My first AR

[Great-Kazoo]

Pretty hard to beat the M&P rifles for a budget build. Up the ante a hair for the chrome barreled rifle, I have seen "bare bones" (sans furniture) for $500.00.
Good , solid and reliable rifles that just flat work. I have seen them run very hard and they just keep running.

Your in the salad days of AR's, sales are flat and you can buy TEAR 1.

[SideShow Bob]

Was that a FIFY With an intentional misspelling ?

[ray1970]

Those are both decent choices, and here's my comment. They both seem to be carbine length gas systems with a 16" barrel. Midlength gas systems are getting more popular as they're easier on the bolt carrier group, and midlength is perceived to have a softer press. If I had either of those blasters my first change would be to swap out the barrel/handguard for something else (or build a new upper) , but I think they're both fine to start with.

Anything with a sixteen inch barrel is garbage according to a certain forum member because it isn?t ?mil-spec?. The military has never requested a 16 inch barrel.

[SideShow Bob]

Well then get a14.5” barrel. Either tax stamp it or permanently attach a flash hider to it.

[kidicarus13]

Well then get a14.5? barrel. Either tax stamp it or permanently attach a flash hider to it.

Dude's just trying to get into a budget AR, I doubt he has any desire to jump through the $200 tax stamp hoop for 1.5"

[Honey Badger282.8]

I’d buy a rifle from Palmetto State before I bought the Oracle or M&P. They have this guy on sale for $469 right now.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...sic-rifle.html

[CS1983]

In my opinion, try to find (or build!!!) something with at least the following:

* mid-length gas system - as battlemidget said, it will be better overall

* 1-8" or 1-7" twist rate -- 1-9" is going to most likely limit you on ammo due to lack of stabilization; I've never had a problem with lighter ammo (55gr) in 1-7 or 1-8 and they allow up to 75gr ammo. If you ever want to build a varminting rig, you could go 1-9 or 1-12 for lightweight bullets, but just build the upper.

* 5.56NATO or .223Wylde chamber. Stay away from .223Rem chamber as it limits you to .223Rem; 5.56 or .223Wylde will allow you to shoot both.

* Chrome-lined or not, up to you here in Colorado. But if you are wanting to do more "precision" shooting, CL won't be as helpful. In a "battle carbine", go CL for the wear and tear factor. I have both on various rifles for various reasons. A discussion on your planned use would clarify direction.

* trigger - Either an ALG mil-spec or something like a LaRue MBT -- the latter is a perfectly fine trigger for more precise shooting but still has a home on a run and gun rig.

Resale: it just ain't going to be good right now. If we enter another panic, you won't lose your ass regardless, but you also likely won't want to sell. I'd be hard pressed to go cheap, as it's unlikely you will build/buy and then decide you prefer to handicap yourself with a less efficient system.

Build vs buy: Build will require either you get some tools (which will be handy in perpetuity!) or borrow some. Buy will put you on the range immediately. If you build, you gain an intimate knowledge of function off the bat -- good for diagnosing any issues. Build allows you to customize off the bat. Buying cheap and then upgrading 2 months later is a route many go, but I think it's dumb and a waste of money in the long run.

Budget is necessary to know what direction to take, along with average/worst case scenario of use.

[Joe_K]

To the OP.

What?s your intended use?
Budget?
Any interest of adding a can in the future?
What?s your grasp/understanding of:
Caliber options.
Pistol vs. Rifle.
Gas tube lengths.
Sights/Optics options.







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[Duman]

ARs are poor financial decisions: you buy one, on budget and realize how much fun they are, so you buy parts to modify it or you buy another AR, then more parts, more ARs regardless of price, ad nauseam until you have a dozen ARs and spare parts to make a half dozen more and a severely damaged savings account! ...uh...just sayin' for a friend.

This ^^^ x 10^4

It's an illness.... I"m in a AR-15 12-step program. Or is that an AR-12 step program?

[SideShow Bob]

This ^^^ x 10^4

It's an illness.... I"m in a AR-15 12-step program. Or is that an AR-12 step program?

This, but just realize that large bodies of water (rivers, ponds, lakes, inland seas......) are AR-scopic, as many on this forum have found out while taking our favorite ARs boating.....