2012, 14:33
Put me in the group that advises you to pass on building your own. If you don't already have the tools, figure another $200 or more acquiring those tools. Then also figure in exactly what it is you expect to build. Most people don't elect to build a "budget" AR. The main advantage to building your own is that you get to hand-pick your components, and I have no idea why you would hand-pick the cheapest parts to build from. I bet you would be hard-pressed to build a decent AR for less than you could get one from Spikes, Palmetto or other places. Also, if you don't plan on building several AR's, then I would say that acquiring the tools and knowledge to do it just once is a waste of time and money. If you plan on making building black rifles a regular thing, by all means, buy up all the tools and have fun. I wish someone would have given me this advice when I started out; instead I have a whole bunch of tools laying around collecting dust, all for my one AR build. I sure would like a do-over on it, I would just buy a Daniel Defense set up the way I wanted from the beginning, and still save money over how I did it.

P39
27 November 2012, 17:34
Put me in the group that advises you to pass on building your own. If you don't already have the tools, figure another $200 or more acquiring those tools. Then also figure in exactly what it is you expect to build. Most people don't elect to build a "budget" AR. The main advantage to building your own is that you get to hand-pick your components, and I have no idea why you would hand-pick the cheapest parts to build from. I bet you would be hard-pressed to build a decent AR for less than you could get one from Spikes, Palmetto or other places. Also, if you don't plan on building several AR's, then I would say that acquiring the tools and knowledge to do it just once is a waste of time and money. If you plan on making building black rifles a regular thing, by all means, buy up all the tools and have fun. I wish someone would have given me this advice when I started out; instead I have a whole bunch of tools laying around collecting dust, all for my one AR build. I sure would like a do-over on it, I would just buy a Daniel Defense set up the way I wanted from the beginning, and still save money over how I did it.

I can understand your point, Creeky. For some though, like myself, the allure to build is not solely based in saving money or building a cheap gun. I decided to build because I knew I would enjoy it and also would likely build another. For me, I get my first AR at a cost that doesn't hurt. I can spread the purchase to keep the CFO off my tail, and I can learn from the first what I really want in the next one. Since I started, I've been building up a parts bin of things that I know will wear and that too is attractive. Regardless of building or purchasing, it's simply good to be in the game so to speak.