Alright, so I recently picked up a Gen5 Glock 19 and all the shopping around has me wanting to get another AR-15. I stepped away from the hobby and sold most of my gun stuff about 5 years ago but I'm trying to get back into it now.
I'm not looking to build one just yet, I would rather get a complete one right now, then modify it from there. My next one will be a build I'm sure, but that's a thread for later this year.
The problem is that I picked one heck of a time to try and get back into this. I've gone to 5 different shops around the Indy area and called others, rifles are flying off the shelves. I really liked the S&W Sport 2, seems like a cheap way to get back into it and be able to get some shooting time in soon, but impossible to find right now without going to a store like Cabellas. Well I was at Bradis guns today as one of my stops, the only Smith and Wesson they had was the Non-Sport M&P 15. From what I can tell reading online, the main difference is all of the chrome lined parts that come on it already, 1/7 twist vs the 1/9 twist on the sport, and the carry handle vs the flip up rear sight.... for an extra $300ish. I haven't owned an AR in over 5 years, but through all the reading and searching I've done on here I cant tell if its actually worth the extra money. I love the look of the carry handle over the flip up sights, and any sort of optic would be a later upgrade, if one at all for this rifle. I would rather get really good with the iron sights and build a new one with an optic down the road.
I'm not totally set on Smith and Wesson, I just hear good things about them and their customer service. If there is anything better for under the $1000 price point I'm open to suggestions. Just looking for a solid AR to get back into this, and something that can hopefully be a duty rifle down the road.
Non-Sport- around $999 at LGS
M&P®15 | Smith & Wesson
Sport 2- $700ish
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/mp-15-sport-ii
So save some money up front and get some accessories? Or start with a better base and wait on the upgrades for later?
As far as what I like, the Non-sport seems like the better option with the upgrades. I just struggle with what the actual value is in them. I've attempted to look at what it would cost to upgrade the Sport 2 to make it more comparable, but there are far too many options for a novice to know what exactly they are looking at. I was already struggling with the price range difference in quad rails.
Thanks for any advice, I'm glad to be back.
I'm not looking to build one just yet, I would rather get a complete one right now, then modify it from there. My next one will be a build I'm sure, but that's a thread for later this year.
The problem is that I picked one heck of a time to try and get back into this. I've gone to 5 different shops around the Indy area and called others, rifles are flying off the shelves. I really liked the S&W Sport 2, seems like a cheap way to get back into it and be able to get some shooting time in soon, but impossible to find right now without going to a store like Cabellas. Well I was at Bradis guns today as one of my stops, the only Smith and Wesson they had was the Non-Sport M&P 15. From what I can tell reading online, the main difference is all of the chrome lined parts that come on it already, 1/7 twist vs the 1/9 twist on the sport, and the carry handle vs the flip up rear sight.... for an extra $300ish. I haven't owned an AR in over 5 years, but through all the reading and searching I've done on here I cant tell if its actually worth the extra money. I love the look of the carry handle over the flip up sights, and any sort of optic would be a later upgrade, if one at all for this rifle. I would rather get really good with the iron sights and build a new one with an optic down the road.
I'm not totally set on Smith and Wesson, I just hear good things about them and their customer service. If there is anything better for under the $1000 price point I'm open to suggestions. Just looking for a solid AR to get back into this, and something that can hopefully be a duty rifle down the road.
Non-Sport- around $999 at LGS
M&P®15 | Smith & Wesson
Sport 2- $700ish
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/mp-15-sport-ii
So save some money up front and get some accessories? Or start with a better base and wait on the upgrades for later?
As far as what I like, the Non-sport seems like the better option with the upgrades. I just struggle with what the actual value is in them. I've attempted to look at what it would cost to upgrade the Sport 2 to make it more comparable, but there are far too many options for a novice to know what exactly they are looking at. I was already struggling with the price range difference in quad rails.
Thanks for any advice, I'm glad to be back.