Looking for my first AR15... Need help.

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BE4TNUT

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Hello All,

So I am trying to decide what to get for my first AR15 after going to the range with my friend and shooting his for the day. I am searching through lots of information, and getting information overload. I am looking to you guys to help me out.

I also posted on an AR15 forum and they suggested BMC (which looks like they will not ship to MA) and Spikes Tactical.

I am looking to find you guy's opinions on the best AR15 that I can get in MA. This will be my first AR15 but want a good platform to tweak until I have how I want it. Any information and opinions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
BE4TNUT
 
For a good base AR you may want to go with the old standbys of ABCD & R (Armalite, Bushmaster, Colt (careful of the takedown pins), DPMS and Rock River Arms). I roll with the B, Bushmasters. Get a standard setup if you intend to switch out parts. To be honest about it, you may want to just start with a stripped lower and mail order the rest. What I mean is why pay for parts your going to replace? The only thing you need an FFL for is the stripped lower anyway, the rest you can get yourself. If you want a complete rifle, I'd suggest the above. When picking one, I would only suggest an A3 setup on the upper. It'll run you and extra hundred or so but it's worth it if you want to scope. They offer a wide range of choices by way of configurations. I stick with the KISS AR. A couple of additions I have for them besides magazines are scopes (which I don't use anyway. My range has only 100 yards as a max and an AR does that so easy on open sights.) and a dedicated .22 upper (or conversion kit if it's tight). You'll get a lot more practice in far cheaper then rolling with .223/5.56. Hope this helps.
 
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What he said on the stripped lower and you can Lway get what ever upper you want. I have a Spikes and love it.
 
Smith $ Wesson also makes very good rifles. Actual prices are much lower than MSR.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_766082_-1_757785_757784_757784_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_766093_-1_757785_757784_757784_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

For higher end look at Fulton Armory, LaRue, Noveske, LMT, and White Oak Armament. Bravo is supposed to be pretty good but if they do not ship to Mass they are out. You can get an upper from these companies with a compensator and then have a smith pin it on. I picked up a couple of LMT lowers and put a LaRue upper on one and a WOA upper on the other.

LMT Lower White Oak Upper with 16 inch stainless barrel, Daniel Defense quad rail, and Troy back up sights. They can customize it the way you want it.
full3.jpg
 
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Old Glory said:
Smith $ Wesson also makes very good rifles. Actual prices are much lower than MSR.
Click to expand...

Start there, I think I saw S&W complete AR for around 700 bucks somewhere if you don't want to build it yourself, there stuff is GTG.

If you do want to build yourself, I would look at http://bravocompanyusa.com/ for your upper, they do ship to MA, they have shipped to me.

Start with a 16" barrel and go from there. Anything you pick, you are probably going to change around once you figure out what works for you anyways (rails, barrel length, muzzle device or not, vert grips and all the other cool guy crap). I personally would not get to wrapped around the brand name on your lower receiver, ABCD's what ever. The upper receiver is where you want to spend your money, and for selection, price, and quality BravoCompany is tough to beat, I think anyways.
 
Definitely go with BCM or Spikes. Both those companies are offering the most competitive pricing right now and have exceptional customer service. Additionally, the quality of those two companies is top notch, with many people recently even putting them above names like Bushmaster.

Mike
 
crazymjb said:
Definitely go with BCM or Spikes. Both those companies are offering the most competitive pricing right now and have exceptional customer service.
Click to expand...

After just dealing with spikes I will say this, if you are ordering anything custom at all, make sure you deal with the same person every time you contact them. I had an issue with updating the shipping address, they shipped it to an old address because it took so long to finish the order. I have never had an issue with BCM.

Having said that, Spikes quality is definitely up there. I would go with Spikes or BCM over any of the ABCDR company's when you look at price to quality.
 
I like Stag and I am a lefty. They all are good guns, well most are. If you want to shoot me a PM you can play with it if you like. I will even guide you through the cleaning process.[wink]
 
At the expense of offending some non-Colt owners, I'd suggest getting the platform that is the standard from which all others were copied. That is if you want the best...........in MHO.[smile]

coltcarbinepic.jpg
 
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Set your budget and buy accordingly. That being said, I'd steer clear of Bushmaster, (easy fanboys)... Their QC is in the shitter... If you can swing it, why buy anything that needs tweaking? Get the best you can afford the first time and be done with it. Look into Noveske, Colt, LMT, BCM. If you must buy one off the shelf - it's hard to argue with a new S&W M&P....
 
I have a stag model 2 that eats everything I feed it. I've run over 3k rounds and never needed to use the forward assist. It's almost boring how reliable it is.
 
MassMark said:
Set your budget and buy accordingly. That being said, I'd steer clear of Bushmaster, (easy fanboys)... Their QC is in the shitter... If you can swing it, why buy anything that needs tweaking? Get the best you can afford the first time and be done with it. Look into Noveske, Colt, LMT, BCM. If you must buy one off the shelf - it's hard to argue with a new S&W M&P....
Click to expand...

I did look into BCM but they will not do any custom orders and the lowers/completes are not mass compliant. In order to get one from them and have a gunsmith make it MA compliant it may be getting a bit out of my price range at the moment for the one that I want. So now I am leaning towards a Spikes Tactical complete since they will pin the stock and compensator to make it MA complaint.
 
Ditto what crazy says. Can't go wrong with spikes ST-15 Mid-Length LE Carbine for $920 all MA legalized and everything. Bravo Company also makes excellent stuff, but the Spikes is a great deal IMHO.

crazymjb said:
Definitely go with BCM or Spikes. Both those companies are offering the most competitive pricing right now and have exceptional customer service. Additionally, the quality of those two companies is top notch, with many people recently even putting them above names like Bushmaster.

Mike
Click to expand...
 
What I did
1. End use. After hours and hours of related forum readings I went with the basic intended use. Mass amounts of lead down range with the ability to "hit" your target from 0-300ish. No bulls eye 1" groups expected.
2. Budget For me that was 1200.00 or less
3. Customer support

Ended up with a STAG model 2.......although I am not likeing the back up sights much. No elavation adjustment on the ones that came with the gun. Anyway, I can hit the black on a SR1 Target @ 100 yards GTG in my wants from this rifle.

NO MATTER WHAT YOU BUY- your needs wants and urges will constantly change. I have 2 lowers that have had about 8 different builds planned for them.
 
Before picking out a manufacturer, be honest what your using the AR for.

With the AR you get what you pay for. In order to make it cost X dollars, they have to skimp on places and your guess is as good as mine if they do. Thats fine with a plinker, but if your placing your life in the reliability of such a gun, then it does become a problem.


Personally, I am a BCM fanboy, and damn proud of it.
 
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I've got lowers from Bushy, Colt, Rock River, and Stag. I've got uppers from Bushy, DPMS, White Oak, and Rock River. And I've had several others in the past. They all work exactly as intended. None is "better" than the others. One may be more accurate, and one may have a better trigger, but all will hit a basketball at 300yds. I've had in my hands and shot others' high-dollar AR's, but I can't see where the money went.
Go to a local shop and see what catches your eye and buy it. Shoot it. Something you don't like; change it.

I can't recommend Olympic from past experience.
 

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