First AR Suggestions

[Noah]

I am sure this is a pretty well fried topic, but I was hoping for some fresh advice (most stuff I've looked up is a few years old+) on a first AR, as simple, inexpensive, but solid as possible. I have looked at the S&W M&P Sport, CMMG, Bushmaster Carbon-15, Del-Ton... I'd like to be able to get one at a LGS or Gunshow some time in 6-18 months, so something available would be nice. Gun show on Sunday had zero S&W Sports, a few Carbon-15s for $700, but those don't have the best reviews... Lots of DPMS guns as well.

Anyway, what are a few brands to look for and avoid, if I want an M-4 type AR for home defense and backyard plinking? Basically an AR I can take out back, have fun shooting with cheap ammo, and then stick back in the bedside case ready to roll in case I have uninvited guests. I would like to pay as little as possible (of course!), IE $600-$800, and don't want to mess with building one unless someone here has a really good idea and can give me an honest pep talk that it is really simple, easy, and cheap. Could be. I'm not much of a gunsmith, more of a pop the jammed casing out with a Swiss Army and field strip and lube when I'm done kinda guy.

Not looking for any bells or whistles, Just a flat top receiver, basic CAR handgrips, with Irons of some sort. Grab a case and some nice mags and some boxes of ammo and be done. Until I need more ammo.

I'd rather get a gun in 5.56 compared to a .223, and different question, do most ARs, especially inexpensive ones, handle steel case ammo well?

 

[mshootnit]

Noah here is what I have done several times.
I don't know if the prices can be replicated in this market, but I bought a stripped lower for well under a hundred, and a parts kit from Stag. Then I upgraded the trigger with a Geissele SSA-E trigger. I also added a magpul stock kit (ctr stock, milspec buffer tube, carbine spring, H buffer) Then I prowl gun broker till I find the upper I want. A quick search turned up a very nice Windham M4 style upper just last night for example for a very reasonable price. If you do it this way you get set up exactly the way you want and with good components. Assembling the lower is easy.
My two uppers are an Armalite 6.8 SPC carbine upper and a Del-Ton middy. Both can shoot under 1.5" at 100 yds.

 

[tryshoot]

My Bushmaster m-4 handles all ammo well. Metal case is no problem at all. Mine is not carbon. It is 5.56.

 

[DNS]

Smith and Wesson's building some superb ARs.

 

[Owen Sparks]

My suggestion? Don't hang a bunch of accessories on it or you will turn a light handy carbine into a front heavy clunker. All you need is a light, really.

 

[JonathanE]

Noah,
What worked for me first time on the cheap: Stripped lower from local gun store.
Del-Ton kit on line. I was very impressed with the service and quality for the low price. They'll send you the upper already assembled and headspaced.
Assemble your lower with the included parts kit while watching the Brownell's videos on their website (watch the videos first to see how simple it is).
Have a set of punches, needle nosed pliers and a light hammer on hand. Maybe I'm wrong, but with a collapsing stock, I don't even think you need the special wrench. (The torque is so low you can do it by hand.. I understand the torque is much higher for fixed stock).
You'll have a great time!
Mine groups Tula (cheap) steel cased better than Lake City 193s

 

[Noah]

Yes I was looking at the Del-Ton kits on their site, but they are all out of stock. And Owen, I wasn't even planning to have rails up front, I found a USMC M-4 with an ACOG, a foregrip, a sling, and a light/laser/NVG designator to be a lot more clunky than the things I am looking at, yes.

 

[gatorjames85]

Facing the same situation recently, I did the following:

-Bought stripped lower locally and put a cmmg lpk on it
-got stock kit from palmetto state armory (psa) and installed it
-bought $350 midlength madness upper from psa
-got a bcg from bcm

I think psa is still running a special for $350 midlength and $300 carbine uppers and they have an FN cold hammer forged barrel. If you have any mechanical ability whatsoever, you can build a lower. Just look up the cmmg youtube video and be careful with the trigger guard housing ears. If you don't want to build it, you can probably find a complete lower locally also.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I purchased a Bushmaster with short barrel and welded-on izzy flash supressor. It has a handle to which I mounted a Leupold Handle Mount that fits snugly into the U-shaped upper contour of the handle, with a single bolt holding the mount tightly into place (through the existing hole in the middle of the handle).

I installed Leupold QR (Quick-Release) Rings and a Leupold Vari-X-I 3-9x40mm Scope. I can literally remove the scope or put it back onto the rifle in a matter of no more than thirty seconds!

When I remove the scope (with rings attached), then reinstall the scope, the gun shoots zero every time, they are such a good, tight fit.

The Leupold mount has a round hole so the OEM rear and front AR Sights can be used when the scope is off the gun. One thing Leupold did not do was they did not machine the allen head bolt head to hide it when looking through the mount's hole for open sights. I carefully marked the orientation of the bolt head and carefully used a round file to remove some of the head so the bolt is mostly not visible when looking through the scope mount hole using the OEM sights.

Some people may not like THAT part of it, however, it works fine for me. The scope is zeroed in for my expensive Barnes Triple Shock X Bullet loads and the OEM Iron Sights are zeroed in for factory ammo.

With the open sights, I can easily hit a basketball-sized rock offhand at 200 yards, nearly every shot. With the scope and Barnes loads, I can easily hit rocks the size of a fist at 200 yards using a bipod, off a bench.

I installed a Timney AR-10 Drop-in Trigger assembly rated at a crisp 4 pounds with little to no creep and little to no over travel. The reason I went with the AR-10 trigger vs. the AR-15 is that the AR-10 trigger has a bit larger (thus heavier) hammer. I also installed the Bushmaster Titanium Firing Pin, so I have a spare OEM trigger and spare firing pin, should I (or someone else) ever need them.

I did install a Harris Bipod Stud on one of the forearm grip halves. I bought the Delta Ring tool so I can easily have the bipod stud on the bottom, or I can move it to the top if it is in the way and I am not using it, just by turning around the forward grips.

If you buy ANY AR tools, the Delta Ring Tool at about $15. is well worth it, saving to have three men and two boys holding that Delta Ring down while removing the front grip halves!

 

[Jet-mech]

I've been happy with my Del-Ton . I built mine from a stripped DT lower, DPMS lower part set, Mils spec buffer tube, H buffer, Magpul MOE stock, and a DT 16" carbine flat top upper in 5.56 nato. It works perfectly with steel or brass cased ammo. All together I've got just under $700 bucks into mine. I had to hunt around the web but found my upper for $375.

Really building an AR is pretty simple. If you buy an assembled upper it's even easier. Took me a total of 30 mins including the time I spent looking for one of those pesky detent pins that went flying across the room. PLus there is a certain feeling of satisfaction that comes with a home build as well as a greater understanding of the weapons mechanics when you DIY. Not to mention you get what you want as opposed to what's on the rack at a store.

 

[gatorjames85]

You also save on the Federal Excise Tax if you buy a separate upper and lower.

 

[mdauben]

For an good, inexpensive finsihed gun, I don't think you can really go wrong with a S&W M&P 15 Sport. I have one I bought last year and I have no complaints and I don't recall reading any negative reviews from people who actually bought one. The only problem is, they have become so popular they seem to be hard to find these days.