AR Purchase Advice Please

[NeverAgain26]

I have decided to buy an AR and I have need of some advice. I was thinking of it serving double duty for plinking and possibly also hunting. I have a few questions:

1. I was thinking of getting it in .308 as I thought it might be more suitable for hunting a wider range of game than the .223. Any thoughts on that?

2. Is recoil from .308 in an AR unpleasant? I have shot 30'06 and .270 bolt rifles and I was fine with those. I have shot a .223 AR and the recoil was negligible.

3. I was looking at some models on DSA's website and the price was in the $1600-1900 range. I looked at Bushmaster and found the same price range in .308. Is there anywhere else I should look?

I am kind of torn as I know good AR's can be had in the $600-900 range. If I could find a good one, I would then probably look into buying a Beretta CX4- Storm as well (for plinking and SHTF carbine). Or would I be better served investing the money in the best AR I can afford and waiting till I build up some reserves for the CX4?

Any info/advice I can get is much appreciated.

NA26

 

[ny32182]

The recoil of an AR-10 is a lot greater than the recoil of an AR-15, definitely. But if you don't mind the recoil of a 30.06 bolt gun, have at it... for me, 30-40 rds of 30.06 has my shoulder in pain the next day. As you noted, you can fire thousands of rds of .223 without the slightest discomfort. For a SHTF situation, I'd take the .223 all day. For hunting, the AR-15 should be fine up to deer size game, but the AR-10 would have an advantage there, of course.

You can find Armalite AR-10s online starting at around $1200, iirc. You might also consider an FAL, for the better mag availability over the AR-10 if nothing else. Although Bushmaster's upcoming AR-10 line accepts FAL mags.

 

[Kodiak AK]

I have seen the DPMS panther in .308 for $899 NIB.

 

[Mulliga]

DPMS is a good gun, especially their .308s. The bushie .308s aren't even out yet, I believe.

When I was purchasing my bolt gun, I asked here about the recoil of .308/.270/.30-06. Everyone pretty much said the same thing - they're all about equal.

The Storm is a fine choice for a pistol caliber carbine if you aren't a traditionalist (consider a nice .357 lever action, for example).

 

[Kodiak AK]

My bad . Make that $819.00 from Kiesler

 

[NeverAgain26]

Mulliga: I do love my Marlin 1894SS in 44Mag, but I am adding to my selection, hence the AR.

Thanks to all for the replies so far.

Would I be crazy to try and build one on my own? Is it a task requiring a lot of fitting (similar to building a 1911) or is basically an assembly job requiring ordering the right components? I am far from being a gunsmith and I do not own a lot of gun-specific tools but if it's as easy as buying the right components and assembling them without much fitting, I might have some fun and get more value for my money.

I know there are a lot of threads on this, but I am hesitant I might not be skilled enough or have the right tools.

NA26

 

[Kodiak AK]

Building an AR is good . An AR10 is a bit harder to find parts for .

 

[BillL223]

There is not a lot of fitting to put an AR together from parts and there are inexpensive manuals to explain the process. Whether it saves much money is questionable. I've done a lot of work on my ARs but would probably buy an assembled one if I wanted another unless I had some criteria that wasn't available. Most hunters will want more then a .223 for deer. I consider it a varmit round. I have had good luck with Bushmasters and recocmmend them. I've handled but not shot some RRAs that seemed very nice, especially the trigger. I have replaced my stock BM triggers.

 

[liliysdad]

.223 handles deer just fine. Pretty popular in these parts.

 

[Gary G23]

For SHTF or plinking I would rather have a 5.56 AR (or an AK).

 

[Mulliga]

I think everyone agrees .223s are the best plinkers, but if you ever plan on hunting anything bigger than whitetail, it might be better to get a .308 AR.

From my last calculation you can theoretically save like 100-200 bucks by getting a stripped lower and a parts kit from a place like Model 1 (100 bucks for stripped lower, 450 for the parts kit compared to 700 for a complete Bushie AR form a place like AIM). Then again, I've read so-so reviews of Model 1 kits here on THR.

My advice - you already have a nice pistol-caliber carbine...perhaps that 500 bucks can be better leveraged toward a .223 AR (while still getting a .308 AR or .308 MBR/bolt gun). The Storm is somewhat handier than your Marlin, and obviously better suited to SHTF, but then again, so is an AR.