Budget AR-15

[petrey10]

Budget = 800ish not to exceed 900 by any means... sorry

Use= plinking/fun/coyote/targets

Really like the looks of the flat top receivers so I would prefer one of those

I will be mounting 1-4x Vortex if I get the flat top if not then I will shoot the stock sights for awhile




SO WHICH GUN DO YOU GUYS RECOMMEND??? S&W?? Armalite?? Bushmaster??



Don't really want to do a kit gun at this point bc I am building a house in the near future... just want to add to my collection before we began

 

[wnycollector]

I personally would buy a complete upper and complete lower and just pin them together. JSE has a nice deal. Here are the links:

Upper $375 http://www.jsesurplus.com/18bd1x8ssmidfreefloattubeblemcomplete-limitedtimewhilesupplieslast.aspx

Lower $125 http://www.jsesurplus.com/surplusam...ial10thanniversarydiscountthrough53111-1.aspx

Buttstock $45 http://www.jsesurplus.com/leapersmodel4gen3re-enforcedcarbinestock.aspx

$550 total

Take the $250 and spend it on ammo

 

[Heck]

For $800 and not building I like this

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.a.../.223+Upper+Receiver&groupid=301&search=spike

and this

http://www.brownells.com/1/1/14852-...wer-receiver-w-buttstock-spikes-tactical.html

for around $600 I like the S&W MP15 Sport at (gasp) academy or the MP15 OR when CDNN has them on sale for about $650

 

[tommyintx]

forums.officer.com has an excellent write up called "so you wanna get an ar-15"

 

[Tirod]

Specify the features you want, shop that list, and choose from the brands left that offer it.

Picking the brand first means that's what's more important, can't answer which rollmark will look more cool to you. As should be obvious, there is no best. Too many choices, and no one authoritative group tests them side by side to determine it. Next year it would change anyway.

Just because, Rob-s has a NEW Chart out detailing which is milspec,etc. :https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr...akp2a3Y2NjMxTEE&single=true&gid=2&output=html

Since only you know what is important to you, research is going to be necessary. Taking a consensus poll on one forum will just record the bias of the few who answer. It wouldn't take much to get ten happy Olympic owners to skew that result.

 

[SN13]

I built an AR15 for $450 complete.

$130 for Lower and LPK
$20 for used A1 fixed stock and buffer/spring.
$300 for Complete A4 upper - Used.

And this was in Summer 2009, the year of the OMG OBAMA WILL BAN GUNS price hikes.

 

[gotigers]

+1 for Aim surplus

Also try:

Palmette state armory & Surplus ammo and arms

 

[rogertc1]

Centerfire Systems

 

[petrey10]

my requirements are

flattop with no fixed front sight... i like the clean look
at least 16'' barrel
bottom rail to accept light and vertical "handle"
totally black
customizable later when I get used to the AR 15 and all its accessories

 

[Horvath819]

I highly recommend DPMS for a great budget AR-15. I got my DPMS Oracle for $630 total cost and it has about 500 rounds through it with no failures at all. It performs just as well as my friends $900 S&W M&P15, he even asked if I wanted to trade lol. http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/793/products_id/70770

 

[Samson7]

I just ordered a Spikes Tactical. I shot a buddy's about a month ago and that was enough for me. I have shot some "top of the line" ARs in the past and the Spikes surpasses them in nearly every category.

You can buy a complete rifle with carry handle/site and all the bells and whistles for 850.00. If you order from their website (like me) you can use the coupon code ARFCOM and it will knock off an additional $45.00. I am local so I don't have to pay shipping, but I did have to pay states sales tax. I got out at $860.00.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I have shot some "top of the line" ARs in the past and the Spikes surpasses them in nearly every category.

Just curious, what were the other ARs and how did the Spike's surpass them?

 

[petrey10]

I am really liking this upper.... http://palmettostatearmory.com/2215.php


what is a good quality lower for my budget considering I got about 300 left for stock and lower? (i am keeping the optics seperate out of the rifle cost for now)

Spikes? PSA? BCM?

 

[petrey10]

ttt

 

[Z-Michigan]

It's going to be hard to get a complete BCM lower within $300. If you can, that would be a great option.

The lowers from Spike's and PSA are probably excellent, but I don't have experience with either, and neither has the same proven reputation.

You can often find the basic LMT lowers, with the M4 stock (not the $200 SOPMOD), for just a little over $300. If you can find one at an acceptable price, that is an absolute top quality lower, one I would personally choose even over a BCM. Here's one for $330:

http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bi...te=PDGCommTemplates/FullNav/SearchResult.html

A bit more money but you would never look back.

A $299 option that would also be very good (not quite as good) would be the S&W lower:

http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bi...te=PDGCommTemplates/FullNav/SearchResult.html

I have done business with G&R, they are a great small company to deal with and have an excellent reputation as well.

 

[TonyAngel]

I can vouch for the Spike's lowers. They're good to go.

Considering your price range, Spike's Tactical and Bravo Company come to mind. Both are nice rifles. Just based on tidbits that I've picked up here and there on the net, you may get a bit better service from Spike's right now.

BTW, I happened to be on William's Sights website last night. They have a bunch of used firearms for sale. They had some Colts for some pretty good prices. You may want to check them out.

 

[Mr. T]

I just bought a Bushmaster Carbon-15 with a Bushnell Red Dot scope for $699 at Gander Mountain. I just took it to the range on Sunday and sighted in the Red Dot and it performed flawlessly. It was right on the money in 4 shots. It's accuracy was very good and the trigger on it was even better. I fired 200 rounds through it without a hiccup. I was very happy with it's performance and if someone is looking for an economical plinker/varmint rifle I would have to recommend this one. The rifle weighs in at just over 5 pounds due to the carbon fiber receiver. It's just a great gun!

 

[madcratebuilder]

I am really liking this upper.... http://palmettostatearmory.com/2215.php


what is a good quality lower for my budget considering I got about 300 left for stock and lower? (i am keeping the optics seperate out of the rifle cost for now)

Spikes? PSA? BCM?

PSA's lowers are made by Aero Precision. I've build three of the AP lowers and they are gtg. Some have said the anodizing can scratch easy, all mine have been well within spec and tight fitting on billet and forged uppers. Shop around and you can find AP lowers for around $50, add shipping and transfer that's under $100 total. I like the ArmaLite LPK's with the two stage trigger for $120. Your choice of stock, try and get a true mil-spec RE, forged 7075. A lot of RE's are sold as mil-spec diameter but they are not true mil-spec construction.

 

[Tirod]

A 24" full float is a long range precision upper for scope use. Do you plan on range and varmint shooting? If so, it fits. That's NOT a 1x4, more like a 4x12 scope.

Lowers can be built for less than $300, but the target trigger than goes with the upper will push it at least another $150.

Time to reconsider and scale back, so far it's not looking like a coyote/plinker gun, and a 24" barrel may not be what you want even for the range.

A 20" with A3 upper would be on the long side, with fixed stock and an RRA trigger it will still go over $900 without some very careful bargain hunting. I built an AR this year, fixed stock, rifle handguards, $79 lower, $48 blem upper, and have more than $950 in it. I put my money in the barrel and bolt carrier, plain LPK with overtravel screw.

Since it's built to shoot live targets in the field, I avoided black.