varmint ar-whats needed?

I put together a BCM Blem complete lower from G&R Tactical for $360 and a White Oak Armament "Predator" upper for $772. I probably could have saved some money buying a used lower assembly, but the WOA upper is a great deal for the price. WOA also offers a "Varmint" upper for $632 delivered. That upper combined with the BCM lower comes in under $1k.

http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=LWR-BCM-BLEM

https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/shop/complete-uppers/varmint-uppers/20-varmint-upper-223-5-56.html

If you part out the lower I guarantee you could save some money. $50 lower(Anderson) $50- 60 lpk and $110 for MOE fixed stock kit here. http://www.brownells.com/rifle-part...ar-15-m16-moe-rifle-stock-kits-prod54977.aspx
For a 20" bull barrel I think the rifle stock just makes sense, or a UBR or similar. This still leaves you money to buy glass or an upgraded trigger or more trigger time ala more ammo. Another option is a cav arms lower if you can still find them. Very lightweight, and inexpensive.

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Opinions will vary, but my own is that all you need is something reasonably accurate that will allow you to reach out to about 100 yards and tap whatever it is you're shooting at.

You don't need anything expensive to do this. Any AR-15 should be able to do this with halfway decent optics. No heavy barrel needed, no $600 set of optics, no famcy-schmancy grips/rail/stock.

All that other stuff is "want", not "need".

Not that there's anything wrong with "want", mind you. But "want" will play havoc with your $1,000 budget right away.

A Smith & Wesson M&P-15, brand new for somewhere around $500 to $600, will suit your accuracy needs just fine and leave you with plenty of room for a fair set of optics, ammunition, and extra magazines.

First of all, you dont need a heavy barrel to shoot varmints (you dont need a "varmint" rifle either). My 5.56 varmint rifle uses a Faxon 20" pencil barrel, shoots well under an inch and weighs 7.5lbs scoped. The old idea that you need a 12lb rifle to shoot a varmint is outdated at best.

First, decide just how much accuracy you want/need. The smaller the group potentially equals more money. If 1-2 MOA is all you are after then the S&W should get you there. Barrel, BCG, and trigger can easily wipe out your 1000.00 budget.

Or you could just order a Stag Model 6 from Bud's. I love mine. Heavy, but very accurate with all bullet weights, even the 40 gr V-Max loads. Easily meets their accuracy guarantee of .50 inch 3 shot groups at 100 yards from a rest.
https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_800/products_id/99072

I'm in the process of building one as we speak. Going to be more of a walking varminter in the 50-75 yard shot category with the occasional shot up to 300 yards. So far I'm looking to end in the 750$ range for a completed rifle with glass. 18" standard weight barrel and a fixed Ace stock. Hoping it will weigh under 8 pounds completed. Already have a Nikon 3-9 set up for it.


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I'd say depending on your expectations you may not need a heavy barrel ... If you are just wanting to go out and shoot coyotes, probably not ... but if you want to spend a morning shooting prairie dogs then maybe so. The heavy barrel helps manage the recoil and to keep your muzzle down so you can see the red vapor as they explode ... I had a decent 24" Wilson barrel with a 1/8 twist which is perfect for Sierra blitz kings and would reach out to 600-700 yards. You'll also need some decent glass.

Your standard AR is ok for some stuff but the great thing about the AR is its flexibility and if you plan to shoot prairie dogs at more than 100 yards or so you'll most likely be disappointed with a standard barrel pretty quickly.

Here is a pretty basic varmint kit but you can customize it as your wallet dictates ... I like a nice 2-stage trigger ... https://www.mapartsinc.com/shop/details.asp?id=465&iCat=18&iSubOne=307&iSubTwo=323

If your upper & lower aren't tight get a JP ENTERPRISE tension pin to pull them together.

What's needed?

Good Optics, Good Trigger, Free Float Handguard, and ammunition with match grade accuracy and excellent terminal performance.

All of those things increase accuracy in an AR, which is what you want with a varmint hunting rifle.

A buddy of mine bought a 16 inch DPMS M4gery that everybody said was a piece of junk, you are gonna die in a gunfight, yadda yadda yadda. On a good day with M193 it was a 3 MOA rifle with open sights. After adding a very basic 3-9 Nikon Prostaff Scope, an ALG ACT Trigger, a plain jane DPMS Free Float Handguard with Lo-Pro Gas Block, and handloads with Hornady 55 Grain V-Max Bullets, it is now a solid 3/4 MOA rifle looking for its first coyote. He has right around 850 bucks in that rifle and it has out shot rifles costing twice as much.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

edit

My prairie dog rifle is a 26" heavy barrel, 204 Ruger AR-15.

Works great for shooting from a fixed position. Not so great if you want to walk around with it much.

It depends on what you are planning to shoot as to what to build.

This is where I'm at with mine as of now. Hopefully the rest of my still will be here today

You'll need:
Upper
Lower
Lower parts kit
Bolt carrier group
Charge handle
Buffer tube, spring and buffer
Butt stock
If your upper is stripped, you need an upper parts kit
Barrel
Gas block
Gas tube
Hand guard
If barrel is threaded you need a thread protector or muzzle device.
I'll have about 800 into mine
Look on eBay for a lot of parts. Joebobsoutfitters for stuff and vtsupply.com for stuff
You dot. Need mega upper lower kits or spikes or special. If stay away from polymer personally.
Andersonson or are I are good lowers. Uppers are usually 100 bucks same as lowers.

nastynatesfish said:

This is where I'm at with mine as of now. Hopefully the rest of my still will be here today

You'll need:
Upper
Lower
Lower parts kit
Bolt carrier group
Charge handle
Buffer tube, spring and buffer
Butt stock
If your upper is stripped, you need an upper parts kit
Barrel
Gas block
Gas tube
Hand guard
If barrel is threaded you need a thread protector or muzzle device.
I'll have about 800 into mine
Look on eBay for a lot of parts. Joebobsoutfitters for stuff and vtsupply.com for stuff
You dot. Need mega upper lower kits or spikes or special. If stay away from polymer personally.
Andersonson or are I are good lowers. Uppers are usually 100 bucks same as lowers.

Click to expand...

What muzzle device are you going to use? I'm still debating for my stainless barrel, possibly just a thread protector?

I thought about it a lot...and chickened out and just bought a Bushmaster Varminter and am very happy with it. Shoots very nicely though it was a bit over the $1000 limit and then add glass and bipod to actually use it. The 24" barrel is nice and stable and doesn't need anything screwed to the end to deal with the blast and mostly no muzzle flash at all. It IS a bit heavy to carry around...but the old 'no free lunch' applies here as everywhere and if you like a heavy barrel for high round consistency you need to carry the weight.

I saw that Anderson has a complete varmint rifle for under $700. Does anyone know how good it is?

I like the AR platform and my own varmint rifle (one of them, anyway) is an AR. I'll opine that there are two things to keep in mind. First is the size of the varmints you intend to hunt. There's a big difference between coyote and prairie dog kill zones. Secondly is that the .223 Remington is a 400 yard round. Beyond that you give up velocity and expansion. Decide what you need before spending money on things you don't actually need. For example, there is no point in soaking money into a sub-MOA rifle if your hunting is coyotes inside 200 yards.

Also, heavy barrels are more useful for high volume shooting than for any accuracy advantage. If you expect high round counts and fast shooting, a heavy barrel might be beneficial. If it's slower shooting or less rounds, it would be a waste of weight.

I'm using a rainier arms xt. I've got 800 into mine

I'm just waiting on my trigger guard, comp and bipod

So its been a bit over 6 months since your initial post ... did ya get anything yet?

http://www.ar15part.com/product-p/byou556223rb.htm

Item Name: 5.56/223 Rifle
Item Price: $474.94 + Shipping
Options:

• Upper Receiver, Complete:Black Anodized

• Barrel 5.56/223 Rifle:20" 223 Wylde Stainless Steel Heavy Varmint Bull Barrel 1x8

• Gas Block (price INCLUDES gas tube):.750" Low Profile Gas Block, Steel Melonite QPQ Treated

• Free Float Hand Guard:AR15Part.com 12.5" KEYMOD Free Float Rail Slim Profile - RIFLE LENGTH Black

• Muzzle Device 1/2x28 Threads:*NO MUZZLE DEVICE

• Bolt Carrier Group:5.56/.223/300 Blackout/204 Ruger M16/Full Auto Premium NITRIDE Bolt Carrier Group

• Charging Handle:Milspec AR15 Charging Handle, Standard

• https://www.andersonrifles.com/product/anderson-complete-lower-with-a2-butt-stock/

• Item Price: $225.00 + Transfer and shipping

• Total Price about $700 to $800

• leave you 200 for a decent scope.

Combine this with the receiver of your choice ... the website also has options so you don't have to have this exact configuration



https://www.mapartsinc.com/shop/details.asp?id=465&iCat=18&iSubOne=307&iSubTwo=323

Buy a white oak upper and a rock river lower @ about $950+ and will shoot lights out. Mine is <3/8" with handloads

A bit of info/history that some may find interesting ...

M&A Parts, Model1Sales & ASA (American Spirit Arms) are all owned by the daughters of Jerry Drasen who was a military contractor back in the 60's, he also produced Sendra and Nesard receivers.

When Vietnam Nam was winding down and parts sales were slowing, he started doing gun shows and allegedly had all the necessary parts to build an M-16 on his tables ... back when you could buy all the parts and just submit a form 1 and build a full-auto M-16, however being in possession of all the parts without your stamp was considered constructive intent, even back then. The ATF happened to be at that show and busted him.

These 3 companies all been in the firearms industry for decades. I only wish I'd kept at least one of the original Nesard and Sendra receivers as back in the day the early/pre-ban receivers all had the low shelf which made them very desirable no matter if you were drilling the receiver and using an original sear or a DIAS.