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.
Shotguns are one of the few things that haven’t gone crazy price wise, and they are very useful in a variety of scenarios.
ive never messed with an AK.. that was one of the main reasons for getting an AR is im familiar with the M-16.
Isnt one of the advantages of an AK using the bigger 7.62 round?
thanks for the info and link on this
From the gun shows I've been to lately, you won't find any bargains there. My local gun shop has AR 15's for reasonable prices, at least given the current market. From the posts I saw on this thread, my experience is a bit unusual. One poster recommended Gunbroker.com or Gunsamerica.com. I don't find the Gunbroker.com prices to be very appealing, but again, I'm somewhat spoiled by the local gunshop, although I would point out that even their prices have gone up lately.
Good luck and good shopping.
Good post. yeah I mentioned people can go to DSA or Bushmaster direct and buy. Both companies have web sites and you can buy direct. I have not been to Bushie for a while but DSA is quoting their AR’s for $1050.
I really want one of their STG 58 Austrian FAL’s for $1100 as a back up to my Bushie. I love their FAL’s but they are $1700. I am not sure how good their AR’s are but the company supposedly has a pretty good reputation.
There are a LOT of companies making ARs now so people may be able to find web sites to buy direct then ship to your local FFL.
GunsAmerica and GunBroker are another option but some of the inventory listed is pricey due to the hysteria.
Yes, and like I said they are easier to clean and maintain. Get a little dirt into an AR-15 and it might jam, pack an AK full of mud and it will still fire.
are FALs better than AKs? whats the difference?
Brownell’s has an “AR15 Builder” on their website now where you can pretty much design your own from scratch. I played around with it a while back, you should check it out.
When I bought my AR pattern rifle I specified the 5.56mm chamber for just that reason.
I've had excellent luck with my Rock River. It comes standard from the factory with a 2 stage 'match' type trigger. That's usually an option that costs a hundred bucks or so from other manufacturers.
As far as which one's 'best', well that's an argument for a months worth of Sundays. Find one you like that's within your budget. You'll be well served IMO with any of the major makers.
Bushmaster, Colt, Rock River, DPMS, etc. Any should function properly provided you take care of it and fire the proper ammo.
Best of luck to you.
L
FAL is more a european design with .308 which is a heavier bullet than .223. An FAL is heavier and holds about 20 rounds versus 30 for AR.
The word was the Aussies in Vietnam (yeah they were there) had FAL’s and the NVA and Cong avoid them. The US doctrine was lighter bullets to improve mobility and carry more ammo aka “spray and pray.”
There are more knowledgeable guys here than I so I will defer to them.
AKs are cheap, cheap ammo, throw em in the mud or river and it still fire. AR’s need to be cleaned and are more accurate but finicky and less stopping power. An AK is probably fairly accurate out to 100 yards while an AR is to 300 yards or more.
I think (not sure) that an FAL is in between the too rifles. Supposedly the SEALs and Marines are using the M-14 upgraded to try to make it more like an AR but with the .308 stopping power plus more like an AR for holding more ammo.
During Vietnam there was a battle where actual soldies wanted to keep the M-14 (heavier gun .308 like FAL). The paper pushers and devil vermin like McNamara wanted the M-16 (AR). The asses never provided cleaning kits on the early M-16s and kids were shoot in firefight as they were trying to clean and upjam their guns. Hopefully - McNamara will burn in hell for that one.
well there are piles and piles of ARs at this show lol
They're completely different platforms. FAL's are chambered in 7.62 X 51mm NATO, a true 'high power' rifle round roughly equivalent to a 30-06.
AK's are chambered in 7.62 X 39mm Russian, an intermediate power cartridge roughly equivalent to an American 30-30.
FAL's are a good deal more expensive than the average AK. A decent FN-FAL type rifle will run well over a thousand dollars US. AK's can be had, depending on manufacturer, for about half that.
So one really can't compare one to the other. It's an apples and oranges kind of thing.
FN-FAL rifles are thoroughbred highly capable full power battle rifles. But they're a bit finicky about ammo, expensive, and not all that easy to come by.
AK's are rugged, reliable to a fault, and very, very common these days.
Ammo for the FN will be, generally speaking, more expensive than ammo for the AK.
Are the prices in line with list? If so you should get one.
I have a P85. A relative in the Army had a friend that could get great “deals” and got me a used ex-cop P85 (which is like the 89 (model before)) for a bargain price of $300. I was new to guns at the time but I knew the deal sucked but already sent him the money. Oh well. LOL!
Anyway it is a great gun. Rugers are great - like pickup trucks. They ain’t always pretty but they will shoot anything reloads you name it and are as reliable as anything in the world. You pull the trigger on a Ruger and it will work.
Good service by Ruger too. You got a good deal and a good gun.
is .308 and 7.62 ammo the same deal for an AK? is there a difference between those rounds?
The 5.56 chamber has more generous allowances and the cases therefore have a larger size allowance.
SAAMI specs on the .223 are tighter on chambers and ammo.
The issues arise when a 5.56 round at the upper end of the size allowance is stuffed into a .223 chamber at the lower end of SAAMI allowances. Case mouth is tightened down on bullet, pressures increase to the failure point resulting in bad juju.
As a gunsmith, I would definitely recommend following the manufacturers warnings and would NOT fire 5.56 through a .223.
there are some very reasonable shotguns but i dont know anything about shotguns. never shot one. there are tons of different rounds for them and i have no idea about any of it
Back in ‘69, my brother and I bought a couple of 98K Mausers at Alexandria Arms (just across the river from D. C.). They were still covered in packing grease. That was some cleaning job.
My brother owned some land in the hills about 25 miles north of Charlottesville, VA, and we used to camp out there on the weekends in the summer. We worked late on Friday night, so we’d get up there around 10 or 11pm.
The first time I fired my Mauser was at night. That first round was amazing. It seemed to me that flames shot out of the barrel at least three feet. It was probably only 6 or 8 inches, but it seemed like 3 feet.
Anyway, that was the first, and only, high power rifle I’ve ever fired. I don’t remember what happened to that thing. I’m sure I sold it to some stranger. Anyway, I kinda wish I’d hung onto it, for such a time as it seems we’ll be facing in the coming months or years.
It was some kinda fearsome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LvB0IwDDhQ
SIGH.
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