my friend wants an ar15.

[bullseyebob47]

he has plenty guns but is not a "gun person". im not an "ar15 person". but he wants one. whats the cheapest brand that will shoot steel case russian ammo? cause i know he will want the cheap ammo. he shops at wal mart, academy sports, and cabelas.

he has an ak47 that he never shoots along with his other guns. i already told him to get an sks to plink at 150 to 200 yards with. but nope. he already has the s&w 15-22.... that he never shoots.

 

[m3mh0g]

Both windham and bushmaster have their carbon fiber versions that are running between $650 and $800. While many people bash the carbon for not being the most durable things in the world I have one and am not in the habit if dropping my guns, nor am in a combat area where they would be beat on constantly by the elements. For your friend that sounds like the way to go.

 

[gotigers]

Personally, I would stay away from the carbon fiber ARs. Some of the parts do not interchange with the other 99% of AR parts. If he never plans on any changes, it will probably be fine.

Any AR manufactured by a name you recognize will be just fine for a first AR and will give years and thousands of rounds of un. All shoot Russian ammo. Russian 223 is weak, so some ARs short stroke.

If shopping at Walmart: The S&W sport is a good deal under $650. However, I would stretch my wallet and get a Windham. They are the old bushmaster. Bushmaster is now owned by Freedom Group and the new Bushmaster is made at a different plant. Both are good ARs, but the Windham is more of a known entity, IMHO.

 

[MistWolf]

You don't have to be in a combat zone to break a poly AR. One fellow showed us photos of one that broke in shipping to the gun shop where he worked.

By all reports, the quality of the S&W ARs have been better overall than the Bushmasters

 

[cowtownup]

I got my first one from.Palmetto State Armory and I've enjoyed it so far... I got about 700 or so in it after transfer fees and buying some pmags...

 

[Liberty1776]

my CMMG (cheap, standard AR-15) shoots steel case ammo just fine...no bobbles or hang ups or FTF or FTE or anything...

 

[Warp]

Any functional AR will "shoot" cheap Russian steel case.

If all he wants is the cheapest rifle, then the cheapest rifle is the rifle with the lowest price you can find. As long as it is a manufacturer you recognize, or look up and they actually exist as an established business/corporation (not a random guy working in his garage), then lowest price is all that he is looking for.

If he is going to own it just to own it and never really shoot it, like the AK, it won't really matter how good it is anyway. So why spend more money than necessary?

 

[gunsablazin]

Have him look at a DPMS Sportical, I bought one for $617.00 new at Wal Mart, and it shoots just fine. I have not shot any steel case ammo in it , but I see no reason it wouldn't work. I won't shoot that stuff in my guns though.

 

[M1key]

^^^ditto

The boy wants cheap...there it is. I actually owned one for awhile, and wrung it out pretty good with green tip...maybe some steel. The bore isn't chrome lined or melonite (as far as I know) so maybe go easy or avoid the steel...

My neighbor was wanting an AR during the "panic" and liked the price on the DPMS, so it's his now.

Good luck

M

 

[wow6599]

Stag Arms makes a good AR-15 for the $, and they told me on the phone (though I didn't ask, because I don't shoot steel cased ammo) that you can shoot all the steel stuff you want after something like 200 rds of break-in with brass cased ammo.

And they have a lifetime warranty on their rifles, even if you shoot the barrel out.

 

[Jackal]

My question is: If he has other guns that he never shoots, why buy him another one at all? You will never find a cheaper centerfire rifle cartridge than the one his AK is chambered for (about 24-28 cents per shot). The AK will easily do everything the AR will out to 200 yards.

 

[sappyg]

A cheap AR that will never be shot? Irrelevant I suppose. Get the cheapest one you can find.
I've shot quite a bit of steel through one particular AR. Hasn't been an issue. If the barrel wears out or the extractor breaks they are easy enough to replace but in this case it really doesn't matter.
Keep in mind lower priced ARs are usually sans sights. Not really an issue here unless it will actually be fired a few times. Check out DPMS and S&W.

 

[gotigers]

Many AR snobs don't like DPMS. Sure, it isn't Daniel Defense, but everything DPMS I've owned has been good stuff. Your friend would do fine with a DPMS for his first AR. As I said above, S&W and a few others are close to that price point.

 

[BobTheTomato]

Go to Walmart and the big box stores and see what they have. I do not see why any AR-15 wont cycle steel case.

 

[Warp]

Many AR snobs don't like DPMS. Sure, it isn't Daniel Defense, but everything DPMS I've owned has been good stuff. Your friend would do fine with a DPMS for his first AR. As I said above, S&W and a few others are close to that price point.

It isn't about being a "snob", it's about knowing what works and what doesn't.

I don't like DPMS. Why? They fail. Why do I say they fail? Because I've seen them fail. I've read about them failing. I've heard about them failing.

Their specs are sub par on paper as well.

But for the guy the OP is asking about...why. A DPMS would probably suit him just fine. They aren't total piles of garbage, they won't fall apart, they will usually work the way they are supposed to

 

[dprice3844444]

smith and wesson

 

[gotigers]

Sorry Warp. I wasn't speaking of you or anyone here. I have a some friends that HATE DPMS. I was speaking of those kind that just hate DPMS and have never shot one. If you have had a bad experience with DPMS, I understand. I have had a bad experience with CMMG, so I don't like CMMG. I apologize if I offended you.

 

[Warp]

No offense. I promise.

I'm not a fan of CMMG either, so, there's that.

Add RRA to that list as well.

 

[gotigers]

I don't want to get into the "tier one" talk, lol. For one reason is I am not an expert by any means. However, I do agree there are different levels of ARs. There are bad ARs; Vulcan, Hess, Whatever they call themselves now. Then there are Entry level ARs on up through high end custom. I won't get into which is which, that is an argument that I don't want to wage.

 

[chris in va]

I don't understand why he wants an AR he'll never shoot.

Regardless, I have had zero problems with my S&W. No steel case through it though. AR's typically don't like steel, maybe he should stick with the AK that is designed for it.

 

[Warp]

I don't understand why he wants an AR he'll never shoot.

Personally I think the majority of firearms are not shot very often.

 

[OARNGESI]

for what your friend wants a dpms will be fine a s&w sport may be a good choice too.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Have him give a budget amount and then go from there.