Finally decided to buy an AR.

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357smallbore

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I took the leap. I bought a S&W M&P15 Sport II. Been owning guns and shooting them since 1980. With all the turmoil, rumors and fear being spread in this country. I bought my 1st "black gun" :D
I also bought 5 Magpul gen 2's to go with it. I am going to buy 5 more. Been thinking about the aluminum ones. Are the aluminum mags just as good?
Also bought 2k of ammo. What is a realistic amount of 5.56 to keep on hand for reserve? And are 11 mags a solid amount to have. Dont plan to shoot more than 1000 rounds a year out of it.
 
10 good working magazines per rifle is a solid amount but consider picking them up when on sale. Palmetto State Armory is a good place to shop for combo deals like a red dot and 10 PMAGS or $8 aluminum mags. Some like aluminum, I do, but others prefer polymer, I have plenty of those too.

How much ammo? A comfortable amount for your budget.


One of my several loose range ammo boxes, no idea how many rounds this is.
B750EED3-42DC-4AD1-93A8-EE743A4310B3.jpeg

450 rounds to process from last week.
49AB2665-AB87-4AD8-8E09-EF1821A0BAC1.jpeg

Prepping last week’s brass for storage and eventual reloading (next month). ~1,200 rounds, give or take.
AE673C11-988A-4852-9EA5-D31D22A2A39F.jpeg
 
10 good working magazines per rifle is a solid amount but consider picking them up when on sale. Palmetto State Armory is a good place to shop for combo deals like a red dot and 10 PMAGS or $8 aluminum mags. Some like aluminum, I do, but others prefer polymer, I have plenty of those too.

How much ammo? A comfortable amount for your budget.


One of my several loose range ammo boxes, no idea how many rounds this is.
View attachment 872396

450 rounds to process from last week.
View attachment 872397

Prepping last week’s brass for storage and eventual reloading (next month). ~1,200 rounds, give or take.
View attachment 872398
I did just that. Got the Magpuls for $9 ea and I see Palmetto has the aluminums for $7.99
 
Good initial choice for the platform.

On mags, I hold pretty steady to 3 x 4 + 1 for 13 in almost all cases.

The ammunition? I'd call the 2000 a good *holding* amount after you've confirmed you AND the rifle really like it and then hold that amount with extra for shooting.


Todd.
 
Congratulations on your new AR. :thumbup:

10 mags is a good number. I like having more.
I prefer Magpul mags. I have never cared for the mil-spec aluminum mags. I had some hang ups with a couple of them. My friend said I should get the ones with the green followers and they won’t stick and hang up. I did one better. I gave him the aluminum mags and I only use Magpul mags. I can trust them and they have never failed me.

Regarding Ammo. I keep a couple thousand rounds on hand.
 
"Regarding Ammo. I keep a couple thousand rounds on hand."
You might want to add another 1000 or two as your rotating shooting stock.
 
First of all glad that you joined the ranks of AR owners, we need every gun owner to own at least one. The AR is the Alamo for gun rights in my opinion, hopefully it doesn’t take losing them (as it did in the loss of the Alamo) for gun owners to rally and defeat these infringements and take back freedoms we have already lost.

You’ll want to buy some 20 rounders as well, as if a mag ban does ever happen 20 rounders would be off the table as well. They are my favorite size mag.

I have some aluminum/steel mags simply for the fact that they can be rewelded if cracked in the event of a magazine ban. I prefer magpuls otherwise.
 
In regards to ammo, I don’t think one can have too much. Just look at what is happening in California, Oregon & Washington. They are going after the ammo through limiting purchase amount and very onerous per round taxes.
 
The Okay aluminum and D&H, and Brownells are better than the plastic. If you reload, and don't tumble, the area where the extractor chews the brass goes and chews the feedlips, wont hurt the metal mags. Pmags are the only ones I have seen spit rounds when handled rough. But many say just the opposite. My favorites are Okay 20 round. About 15000 rounds with out a problem with them. If you like steel, C-products makes steel mags, but mine max at 19 rounds, and don't lock the bolt open. Luckygunner has steelcase for cheaper than I can reload right now.
 
I took the leap. I bought a S&W M&P15 Sport II. Been owning guns and shooting them since 1980. With all the turmoil, rumors and fear being spread in this country. I bought my 1st "black gun" :D
I also bought 5 Magpul gen 2's to go with it. I am going to buy 5 more. Been thinking about the aluminum ones. Are the aluminum mags just as good?
Also bought 2k of ammo. What is a realistic amount of 5.56 to keep on hand for reserve? And are 11 mags a solid amount to have. Dont plan to shoot more than 1000 rounds a year out of it.

We have two...the first one (the original one I bought, prior to the Sport II) ended up in my wife's possession. So, of course I HAD to buy another one for me, which ended up being the Sport II.

Ours have been flawless. And the trigger pull is niiiiiiice! I can't imagine that you'll be anything other than pleased.

Magazines: Buy what you want. Quality magazines are quality magazines. Ours are all the Magpul plastic ones, so I'll let others speak to aluminum. Here's my opinion on how many:

The number of magazines I buy is based on convenience of ammunition loading. Meaning, I like to load up magazines based on how many come in a box...I don't like dealing with partial boxes. Color me OCD if you wish. I also like to have enough magazines to support plenty of shooting before I need to take a break and reload. A trip to the range should be spent with more time shooting than reloading, in my opinion.

Therefore, for 30 round magazines, two, four, or six would be nice numbers for me. Preferably a minimum of four magazines. Why? Because the Wolf Gold .223 ammo I buy by the case comes in 20 round boxes. Two magazines would be three full boxes. Four would be 6 full boxes. Etc.

Ammunition:

We shoot Wolf Gold .223. Brass, if you are thinking of reloading, and relatively cheap, especially when I catch it on sale at The Armory in Chesapeake, VA. 55 grain FMJ at about 3,250 fps, never a problem cycling or jamming, shoots at point of aim straight out of the box, and makes nice, round holes (no keyholing evident). I can't speak to anything else because I haven't seen the need to try anything else. Others can provide their experiences with other ammo.

How much ammo? Well, let me put it this way: you know those two extra magazines you bought and the five more you're planning on getting? And the "11 mags" you're asking if is a "solid loadout"?

Yeah, assuming 30 rounds each, that's a 330 round loadout in prepping for the range. A third of a case. That may SOUND like a lot...but if there's one thing I've learned over the years it's that whatever I bring to the range, I'm going to shoot. If I bring a box of ammo, I'm going to shoot it. If I bring 5 boxes...I'll shoot all five boxes. I long since decided that I needed to either leave a box or two in my trunk when setting up, or only load my "range can" with what I'm willing to not come back home with.

That third of a case? It's 2/3 of a case with one reloading of your magazines. Get it?

The other thing to consider is price. Routinely keep an eye out on ammo prices between range trips and buy when you see good deals. No need to buy a pallet of ammo at one time (unless that's what you want). A couple cases is, in my opinion, a great starting amount. Enough to get you to the range and shooting for a few trips, at least, and get a feel for how much you'll actually shoot.

From there, you can decide how much is a "reasonable" amount for you to stock up on. If you go through a case in three months, for example, but you can only find "good deals" on prices once or twice a year, you might consider stocking up on 2 or 3 cases in order to maintain an inventory at an acceptable investment.

As my wife noted when I took her to the range to shoot her first pistol: "It didn't take very long to go through a hundred rounds." My answer? "It never does!"
 
Classic Firearms was actually running Hex Mags at $7 each today as their "Deal of the day" but it's gone now. I grabbed another 5 on that sale. Basically whenever I see a really good price on AR mags I buy a few since even for non-AR's most of them seem to have settled on using AR magazines.
 
Im waiting for the right big bore AR pistol to come along in the tune of $500 before I jump in. I dont even think I can operate an AR. Nothing against them, its just that every time I have the money I end up with another mauser, its a disease most of my family suffers from and its been shown scientifically to be hereditary. I dont understand why the larger calibers are substantially more expensive than a .223.
 
357smallbore,

Your numbers crunch with mine pretty well.

My rule of thumb is 11 magazines per AR. One in the gun and 10 extra. The main reason for choosing 10 is that 10 30 round magazines fit easily in U.S. Military Surplus Ammo Cans with room left over for ammunition.

I also like 20 round magazines (from Brownells) especially at the range as 30 round magazines are too long when shooting from a bench. 20 round metal magazines will fit crossways in a 50 caliber ammo can leaving a lot of room for ammunition.

I consider 1k rounds of ammunition the minimum for each gun. I like to store the ammo in 30 and 50 round ammo cans. I have more than that amount but I keep at least 1,000 rounds per gun in storage.

Good choices and you are off to a good start.
 
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I like having a couple of 10 rounds mags as well, mostly for the bench or prone shooting. Not sure how many mags you "need" but I don't think you can have too many. I've probably got fifty or so.
 
I dont understand why the larger calibers are substantially more expensive than a .223.

Economy of scale. It costs less (per unit) to build 100,000 of something than to build 1,500 of them. .223/5.56 is the "default" AR round that most people want so the parts for those are the cheapest. Some of the other stuff isn't TOO bad either. 9mm and 7.62x39 parts are more expensive but not to an insane level. .300 Blackout is just a different barrel and is probably the #2 most popular round in AR's anyways so it's also relatively cheap. Your oddball stuff though like .450 Bushmaster and 6.5 Grendel - yeah they're going to cost more because they're more niche.

I like having a couple of 10 rounds mags as well, mostly for the bench or prone shooting. Not sure how many mags you "need" but I don't think you can have too many. I've probably got fifty or so.

I've got one 10 rounder myself. I've never taken an AR out hunting but if I did I'd likely use a 10-round magazine (which is what I bought this one for). There's no legal requirement but the flush fit magazine would seem to be a bit more maneuverable for climbing in and out of a tree stand.
 
Gone are the times when Magpul PMAGs were prototypes and $30 each. Buy as many Pmags and Hex mags (no personal experience) as you can. I have about 10 aluminum enhanced GI aluminum magazines. Will use in a pinch, mostly more for nostalgia. Army didn't want them back.
 
Just before things got sideways a few years ago I spent a fair chunk on magazines. Colt 20s, PMAGS, Troy, MFT; and this is also what I’ve required kids to learn in the process of building their ARs; try as many types as possible and don’t be satisfied with the rifle unless they all work.

So we test fit and drop test as soon as the catch is in place. The theory of course is that if ever there is a ban or worse, any magazine happened upon ought to work. 5-round to 40-round we are 6 for 6.

I might also advise picking up an “Oops Kit” or two, generally under $10/ea. with extra springs in case of breakage along with at least one LPK, a firing pin, spare bolt head, and a spare charging handle. If you have the cash on hand you could consider upgraded parts and even a spare stripped lower, plus an armorer’s wrench. Those basics will run about $200. The upshot is that you could choose to build a second lower at any time needing only a stock (which will lead to a second complete rifle).
 
Man I’m short on mags apparently. I think I only have 4, 5, and 2 for my AR’s. But mine are hunting rifles. So 30rd mags don’t make sense for me. If I miss 5 times, the other 25 probably isn’t going to get me a kill. All my mags are 10rd or less.
 
You have been assimilated. Bwahahahaaaa! To see how bad this affliction can get, head over to arfcom https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/
You do not have to be an operator to enjoy this format however. What I like about it is that you are encouraged to get inside, swap out parts, and try new things to get the result you desire. Twenty round mags are my favorite, but I pick up 30s when attractively priced.

Whatever you do, stay away from Palmetto State Armory https://palmettostatearmory.com/daily-deals-new.html because with their help, any spare part becomes a new rifle or pistol.
 
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