Has anyone any experience, or “know somebody” who has,
completed an 80% AR 15 lower and built the rifle up from there?
Build your own AR-15 Rifle for $560-$580
DIY AR-15 Build: Introduction, Parts and Tools Required
A little web searching will get you a lot more info.
FANTASTIC rifle to shoot. Accurate as all heck. Easy to clean (as AR-15's go.) The quality and craftsmanship of the Rock River is second to none. Absolutely loved it - until I took it on a fishing trip with me and ... well, boat capsized and it went to the bottom of the lake.
Just damn' I'm going to miss it.
Armalite > Rock River
But, here are the top tier ARs:
Noveske, La Rue, BMC, LMT, and Colt, Barret, maybe Daniel Defense and Spikes
Good mid Tier
PSA, S&W, Rock River, Ruger sr 556
Junktastical
Oly Arms, DPMS,
You do realize any comment on this post tells the government about your firearm capabilities and future abilities to arm yourself and others?
This is NOT a secure public forum where this subject should be discussed.
Loose lips will sink ships.
Unfortunately, gun posts like this will garner very little interest or responses on FR. So you’re probably on your own here. Also, everyone will be in complete agreement on what you should do, so the few people responding will all just tell you the same thing... ;)
Seriously, though, I have a RRA and the quality is terrific. I’m sure the Armalite is great quality as well, but don’t have one. The Colt and SigSauer ARs are really great also. The Colt M4 that’s factory equipped with all the Magpul accessories costs a bit more, but is a sweet AR at a good price.
You will have quality problems with neither. I recommend buying the cheaper model of the barrel length you want, and adding full magpul plastics, a PWS Muzzle brake, and a JP trigger.
You should really consider making your own. It's not mechanically difficult, you learn a lot about your rifle and it only requires tools that every AR owner should have for maintenance. You can either save money or increase reliability by rolling your own for the same amount as complete rifles from major builders. Barrel and trigger are where you should spend the most followed by bolt, upper receiver, then lower receiver. Make sure the rail is free float but otherwise it should be task oriented.
Optics/irons are a whole other story. Some would suggest you get used to irons but I'm leaning away from that now. Dual optics (scope and off-set dot) just offer far too many advantages to ignore. If you do decide on a scope buy the best you can afford that suits how you will most use the rifle. I've seen people put 1k+ scopes on ARs they only plink with, and others put 50 dollar knock offs on rifles they intend for self defense. Simple common sense suggests a happy medium.
IMO Satern barrels are the best followed by Noveske, Krieger, etc. For a decent value barrel I would suggest Rainier arms. For triggers it's hard to suggest anything other than Giselle but there are some decent alternatives I guess.
I enjoy my Stag Arms
You didn’t explain the purpose/usage of your firearm purchase. For personal defense, an AK47 is very reliable. or so I’m told.-)
I saw a Palmetto Armory M4 with aimpoint pro optics for 999$ on their website.
I suggest considering a Ruger Mini14 Tactical with collapsible stock, flash suppressor and rails. It can take any 0.223 cal loads, but also NATO 5.56mm, which makes it versatile. You can buy 10, 20 and 30rd magazines for it. It is rugged and less expensive than an AR15. Plus it looks baaad.....
Dude get a Windham HBC. For the dollar they are about the best AR out there right now. You can pick one up at Academy Sports right now for about $900. We have one and its sweet.
When we took it apart there were no machine marks, tolerances were very tight, bolt carrier is M-4 full auto style, and overall its just a very clean tight weapon.
I personally prefer a Noveske/Geissele combo. But then again I'm somewhat of a gear-ho'. d:^)
In my opinion, the best buy on the market when it comes to direct gas impingement AR's is the Windham. It comes with a lifetime warranty. They don't care if you are the first owner of the fifteenth - lifetime warranty means lifetime warranty. You can spend more money on an direct gas AR, but you won't get a better one.
The DPMS Sportical with a couple add-ons is a dependable 16”AR-15. A local shop here has them right now for only $639. I have several upgraded with full Magpul plastics (stock, grip, forend), a PWS Muzzle Brake, and JP Competition trigger with DUTY springs. Very good bang for the buck.
Youtube vid:
Rock River Arms AR15 Review by Nutnfancy
"Uploaded on Feb 26, 2012
RRA produces some of the best high value AR-15 variants in the world. They are extraordinarily accurate, reliable, and long lasting. In this in-depth review vid, I address my thoughts on "mil-spec" and Rock River's departure from it. The QA portion of the spec is desirable but adds substantial cost and it generally overkill for the average AR user. It also limits features to those determined by US Government committees...a bad thing. The civilian market has long been where the best guns are made. Some forum elitists may balk at the materials of the Rock Rivers and features but few have extensive experience with the type and therefore their criticisms ring carry no weight with me. Granted, on paper, the 4140 steel 1/9 twist Wylde chambered barrels, commercial buffer tubes, non-HP/MPI bolt carrier, lack of barrel chroming, and other mil-spec departures may seem disappointing. But that's on paper. Shot for over SEVEN years before this review, RRA AR-15s (LAR-15s) have been stellar performers under hard TNP testing. The Elite Operator2 and Entry Tactical, wearing a few modifications of my own (discussed), achieved 1 MOA groups with STANDARD BALL ammo. With premium 77 gr Fiocchi Match Kings, the groups shrunk to 1/2 inch. Keep in mind these are tactical carbine variations of the LAR-15, not target rifles with overly thick barrels. Most high end AR-15s, piston or DI, have failed to achieve this accuracy. And this accuracy testing came only after many 1000s of rounds shot in TNP tactical drills as well. You're getting a lot of gun for your money. Features included in most models add to the value and the guns' excellent ergonomics: 2-stage RRA match trigger (excellent), star selector, RRA gas block/folding front sight, RRA CAR Operator stock, Ergo or Hogue grip, RRA Tactical Muzzle Break (effective, I would not change it out if I were you), included iron sights, winter trigger guard, and choice of forends. Current generations of the RRA Half Quad rails (discussed) are too thick and heavy (17 oz) but they're getting better. The RRA Quad rail is currently too bulkiy and old school to be attractive however; avoid it. Application of the industry leading Troy Industries Alpha rail will lighten the gun, make it easier to grab, and faster into action. Reliablity, not attributable to ammo, was 100% with both steel and brass cased rounds, all brands fired. Weights are manageable for their configurations and the excellent heavier barrel profiles Rock River uses. Many models exist and you can choose your choice of barrel, grips, stocks, and accessories but these are my two favorite (add in the ATH Carbine as well with its cryo'd SS barrel). The receivers and internals are the same. Value is excellent for these stellar performers which I feel set standards for the high value AR market. Other great options exist which achieve the same as well. Unless you are sponsored shooter and run them as rentals, chances are you will never wear out these guns in normal use. We didn't. //////////////////////Nutnfancy Likability Scale: 9 out 10 for most models; with my mods as shown: 10 out of 10. Highest rec'd model is the Rock River Arms Elite Operator2 or ATH Carbine model for most POUs/////////////////////Music by MSquare Recordings, licensed with permission "
Both are good, well made guns and haven't given me any problems.
The Armalite comes with a chrome lined barrel and a 2 stage trigger, the Rock River you have to order ala-carte.
If you want a Rock River AR, be prepared to wait at least 3 months.
If you get a chance, look at a Sig. My brother bought one and it's a nice gun too.
To my friendly NSA watchdogs: UP YOURS. And you can tell your jug eared Kenyan boss he can go F*** himself too.
For a lot less money, especially compared to a first AR, why not a really nice AK?
Waffen Works has a very nice bulgarian AK74 semi auto that shoots the very inexpensive 5.45x39, still can be found for less than 20 cents a round.
Last I checked 5.56 is close to a dollar a round.
Even if you do get an AR, you can have a lot of cheap fun with an AK.