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Thread: AR15 rifles. WHo builds an inexpensive and dependable rifle?

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    AR15 rifles. WHo builds an inexpensive and dependable rifle?

    I will admit that I know next to nothing about AR type rifles. I am currently thinking about buying one.
    I don't have a lot of money to spend on one and would like recommendations for an inexpensive but very dependable AR15 rifle in 223/5.56.
    I don't need pinpoint accuracy. I have bolt rifles for that. I just want it to work when I pull the trigger and be able to hit man size targets at 200-300 yards consistently.
    Who makes the good ones and how much should I expect to spend?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    2ndAmendmentNut's Avatar
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    Just about any AR will fill your needs of working when you pull the trigger and hitting a large target at 200-300 yards. The fairly cheap ARs that people seem to be pretty happy with are the DPMS and Ruger rifles. One word of advice is to not buy into all the latest and greatest mods, and avoid the piston operated ones. The original design was a gas operated system and it works very well. One modification I do really like is an adjustable gas block. Most stock ARs are seriously over gassed, this is to insure reliability with a wide range of ammo, but if you reload or only use one type of factory ammo it is nice to be able to tune the gas system. A well tuned gas system gives you mild recoil, regular ejection patterns, clean brass, and keeps hot gas out of your face.
    Last edited by 2ndAmendmentNut; 07-17-2018 at 09:29 AM.
    "I don't want men who miss." -Capt. Leander H. McNelly

  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    My two cents: Buy a new in the box Ruger. Keep the box and all the paperwork. If you decide the AR lifestyle isn't for you, you can sell the Ruger for minimal loss. Potential buyers will pay more for a used Ruger than for an equivalent unknown brand. If for some reason yhour Ruger is undependable, you have a real service department available to you.
    Remember: Ammo will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no ammo.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 376Steyr View Post
    My two cents: Buy a new in the box Ruger. Keep the box and all the paperwork. If you decide the AR lifestyle isn't for you, you can sell the Ruger for minimal loss. Potential buyers will pay more for a used Ruger than for an equivalent unknown brand. If for some reason yhour Ruger is undependable, you have a real service department available to you.
    You make a couple of good points I had not thought of.
    I do have a very experienced gunsmith available. He worked in the armory while in the military and knows the ar system very well.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    There are quite a few inexpensive AR's out there. So that isn't a problem. Lots of choices to pick from. Now you can build your own too. A few specialized tools and you can custom build your own AR. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to build your own AR either. The tools are easy to get too.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    I have had good luck with palmetto state armory. They usally have good sales around The holidays and you can buy the compleat upper or lower and get exactly what you want

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    +1 on Palmetto. Premium grade gets you an FN barrel for reasonable $. But the Ruger route is good thinking, too. I have one of each and a few more.
    They are fun, Tazman. Jump in.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

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    A $500 PSA will not have a chromed lined barrel
    I get the cheap ones, but the FN barrel makes sense

    I have two of these
    https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...dom-rifle.html
    $450
    Added Ozark rear sight ( no rear sight on Freedom Rifle) $20
    Added Vortex AR SPARC $200 +/- Red Dot
    They work well for me
    I have a few
    Last edited by jmort; 07-17-2018 at 01:16 PM.

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    ** not all 223's will shoot .556 cartridges the Ruger AR-556 Black AR-15 .223 / 5.56 NATO will

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    Palmetto state; hands down shopnthere sales and you can buy or assemble the best entry level AR at any price.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by jmort View Post
    A $500 PSA will not have a chromed lined barrel
    I get the cheap ones, but the FN barrel makes sense

    I have two of these
    https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...dom-rifle.html
    $450
    Added Ozark rear sight ( no rear sight on Freedom Rifle) $20
    Added Vortex AR SPARC $200 +/- Red Dot
    They work well for me
    I have a few
    I look for and buy their blems, premium uppers for cheap, and I've never noticed where the blem is. I haven't shot out a barrel yet, but if I do, they are a quick change and the money saved can buy me a new quality barrel.
    "Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it."
    ~Pericles~

  12. #12
    Boolit Master gnostic's Avatar
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    Just a suggestion, build your own AR's are the best way to go and the money's about the same. It's like buying a Harley, you'll throw half the bike away before you get it the way you like it. When you get into shooting your AR, you're going to want a good trigger, speed hammer, free floating nitride barrel and spare bolt carrier group. Aero Precision makes most of the part for the various brands like Spikes, etc. Stick with mil spec parts so everything stays interchangeable. I didn't spend a lot of money on mine and it rolls with the best of them...

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    I build my own ARs but 2 friends got the Ruger when it was on sale. One has a 'quality' AR & actually likes the Ruger better. GS got a PSA piston one and really like it.
    Whatever!

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    read my test on my under 400 dollar psa gun. You don't need a chrome lined barrel. As a matter of fact many will tell you there not as accurate. Ive got 8 ars none have chromed barrels. I shoot the snot out of all of them and have had a bump stock on a couple and have yet to see a barrel degrade in accuracy. Might be a slight advantage if you have a full auto gun and shoot it ALOT but the typical Ar guy that shoots maybe 500-1000 rounds a year will never see an advantage a chrome lined barrel has. Like was said if you even possibly do wear out a barrel a 100 bucks will buy you a new one and its about a 1/2 hour job to replace even by a dummy like me.

    If you want a cheap good shooting well built ar check out psa. If you want some fancy smanchy gun that's going to impress the navy seals at the range then spend over a grand on one. Just don't think its going to outshoot or even outlast a 500 dollar gun. To me its like comparing a savage to a weatherby. Weatherby might impress the guys at the range that don't really know guns but for a 1/3 of the price the savage will do anything the weatherby will and probably outshoot it to boot. Ive got a 1300 dollar colt and a 1000 dollar stag Ar. there darned good guns but my cheap guns shoot as well and are just as reliable. Not that that stag and colt aren't good guns but there surely not twice as good let alone 3 or 4 times as good.

    Now if you plan to go to war in a dirty nasty jungle buy the best you can afford. But id bet most of us are using them to bust cans at the range. Personaly I kind of chuckle at the ruger thing. they had an entry level ruger at the gun shop here and I watched a couple guys ogling over it. I think it was like 700 bucks. Next to it on the rack was a psa the gun shop owner put together. He had it for 550 and it had a phosphate coated barrel and a coated bolt that the ruger didn't and those guys wouldn't even look at it after seening the word RUGER on the lower. I laughed because the shop had two bare ruger lowers there for sale for 80 bucks a piece. told him he should have used one of those to build the gun instead of a psa lower. He could have no doubt sold the gun for 2 or 300 dollars more to some idiot that didn't know better.

    Want to buy one that's a small step up from an entry level gun. Skip the ruger and buy a stag or a cmmg. But even with that said id bet anyone here that would wager there gun that you bring ANY ar15 that costs under a grand and ill put that new psa gun I put together out of there cheapest parts against it. I have no doubt in my mind that with a couple weeks of load workup I can get a 1/2 inch or near 1/2 group out of it. Like I said in the other post it shot 3/4s of an inch with a bulk ball bullet and a powder primer and charge I just grabbed because I had the more of them then anything else. Just a genric load to bust beer cans. After I take your fancy chrome lined gas impingment ar away ill even go double or nothing against your best sporter weight bolt deer rifle. If I don't take that too id bet id make you awful nervous.
    Last edited by Lloyd Smale; 07-18-2018 at 08:08 AM.

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    ^^^ Makes sense to me
    I like my $450 PSA Freedom ARs
    Next step build one and save $100

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    My FN 15 costs $1000. My last build was $350. A tie in the accuracy dept.(very good).
    It's fun to build them; it seems like I always have one in the works.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

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    Boolit Master Jack Stanley's Avatar
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    I've seen S&W M&P "Sport" models used just under five hundred dollars recently . I pal of mine bought one several years ago with never a problem and it's still well within the accuracy you want .

    Jack
    Buy it cheap and stack it deep , you may need it !

    Black Rifles Matter

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    This is getting more interesting by the hour. I am learning a lot. Please keep it coming.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    Just a few thunks (thoughts that hurt ) about AR shaped objects.
    There are probably more companies making AR rifles than all other types of guns combined. Mostly because just about all gun makers produce ARs now days and a bunch only make ARs.
    You can spend $500 to $5,000 on an AR and there is a reason that the high dollar rifle is high dollar just like there is a reason a Ford Escape costs less than a Mercedes SUV. I bet your driveway doesn’t have a $120,000 SUV parked in it. You get what you pay for, but probably are smart enough to only buy what you need.
    I have a nice FN, I’ve owned a couple Colts, my wife has a Bushmaster (pre-Remington) ((yup! Just like Marlin ) and I’ve built a bunch of Frankenguns.
    Palmetto State armory is decent hobby grade stuff. I have a .300Blk pistol upper from them that is one hole at 50 yards. It is “over gassed” meaning that they took a SWAG on the gas port size and went large for better reliability. That rascal will function with some pretty light loads but the expense is harsh recoil and accelerated wear. I simply added a heavier buffer (the weighted part between the bolt carrier and recoil spring) and things tamed down immediately. No need for an adjustable gas block in this case. After a few hundred rounds the quad rail on that upper came loose and tried to fall off. I put the bolts back in with blue Locktite and a bit of torque and life is good.
    You can buy a complete factory gun, a complete lower and add a complete upper, build a stripped lower and add a complete upper or just build the whole thing from parts (Frankengun). But beware if you start building them it’s addictive. Just finding one loose pin in the parts box can lead to acquiring a whole new rifle.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    There is a lot of good information over at:

    https://www.m4carbine.net/

    Just be aware that the lead moderator is a bit testy and doesn’t suffer fools. But spending a few minutes at AR15.com will explain his fool phobia too. Neither site is the same type of people as here on Cast Boolits but some of them know what they are talking about.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check