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Opportunity to buy AR-15 Help Please

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DelcoDave

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Aug 7, 2010
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I have the opportunity to buy an AR-15 Style rifle. I have very limited knowledge of these rifles. This is what I know. It is a Smith and Wesson M&P-15 Lower. The Upper I am told is from Black Rifles. And it comes with 3 20 round magazines.

2 questions... Is this a good setup? What would be a fair retail price to pay for this gun?
 
Don't do it! It would be the first step to an addiction know to some as Black Rifle Disease and a lifetime of AR troubles. :D

Seriously, the price depends on the components. Heavy barrel, light barrel, railed, etc... S&W lowers are fine. Have any additional details?
 
It looked like it had a standard 16" barrel. On the top it had the handle with the adjustable sight that was attached to a scope rail. Sorry I do not know the terminology.
 
The Upper I am told is from Black Rifles.
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Never heard of "Black Rifles" just make sure you aren't mistaking "Black Rifles" for Blackthorne/Vulcan/Hess -- about the only maker you can really go wrong with.
 
just make sure you aren't mistaking "Black Rifles" for Blackthorne/Vulcan/Hess
Click to expand...

Take this advice. I've never heard of "Black Rifles" either. The AR-15 is known as a/the "black rifle", thus the term BRD(Black Rifle Disease). You really need more specifics for us to give you an accurate assessment and fair market value. The S&W lower is fine but that upper sounds suspect. Get more details, research online, and post back here.
 
Never heard of them or anything bad about them. There are customer testimonials on that page, but only 3. You can roll the dice bro, or you can buy from a trusted manufacturer. How much is he asking for it?
 
Look for camoman99329 or somethinf like that. His post is around yours on thehighroad.org. (Obviously) "what's a fair price" is along the lines of his header. His rifle is a stag lower with a dpms upper and some odds and ends along with it. Take a look.
 
i can't remember ever hearing of them either. that means you're taking on quite a lot of risk. maybe it's a great product. maybe it's crap. i wouldn't take that gamble personally unless it was just a fantastic deal.
 
Seems to me all the uppers on that site are Stock Stag uppers or Stag uppers fitted with YHM rails and hardware. Stag and YHM are very quality vendors, S&W is also reliable.

Since you said that this upper has a carry handle I am willing to bet it is a stock M4gery type upper from stag arms.

However with no more details than you have given and without a pic or two I can't give you an approximate value for it other than to say if is not a custom upper on the rifle and you pay more than 1200 then you probably could have bought a new complete Stag for less.

Complete lower 200-350 almost anywhere on the web.

Uppers range from 400 to 700

Its the tacticool gizmos and add-ons that continue add more value to an AR after you have purchased it. These include scopes/sights, quad rails, lights lasers, grips, stocks ...you see the issue?
 
I wouldn't buy a frankengun for my fist AR.

Buy something that was built at a factory, so that if something doesn't work you can get it fixed. You can get into a S&W or Stag for a good price, and have a great gun from the start.

I bought a crappy frankengun 1911 for one of my first centerfire pistols and it made me distrust and dislike all 1911s. Don't do that to yourself with ARs...
 
Knights Armament SR-15 E3
Noveske
Colt 6920 or 6940

Don't fool around with anything less...especially an unknown parts gun.
 
I wouldn't buy a frankengun for my fist AR.

Buy something that was built at a factory, so that if something doesn't work you can get it fixed. You can get into a S&W or Stag for a good price, and have a great gun from the start.
Click to expand...
(Gun Terminology: Frankengun - a firearm made from a mix of parts, as opposed to a complete factory built weapon)

See link below for the only Franken-AR I'd buy. CMMG is a known good manufacturer. Although the weapons are sold as-is CMMG has headspaced & test fired them, so they're known to work, and are unlikely to have problems.

Yeah, the price really matters.
Click to expand...

Yep, Scroll to the bottom of the link for the two offerings: $600 for a 1:9 twist chrome-moly bbl, or $650 for a 1:7 twist chrome lined bbl.

http://cmmginc.secure-mall.com/shop/?cat=161
 
Dave
Unless you or a buddy you trust has some real experience with ARs I would pass and follow RatDrall’s advice. Just pick up a factory gun.
As you gain experience, morph it into what you really want. If you decide it’s not the rifle for you, you will get a much better price for a factory gun.
AR’s are very easy to work on, but it’s always easier to start with something that runs. Then again, it’s only money.
Good luck
Steve
 
Thanks everyone for your help. The guy wants 450 bucks for the thing. Is it worth it to gamble or should I just spend the money for a new factory one.
 
See if he'll let you shoot it first. If it runs well, then it may very well be worth $450. If you know someone else who knows how to evaluate AR-15s, and they give it the go-ahead, you'd probably be okay. You'll just have to weigh the pricing yourself. Is it worth an extra $200 - $300 to you to get a factory gun with a warranty?
 
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