New AR

The one I saw today was about 900 bucks.

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Too high for a RRA AR (hell, it's a bit high for a Bushmaster, too). Build one yourself, or get it transferred from an FFL.

Good places to transfer from:

http://www.aimsurplus.com
http://www.adcofirearms.com

To answer your question, yes, a RRA AR will do all those things and more. So will an Armalite, and a Colt, and a Bushie, and a DPMS, and an Olympic, and a parts gun...

Here is probably the best place. We have some guys on Rifle Country who REALLY know their stuff, especially their ARs. You could try other forums like AR15.com, but personally, I find that sometimes ARF.com degenerates into brand-bashing and name-calling.

Most of the stuff you are talking about really has to do with the UPPER.

accuracy is the barrel (and the trigger). Rail system is the upper, light weight (a lot of weight issues have to do with the upper), Fast to manuver, that's a fuction of the upper again (the ballance point)
If I were you I would buy a good lower and build up from there.
Get a drop in match trigger, buy the upper that you want with the barrel of your choice, and move on.

Stag lower from Eagle Firearms. $200

Upper from Model 1 sales. $300

Follow the links!! Start by reading this and this thread.
Altough Forest recommends Bushmasters, especially now that Colt has brought out the MT6400 and the LE 6290 (both lightweight M4 clones with nearly all features of the military guns), some very experienced men recommend Colt over anything else. The LE6920 is available for civilians again, it is just that Colt wants to keep it LEO, so you may have to look a while here.

Another route would be to get an empty lower with a quality parts kit (maybe Colt mil.surp at a gunshow- if you know what to look for!) and build it yourself and then get a LMT upper. LMT seems to have the same level of quality control as Colt.

Avoid match triggers as they are usually the first thing that goes down. If you want a lighter trigger pull, look at the Accuracy Speaks single stage trigger.
The LaRue Rail System beats its competition by a lot of clever ideas plus having all four rails in spec. (wheras ARMS SIR has none). A best buy would be to get it all in one package from here: G&R Tactical, LLC

Well the Ar system has quite evolved from what was 30 years ago. The M4 SOPMOD package was really a great idea and a real performance booster:



With "shorty" I guess you think of a 14.5" or 16" M4 clone? Or do you want to go the short-barreled rifle route and get a 11.5"?
There is so much stuff out there, but since you mention a possible short "no-ban" time frame, I would get either the recommended LMT Upper receiver from Grant and ask him (give him a call!!) if he can send your firearms dealer a matching lower receiver (all you have to do is put them together) or, the simple way, a complete Colt LE 6920 carbine. I would go the Upper/Lower route, since it is easier to customize you prefered buttstock, trigger, etc. Another guy I have had VERY good experiences with is Chen Lee
CLTactical

I can only tell you about my dream carbine:

*LMT 14.5" upper with permanently (due to law) fixed Vortex flashhider (has the 1/7 spin barrel so that the new, effective 75-77gr. bullets are stabilized) and LaRue railsystem mounted
*LMT made lower receiver with LMT Crane stock (great cheekweld!!) from here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=21&t=221646
Quote:
LMT is not ready to part with stripped lowers quite yet. I can get LMT marked complete lowers with LMT M4 stock, buffer spring etc, ready to drop your upper on. $330 delivered.
Just add $199 for the SOPMOD. I will ship the lower with both stocks.
Yes, these are LE Marked. Kinda of a good reminder on how Clinton and congress screwed us.
*Aimpoint M2 in LaRue mount or Eotech 552 in LaRue mount or Trijicon TA31 ACOG
*LMT or Troy flip up, back up sight
*Tango Down grip and vertical foregrip
*a carbine class held by Pat Rogers or Jeff Gonzales!!

Have fun choosing!!

One is that I am not sure what is out there. All I know for sure is that I want a shorty as described above.

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How much are you willing to spend? What are you going to use the rifle for? If you want a shorty AR for plinking/HD/perhaps competition (like most people), you have a LOT of options. Everyone has an opinion on what kind of rifle they want, and, for the most part, they are all correct. The only thing most people seem to agree on is that a forged lower is better than a cast lower, but a cast lower will still probably outlive you.

Second, I have not been around AR's since I was in the Army, and that has been some 30 years ago. I don't know how to make my own. Perhaps you more knowledgable can point me to the research and how to make my own.

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ARs are like legos. Fairly easy to put together an AR from a parts kit, especially if you're just doing the lower receiver and you buy a complete upper from somewhere. Post any questions here on THR, and they'll be answered fast. Here's a decent assembly guide.

http://www.ar15.com/content/guides/

My dream AR:

Bushmaster LW 16" barrel (AFAIK, only Bushmaster makes this profile in 4150 chrome-lined steel)

TA31 carry-handle mounted ACOG (AKA the Donut of Death)

Good quality lower/A2 upper receiver (not too picky here - could be RRA, Bushie, Colt, whatever...)

Good quality single stage trigger

Standard A2 grip (if it ain't broke... )

Colt M4 buttstock/buffer/etc.

Nice single-point sling

Aim Surplus is having a sale on Bushmaster right now. They start at $710.00 for their M-4 configuration.

Most any brand is good. My Oly XM type shoots as well as my Colt MT6400c.

Find what you like...Then buy it!!!

Dobe,

Most lowers are the same (as long as they are forged) except the Colt which uses a larger pin hole. I prefer the Rock River Arms or Stag lowers. You can buy a complete lower with Collapseable stock from Eagle Firearms for $208. Eagle Firearms

After you get the lower through your local FFL. You can shop for an upper or pretty much any make or configuration you please and get it through the mail. It will mate to your lower with 2 pins.

Model 1 has good uppers for cheap. Model 1

However, if you prefer, you can get an upper from any of the large manufacturers and mate it to your lower for a money savings. Buying complete never made sense to me.

Adco has a page to build your own M4 style upper to meet your needs.

Alot of folks have had success with their M1S parts and uppers. That said, my personal experience with them has been poor - they bundled a crap buffer spring with the Ace stock I purchased from them, for example. Another, they were evasive with me regarding their barrel steel and stopped answering my e-mails when I pointed out data from their manufacturer that contradicted what they told me.

For your first AR, go with something that has an excellent reputation for quality - Colt, LMT, Bushmaster, etc. If you want to build a cheap plinker later, go for the M1S. At least then you'll have a well-made AR to compare your plinker against when things start to malf.

My first and thus-far only AR:

Bushmaster lower
Ace ARFX stock
LMT 16" M-4 upper & bolt assembly
LMT rear BUIS

Once I'm shooting well with it as is, I'll install the KAC RAS-II I have in the box, and purchase an Aimpoint + mount.

This has run 100% since I replaced the buffer spring/buffer assembly that I got from M1S.