school me on black rifles

[lowonair]

i have recently decided to get an ar15 style rifle after alot of thought. ive done some research on my own but dont really know whats what. i just want a basic rifle. i dont need anything over the top. i want either iron sights or something with a removable carry handle so i can use optics down the road. whats bothering me is what i dont know yet. tell me everything i need to know besides where to find ammo.

[roberts]

Decide if you want a carry handle with traditional iron sights or a flattop with optics. Buy a basic rifle with that type of upper. Shoot a few hundred rounds before adding stuff. Let your experience (not marketing) decide what to buy.

The other option is to find friends with ARs and offer to pay their range fee and provide the ammo if they'll let you shoot their AR. Shoot a few hundred rounds out of different configurations before buying your own AR. Let your experience (not marketing) decide what to buy.

[Purplehood]

I bought a Bushmaster AR-15 with detachable handle on a picatinny rail. That way if you decide to get fancy, you can eventually remove the handle and add the goodies.

[RECIT]

I agree about buying a rifle with a flat top upper and removable carry handle. I would get one with an A2 front sight post if you get one with a removable carry handle. I have a flat top receiver rifle right now that is useless to me until I get a scope that is worthy on it or a good set of iron sights. I am like you and want a basic rifle without all the woofy wowsers on it. I would buy a sling of some sorts or determine what fashion you want to attach a sling and buy the necessary gear to fit it to the rifle. Other than that determine what length of barrel you are wanting. I have had a 16" and a 20" and liked both of them fine. Both were plenty accurate out to the 100yrd mark with iron sights.

[TXRN]

I was schooled in the original M-16 back in 1980 by the US Armed Forces. After over a decade of carrying one I decided I never wanted to see one again. WRONG! I own two Bushmasters. One a basic M4 A2 and a Predator. The A2 (fixed carrying handle) has the advantage of a solid platform for the rear sight, ACOG TA01 will bolt directly onto the carry handle (I put one on mine) and you can actually carry the rifle by the carrying handle. DUH?! The other posters have written sound advice. Try BEFORE you buy. I knew what I wanted going in. I wanted iron sights AND optics. I also added Crimson Trace Grips LG525 that are specifically built for the A2 configuration.

The Predator is an ORC or Optics Ready Carbine. No sights or front sight post. It does have the P-Rail along the top of the upper receiver and 1/2 risers for mounting red dots, holo, or optical scopes. These rifles are literally tack drivers from the factory with some really nice features like a two stage trigger, aluminum tube hand guard, and a 5 round magazine. This is my long distance rifle. I can hit a coke can at 200 meters with the ACOG on my A2 M4, but the Predator, with the right scope is a 500+ meter weapon.

If you are local to Houston, I would be willing to go over my rifles with you and explain the necessary vs "nice to have" accessories for an AR-15. Good luck, David

[Aggie_engr]

Exactly what I was looking for, functionality. I ended up with a stag arms flat top with a front post sight and flip up rear already mounted. Has collapsible stock, sling mounts, forward assist, bayonet lug and flash hider, everything basic i was looking for, yet for an affordable price. The rifle has proven to be quite accurate and has functioned flawlessly every shot. The advice already given is good, but I personally wouldn't buy something that isn't ready to shoot out of the box.

Basically,
Sights, flat top, forward assist, bayonet lug, sling mounts, dust cover, collapsible stock and flash hider are all the things that I would look for.

[A-R]

Some great posts so far. I just bought my very first AR-15, so I don't have nearly as much experience as above posters, but am closer to being in same boat as you.

I bought mine slightly out of "fear" that the AWB could be re-instated any day. But I did hold out long enough to get the detachable carry handle type upper that I wanted. Ideally, I think I would've been a bit happier with a 20-inch barrel or even varmint barrel than the 16-inch M4 style barrel I got. But I've been pleasantly surprised with the accuracy so far out to 100 yards.

Mine is a Bushmaster "Patrolman's Carbine" purchased from Academy.

I have since started adding personal touches here and there. I too did not want one of those "Frankenstein" or "Transformer" looking rifles with accessories worth more than the original gun. My original thought was to just have a "stock gun" with maybe a tac light. But once you see all the possibilities, the "peronalization bug" will bite. Just try not to let it turn you completely into an accessories nut.

For what it's worth, here is a short list of items I've added:

* Ergo grip (my hands did not like the standard mil-spec grip one bit)

* M1 industries A2 front sight picatinny rails accessory (perfect place to mount a small tac-light if you're NOT planning to add a forward vertical grip). With a regular forward grip on the weapon, your forward thumb falls right into place to activate the tail switch of a tactical flashlight.

* VLTOR CK tactical flashlight holder (currently holding my Coast Tac Torch - soon to be replaced with Surefire 6P LED).

* Custom Defensive Products picatinny rail and forward sling mount - this replaces the front sling attachment (you have to pop out the retaining pin rivet) and slides into place along the bayonet lug mount. Makes a great spot to mount a tac light OR a bi-pod, plus the ambidextrous sling mounts are very handy

* Magpul ASAP rear plate and MS2 multi-mission one-point sling - not sure I made the right choice here, may have been swayed by marketing. Love the ASAP plate, which allows shooting flexibility when using a one-point sling. The sling itself I'm getting used to. But I do like ability to carry either one-point or two-point sling configurations with the same sling.

* CAA "saddle" for collapsable stock - since I bought the one Ergo grip that doesn't have a bottom plug (to allow storage of small items), I bought this "saddle" for both it's ability to hold multiple 123A size batteries, as well as the better cheek weld.

* Cheaper Than Dirt carry bag with Molle accessory pouches.

* BSA Sweet .223 scope - cheap, but so far accurate - for those rare occasions when I might use this for some long-distance shooting.

* 8 mags - two Magpul PMAGs (best I've used so far); two Pro-Mag steel, three C Products aluminum mil-spec plus the original Bushy mag

Only items I'm waiting for are an EOTech sight (would love to have an ACOG - but just can't drop $1,000 plus on a sight right now) and a BUIS. Once I get those, this rifle will be "set" for me and what I want.

All told, probably $2,000 invested when it's all said and done.

[BobCat]

Depends on your age (eyes deteriorate when you get old - like mine), and what you want it for. If you want it just to have it, almost any AR-15 will be fine- you will enjoy it and modify it to suit yourself and your needs as you perceive them. If you want to shoot Highpower you want something slightly different. If you decide to shoot NRA Highpower the flat-top / removable carry handle will not have enough available elevation for the prone slow-fire 600 yard stage.

I bought a flat-top and a scope in 1994, since they were going to "ban" them. Scope made it top-heavy and unbalanced. Wound up taking it off and learning to shoot the iron sights. Started shooting Highpower at a club that did not, at the time, have a 600 yard range - and the sights were fine for the reduced target / reduced range. I do not have any scoped AR-15s at this time. I did shoot one that a friend had a red-dot optic on, and it was really cool. And easy for my old eyes to focus on.

In you position I would get a basic AR-15 with a standard 20" barrel - I'd look for a faster twist than 1:9 (like a 1:8 or 1:7) - because the 1:9 are said not to reliably stabilize bullets heavier than 69 grains (but some people shoot 75 grain in them no problem). A 1:9 twist is fine for lighter bullets (the military standard was 55 grains - don't know about these days). My first one was 1:9 and it still shoots, but I use it for short line practice with 55 grain surplus bullets, and shoot a 1:8 in the match.

You are embarking on what I imagine will be a fun, rewarding experience. These rifles are amazingly accurate, have no real recoil, and are user-configurable. Have fun!

Regards,
Andrew

[rm9792]

I have gotten 4 cases of ammo from Woodbury Outfitters on gunbroker.com. Look for PMC .223. I got 2 cases for 398 each and he went up to $438 and I got 2 more. Ammo shoots great and isnt very dirty.

[ELB]

This (below link) is the single most informative thread I have ever run across on the AR-15 platform. It covers a lot of the nomenclature and reasons for various AR-15 related configurations and options, including barrel manufacture, rifling, gas tube lengths, and even how to buy it a bit more cheaply. It is oriented towards police who want to buy a patrol carbine, but I think it works equally well for civilian defense rifle purposes, if that's what you want. But even if you want a match rifle, it's worth reading "So you want to buy an AR, huh?" I've posted it here before, and people said they found it useful. Here you go.

http://forums.officer.com/showthread.php?t=81462" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

elb

FWIW, I ended up buying an AK, but that's another discussion.

[A-R]

This (below link) is the single most informative thread I have ever run across on the AR-15 platform. It covers a lot of the nomenclature and reasons for various AR-15 related configurations and options, including barrel manufacture, rifling, gas tube lengths, and even how to buy it a bit more cheaply. It is oriented towards police who want to buy a patrol carbine, but I think it works equally well for civilian defense rifle purposes, if that's what you want. But even if you want a match rifle, it's worth reading "So you want to buy an AR, huh?" I've posted it here before, and people said they found it useful. Here you go.

http://forums.officer.com/showthread.php?t=81462" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

elb

FWIW, I ended up buying an AK, but that's another discussion.

+1 that was one of the best sites I read about AR-15s before finally deciding to buy one. I didn't exactly follow his advice - wanted to buy something off the shelf to ensure I got "something" and not sit on a backorder slip for 4 months. But that Jwise guy really knows his stuff.

[JackRR]

Some great posts so far. I just bought my very first AR-15, so I don't have nearly as much experience as above posters, but am closer to being in same boat as you.

I bought mine slightly out of "fear" that the AWB could be re-instated any day. But I did hold out long enough to get the detachable carry handle type upper that I wanted. Ideally, I think I would've been a bit happier with a 20-inch barrel or even varmint barrel than the 16-inch M4 style barrel I got. But I've been pleasantly surprised with the accuracy so far out to 100 yards.

Mine is a Bushmaster "Patrolman's Carbine" purchased from Academy.

I bought the same M4A3 you did for the same reasons. I want to upgrade the forward rail grip to mount a light. I like your idea.
I got magpul 30 rounders and the same molle gun carry case with side pouches.
I bought a Millett Tactical DMS Rifle Scope 1x4x so I can shoot 100+ yds. My old age is catching up to my eyes. I'm still pretty good with the carry handle sights at 100yds but anything more would be too fuzzy. I got big screws on the mounts so I can switch back and forth easily between the carry handle and Millet scope.

[AEA]

If you are going to specify a bayonet lug, you should have a bayonet to fit it!

[ELB]

CDNN is running a weekly gun special on AR-15 type rifles thru Tue 26 May. Their email listed Bushmaster, CMMG, Colt, and Les Baer models, most running at just under $1000. They do not list firearms on their website, but you can call them at 800-588-9500 if you are interested.