AR-15 Similar to M16A2

You could buy a Colt.

99% of people will never appreciate the difference between a 1:7 and a 1:9 twist.

Pretty much every company that makes an AR makes an A2 variant. They run from the rather inexpensive Delton kits (all the parts needed to complete a stripped lower receiver, assemble yourself) to DPMS, Rock River and Bushmaster complete rifles to the higher end "boutique" rifles from the likes of LaRue and Les Baer to the full on National Match competition rifles from White Oak and Rock Creek. You're limited only by how much you want to spend.

not quite an a2. listed as having m4 ramps and a detachabe carry handle/sight. pretty close though. high quality, and will give you the option of running some sort of optic or reflex sight of some sort at a later date.

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-M16-A4-AR15-Bravo-Company-carbine-rifle-s/146.htm

7.62mm.ak47 said:

I've been considering getting an AR since boot camp but I couldn't figure out what configuration I liked the most. Do you guys have any recommendations on who makes an AR closest to the A2? Also I know that we had 1x7 twist riflings while most AR-15's now are 1x9. I'd like to stick as close as I possibly can to my FN made A2 I had. Thanks!

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Getting a Colt is your best bet to be as close as you possibly can. FN is/was under license by Colt to manufacture these rifles for the military. 1/9 vs. 1/7 twists are also purely up to you, both are widely available.

Rock River is probably your best bet to get what you're looking for and stay under $1k. DPMS and Bushmaster are cheaper than that but the Rock River is more likely to be an excellent shooter.

The thing is, when buying a civilian gun, you can get something that is better than mil-spec in many regards. The military is limited to a specification that was made decades ago and only marginally updated as needed.

Now, don't get me wrong, the Colt mil-spec guns are close to top of the line, but for mil-spec and better you will have to pay for it.

Why not just build your own rather than buy a complete rifle? Personally, I don't care for the odd size hammer and trigger pins on a Colt so rather than buy Colt, I built mine using parts I found at gun shows, AR-15.com's equipment exchange as well as other on-line sources and I think I have come up with far more accurate A2 clones than anything that is offered by any factory. Here's a few of my A2 clones:
At top is an earlier gray A2 clone with large head forward assist, FN upper and barrel, early A2 pistol grip, NDS gray McKay lower and AN/PVS-4 starlight scope.
In the middle is a later A2 clone in black with the smaller forward assist, current pistol grip design and M9 bayonet. The one thing that while not really seen but is felt more is the heavier barrel with a 1/9" twist. You can't tell it from the outside but when you handle it, it's a lot more nose-heavy than the actual M-16A2 barrel that is lighter under the handguards. I would have liked to used a 1/7" barrel but back when I built this one years ago, it was a lot easier to come across heavy 1/9" twist barrels.
At the bottom is my 727/GUU-5P clone. It's pretty much identical to the GUU-5P I first carried when I came back into the Air Force with the exception of the longer 16" barrel rather than the 14.5" barrel on the military version.
Also in the picture is the AN/PVS-5 night vision goggles we were using in the Marines back during the late 80s and early 90s. Kind of cool to see where we were back then with both the PVS-4 and PVS-5 as compared to the AN/PVS-14 we are using today that can fill both roles as a weapon sight as well as a helmet mounted NVG.

if bcm doesn't have the add to cart/checkout option with a price listed, the item is back ordered. according to thier pdf order form, the price is $1135. a bit spendy, but i think it's alot of rifle for the money.

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/bcm complete rifle order form.pdf

I've considered building it from the ground up but the lower receiver trigger group seems pretty confusing.

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It's actually very easy. The most difficult part is proper installation of the rollpins for the bolt catch and trigger guard, and even that's easy as long as you have the correct tools.

AFAIK, FN never sold rifles or uppers onto the civilian market, but a decent number of the uppers seem to be on the civilian market anyway. I believe they came through legitimate channels but I don't know the full story.

If you want a complete rifle in the 20" A2 configuration, I would recommend options from Armalite, Rock River, Bushmaster, and DPMS, in that order of preference, with a strong suggestion for the Armalite.

Yeah, found it at a gun show in NC a few years back.

As Grunt said the Hbar barrels are heavy.

A few months back I bought a new Bushmaster upper. It has a 20'' govt profiled chrome lined barrel with 1x7 twist rifling. It has MP stamped on the barrel but if it was or not I don't know or care. The only thing you may not like is that it came with an A4 upper .

I paid 400 dollars for it out the door. So far i'm vary satisfied with it and feels way better then my Delton hbar middy upper . I still haven't bought its own deticated lower ans BCG but I did the math and in my area I can have everything compete for around 700 if I don't go crazy on it .

jakk280rem said:

if bcm doesn't have the add to cart/checkout option with a price listed, the item is back ordered. according to thier pdf order form, the price is $1135. a bit spendy, but i think it's alot of rifle for the money.

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/bcm complete rifle order form.pdf

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You can't buy complete rifles or lowers from BravoCompany directly.

7.62mm.ak47 said:

I like the a4 with a2 iron sights. Is there a price anywhere? I'd like to stay below $1000 if possible.



I find it pretty hard to find 1x7 uppers actually. 1x9 is offered by everyone it seems.

I've also heard that Colt's aren't as good as they're cracked up to be (Just what some people say). The price tag is also a little too damaging to my wallet.

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Give this thread time, you'll get your 1/7 barrel recommendation... trust me.

Sportsmans guide has ar 1-7 twist barrels for sale.

Quote:
A few months back I bought a new Bushmaster upper. It has a 20'' govt profiled chrome lined barrel with 1x7 twist rifling.

Where does everyone like to buy their stuff from? BravoCompanyUSA.com was mentioned and it looks pretty good.

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I bought it at a local gunshow from a dealer. You might be able to find the upper on Bushmaster's websight or Google it. I never heard anything bad about Bravocompany and thinking about buying a BCG from them for that Bushmaster upper.

I built mine in 1993 before the so-called Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 took effect (because I just HAD to have the deadly bayonet lug and the ominous flash hider!) using a stripped Bushmaster lower and a Bushmaster 20" fluted 1-9" twist HBAR A2 upper with a Harris bipod. The fluting cuts down on the barrel weight and actually stiffens the barrel, and I see no difference in POI using the bipod. I'm 58, still have it, and wouldn't sell or trade it for anything. I don't like Colt as it doesn't use push pins to join the upper-lower receivers, and my Olympic .45 ACP upper swaps out in seconds.

You zero them according to their design by setting the elevation to the tiny (yes it's tiny, get your glasses) Z which will be either one or two clicks above bottomed out, and adjusting the front sight until that hits dead on at 25 meters. Then you can use the markings for 3 to 6 or 8 hundred meters. This is using the small aperture.
There are other ways, but that is how they are designed to be zeroed and would be a good start even if you decide to use another method eventually.

plus one for the armilite