For the AR-15 Folks

[phddan]

"How many other AR guys do we have in here?"

My wife mutterd something about the 21st century, as she went to the other room to put her bushy up.


Dan

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

Tell your wife not to be mad at me! I meant "guys" as a general plural form, not males only! Girls with AR's, please, share them too!!!!

[CompVest]

Too late! we'll consider starting our own thread!

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

I'm sorry. Can I at least look at your thread to check out your AR's too?

Edited to add: You guys are just kidding with me, right?

[phddan]

Just yanking yer chain

She got hers for Christmas.

Dan

[nedmoore]

We need to see some more pics!

[CompVest]

I'm sorry. Can I at least look at your thread to check out your AR's too?

Edited to add: You guys are just kidding with me, right?

You are always welcome to look/read the Ladies Only threads.

[HighVelocity]

Uhoh.... My wife has not expressed any interest at all in "black" rifles before today. I said something about cleaning mine and she says; "You know, you can get one of those in a different color."

I think that might have been a hint.

[Nazrat]

HV, you just want to buy another one.

I have been having the AR15 v. M1A v. PTR91 debate in my head. Since moving to the coast last August, it became very important to have a bug out gun for the inevitable next hurricane.

Having spent 6 years in the Marine Corps, I know the AR15 well. It is a familiar if not favorite weapon. The M1A was also a duty weapon during one posting. It is truly a rifle but it seems to be the most expensive right now. The HK MP5 is my favorite weapon on the planet having used it at one duty station when I was the platoon sergeant for the Anit-Terrorism team so the PTR91 looks very intriguing.

Given that I prefer not to spend all of my money, does anyone have any suggestions on how to resolve my problem?

Thanks,

Troy

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

Hey Nazrat, I think I can help. I'd love to have an M1A, or one of the HK clones. I've always loved HK's too. But for the money, you can put together an AR-15 on your own, with very little trouble. The lower is really easy, you just need patience, a decent set of punches, brass hammer, and a special detent tool for the front pivot/takedown pin. And probably a handful of extra detents and springs! If any of you others have taken your AR down that far, you know what I'm talking about!! Those things FLY across the room if they get loose and you'll never see them again.

You can usually pick up a lower, depending on circumstances, for $100-$150. I've seen Stag lowers as low as $75. The average for me has been about $120 or so. I've also seen completed lowers in the $200-$250 range that come with all the parts already installed, if you're not mechanically inclined, or you're not a devout tinkerer like me, that may be the way to go.

You can get upper parts, or complete uppers. My suggestion is a complete upper. That's the hardest part to put together because you need more specialized tools, a vice, torque wrench and some other assorted things.

A friend of mine told me about Model 1 Sales. I know there are better parts available, but with the exception of DPMS lowers, and Wilson Combat barrels, both of my AR's use their parts. Both rifles that I built for my brother use their complete kits with the exception of the lower, and he's had no trouble. He even had a range sgt with the pd who was skeptical about it take it for a week and test it to his satisfaction. When he got it back, he said it was ok to carry on patrol, no problem. So that being said, you can find just about any configuration upper you want from them. I'll give you some ideas, and hope it helps.

Lower of you choice: $100-$150
Model 1 Sales Upper: $460 (includes A2 upper, standard hand grips, 4 position CAR stock, A2 front and rear sights, heavy barrel, A2 flash hider). All pretty standard and good stuff.
Accessories of your choice: $100-$200 for a couple of mags and sling, maybe a carry bag.

Projected total: $760-$910 for a whole set up.

Another bonus, it's just plain fun to put the things together! I really enjoyed that part of it as much as I enjoy shooting them now.

[Rugrash]

If you don't want to build one yourself, and want a nice AR goto http://www.talonarms.com

They're here in Houston and are extremely knowledgeable, have excellent customer service and carry quality stuff. Call them and talk to Rob. He built me a full custom rifle from the ground up for around ($2200). I had very specific things I wanted hence the price. You can also go in the other direction and get something really basic. Most of the times, that's the way to go. Keep it simple and you get something really nice like Tactical Texan mentioned for under $1000 for sure. Rob recently built me a 9mm conversion. The lower is a CMMG (with the trigger group and 9mm hammer) with my existing stock for about $185. The upper is a Rock River Arms with the required accessories (magwell adapter) to run 9mm's for about $700-ish. You prolly can save yourself a little bit of money if you build it yourself, but with the competition, selection and pricing out there, there are deals to be had.

Good luck!

Rug

ps. You're going to spend well over $1200+on an M1A or an HK clone like the PTR-91. It just depends on what you want to use it for. I've got a Springfield M1A Scout and I love it to death, I just don't shoot it much as .308 ammo isn't cheap. My AR(s) get alot more use. If you're in Houston, go by Collector's Firearms. They're waaaay high on pricing but you can at least go in there an actually look at M1A's and PTR-91's. I would recommend buying elsewhere though.

[nedmoore]

Couldn't help it, here is a new accessory. Got it from gripplates.com, Mike Clark who owns this company was very helpful. Got a matching t-shirt too.

[phddan]

Couldn't help it, here is a new accessory. Got it from gripplates.com, Mike Clark who owns this company was very helpful. Got a matching t-shirt too.

Nice rifle.

Dan

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

Dang it, Ned! You're a bad influence! First you started this thread, and now I have to go get one of those for each of my AR's. That "Infidel" will look good on my shorty, and I think the skull with bullet hole will look nice on my other one when I get it done!

[nedmoore]

Sorry Tac! Just make sure you clean the lower thoroughly before placing the plate on. I used mineral spirits. Gotta flashlight today too. I read on another forum about the brinkmann maxfire. Just as good as the surefire but less $$. Maybe I will post a pic with my new Infidel t-shirt.