Swamphunter Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 My wife just gave me the "green light" for a purchase of my first AR-15 after Christmas! Now I will spend the time researching and picking your brains as to what I should get and where to find. At work I carry a Colt AR-15, but hear that you pay a lot more for the name. Everyone is telling me to try different companies. What are you opinions? I want .223 cal. Mainly the gun will be acquired for target shooting and tactical reasons including home defense. Probably not used for hunting. Any info you can provide me would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coles Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 If you are looking for a tactical AR i would go with Smith & Wesson. They seem to be set up with all the rails and such. At work we have Remington, S&W, Armalite, DPMS, and Bush Master. Every M&P-15 we have is set up with full rails and everything you would need to make it as Tactical as you want. Everything else is just a plain old AR. Or take a look at the new one Ruger came out with. I dont know much about it but it sounds like a nice rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Some good ones out there Ken, would probably look closest at Rock river and dpms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Ruger is getting great reviews for it's SSR-556. You might want to check them out with their new piston drive bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierbuck Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 The downside the the Ruger is that there aren't a plethora of parts like with AR's. (I am assuming that parts are not interchangable with AR's, but I do not know this for a fact.) I have 2 DPMS rifles, one shorty and one varmint configuration. Good value, good performance. Have not owned other brands, but am very happy with them. Might talk to your department AR armorer and see about buying it piecemeal and having him assemble it for you. That way you can buy the upgrades you really want without having to pay for the stuff you don't. The lower rec. is the only serialized part you have to buy through an FFL, and that is less than $200. Don't forget Brownell's sells to officers at a discount, and there may be others that do the same. Get a Brownell's AR catalog and use that as a reference, if nothing else. You have PM. HB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Don't forget Brownell's sells to officers at a discount, and there may be others that do the same. Get a Brownell's AR catalog and use that as a reference, if nothing else. You have PM. HB Pretty sure when I was looking I saw a few places that sold at discounts to leo's. Might also check gunbroker for a reference on price to see what guns comparable to what you are after are going for new and used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocMort Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Rock River arms, DPMS or Cold all make good guns, never shot the MP15 but I am sure its good. One good thing is you make em all Full Auto for that fun in the field time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 Since the gun is as good as bought Ken, I would like to be the 1st to welcome you to the Evil Black Rifle Club:toot:. I have 3 AR's. A Colt H Bar, Bushmaster lower with a Colt Upper and a Stag Arms lower with a Rock River M4 upper. I am happy with the performance of all 3. The Colt is a paper puncher , the Bushy, a yote gun and the Stag M4 a plinker/ home defense gun. If you start with a name brand lower, you'd be good to go. The upper has most of the moving parts. There are 2 different trigger types for factory guns. Single and 2 stage triggers for target shooters. Most AR's run on the gas impingement Stoner system. Which in comparison to the the newer designed AR's (Ruger,Sig and FN) are piston operated guns( like the AK) which are cleaner operating with far less maintenance. As other have said you can build one, have your armorer assit you at your Dept. Purchase the lower, either complete or stripped and you can do the same with the upper. As Hoosierbuck has said, the lower is "the gun" as far as ATFE is concerned. Everything else you can mail order. As a complete gun purchase, I'd give a good hard look at a Rock River. Colts are over priced. Whatever upper you get, consider a flat top. It will allow you to install whatever optics you choose or good steel battle sights. Oh yeah...chambers come in .223 and 5.56 NATO. While the calibers are the same, the cases are a bit different. You can shoot .223 out of a 5.56 rifle, but you cannot shoot 5.56 out of a .223 rifle. The bottle neck on the case has a bit of a different angle. Meant for positive extraction during battle conditions. Many more bullet weights are available for the .223 config than the 5.56 platform. Good Luck and enjoy the black gun . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 Oh yeah...chambers come in .223 and 5.56 NATO. While the calibers are the same, the cases are a bit different. You can shoot .223 out of a 5.56 rifle, but you cannot shoot 5.56 out of a .223 rifle. The bottle neck on the case has a bit of a different angle. Meant for positive extraction during battle conditions. Many more bullet weights are available for the .223 config than the 5.56 platform. Good Luck and enjoy the black gun . Good info there, something else to consider is that rock river offers a .223 wylde chambering. Might be worth taking the time to check that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 Good info there, something else to consider is that rock river offers a .223 wylde chambering. Might be worth taking the time to check that out. Ken, The .223 Wylde chamber was designed as a match chambering for semi-automatic rifles. It will accommodate both .223 Rem and 5.56mm NATO ammunition. It is relieved in the case body to aid in extraction and features a shorter throat for improved accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottb Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 There is a new company in Kalispell, Mt that custom builds AR's. It's called SI defense, check out there web site, you might like what you see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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