Posted on 04/25/2009 1:36:34 PM PDT by wafflehouse
Today and tomorrow, theres a pretty cool gun show going on here in Kansas City. I was thinking of buying an AR-15, but there are apparently a lot of options. What is the difference, CMMG, DPMS, Olympic, Bushmaster, Colt? Is there anything specific I should look for while comparing these? I was thinking of the .223 chambered variant because there is at least some of that ammo available here. CMMG, DPMS and Olympic are about the same, right at a grand.. Bushmaster is about 1200-1400 and Colt is just straight out of my price range, 1600-2000. Any helpful advice on how to pick the best weapon would be greatly appreciated. Are there magazine capacity restrictions or any legal issues I should be aware of? I dont know a lot about rifles. Im an army veteran though, so I have put quite a few rounds through an M-16. There is just no ammo available for handguns around here on a constant basis or I might get something in addition to the .380 Bersa I have now. There are some cheap shotguns but I have never shot one before, and dont know anything about them.
Good advice. Try to find a good local store known for good prices. Go there before any show. Another option is buying direct from the companies like DSA or Bushmaster just need a local tranfer person.
I remember during Clinton that gun shows were like semi-hysteria when Clinton butted heads with the NRA and lost big time. My guess is the hyseria now is probably 3x Clinton - for good reason.
Any idea what they are like? I had read that the DSA FAL’s are very good. I know Bushmaster’s stuff is good.
Its crazy. Some guys just bought like 15k of ammo the other week and headed to the Tulsa gunshow to jack up the prices.
My local dealer has taken to rationing some calibers to keep people from hoarding
I dont know. Mine is a High Standard and I love it!
Yeah it is like a stock market bubble. Remember when Freon was being banned. Guys were buying it and filling warehouses with freon to store it.
I would go for a Saiga .223 it is an AK47 reciever but instead of it being chambered for the 7.62 it is chambered for the .223 If yu are familiar with AKs you know they are a breeze to strip and clean and can be done with no hand tools.
A 1 in 14 inch twist is slower than a 1 in 7 inch twist.
5.56 is not the same as .223. The specs for the 5.56 are military and the specs for .223 are SAAMI specs.
You can safely shoot .223 in a 5.56 chamber, but cannot safely shoot 5.56 safely in a .223 chamber.
Before prices went nuts ARs were like $750~$1200.
Most Manufactures make good AR’s (I dont know about Olympic)
STAG,High Standard;and DPMS all make fine AR’s
Yes, it's fine to shoot 5.56mm in an AR15 that's marked .223 Remington.
General rule of thumb is not to use military surplus 5.56mm in old bolt-action rifles marked '.223 Remington' that were manufactured long ago when the cartridge was relatively new for sporting use. Same thing goes for 7.62x51 NATO/.308 Winchester.
These would be bolt-action rifles from the 1950s-1960s I'm talking about here.
My favorite local shop got caught up in the hysteria and I will never buy from them again. I was looking for an inexpensive 22 rifle for my nephew to shoot, the shop told me they had a few used Marlin 60s, I went up there and they were asking $200 each for them, I told them they were insane and picked a new one up at Walmart for $150.
If someone is looking for an AR-15 and wants it soon they are probably better off looking at GunsAmerica or Gunbroker. The local shops I’ve seen either don’t have any or they are selling them for $500 over list. I found a local FFL who will do transfers for $30 and that’s probably what I’ll do from now on. I’m mainly glad that I bought plenty of ammo last year.
“I would get me a good shotgun”
I absolutely agree with Tarpon on this. Get yourself a good pump shotgun. An 870 seems to be a popular choice, although Mossberg seems to be a good choice too.
Buy a magazine extension for it so you can load it with 8 or more rounds. Ammo is still available for it.
If I could only have one gun, this would be it. You can hunt anything from squirrels to bears with it, and loaded with 00 Buck its a real man stopper. The only disadvantage is 35 yards is about its maximum range for self defense.
Buy one of these and you will still have money to eat with!
RE: twist: got it reversed...sorry....i do the same thing when i argue with my girlfriend whether black is the absence or the combination of colors.
Re: .223 vs 5.56. I have never EVER had, seen, or known of a FTE, FTF with any AR with either ammo on our range. The only time I have seen an FTF or FTE is when we screw on a suppressor to our full autos.
Just three days ago I picked up a Ruger p89 with four pre-ban mags for $250. I was looking for a pistol caliber carbine (there are zero availble around here) and bought this as a too-good-to-pass-up deal. Grabbed ten boxes of cartridges too. No ammo problem here (at least nines and 00 buckshot).
Need to know how many grains of powder to use to reload my .40 cal brass, using 180 grain bullets. I'm using Winchester 231 smokeless gunpowder.
How dare you get something wrong on the Internets.
First thing I’d wonder is if the magazine springs were ‘sprung’ Are the mags used?
That sounds like great advice.. i will look around for gun shops.
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