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update: thanks for the help!!!! here she is! 
First off, let me thank you in advance for any advice and time you give to my confusion regarding entering into the world of ARs. I'm a longtime handgun shooter and instructor who is very comfortable with firearms however I'm not a pro yet on the world of rifles.
There is such a large amount of knowledge, opinions and reviews across all areas of these rifles that I'd imagine its likely to confuse even experts and overwhelm newcomers like myself and so I'm turning here for your advice and thoughts. I started off my rifle game with a 10/22 last month & after upgrading the stock and throwing on a Leupold site I was instantly comfortable & shooting superbly with it. Last year I'd bought a .308 FN PBR and couldn't even get on the paper, got frustrated and sold it after only one trip to the range (it felt like the wrong first rifle for me and I got more than I paid for it so it worked out).
and so.... I'm now looking at a nice AR in 5.56.
The confusion and trouble started when I asked the first person for advice. I'd seen a cool Stag arms at the range, asked a friend about it and he said "no no, get a LMT lower, and throw a LaRue stealth upper in 18" on it" and further went on to explain how great LaRue is bla bla. After some more research I was excited to see LaRue OBR rifles in 16" and 18" which seemed right up my alley(very high quality, accurate, durable and though a little pricy not stupidly so). Everything about these rifles seemed to be relatively understandable and LaRue customer service was kind and helpful to my inquiries so I drove down to rifle gear this morning to hold the 18" OBR with the intention buying it on the spot. And this is where the trouble began!
The guys are Riflegear couldn't be nicer or more helpful, I will be giving them my business for years to come and can't say enough great things about how patient and informative they were with me. That being said they shared many things I'd previously not even considered. Weight of the gun, what my intended use was, other offerings in the market, materials of the gun etc... First and very importantly to me was weight. I'd not even thought about weight before handling the LaRue vs the LWRC and Daniel Defense but it quickly became apparent that for someone like myself a gun on the lighter end of the spectrum will be much preferred( I'm short & skinny [save the comments!, genetics]). The Daniel Defense I held was 6lbs and felt so much more comfortable when compared to the LaRue OBR, even more comfortable than a light weight LWRC they had (which was twice the price roughly). That being said LaRue has their new PredatAR offerings which weigh roughly the same as the Daniel Defense I handled and I've seen LWRC's stretch lightweight and other offerings that will get me in the 6-7lbs range.
Previously I thought I could get a rifle that could be a tactical urban battle gun, easy and reliable under defense conditions while also accurate enough for somewhat long range sniper usage but I learned that doesn't really exist. Whats most important to me to have a gun thats very reliable, shootable and useable in a urban/tactical environment than it is to have a bullseye shooting gun for long distances. Weight is a factor because I'd imagine after carrying around the gun all day the difference of 6lbs vs 11lbs could be the difference in life or death. So, the end of this longwinded venting and story is a solicitation for your thoughts on Daniel Defense vs LaRue PredatAR vs LWRC vs anything else you'd suggest. 16" or 18" barrel and why? Rail length/options and why? Types of barrels etc...optics etc....
I don't have a unlimited budget I also don't mind paying a bit more for something that I'll undoubtably love for years to come. In a perfect world I could keep the cost of the gun reasonable(under 2k) to leave room for optics, accessories & ammo but if there is a gun that meets all of my criteria that is more than that I'd be ok with it. The Daniel Defense I toyed with has a wonderful pricing point(in the 1.4k range I believe) and if that's not eclipsed by some major features I'm unaware of then it seems like a great purchase. I definitely don't feel it necessary to spend money on a better brand name or unjustified expensive things but features like LWRCs piston system vs standard gas etc seem very intriguing.
Thanks again and I eagerly await your input.
First off, let me thank you in advance for any advice and time you give to my confusion regarding entering into the world of ARs. I'm a longtime handgun shooter and instructor who is very comfortable with firearms however I'm not a pro yet on the world of rifles.
There is such a large amount of knowledge, opinions and reviews across all areas of these rifles that I'd imagine its likely to confuse even experts and overwhelm newcomers like myself and so I'm turning here for your advice and thoughts. I started off my rifle game with a 10/22 last month & after upgrading the stock and throwing on a Leupold site I was instantly comfortable & shooting superbly with it. Last year I'd bought a .308 FN PBR and couldn't even get on the paper, got frustrated and sold it after only one trip to the range (it felt like the wrong first rifle for me and I got more than I paid for it so it worked out).
and so.... I'm now looking at a nice AR in 5.56.
The confusion and trouble started when I asked the first person for advice. I'd seen a cool Stag arms at the range, asked a friend about it and he said "no no, get a LMT lower, and throw a LaRue stealth upper in 18" on it" and further went on to explain how great LaRue is bla bla. After some more research I was excited to see LaRue OBR rifles in 16" and 18" which seemed right up my alley(very high quality, accurate, durable and though a little pricy not stupidly so). Everything about these rifles seemed to be relatively understandable and LaRue customer service was kind and helpful to my inquiries so I drove down to rifle gear this morning to hold the 18" OBR with the intention buying it on the spot. And this is where the trouble began!
The guys are Riflegear couldn't be nicer or more helpful, I will be giving them my business for years to come and can't say enough great things about how patient and informative they were with me. That being said they shared many things I'd previously not even considered. Weight of the gun, what my intended use was, other offerings in the market, materials of the gun etc... First and very importantly to me was weight. I'd not even thought about weight before handling the LaRue vs the LWRC and Daniel Defense but it quickly became apparent that for someone like myself a gun on the lighter end of the spectrum will be much preferred( I'm short & skinny [save the comments!, genetics]). The Daniel Defense I held was 6lbs and felt so much more comfortable when compared to the LaRue OBR, even more comfortable than a light weight LWRC they had (which was twice the price roughly). That being said LaRue has their new PredatAR offerings which weigh roughly the same as the Daniel Defense I handled and I've seen LWRC's stretch lightweight and other offerings that will get me in the 6-7lbs range.
Previously I thought I could get a rifle that could be a tactical urban battle gun, easy and reliable under defense conditions while also accurate enough for somewhat long range sniper usage but I learned that doesn't really exist. Whats most important to me to have a gun thats very reliable, shootable and useable in a urban/tactical environment than it is to have a bullseye shooting gun for long distances. Weight is a factor because I'd imagine after carrying around the gun all day the difference of 6lbs vs 11lbs could be the difference in life or death. So, the end of this longwinded venting and story is a solicitation for your thoughts on Daniel Defense vs LaRue PredatAR vs LWRC vs anything else you'd suggest. 16" or 18" barrel and why? Rail length/options and why? Types of barrels etc...optics etc....
I don't have a unlimited budget I also don't mind paying a bit more for something that I'll undoubtably love for years to come. In a perfect world I could keep the cost of the gun reasonable(under 2k) to leave room for optics, accessories & ammo but if there is a gun that meets all of my criteria that is more than that I'd be ok with it. The Daniel Defense I toyed with has a wonderful pricing point(in the 1.4k range I believe) and if that's not eclipsed by some major features I'm unaware of then it seems like a great purchase. I definitely don't feel it necessary to spend money on a better brand name or unjustified expensive things but features like LWRCs piston system vs standard gas etc seem very intriguing.
Thanks again and I eagerly await your input.
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