Careful with "milspec". it is an over used catch phrase that has become tacticool. Mil spec is merely a beginning point of specifications a part must meet to be accepted by the military...and when was the last time the government bought the best thing they could find? If you are looking for accuracy and long range use plus remaining tacticool...look to stoner for a barrel chambered in .223 wylde. its the best compromise with 5.56 mm and .223 commercial ammo. I had a heavy barrel 18" inch threaded stoner in .223 wylde and could easily hold sub moa all day at 100yds. I could also run mid range/close up drills with it and not be overwhelmed by the barrel length or like folks who carry a 24 inch varmint barrel setup, could maneuver much quicker for in house work. Barrel was 250 or so...but in barrels u get what u pay for. If you go looking into Gas Vs. Piston....think about ammo costs....piston setups require more pressure to operate and cheap ammo wont cut it. stick with gas at first. easier to modify and cheaper to feed. My Adams Arms piston set up was wonderful...when fed xm193, it absolutely hated white box ammo and dont even think of steel case...just no power to push the piston.
I personally dont like kits. I like to pick what i want with out a company gathering parts for me. I may not want the barrel or another part in the kit...and i paid say 350 for the kit...now i gotta sell the part i dont want and spend the money to get the one i do want and or need. I like sitting down and logging time in magazines, internet dealers, local shops, and so on and so forth coming up with a grocery list of what i want. Then i go looking for the company/wholesaler who is having a sale...buy the piece of the week, and then move to the next. its the closest an adult can come to childhood...like a kid in the 80's sitting down and studying the montgomery wards christmas toy catalog...except our toys cost more. Think of an AR as your Man doll. you can dress it up get it naked and change its outfits often to suit the situation...if youre so inclined...you can sleep with it..thats on you...im not goin there...
If you need help building or have more questions there are lots of us on here, including "shooter" who can point you in the right direction or lend a hand.
-Ljungman
Ps...some pics of my big build...
I talked to some guys at profire and was recomended psa, also gonna check out bradis i plan on atleast a grand on this rifle,
buy your first and get intimate. i like understanding how things function, because only at that point can i build a replica and be confident in it. buy one, take it down to its guts, and rebuild it. when you start to understand it, then you can build the very thing your heart wants.
IMHO if you don't know who/what/how and never had any experience with an AR is to BUY your first. And when you buy your first, don't go cheap.
From my observations, those that don't know Jack, and "build" their first, usually buy low end parts because they don't know any better. Then this get's
changed for that with no knowledge of why and the problems start.
Do a LOT of reading on all the AR forums you can, educate yourself what is out there in the market, what brands to trust and which ones to stay away from. The easiest thing to do is go to your local Walmart and buy a Colt 6920. If you end up not liking thr AR15 you'll have no trouble re-selling a Colt. Build one from various parts and then have/need/want to sell it, you'll take a good loss to move it.
IMHO if you don't know who/what/how and never had any experience with an AR is to BUY your first. And when you buy your first, don't go cheap.
From my observations, those that don't know Jack, and "build" their first, usually buy low end parts because they don't know any better. Then this get's
changed for that with no knowledge of why and the problems start.
Do a LOT of reading on all the AR forums you can, educate yourself what is out there in the market, what brands to trust and which ones to stay away from. The easiest thing to do is go to your local Walmart and buy a Colt 6920. If you end up not liking thr AR15 you'll have no trouble re-selling a Colt. Build one from various parts and then have/need/want to sell it, you'll take a good loss to move it.
This is the best advice you've gotten so far. Right now you can buy a Colt 6920 for under $1K. That's the benchmark of quality throughout the AR-15 world. There's better and worse, but ultimately the 6920 is going to hold it's resale value better than anythign else out there. If you build a rifle yourself with silimar matching specs to the Colt you're going to save money without a doubt, but if you ever have to sell it you're going to get drastically less of your money back than you would a colt. I'm not a colt fanboy, but it's just a reality of the AR world.
After you've bought your Colt, then buy a rifle build kit from PSA. PSA makes kits with bare bones features for dirt cheap, around the $650 ish ccomplete gun price range. They also make kits that are going to be comparable to a Colt 6920 in the $800 complete range. Building your rifle is more to satisfy being an AR-15 junkie than it is anything else. You're going to save money, but the real benefit of building is being able to know your rifle inside and out and the pride that comes along with building something yourself.
Some people like to show off a piece of furniture that they bought, some people like to show off a piece of furniture they built. It's the same with AR-15's.
Never did see anybody answer the question about what brands they recommend. I am trying to choose myself on which one to buy for my first ar.
Never did see anybody answer the question about what brands they recommend. I am trying to choose myself on which one to buy for my first ar.
Never did see anybody answer the question about what brands they recommend. I am trying to choose myself on which one to buy for my first ar.