Walmart ARs

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ravenous2110

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I hate to be the guy to ask, but here goes:

My local Walmart has recently added three ARs to their gun rack. One is a Smith and Wesson M&P, one is a Colt, and the other is a Bushmaster. All are chambered in .223, and have 14.5" barrels. The Colt is about $1000, and the BM and S&W are $900.

I am looking for a rifle that is semiautomatic, relatively light maintenance, and fun to shoot (i.e. not a shoulder-slammer). It will be mainly for shooting targets and coyotes at no more than 200 yds.

Would I be wasting my money to purchase one of these ARs?

Any advice you experts can offer is appreciated!
 
are these 14.5" barrels with a 1.5" Flash hider permanantly attached? The 14.5 is a SBR without the perman attached muzzle device.

Given the price differences (assuming that they are legal 14.5" with perm attach FH or a 16" bbl), the Colt would be the clear winner unless the BM or S&W is loaded up with extras.

Don
 
I would have thought Wal-mart would have gotten better prices. I was at Academy looking at a tan SigSaur AR (M400) with all magpul furniture for $900.

Next to their Bushmaster ACR for $2400, the Sig looked downright cheap. ;)
 
The length quoted is almost certainly incorrect. They have to be 16"+ barrels. You can get some aftermarket uppers with attached flash hiders but I can't imagine Wally World carries them.
 
I doubt they are 14.5" barrels. Colt and S&W don't even sell rifles with that length barrel. I'm sure they are 16" barrels with carbine-length gas systems... that is the most common setup, and it is what all of the Wal-Marts here are carrying.

As for whether it is a good deal, that does seem to be pretty close to the going rate for those rifles... however, I believe there are better bargains out there overall when it comes to AR's. For instance, you can get everything you need to put together a Palmetto State Armory rifle with all the same mil-spec features of the Colt, for about $650 shipped if you order a stripped lower receiver, a Lower Build Kit, and a complete upper, and put the lower together yourself (which is an easy job that anyone can do). Plus, unlike Colt and S&W, they have different length barrels and gas systems available, so you can actually get that 14.5" barrel if you want (actually theirs is 14.7"), and have something closer to a mil-spec M-4 carbine. Also they sell rifles with mid-length gas systems, which work better with 16" barrels. They also sell 20" rifles with gov't-profile barrels, which those others don't offer.

PSA is the way I would go if I were in the market for an AR... actually, I am! I just placed an order with PSA a couple days ago for everything I need to complete my stripped lower I bought from them several months ago.
 
Oops! Meant 16" barrel. Looking at 2 pages at once. Also yes, it has attached flash suppressor.
 
Given the prices, I would select (did select) Colt. By the way, ravenous2110, welcome to THR!

Geno
 
The Sig AR is the M400 and the MSRP on it is about $1,100.

So Walmart has it priced just a little under MSRP, which IMHO is no reason to buy one from there instead of buying from your LGS.
 
I have the S&W 15 Sport. Very well made, very accurate, lite weight, easy to handle, with a lifetime warranty. Do a Google search on user reviews before you buy anything. S&W has several other models that are sweet rifles.
 
One of my Wal Marts has a DPMS Sportical for 580. Not a bad deal for a cheap AR. If you just want a bargain, there are definitely cheaper options out there. Building your own or ordering a entry model like the M&P15 Sport. Most gun stores can do book price on specific orders like that.
 
Sure buy one of those rifles preferably the colt... but dont buy it at walmart unless you want them to run all the gun stores out of business like they do every other store
 
Sure buy one of those rifles preferably the colt... but dont buy it at walmart unless you want them to run all the gun stores out of business like they do every other store
Click to expand...

:rolleyes: Don't people ever get tired of beating this dead horse?

So Walmart has it priced just a little under MSRP, which IMHO is no reason to buy one from there instead of buying from your LGS.
Click to expand...

Wal-Mart IS one of my local gun stores. I want them to keep selling guns the same as I do Joe Blow's House O' Heaters. I buy from ALL of them.
 
Wal-Mart here sells the Windham SRC for $799 + tax. You can buy the rifle, but not any .223 ammo to go with it; they have not had any .223 (at that store) in a couple of months.

I bought the Windham SRC from the "local" gunstore at a gunshow. I paid $826 + tax, so it co$t me a little more to support the local guy; but, I was able to buy some Magpul magazines, Magpul sights, and ammo was available too.
 
I have been underwhelmed by AR prices at WM. For the same $900 they want for an entry level, no frills Bushmaster, I can get an entry level S&W M&P-15 from my LGS for $50 less. Or I can probably build my own with a Bravo Co Mfg flat top upper and PSA lower for less still.

Of those choices though, I'd go with the Colt.
 
same here. With those choices I'd get the Colt. Otherwise, there are better priced options.

A walmart close to me has those same ARs and a few others. Most notably a DPMS LR308 for $897.
 
Some years ago I was told by a very knowledgeable man that TV's in particular sold at Wal-Mart were "sub standard". Over the years I have learned that Wally World will put just about anything on their shelf's that can be sold a a price that smaller business's can't even buy the product for. A owner of a Pawn/Gun shop told me once that firearms at Wal-Mart were in fact lower quality. I found that hard to believe but it did peak my interest. Any thoughts on this?
 
WALKERs210 said:
A owner of a Pawn/Gun shop told me once that firearms at Wal-Mart were in fact lower quality. I found that hard to believe but it did peak my interest. Any thoughts on this?
Click to expand...

Well, that owner is a competitor of Wal-Mart so I would take what he says with a double dose of salt.

Second one would have to believe that either the gun companies have a separate "Wal-Mart production line" or the gun companies are doing something that the computer semiconductor world would call "binning", whereby products manufactured on the same line are evaluated on quality and assigned accordingly.

Finally you would have to figure that the gun manufacturers are willing to put their reputation on the line by letting Wal-Mart sell inferior products bearing their logos.

I would believe that Wal-Mart mostly stocks the economy models from the various brands. I do not believe Wal-Mart would sell products inferior to the same models being sold at other establishments. That being said, I have no personal experience with any firearm purchased from Wal-Mart.
 
liability issues--wally world would not sell inferior stuff--they have deep pockets and they don't want grubby fingers in them.:evil:
 
Quote:
Sure buy one of those rifles preferably the colt... but dont buy it at walmart unless you want them to run all the gun stores out of business like they do every other store

Don't people ever get tired of beating this dead horse?


Quote:
So Walmart has it priced just a little under MSRP, which IMHO is no reason to buy one from there instead of buying from your LGS.

Wal-Mart IS one of my local gun stores. I want them to keep selling guns the same as I do Joe Blow's House O' Heaters. I buy from ALL of them.
Click to expand...

Well said, CajunBass.

Originally Posted by WALKERs210
A owner of a Pawn/Gun shop told me once that firearms at Wal-Mart were in fact lower quality. I found that hard to believe but it did peak my interest. Any thoughts on this?
Click to expand...

Pure bs. If anybody believes otherwise, I'd love to see the documented evidence of same.
 
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