Which AR?

[romr]

Hello everyone, so I'm new, yes it took these times to finally get me mobilized, but better late than never . I do own some nice weapons but know very little about the AR. What I do know is that I want one, I know prices have now gone up and I can understand that, however, I really don't want to shell out a couple grand on junk. I've seen a bunch go by all sorts of brands and all sorts of piece meal ones as well. I've done some research and I'm thinking Colt is the way to go? I've also seen some Law Enforcement ones go by can civilians purchase those? What's a good rifle to start to build on? I think I'd also rather have an 18" barrel. Any help is much appreciated, and please excuse my nubeness if I didn't post this in the right location.

[kimber_ss]

Maybe a Stag. Here's the big list...

AAC
Accurate Tool & Manufacturing
Adams Arms
Ad-Tek
Addax Tactical
AFM
Alexander Arms
Ameetec
AGP Arms
Ardel Engineering & Manufacturing
Armalite
American Spirit Arms
Anderson Manufacturing
Anvil Arms
Aero Precision
ATI
Arizona Armory
Barnes Precision Machine
Bartlett Enterprises
Battle Born
BCM
Black Heart International (BHI)
Black Hole Weaponry
Black Rain Ordnance
Blackthorne
BOHICA
Bushmaster
Barrett
CD Defense
Colt
Carolina Mountain Tactical
Cavalry Arms ( not producing, still available)
CMMG, Inc.
Century Arms
Centurion Arms
Continental Machine & Tool (CMT)
Core 15
Christensen Arms
Crusader Weaponry
C3 Defense
Dane Armory
Daniel Defense
Del-Ton
Delaware Machinery
Denny's Guns
Dalphon
Dedicated Technology
Diemaco
Dlask
DPMS
DPM Shops
D.S. Arms
DSA Inc.
DSG Arms
double Diamond
Double Star
Dreadnaught Industries
DSC/J&P Dist.
Essential Arms
Eagle Arms
Firebird Precision
FN Manufacturing
Frankford Armory
Fulton Armory
GATITO Arms
Good Times Outdoors
Gunsmoke
High Standard
Head Down Products
Hero-Guns
Hesse / Vulcan Arms
HK
Hughes Precision Products
Huldra Arms
Iron Ridge Arms
JD Machine Tech
JP Rifles, Inc.
Kaiser
Kies
Knight's Armament
Larue Tactical
LAR
Lauer Custom Weaponry
Legion Firearms
Les Baer Custom
Lone Wolf
Loki Weapons Systems
LMT
LRB Arms
LWRC
M2 Corporation
Magpul
McKay Enterprises, LLC.
MGI
Mega Machine
Mohawk Armory
Mossberg
Next Generation
NoDak Spud
Norinco
Noveske
Olympic Arms
Para USA
PAW Arms
Plum Crazy (Plastic)
POF
Predator Custom Shop
PSA (Palmetto State Armory)
PWA (Pac West Arms)
PWS
Quality Arms
Quentin Defense
R-Guns
Red Jacket LLC.
Red River Tactical
Remington
RGM
RIP Tactical
RND Machining
Rock River Arms
Rocky Mountain Arms
Roggio Arsenal
Ruger
Sabre Defense
Seekins
Sendra
Sharps
SLR-15
SI Defense
Sig Sauer
Sionics weapon systems
SOG Armory
Spikes Tactical
Smith & Wesson
SMOS
Surplus Ammo & Arms
Stag
STI
Stinger Arms
Superior Arms
Sun Devil
Tactical Innovations
Tactical Machining
TNW
USA Tactical Firearms
Vltor
Windham Weaponry
Wilson Combat
YHM Co.
Z-M Weapons
Zombie Defense

[Arkangel]

Well if you want a Colt, then get a Colt. I have nothing against Colt, but before this madness started I believed your money could go further. That was when Colt 6920's were $1200, now people are selling them anywhere between $2200 and $6000.

How much are you willing to spend? There are plenty of brands out there that will serve you well, yet haven't had their prices inflated quite as high as Colt.

[romr]

Wow, thank you for that list. A bit more overwhelmed now but at least you gave me a good data point . Thank you, I'll research that one...

[romr]

Yes I know what you mean, I so wish i'd have spent the cash back then I just kept putting it off. Either way I am thinking 2500 would still be doable for me now, the only problem is that I'm sure like anything else there are the Ferraries and there are the VW Beatles. I want a good weapon that won't give me the headaches that I have heard about, good dependable Honda accord or maybe even an Acura . Thanks! Are the LE models of the Colt available to be purchased by a civilian? Will the gun store give me crap about that?

[BBB114]

AR

All the current Colt rifles available to civilians are identical to the Law Enforcement version, minus the bullet button. I would stick with a 16 in barrel. You dont need to "build" these rifles, just learn to shoot them and put optics on if you want. That is all they need.

I love Colts, but you can also look into other high quality brands like Daniel Defense (there is a current thread to order for MSRP) LMT, and LWRC etc.

Boyan

https://www.Covered6.com

[Oceanbob]

Yes I know what you mean, I so wish i'd have spent the cash back then I just kept putting it off. Either way I am thinking 2500 would still be doable for me now, the only problem is that I'm sure like anything else there are the Ferraries and there are the VW Beatles. I want a good weapon that won't give me the headaches that I have heard about, good dependable Honda accord or maybe even an Acura . Thanks! Are the LE models of the Colt available to be purchased by a civilian? Will the gun store give me crap about that?

You won't find anything for a while. There are long, long waiting lists. Some are backordered one year.

Perhaps your best bet would be to buy from a Private Party off this forum. Make sure the weapon is not garage built by a first timer and has never been fired. Get something that is FACTORY stock and reliable.

Good luck.

[romr]

An update. SO I decided to build my own even though I have never done it I'm good with building stuff. I purchased an 80% and got it to 100%. I also bought 2 CMMG AR-15 LPK but I do have a couple of questions if anyone would like to help me out.
1. How does one differentiate an AR15 or an AR10 lower, are there any differences or is it just how you build it? Do lower part kits differentiate between an AR15 or an AR10 or can I use a LPK from an AR15 on an AR10?

2. Should I just purchase a complete upper or build my own? Any manufacturer's upper anyone would recommend?

3. Who makes nice quality components?

Thank you fellows for any help granted to this noob

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Some of the companies on that list have been out of business for years.

OP, if you want an AR15, get one. If you want an AR10 get one. The AR10 is like an AR15 on steroids. Some of the parts interchange, but not all. Do your homework on those.

It is (or was) easier for a new shooter to just buy a complete upper and be done with it. However, at the moment, that may or may not be the case. You are either going to have to scrounge, get lucky or pay through the nose to get one in the immediate future. Your best bet would be to go to several websites like Bravocompanyusa and sign up for alerts to let you know when uppers come back into stock. That way you can try to buy them as they hit the website. As for what companies, sorry, you are going to have to do your homework on that to decide what you consider to be quality. Many of us are good with Palmetto State Armory or Bravo Company for decent stuff. Others will say that DPMS, Del-ton or Model 1 sales are their minimum for acceptable. Others won't touch them. It is all a matter of personal preference.

-Mb

[romr]

Hey thank you very much for the information! I think that I'm trying to get a bit ahead of myself. I have what matters (my lower), I'll do more research. I guess I'm not really looking to build the top tier AR as I'm sure I won't be able to afford it, but something in the middle would be nice. I was thinking of purchasing one from the guys on here but the markups seem quite outrageous, which is expected, however, if I'm going to pay through the nose why not get something new instead? Just my thoughts. Thanks again for your advice, I am trying to learn so any info I can get my hands on I value

[BigPimping]

Get a pre built, factory rifle. Get a LMT if you can. This forum is a great place to buy. I havr bought many great guns from some cool members here.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Get a pre built, factory rifle. Get a LMT if you can. This forum is a great place to buy. I havr bought many great guns from some cool members here.

Sometimes this forum is a great place to buy. But we have been getting a lot of people in here trying to flip uppers or parts for outrageous prices. Like coming in and trying to sell new BCM uppers without bolt carrier groups for $950, when they had just paid $529 for them. Tacky. Very tacky. Personally I would wait a while. If you already have the lower, the odds of them passing anything that would outlaw uppers over the next few months is infinitesimal. Save your money and wait for the sheeple to either lose interest or run out of money. You already have other guns. Impulse buying at the height of a panic just isn't worth it.

-Mb

[snowdog650]

2. Should I just purchase a complete upper or build my own? Any manufacturer's upper anyone would recommend?

3. Who makes nice quality components?

Thank you fellows for any help granted to this noob

I would get a BCM upper. Go to their site, sign up for e-mail notification of uppers returning to "in-stock" status, and then buy one when they become available. You have to be quick, as they sell out in minutes ...

But after a few cycles over the course of a couple of weeks ... you'll get one.

For all the naysayers ... I have bought two uppers from BCM in this manner since 1 Jan. It's not as difficult as made to believe.

Bolt carrier groups, on the other hand ... you will be waiting a while for those. Just be patient and don't fall for the urge to pay $400+ for a bolt carrier group on gunbroker.com.

[romr]

Sweet, thank you.

I would get a BCM upper. Go to their site, sign up for e-mail notification of uppers returning to "in-stock" status, and then buy one when they become available. You have to be quick, as they sell out in minutes ...

But after a few cycles over the course of a couple of weeks ... you'll get one.

For all the naysayers ... I have bought two uppers from BCM in this manner since 1 Jan. It's not as difficult as made to believe.

Bolt carrier groups, on the other hand ... you will be waiting a while for those. Just be patient and don't fall for the urge to pay $400+ for a bolt carrier group on gunbroker.com.

[romr]

Just another quick question. So I am set on either one of these 2. What do you guys think?

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/AR-15-18-Rifle-Upper-Group-s/158.htm