Did I buy the wrong AR15?

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 12/23/2016 | J Hines

[w1n1]

Are you with that crowd that is still sitting on the fence figuring if you're gonna buy an AR? Or, maybe you decided that you wanted to invest in one but not sure of which brand? Or, you did get one but still not sure if you got the right AR15?

You can go cheap to high end. Obviously, the good cheap are Ruger, M&P and others. High End would probably be Daniel Defense or Cobalt Kinetics. Or, you can let this guy from Wrangler Star Youtube explain his reasoning for going with a DDM4V7, yeh its a Daniel Defense brand. You can hear what this fella had to say about his AR choice here. Please chime in and let us know if you're an AR owner and why/how did you choose the AR that you have.

[military cop]

Amateur.

I carry a DD Mk 18 on the job. Like it a lot.

In my experience, the best AR is the reliable one that hits what you are aiming at.

RLTW

[WayneS]

Thanks. I was already leaning towards the Garand because I already have several .30-06 rifles but none in .308. And even though they seem to be a bit less expensive, an M1A would mean adding another cartridge to my stocks of ammo, getting another set of reloading dies, etc.

[Pollster1]

I HATE autocorrect... Garand!

It's almost Christmas. I assumed that was intentional and clever.

[Pollster1]

What do you like about DD that is better than the mid-range or cheap AR makes?

[Drew68]

I went with the Armalite Eagle-15. Basic, entry-level carbine for $599. I was sold on the .223 Wylde chambering which optimizes it for both .223 Rem and 5.56 NATO.

[Tailback]

I’m amazed it took 11 posts for the first AK fan to hijack a AR-15 thread.

I’ve got a polish pkms underfolder AK that I love.

That said, I like my bushmaster lower with a LaRue billet upper, LaRue floated handguard, GTS tactical barrel cut from a Mike Rock 5r blank, and tuned Rock River 2 stage match trigger.

The AR-15 is a modular system. Once you have your upper and lower receiver, you swap out parts till you get what you need/want.

[Tailback]

Cold hammer forged barrels of better steel. Properly staked gas keys. MPI tested bolts.

Most people wouldn’t notice the difference, unless they had a gas key come loose.

[Jimmy The Snake]

S&W MP Sport-2 - satisfied. Came with sight on Election Day Sale!

[dware]

After years and years of saying, "Someday", I finally bought my AR. I went with the basic Diamondback model, since it could be had for under $600. I've since put a little over $100 in furniture on it, from hard sites to a bipod and a laser site.

There are people out there who actually believe the more they pay, the better they are. I suppose that remains to be seen. Far as I'm concerned, those types can spend their cash however they want, and if they look at it as a status symbol, whatever. I'm gonna have a good time with mine, and I'll have some pocket change left over.

[mylife]

milspec is milspec, choose yer flavor.

[mylife]

And it’s made in TX!

[IndispensableDestiny]

I entered the world of evil black guns with an off-the-shelf Colt LE6920 with all the evil features. Since then, I’ve only built my own (uppers and lowers) from quality parts. You can spend as much, or as little as you want and still have a reliable weapon.

[Celerity]

The first truck is White. White is now Volvo. Volvo trucks are good because the 6 last White Truck employees are involved.

I have a Beretta because Taurus is garbage.

My AR is a Colt 6920. It’s not competition-quality. It doesn’t have a buttery trigger. But it’s a real AR15.

[isthisnickcool]

That Colt is a great rifle. I still have two brand new ones in boxes in one of my safes. Paid 400 each for them years ago.

[animal172]

Sig M400. My wife loves it. I watch myself a lot more after buying it for her.

[showme_the_Glory]

Does it hit where you’re aiming, every time? Yer good.

[super7man]

At the very least, get a couple of lowers for $80 each. Build as budget allows.

[MHGinTN]

When you put enough 5.56 ammo through it to have bought two more just like it, you know you have a winner. The Ruger is a solid rifle, but so is one built by buying an inexpensive MOE lower from Palmetto State's Armory then putting a mid length complete upper from the same place on that lower. Costs less than 550 dollars to have a really good reliable AR.

For noobies, if your new rifle has hiccups after the first 100 rounds through it, try different weight buffers and put a flat wound spring in the buffer tube and you will have a gun that runs like a sewing machine. Standard guns with mid-length gas system use a 3 ounce buffer, but your gun might need something slightly heavier --an ounce or two-- or lighter if shooting heavier or lighter bullets than standard 55 grain ball ammo. ... And the CMMG .22lr conversion kits work great in the AR platform, just put a strip of one side sticky Velcro on the front of the .22lr mag where it goes up into the mag well --not on the mag well-- so the mags don't wobble around when shooting.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Go cheap and get 2. You’ll never be sorry. They are all fun.

A viable alternative, go buy 3 mini-14’s. The whole family can go out Christmas day and wreak havok on your old TV’s, old dishes you can’t seem to throw out. Go to the Grocery Store and buy lot’s of cheap soda and out of date mellons and other produce.

Fun for the whole family.

Merry Christmas to the whole family!!!

[mikeandike]

I believe that whichever AR you choose, it should be put through its paces for it to be trusted for self defense. A good carbine class will help with that along with regularly putting rounds through it. You will know if it is dependable after a while. If it isn’t, get another one.