New buyers coming into the gun world have an urge to own one of the heavily marketed types to get a piece of the mental action it portrays. In reality, they really don't have any idea of what they want to shoot.
The REAL way to choose which gun to get is to take some effort to know exactly what you are going to do with it. Somebody who wants to go racing simpy has to choose: Drag, stock car, road, Indy, dirt track, motocross, off road, whatever. There's a best Brand in each category - but no Brand makes one for every single one. You can't really ask "What's the best Brand?" until you know what you are going to do with it.
Until then, don't. Get something and move on. No sense buying a Top Fuel Dragster, or a regional class winning autocross Miata, until you know which is it you like more.
Once it's decided, then pick FEATURES, not BRANDS. Simple fact is you can like a Brand all you want, what good is it if they don't make it 1) CA legal 2) hunting caliber legal 3) affordable for the new user?
It will be a month of Sundays trying to get a CA legal 6920 Colt in 6.8SPC for $799. And, it just might still not be what you need hunting.
Hunting needs a capable caliber, 5.56 isn't the best choice on deer, but it can work. A 16 to 20" barrel works, appropriate gas, with a flattop A3. Match an optic for the typical distances shot, mostly 50 -250 yards to meet the caliber limitations. A fixed stock does it, and get a cleaned up tactical trigger, not a lightweight target one. Humping a rifle up and down hills in brush is no place to discover that a 2 1/2 pound trigger is a bit too easy to fire after a breathtaking hill climb pumped with adrenaline. Especially for the new shooter.
Ignore the "tackycool home defense" BS marketing out there, most of it's really done with with good lighting, secure design, located in the right neighborhood, not displaying high end items through big picture windows set right on a public sidewalk, and choosing to hang with decent people. Period. Then a handgun still rates No. 1 for use inside constructed areas. Anything would do in the way of a firearm, training and a good flashlight are much more necessary.
If a fixed stock camo'd hunting rifle with 5 shot mag isn't what you had in mind, that's the point: Brand won't get you there, features do. A Grumpy Jenkins built drag car won't cut it road racing, regardless of how much the paint scheme appeals. And that's what you really pay for, a brand name engraved on the lower. Lots of AR's are built to a specific end use with the best parts selected toward the end use, those Brand names are really picking the right assortment of parts - and call that their model. They can be almost indistiguishable aside from their name color engraved on three sides, because high quality parts doing the same job look the same. And it takes a lot of skill to tell the difference.
Brands last, pick features first, then sort thru who's left.
, but if you don't mind the silver-ness, I'd say ss barrel is best for lasting investment, among other things.
