AK/AR - Should I buy one now?

Ignition Override said:

Charlie Martinez: Yes, but......Only if you really wanted one months ago.

Don't be worried about any gun bans.

Because so Many politicians now are exploiting - for personal gain - the TX tragedy.

Such politicians only want their "20 minutes of fame" as shameless self-promoters.

Keep in mind that there are always many Gun Sellers, whether personal owners or retail, who Want you to be anxious. Uncertainty encourages people to buy Their guns. $$$$ This is behind much of the “They gonna Ban them ARs!”…just lime in 2008.

This was a widespread factor after November 2008, into 2009. And thousands of new AR owners later had to "dump" the rifles at a huge financial loss.

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The difference is that, this time all AR's are extremely low priced.

If I had a budget for an AR and AK, I'd build two AR's.

Buy one now. Heck buy 2-3. With that said I highly doubt any ban or EO will withstand any constitutional scrutiny by the courts. But I was wrong once before…..

A budget AR and no AK is how I would have played your situation too. Good call.

Charlie Martinez said:

I have wanted an AK-47 or AR-15 style rifle (probably an AR) for some time and with this new ban threat I'm thinking it's now or never.

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I figured after the bump stock ban (no grandfathering existing samples) you could be throwing away money. Depends on how they go about it, if they could get anything done before they get to go back to their normal lives come November.

That said, I think everyone should have at least one of each. Don’t let what may or may not happen tomorrow cause you to have a bad day today. We don’t even know for sure we will be here tomorrow.

I'll be the voice of dissent since I'm not a fan of PMags. Buy the Lancer L5AWM instead.

sevt_chevelle said:

I built a 762x39 AR using good quality parts, pushing 2K rounds and not 1 single issue, plus it shoots sub moa with cheap tula ammo.

Mega arms lower
Bcm upper
Bcm handguard
Satern barrel
Slr rifle works gas block and tube
Larue trigger
Vltor A5 buffer system
AO precision bolt carrier with Maxim bolt.
C products magazines. 30 rds

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I have the same great experience with my AR39 pistol build--very accurate and totally reliable.

Charlie Martinez said:

Great input from everyone. Thank you. I don't need two rifles so the AK is out.

I'm between buying a regular run of the mill AR rifle in two separate units (upper and lower) or getting a lower unit and get the rest in parts I can select separately. I would like a decent barrel and a really good trigger but if the cost difference is too much I'll settle for the first option.

Glad to see many of you aren't worried about the "ban" talk. I hope you are all right.

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I recommend Del-Ton.

I just heard that Canada is banning buying or selling pistols. No confiscation yet.

d2wing said:

I just heard that Canada is banning buying or selling pistols. No confiscation yet.

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What happens after the firearm owner dies of becomes prohibited?

Zerodefect said:

Magpul is pumping out pmags for $12 a pop.

(Good) AR mags have never been that cheap in my lifetime. I grabbed 4 more today.

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I was able to get the M2's for about $8.xx/each and 20rd/30rd M3's for $11.xx/ea a few years back. Not sure what to expect to pay for them now. PSAused to run a ton of magpul deals every week, like buy 12 30rd PMags for $7/ea and get this free rifle case....

Styx said:

What happens after the firearm owner dies of becomes prohibited?

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That wasn't in the story. I also don't know if this is a law or just proposed.

Charlie Martinez said:

I have wanted an AK-47 or AR-15 style rifle (probably an AR) for some time and with this new ban threat I'm thinking it's now or never.

My concern is that if the ban passes it will include restrictions, taxes, ammo shortages or some kind of legislation that will prevent even pre-ban owners from shooting these rifles.. I do not want to buy a rifle that is going to end up a useless safe queen or a wall hanger.

My best buddy is ex army and knows how to put AR's together so one of my options is to buy a lower receiver before the ban and gradually put something together. That would at least get me past the hurdle of the lower receiver before the ban. He suggests assembling an AR in 7.62 X 39 but that is another subject matter.

I would appreciate all opinions and advice.

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All I can offer is this, back in 198x when the "first" ban came along I ran right out and grabbed an AR as I had the same thought.....its now or never. Well back then only one company made them, and to say expensive is an understatement.

What will happen now, no one has a crystal ball and can tell you, however I highly doubt they are going to ban the most popular rifle in the US, I highly doubt you will even see California style restrictions. What we do get I don't know, all I hope is that this latest get people to check D on the ballot is going to fail, and that is all it is.

Someone once said, its the economy stupid.....and that is what matters.

As to what will happen, I highly doubt you are going to see them much cheaper....or should say inexpensive then you do now. The price is going to go up, so if you want one now is going to be the most inexpensive point of entry.

valnar said:

I'll be the voice of dissent since I'm not a fan of PMags. Buy the Lancer L5AWM instead.

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I've started using these lately and really like them. Some versions cost a little more than p mags, gunmagwarehouse.com usually has them on sale.

W.E.G. said:

The AR will be much less-expensive to buy/build than an AK.

AK's struggle to match accuracy of even the cheapest AR's.

AK triggers are generally horrible compared to quality AR triggers.

X39 AR's are really the bastard of the AR-15 breed. Although somebody will probably be along quickly to defend it. With all the other choices in firearms out there, I wouldn't have an X39 AR myself. For lots of reasons.

If you must have a .30 caliber AR, build a 300 Blackout.

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I agree with what you say about the AR platform, it's cheaper and easier to build one than an AK or other such platform. A whole lot of that goes to what is considered "FFL" and what isn't; you can easily buy a barreled upper and get it shipped to your door. That ultimately decides what your firearm will be= caliber, length of barrel, etc. The 'controlled part' is the generic lower. You don't need special skills or expensive tools to take a stripped lower and a parts kit and build a lower from scratch. You don't need them to upgrade the trigger, it's all plug and play. The most challenging thing involved might be staking something.

I'll disagree with what you said about the x39 AR, just because it's not really relevant or necessary to throw that in. Development on that idea is pretty mature now, even the budget brands (Bear Creek, Radical, PSA) have gotten to the point where the gun is reliable now. You just need a Duramag magazine, and an enhanced firing pin, and the gun will happily run all day at the range. A weak link in the design is the extractor, the "correct" one is thin and can break more easily. I have several in this caliber, all cheap, and that's the one issue I had. My solution was to put a regular 5.56 extractor on instead, because it's what I had available at the time. And you know what, it works just fine, I'm ejecting empty cases with that gun just like the others do. BCA sent me a free replacement, but it's in the box of parts as backup now, and honestly I'd probably just put another standard one on instead if the others break.

The true purpose of an x39 AR can't be matched with 300BO, because to me it's about having an option to shoot more cheap ammo. I built mine before the Russian ban to take advantage of that; 7.62x39 was still about 25 cents a round or so. I got a case a week before the ban for $270 to the door, which was way cheaper than the cheapest 223 at the time. I felt betrayed and angry with the ban, but even today, if you go to ammoseek and search "rifle ammo, any caliber", the top 4 listings are still 7.62x39. 34.9 cents a rd.
The cheapest 300BO listed is 54 cents. That's approaching $200 a case more.

And again, I'm doing it to have a 30 cal blaster. I don't have a surpressor (which I understand is where the 300BO shines), I don't want to be paying extra for NFA stamps.

Maineshooter1 said:

Surprised no one has suggested getting an Aero lower and a Palmetto kit.
At today's prices, the lower would run 71.39 at Brownell's (and you could find cheaper lowers out there, I just like Aero Precision) and an M4gery kit (blem) from Palmetto is 360. Total would be ~430, plus another 70 for S&H and the FFL should put it right at $500 for a reliable and decent quality AR. Get a part time job on the side and get you some toys.

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My primary firearms love remains duty/surplus handguns, such as the CZ 75, Sig P226, Beretta 92, etc. All nicely made, all like to eat the cheapest/most common pistol caliber (9x19), etc.

I have surplus rifles, mostly bolt, and SKS. I have purchased several "based on" firearms, which aren't REALLY surplus, but are 'close enough' for me. A couple USGI/milspec-type 1911's, instead of (before) the CMP-released actual surplus pistols. A Century C308, which has a lot of Cetme parts and follows the design (and combines that with the very similar HK G3). If I'd have got in the game early enough, I'd have picked up one of the FAL options. I chose the SKS over the AK, in retrospect I would have done both. I say that now, but funds were still tight... but I would have made it work.
I've put together some budget ARs, wasn't really satisfied until I could make one look "right"- the best I have managed is an M16A4 clone. I'd really like to put an A1 or at least A2 together.

Once you get outside the surplus/clone part, and start looking at the utility aspects of the platforms, it seems like the AR and 1911 platforms are the base to start with. 1911's are built into race guns, target guns, all sorts of different calibers.
Same thing with ARs. You can get your 10" barrel and brace, and make a nice, handy little 'truck gun'. You can put a fixed stock and 20+" barrel and maybe a different caliber, and have a very accurate mid-distance shooter for hunting etc. You can put all sorts of optics on it, from a $20 red dot to a $1500 real ACOG, or true high end scope; you can go with fixed or flip-up iron sights. The platform is incredibly flexible, and if you're building on a budget to "just have something before they get taken off the market" you have a ton of options. You probably can spend over 3k to get the coolest name brands, or you can buy the cheapest upper and lower combos to put together a functional rifle under $400.

Just my own opinion, but if you're even halfway on the fence about getting one "just to have", you might as well grab a complete lower for under $150 (probably PSA), a complete 16" upper from BCA for $250, and a case of Tula steel-cased 223 for $350.
If you want an AR pistol for just-in-case, again, the PSA deals will often go under $150 for a complete lower, and the BCA uppers will be as low as $200, depending on style (they run the side-chargers lower than traditional rear-charging with shell deflectors).
If you want to try x39, BCA has them at the same price or cheaper than the 556 models, and Targetsportsusa can sell you 500 rds for $175+ free shipping. Reliable magazines for this will cost more than standard mags, and 7.62x39 will likely rise higher than 223 down the road, so keep that in mind. But if it's going in the guncase just to have one, you'll do fine either way.

My brother bought an AR prior to Obama taking office his first term, for this same reason. Got an M&P Sport II for $500 and a case of Wolf Gold for $300, over a decade ago. Still has most of that ammo, he shoots a box 2-3 times a year. He's happy he got one (especially now), but hasn't worn it out. Ammo costs more now, the guns can cost less.

Charlie Martinez said:

I just found an option that really caught my eye.
I saw that an AR lower is available for either 308 or 243 Winchester. I am a fan of the 243 Win, I already have a bolt action rifle chambered for it and have been reloading it for years. An AR in 243 Winchester IMHO is a much better rifle than in 5.56 so this option is very interesting provided it is affordable and functions well.
Does anyone have an AR in 243 Winchester or any experience with one? If so please advise.

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It is a great cartridge, keep in mind that it is a larger cartridge not available in an AR15 but is available in AR10 which is a different rifle, a scaled up version of the AR15 but requires different upper and lower and other parts. If you want a little bigger heavier rifle with considerably more power it is a good choice. Also it is not as standardized as the AR15 so you have to be sure that the upper and lower are the same pattern.

W.E.G. said:

AK's struggle to match accuracy of even the cheapest AR's.

AK triggers are generally horrible compared to quality AR triggers.

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Both assertions are nonsense

Buy whatever makes you happy and enjoy it

That said, if I was to only buy one such type weapon it would be hands down and without exception an AK variant
If it had to be right now and given our current direction, it would be an M70 ZPAP

jmorris said:

I figured after the bump stock ban (no grandfathering existing samples) you could be throwing away money.

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Made me chuckle thinking that IF ever there was a ban on AR's the headlines the day it was enacted would read "20 Million Assault Rifles Reported Stolen."

Get one asap! If you cant afford the gun get several lower ar receivers!so you can build some at a later date!

W.E.G. said:

The AR will be much less-expensive to buy/build than an AK.

AK's struggle to match accuracy of even the cheapest AR's.

AK triggers are generally horrible compared to quality AR triggers.

X39 AR's are really the bastard of the AR-15 breed. Although somebody will probably be along quickly to defend it. With all the other choices in firearms out there, I wouldn't have an X39 AR myself. For lots of reasons.

If you must have a .30 caliber AR, build a 300 Blackout.

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I mostly agree. I have an AR in 300 BO and it is great with subsonic stuff. AR in 5.56 are also great. AR in x39 is great if you also have an AK47 to share ammo with. And finally where I may differ is that the AK47's fun factor dumping a 30 rnd mag somehow out classes the AR. Everyone should have both IMHO! Some of my best days at the range is when I take others who have never shot a gun before. Moms,Dads,kids. I always ask which one they liked the best. I have Garand, M1 carbine, AK47 , SKS, Ar-300BO, AR-9mm, and mini14 all there for the new shooter. (plus some handguns). Every first time shooter except one 65 yr old loved shooting and came away with a positive view on guns. (most had no view either way beforehand) Almost everyone gets the biggest thrill from the AK. I think the second most liked is the M1carbine. Have a nice day everyone!

JShirley said:

1. I do suggest getting at least a lower now. Assembled lowers from PSA run as low as $140.
2. If you may only have one AR, I do not suggest 7.62x39mm or 5.45x39mm.

John

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You can have one lower with multiple uppers. A 7.62x39 AR upper is relatively inexpensive.

If anyone ever wanted an AK in the future, now is the time to buy an import. They can ban AK imports rather easily vs banning American manufactured AR15s. Get an AK imported Wasr, Arsenal, Zastava, etc while you still can. ARs aren't going anywhere.

Styx said:

You can have one lower with multiple uppers. A 7.62x39 AR upper is relatively inexpensive.

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There seems to be a lot of hate in this thread for 7.62x39 ARs, but nobody has given any concrete examples of why they are so "bad". Your post nailed it; uppers are cheap. I bought an x39 upper from PSA several years ago and, coupled with ASC mags, it has been absolutely flawless.