20", A2 (or even A1) AR Options

[HoosierQ]

I know about the Stag Model 4 which is basically configured like the M16A2 except with the removable carry handle. While I liked the traditional "old school" look of the thing, the carry handle was not functional...too little room.

Carry handle is not a requirement but again, I kinda like old school, even in my ARs.

I like many of the carbines out there and they proliferate, if I go that route, I have a plethora of choices. A2 not so much.

I see very few of these. So few that, other than Stag, I may just punt and go with a S&W.

Point me in some other directions for 20", more or less A2 style ARs.

I wish to purchase a complete rifle, not build one. Thanks.

 

[ZGunner]

I too like the way the A2 looks. Here are a few that I've looked at in the last. DPMS has a Lite version and an A3 version as well, incase you want to mount an optic easier.

http://www.dpmsinc.com/A2-CLASSIC_ep_104-1.html

http://www.bushmaster.com/firearms/competition.asp

Building it really opens up your options. Might be hard to beat that DPMS price point, however.

 

[mavracer]

Look for the DCM/CMP service match versions, there are many manufactures that make them.

 

[js8588]

DPMS DCM is the one that made it onto my list
http://www.dpmsinc.com/DCM_ep_119-1.html

Looks good for less than $1k and gets pretty decent reviews

 

[MrBorland]

Rock River makes a well-regarded NM 20" A2.

http://rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=226

 

[HoosierQ]

Rock River makes a well-regarded NM 20" A2.

http://rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=226

There we go. I like that NM A2!!! I expect, oddly I suppose, that I'd put optics on a carbine. But I like the look that I grew up with. And yes, sometimes it can be about looks IMO.

The Stag Model 4 is nice but the fit and finish on it are so-so at best. Seems solid. I know they work well because I've shot one.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Try Bravo Company Manufacturing, I think they have some A2/4 style rifles.

I'm debating right now wether to go with a mid 16" or a rifle 20".....

 

[henschman]

Hardly anybody makes a true A2 configured upper, with fixed carry handle, chrome lined 1/7 gov't profile barrel, and all. There are some who make nice NRA High Power Service Rifles, with heavy profile stainless barrels, though they are much heavier and don't handle anything like a real A2 does. If you want a real A2, you will probably have to piece it together yourself. You could probably get a hold of a RRA stripped upper, and keep your eye out for a FN barrel assembly. There is also always Bravo Company, who sells an A4 barrel assembly that would work as well (the same as an A2 except for a very slightly taller F marked front sight base, so as to be compatible with flat tops too).

If you can put up with a detachable carry handle, I'd just order Bravo Company's A4 upper with a carry handle and call it a day. I have had plenty of AR's with the carry handle, and I have never actually used it to carry the rifle, so the fact that the detachable handles are hard to get your hands through isn't even on my list of concerns. YMMV.

 

[HGM22]

Colt makes the HBAR and a 20'' A4.

 

[Theohazard]

I have had plenty of AR's with the carry handle, and I have never actually used it to carry the rifle, so the fact that the detachable handles are hard to get your hands through isn't even on my list of concerns. YMMV.

I despise carry handles. My logical reason is that they add unnecessary weight and they make it much harder to properly mount an optic. But my main reason is that it was drummed into me in the Marine Corps to never carry my M16A2 by the carry handle. Carrying our rifles by the carry handle was akin to smacking our CO on the rear; it was something we didn't even think about doing. So the mere idea of carrying an AR-type rifle by the carry handle still makes me cringe to this day!

 

[HoosierQ]

Well this has been a good thread. Thanks for the many responses. I think I am hearing what I suspected was the case: but for a very few exceptions, the A2 configuration is just not very popular. It my look cool, but for a utilitarian sporting rifle like an AR-15, looks are secondary or even tertiary. When I was a kid in the 60's, the M16 was the coolest thing anybody had ever seen. And it was to be seen in thousands of now iconic photos of the era. That kind of thing sticks with a person. But the times and the technology have changed.

Besides the A2 the other thing that appeals to me is a very light AR-15. Colt has a super light, pencil barrel model that weighs about 6 pounds empty I think.

Now for my story. During the whole Sandy Hook debacle there was panic. I had a rifle that pretty much everybody said was gonna be trouble to own in one form or another. I panicked a bit. Around me were people panicking to purchase such a rifle (Stag 4) and the ammo for it. This was when there wasn't a round of .223/5.56 to be found on a shelf anywhere...for any price...and I had 800 of them! So supply met demand and the proceeds purchased 2 rifles to replace the one with ammo and a scope. I now am AR-less.

Fast forward to today. Gander mount has pallets of .223/5.56 ammo stacked in bulk packages of every sort almost floor to ceiling. I am saving my money again to enter (and this time stay come what may) in the AR game. They're just too much fun and too handy to do without.

 

[MrBorland]

An A2 was my choice for my first AR (which I just got), but I got it as a target rifle to possibly shoot High Power Service Rifle matches with. If I were to buy a varmint or RunAndGun AR, I opt for something else, which speaks to the versatility of the platform.