You Have $1,200....Which AR Would You GET and WHY?

Warp said:

I would love to see a breakdown of that, with prices, and links.

Mid length 16" as the configuration, please.

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I built my AR pre-panic and it cost over $1400, and it only had a standard trigger group.

Daniel Defense 16" barrel
Daniel Defense upper
Daniel Defense BCG
Midwest Industries quad rail
Armalite lower
PSA LPK
Magpul ACS stock

Can't imagine building a whole rifle with Geissele trigger group for under $1200.

BTW most of those PSA uppers which are under $600 come without a BCG or charging handle....so add another $200

I would love to see a breakdown of that, with prices, and links.

Mid length 16" as the configuration, please.

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I built an 18" rifle for about that price, before the scope and mount. I have a Geissele trigger, match barrel, etc.

Of course, a family member gave me a complete gun to use as the platform, so....

All things considered, I'd probably just buy the Colt. If I built one, the total would probably break $1200 in almost any configuration I'd want.

You all just keep believing how much better the components are if you wish. Also, make absolutely sure you find a rifle with Parkerizing under the front sight base, because you never know when water may infiltrate it and rust it under there, even though it is covered by the front sight base. That milspec stock tube is a must too. Sarcasm aside, just get something with a nice chrome lined barrel and it will be fine. People bash AR brands but promote a colt with magpul sights. Those have to be the cheapest sights ever made. Colt took off the carry handle, replaced it with cheap plastic sights, and somehow charge more for the rifle. I hear people talk about all of the failures they see in classes with rifles other than colts. That is odd since most non federal government law enforcement agencies have predominately used Bushmaster for years.

I will admit to one thing about higher end ARs. For $13-1400ish the Daniel Defense mid-length looks like it is a heck of a rifle

Warp said:

But it's out of stock and not available now. And I hate to nit pick, but we're assembling our very own AR here, we get to nit pick. You said "any configuration". I opted for a mid length. I don't know how a "it used to be in stock" carbine (?) length upper really qualifies here...

Link to the Geissele SSA with MOE LPK for $240, please? I haven't seen it...would love to see where that is.

Link to MOE stock kit for $70?

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Went down $5 since last night.
MOE stock
The upper was a mid length. And could be back in stock at any time. I'm not trying to sell you anything. If you want to build the gun you were talking about for under 1200 you certainly can. May take a little patience. If you want to figure out a way not to be able to build one that's certainly easy.

Here's something I just saw. Upper
$470 with FF rail. So an even better deal if you're wanting to build a 16 precision gun.

hatt said:

d could be back in stock at any time. I'm not trying to sell you anything. .

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Did it include a bolt carrier group and charging handle?

KYamateur said:

You all just keep believing how much better the components are if you wish. Also, make absolutely sure you find a rifle with Parkerizing under the front sight base, because you never know when water may infiltrate it and rust it under there, even though it is covered by the front sight base. That milspec stock tube is a must too. Sarcasm aside, just get something with a nice chrome lined barrel and it will be fine. People bash AR brands but promote a colt with magpul sights. Those have to be the cheapest sights ever made. Colt took off the carry handle, replaced it with cheap plastic sights, and somehow charge more for the rifle. I hear people talk about all of the failures they see in classes with rifles other than colts. That is odd since most non federal government law enforcement agencies have predominately used Bushmaster for years.

I will admit to one thing about higher end ARs. For $13-1400ish the Daniel Defense mid-length looks like it is a heck of a rifle

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Those "cheap" Magpul sights are some of the toughest and most durable (as well as popular) sights on the market.

hatt said:

Went down $5 since last night.
MOE stock
The upper was a mid length. And could be back in stock at any time. I'm not trying to sell you anything. If you want to build the gun you were talking about for under 1200 you certainly can. May take a little patience. If you want to figure out a way not to be able to build one that's certainly easy.

Here's something I just saw. Upper
$470 with FF rail. So an even better deal if you're wanting to build a 16 precision gun.

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It may or may not matter to some people, but that stock kit is not to the same specifications as the Colt, and is not to the specifications many people would be shopping for.

I guarantee the buffer weight is only carbine, not heavy, and that the receiver extension is 6061, not 7075.

That's the way to save money. Cut corners on materials.

Warp said:

Those "cheap" Magpul sights are some of the toughest and most durable (as well as popular) sights on the market.

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Colt ARs use to be very nice, now they have just sold out to marketing. Magpul crap, cheap rails, and an entry rifle that they do not even make - yet put their name on.

KYamateur said:

Magpul crap, .

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You aren't doing much for your credibility when you call Magpul products "crap"

KYamateur said:

Colt ARs use to be very nice, now they have just sold out to marketing. Magpul crap, cheap rails, and an entry rifle that they do not even make - yet put their name on.

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...no. You are mistaken. Probably out of bias, possibly out of ignorance.

Many of the people who buy an AR these days don't want a carry handle rear sight. They want a smaller sight, and very often a flip up style backup rear sight, so that they can mount an optic on the receiver's rail.

Many of the people who bought a Colt just took the carry handle rear sight off and then went out and bought/acquired a BUIS. Very often the BUIS they bought was a Magpul MBUS or MBUS2.

By selling with the MBUS sight out of the box this actually saves buyers money and/or saves them the hassle of taking the carry handle sight off and selling it to pay for the replacement rear sight that they actually wanted to start with.

Many people also take the stock handguard off and install a magpul MOE handguard. You can mount the necessary items to an MOE handguard pretty easily (more easily than the standard handguards), they are light, they are tough, they are inexpensive. But you only get a magpul handguard on a Colt if you specifically buy the magpul edition. If you don't want a magpul grip, stock, and/or handguard...then don't buy the magpul edition gun for crying out loud.

HOOfan_1 said:

You aren't doing much for your credibility when you call Magpul products "crap"

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Sometimes bias gets the best of people.

Warp said:

It may or may not matter to some people, but that stock kit is not to the same specifications as the Colt, and is not to the specifications many people would be shopping for.

I guarantee the buffer weight is only carbine, not heavy, and that the receiver extension is 6061, not 7075.

That's the way to save money. Cut corners on materials.

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What's your point? Those are just parts I listed. If you want a 7075 RE you can buy one. If you want an H buffer you can buy one. Not going to change the final cost very much. Maybe $20-30. Doesn't change the $1200 question.

And there's nothing wrong with a carbine buffer in a mid length. The Colt is a 16 inch carbine gas gun. Not ideal setup so they designed H buffers as a band aid.

The Colt 6920 Magpul edition is certainly a solid choice, and probably the most hassle free option.

BCM also has a few complete rifles that fall into your price category, but only just. Something like their Mod 0 Mid-16 should sell for just under $1200, but you will have to furnish your own rear sight.

The days of assembling top quality rifles for cheap seem to be long gone now. Even something like a basic stripped down BCM with no handguards, stock, or rear sight is going to cost around $1000, making Colt a pretty good value when you consider what you are getting.

Some folks do take the "mil-spec" mantra too far, I agree. But the "they're all the same" and "just as good as" mindsets are just as disagreeable to me as well. A Bushmaster/DPMS/RR isn't built to the same standard as a Colt's, BCM, Daniel's Defense or even an S&W.

The devil's in the details and it goes further than the outside diameter of the receiver extension or completeness of parkerization. Look at the materials used in it's construction. Look at how the rifle is built. Putting an AR together (which some posters here have advocated) isn't very hard, yet some AR makers continue to screw up barrel torque, gas tube alignment, gas port alignment, gas port sizing and gas key staking,

The lack of QA/QC is apparent in some of these brands as they let ARs ship that have obvious defects in manufacture, passing the burden of repair on to the consumer. Their business model apparently says that it's more cost effective to fix a defective AR that's already been sold than to ensure a quality rifle leaves the factory initially.

hatt said:

What's your point? Those are just parts I listed. If you want a 7075 RE you can buy one. If you want an H buffer you can buy one. Not going to change the final cost very much. Maybe $20-30. Doesn't change the $1200 question.

And there's nothing wrong with a carbine buffer in a mid length. The Colt is a 16 inch carbine gas gun. Not ideal setup so they designed H buffers as a band aid.

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My point is my last sentence.

The main way to save money is to cut corners on materials.

I'm curious...where could you get a 7075 receiver extension and an H buffer for $20-$30??

Last I checked, you couldn't even get the RE for that much...let alone that AND an H buffer.

You can't get the 7075 RE and H buffer for $30. You can get them for prob $30 more than the other parts you didn't want. Unless carbine buffers and 6061 RE are free then sign me up for a few of each.

hatt said:

You can't get the 7075 RE and H buffer for $30. You can get them for prob $30 more than the other parts you didn't want. Unless carbine buffers and 6061 RE are free then sign me up for a few of each.

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I think you are correct about that.

I went with spikes for a $900 complete rifle and used the rest for a rear sight and ammo

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If I was in your shoes I would get the 6920. My next ar will be a Colt 6920. I'm not an internet commando but I think it's cool to have something as close as possible to what the military uses. I may even SBR it and put a 14.5" upper on it just for kicks!

BCM is top notch, same as Colt quality and has FAR more options out available.

Ignore the kool ade drinkers, they are too wrapped up in their toys to realize not everybody wants to run them as a full on battle rattle.

Get what appeals to you and feels right in your hands and budget.

That's the way to save money. Cut corners on materials.

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You can save even more money by not including the bolt/BCG.

That's not a bad price, but you're going to be right at or above $1200 once you add the rest of the parts you need.

Once again, proof that any AR thread is bound to degenerate relatively quickly.

Personally, I like the higher quality mil-spec parts and want as many on a rifle as I can get. They assure a level of attention to detail that you find on higher end rifles. One exception is the double thickness chrome lining found in some barrels. That's better than mil-spec, so I'll take that too.

I do understand why you'd want to be able to just buy an AR and shoot it, but I also understand why there are guys who are shopping for the best deal to build their own. Even if you have to drop to used on some parts, you rifle's utility won't suffer one bit from used handguards or a used pistol grip. I plan to try this myself at some point in the not too distant future.
But when you're a guy who just wants to load your PMags and shoot and know that your rifle is going to work, and know that it's going to hold its resale value, there is a lot to be said for paying the little extra $$$ and buying a Colt.
Just saw a Bushmaster today at the LGS for $1059. When a Colt 6920 is available at Walmart for $1097, you'd be a fool to not add the extra $40 and go that route.

I said Magpul flip up sights were crap and they are. I like many of their offerings including their magazines which is all I use in my AR. However, why would you want to have the so called "best built" ARs and have a set of plastic sights on it that can and will easily break if caught on something? Argue the point all you want, but those sights are not a durable option on a battle rifle.

KYamateur said:

I said Magpul flip up sights were crap and they are. I like many of their offerings including their magazines which is all I use in my AR. However, why would you want to have the so called "best built" ARs and have a set of plastic sights on it that can and will easily break if caught on something? Argue the point all you want, but those sights are not a durable option on a battle rifle.

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The tests I have seen show the MBUS to be more tough and durable than the competition.

What makes you say they will "easily break if caught on something"?

I never understood the point of having a flat top reciever "to mount optics" ... and then needing to use tall rings for a scope, or buy a seperate riser (expensive) for a red dot.

My friends, the carry handle was already equiped for throw lever mounts that didn't have that issue. No need for BUIS either - because the carry handle already had it.

My personal preference is for a 16" pencil barrel, carbine handguard, A2 front sight and carry handle, and A2 fixed stock. Work gun is a Colt in exactly that configuration.

You appreciate the lack of weight and BS accessories when you have to stand at 'threat ready' for 20 minutes solid.

mr.trooper said:

I never understood the point of having a flat top reciever "to mount optics" ... and then needing to use tall rings for a scope, or buy a seperate riser (expensive) for a red dot.

My friends, the carry handle was already equiped for throw lever mounts that didn't have that issue. No need for BUIS either - because the carry handle already had it.

My personal preference is for a 16" pencil barrel, carbine handguard, A2 front sight and carry handle, and A2 fixed stock. Work gun is a Colt in exactly that configuration.

You appreciate the lack of weight and BS accessories when you have to stand at 'threat ready' for 20 minutes solid.

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I didn't have to buy anything separate or expensive to mount my red dot.

What I never understood was mounting optics on top of the carry handle where the height-above-bore gets pretty ridiculous and where you can no longer acquire an actual cheek weld, because the optic is too high.

Besides, an MBUS rear sight weighs less than a carry handle rear sight. Why would you rather have the heavier carry handle sight if you want it to be lighter?