Looking for best AR platform!

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robone111

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I am in the market finally for an AR! Yes, finally I have the money! The reason I am posting is to get a little feedback from you AR owners. Here is what I am noticing with the 2 I looked at at the local gun shop. They are not very rigid. Meaning, when shaked I am hearing what sounds like a can full of lincoln logs! What are some more rigid platforms? Are there any special rubber pads or such items to quite certain areas of the weapon? Obviously, some brands are better than others. I am extremely interested in Rock River, but there are none in stock locally to look at. I have heard great things about the Bushmaster Varminter series as well for their accuracy, but again cannot find one locally to handle and play with a little. Man I'm excited, but I'm not going to jump the gun and get one i'm half way satisfied with! Any Info appreciated much!!

Thanks in advance guys!!!!
 
I'm no expert. I own a Smith and Wesson Model 15X and I think the M&Ps have a good record and reputation. However, there are several very good ARs out there and you will get a divergence of opinion as to the best ones or the worst ones. Colt, Noveske, LMT, CMMG, Daniel Defense, and DoubleStar all have good reputations.

I think you need to make up a list of features you want and a budget. Then go with the best quality you can afford. Some people will tell you to build your own because it's cheaper and not that difficult. This didn't appeal to me, but may to you.
 
I like some give. If all of the internals are lock-tight solid with no wiggle at all, I'm less likely to trust it to run hard and hot. There are somethings you can do to tighten them up a little, like rubber blocks that take the wiggle out of the upper-lower fit.

Like they say, you kind of need to pick a price point. You can spend a LOT on the bigger names mentioned above, but if you're really not needing it for hard use, you can buy a Bushy, Stag, or DPMS for a LOT less that you will have to run REALLY hard to ever see the difference.

OR get the (free) Brownell's AR catalog, and look at building YOUR OWN. If you put that budget into some good parts and advice, you can build a serious AR.
 
I would go with a Novekse. If you don't want to spend the cash on that get a BCM gun. What do you plan on doing with this AR? Try to stay away from Bushmaster, Dpms and similar rifles. Rock river is about the cheapest I would go. BCM rifles run like raped apes. Pat Rogers uses BCM products and raves about them.
 
Thanks for the feedback Mljdekard. This is not going to be a weapon that sits at home. My weapons get used every single weekend except to 10 guage. That is more of a special occasion weapon, but god is it fun! I need a platform that is going to handle me dumping a couple hundred rounds in a day on the weekends, and still be reliable...within obvious reason. I get a great deal on ammo cause I work at one of the major sporting outfits, but we do not sell firearms so internal help is limited. I am looking for those manufacturers who are doing better things with their metal treating and so forth. I am also going to post in AR-15.com to get a little more feedback too. Thanks!
 
Guys...I'm thinking building my own is the best way to go probably. I'm thinking it is worth the time and effort.
 
If you are getting it for a fighting gun don't get any rubber doo dads. They will break and get caught in your gun under hard use. I know from personal experience.
 
I own 2 RRAs and can tell you the fit and finish is very good, the upper to lower fit is very, very tight. A fixed stock rifle will also seem more sturdy. I've had no issues with either rifle. You can find used RRAs pretty easily, not sure on new. Not sure what was rattling on the one you were looking at, maybe a sling mount or firing pin?
 
Shop around. Midway, BCM, Global Tactical, Larue Tactical, and many others have the parts you need. Just surf around. Parts are starting to pop back up as IN STOCK again, but it still isn't one stop shopping anywhere yet.

I just ordered a BCM upper reciever and bolt carrier from Bravo Company USA, and some other parts from Midway. Now I need a low profile gas block and vortex flash hider. Had to get a barrel from another source. It's a 6.8 SPC. Barrels seem the hardest to find without a wait of a month or more depending on what kind you want and who the source is. 16 inch M4 profiles are out there in 5.56 at a few of the sites.

Still waiting on the barrel and bolt. Oh, and a charging handle. Forgot to order that. :eek:

Everything else is out there if you shop around online.
 
I own a dpms and have never had a problem; not a single jam. I heard at one time dpms had some problems with there guns but not anymore. As for shooting it every weekend Im not sure how well it would hold up. Ive havent put a 1000 rounds through it yet, but im close and I dont see it breaking down anytime soon. I hear doublestar has good AR's for the price. It really comes down to how much you want to spend.
 
Go to http://www.gandrtactical.com and buy a BCM complete middy. With a rifle like this on the market at its price point there is no reason to buy an inferior weapon. It seems like the site is down right now but it will be up soon. You can get a BCM middy with a Magpul ACS stock for under $1250 and have a much better rifle than a DPMS, Bushmaster, Rock River, or similar brands.
 
The accuwedges have no business in a fighting rifle. We had a guy who had one in his M4 in Iraq. In a protracted firefight the gun got hot and the Accuwedge melted and gummed up the trigger mech. I would stay away from them. Buy a quality ar and you will not have any problems. The fit will be fine.
 
I think you would be satisfied building your own if you have the time and patience.
 
Remember to match the rifle to your intended use. If you're going to shoot a couple hundred rounds a year at the range, a Bushmaster, DPMS, RRA is just fine.

Are you buying the rifle to plink, target shoot or compete?

The beauty of the AR is it can be configured to do exactly what you want it to do.
 
I've shot several hundred rounds in a single day of 3 gun through my DPMS with no problems at all. That was all 5 shooters on the team using just my rifle.
 
If you plan on taking any classes on how to fight with an AR do not buy a Bushmaster or DPMS. I am talking classes by people such as Pat Rogers, Larry Vickers, Magpul Dynamics, or Tactical Response. The round counts in 3 days are pretty high. But if you are just buying one to shoot at the range those brand will do fine.
 
robone111 said:
I am in the market finally for an AR! Yes, finally I have the money! The reason I am posting is to get a little feedback from you AR owners. Here is what I am noticing with the 2 I looked at at the local gun shop. They are not very rigid. Meaning, when shaked I am hearing what sounds like a can full of lincoln logs! What are some more rigid platforms? Are there any special rubber pads or such items to quite certain areas of the weapon? Obviously, some brands are better than others. I am extremely interested in Rock River, but there are none in stock locally to look at. I have heard great things about the Bushmaster Varminter series as well for their accuracy, but again cannot find one locally to handle and play with a little. Man I'm excited, but I'm not going to jump the gun and get one i'm half way satisfied with! Any Info appreciated much!!

Thanks in advance guys!!!!
Click to expand...

there is a rubber pad to stop the movement between the upper and the lower and it's a easy fix, RRA and Bushmaster are great ARs and you can go with any of them but they also offer a wide range of setups, A1, A2, A3/A4, M4gray, Mid-lenght, Full-lenght, Varmints....

first, we would like to know what you want to do with the rifle... Varmint hunting, Target shooting, SHTF, Home defence, or an all around rifle, that way we can point you in the right setup, as for optics, stocks, trigger, barrels, and other important stuff, there are too many accessories for an AR but you dont need them all, just what your setup need.

so, tell us what are your plans with the rifle and what you want to do with it. like are you going to hunt? you want to mount a scope or a reddot? do you want to use the irons sight and not batteries? at what distance you want to shoot? are you going to carry that rifle for a long time? do you want a fixed stock like the M16 or a collapsible stock like a M4? in general what's the purpose of the rifle?
 
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