AR-type Rifles

[Saul]

I thought it would be better to create a new thread instead of derailing the Tiny 10 thread. For those of you with an AR-type rifle, why did you choose the one you did? I am in the market for one and @Red Leg has me considering Daniel Defense...

 

[WAB]

I like accuracy. Mine are custom rigs, match triggers, very good barrels (two have black hole polygonally rifles barrels). To give you an idea, my 6.5 Grendel shoots sub 2”, 5 shot groups at 300, I have a 5.56 that shoots about the same and a DPMS in 7.62 that shoots moa out to 600. The uppers and lowers are a mixed bunch, I don’t know how much that matters, they all seem about the same. The barrels, triggers and optics are where I put my money.

 

[Royal27]

I thought it would be better to create a new thread instead of derailing the Tiny 10 thread. For those of you with an AR-type rifle, why did you choose the one you did? I am in the market for one and @Red Leg has me considering Daniel Defense...

What's the purpose?

Saying you're in the market for an AR is only slightly less vague than saying you want opinions on which hunting rifle to buy?

 

[mdwest]

Daniel Defense makes an excellent AR... you wont go wrong with that choice..

I own 4x AR's... 2x in 5.56... 1x in 350 Legend.. and 1x in 458 SOCOM..

Who to buy from IMO and what caliber you choose, etc.. I think is largely going to be driven by budget and intended use..

I built all 4 of my AR's myself.. you can literally build a good, reasonably accurate, combat reliable AR for less than $400 these days.. and do it in less than an hour.. with very limited knowledge and tools.. YouTube has enough videos showing you every single step of the process to make it incredibly easy if thats the route you want to go..

If you want a tack driver.. you're going to pay for it.. whether you build it youself with precision parts.. or you buy something from one of the better manufacturers like LMT, LWRC, Daniel Defense, etc..

Same goes for a tacti-cool gun... if you want all the latest, greatest, fancy crap you can put on the platform.. youre going to pay for it... whether you buy one of the higher end models from someone.. or build it yourself..

But if you want something that will do 2 MOA or better, that goes bang every time you pull the trigger, etc.. you can build that yourself for $400.. or buy it off the rack from one of the larger manufacturers like bushmaster, ruger, S&W, etc.. easily for less than $700...

For home defense and general range plinking the 5.56 guns are great.. mags are plentiful and affordable.. ammo is usually pretty easy to find and not expensive.. etc.. and AR's are like 1911's.. they are very easy, and not all that expensive to customize..

I built the 350 legend (30-30 ballistic equivalent) and the 458 SOCOM (45-70 ballistic equivalent) specifically for pig hunting in TX.. they deliver a whole lot more power on delivery than 5.56.. but offer the same familiarity of platform that I have carried professionally and personally since the 1980's..

With other calibers like 350 legend, 458 SOCOM, 6.5 Grendel, 300 BLK, etc.. you'll find that there is A LOT of commonality of parts.. but there are always a few things that are unique to the different caliber.. for example the 350 legend uses 100% the same lower and upper, to include the same bolt, bolt carrier, etc.. the only thing different on the gun from a 556 gun is the barrel... but.. 350 Legend wont feed from a standard AR15 556 magazine.. you have to get 350 legend mags...

Whereas a 458 SOCOM will use standard 556 mags with no problem at all.. but you have to have a different bolt than the 556 gun.. and you need to have the ejection port milled out to reliably eject the bigger/fatter cases..

 

[mdwest]

The barrels, triggers and optics are where I put my money.

+100000

 

[AtlBGhunter]

I love Daniel Defense and have several rifles...Ive also got a CMMG and LMT pistol.

 

[spike.t]

Got a pws 114....its what they had here..not too much choice in that type of rifle here..other is usually mini14...very happy with it

 

[BeeMaa]

I'm currently looking at a DD5V3 or the DD5V4 in 308WIN.
It's a good place to put my 7.62mm suppressor for Feral Hogs.
Not an inexpensive option, but you get what you pay for.
Buy once, cry once.

 

[Saul]

What's the purpose?

Saying you're in the market for an AR is only slightly less vague than saying you want opinions on which hunting rifle to buy?

I am in the market for an AR for defense, range, and just in case there is a ban.

I am intrigued by the Rock River Arnms LAR-15.

 

[mdwest]

Something I forgot to mention in the post above...

One of the very cool things about an AR platform is.. if you want to completely change your rifle.. im talking radically change your rifle... take it from a 20" HBAR precision 5.56 rifle.. to a 10" .300 BLK CQB platform.. to a .458 SOCOM hog hammer.. etc... its a 5 second drill.. and all you have to do is change your upper out (including appropriate bolt)..

you dont have to build 10 complete rifles to have 10 different choices in what your AR looks and feels like, and/or what its intended purpose is.. All you need is a different upper (which can literally be as cheap as $175)..

I prefer to have individual rifles.. each upper has a mated lower...

but most people I know that have multiple AR's.. only have multiple uppers.. and maybe a couple of different stocks to chose from (you can swap out stocks in less than 5 seconds as well).. and only have maybe 1 or 2 lowers built..

 

[mdwest]

I am in the market for an AR for defense, range, and just in case there is a ban.

I am intrigued by the Rock River Arnms LAR-15.

Rock River makes a good middle of the road rifle.. they arent a bad choice at all (IMO).. affordable and reliable..

youre not going to get the same fit and finish from a RRA as you will with a Daniel Defense.. but you will get a reliable rifle that will shoot where you point it.. and do it every time you pull the trigger..

For defense I'd think about looking at 300 BLK.. its not quite a cheap to shoot as 5.56.. but its not expensive by any means.. all of the components to include 556 magazines work with 300 BLK.. the only difference is the barrel (so if you end up not liking it, its just a $75-$200 barrel swap depending on what sort of barrel you want).. and you now have a 556 gun..

Ammo is easy to come by.. and if you reload, the parent case is the 5.56 NATO case (so millions upon millions of cases out there.. you just have to run them through a 300 BLK die and youre good to go..).. and the projectile is a .30 projectile (so also easy to come by.. tons available)..

Ballistically, for shooting at home defense distances (or even inner city, house to house and block to block type stuff) it delivers significantly superior down range ballistics.. with almost negligibly more recoil... and the same mag capacity as 556..

If youre wanting to take a 400 yard shot.. 300 BLK isnt the better choice..

but for 150 yards and closer, it blows the 5.56 completely out of the water IMO..

 

[spike.t]

Rock River makes a good middle of the road rifle.. they arent a bad choice at all (IMO).. affordable and reliable..

youre not going to get the same fit and finish from a RRA as you will with a Daniel Defense.. but you will get a reliable rifle that will shoot where you point it.. and do it every time you pull the trigger..

For defense I'd think about looking at 300 BLK.. its not quite a cheap to shoot as 5.56.. but its not expensive by any means.. all of the components to include 556 magazines work with 300 BLK.. the only difference is the barrel (so if you end up not liking it, its just a $75-$200 barrel swap depending on what sort of barrel you want).. and you now have a 556 gun..

Ammo is easy to come by.. and if you reload, the parent case is the 5.56 NATO case (so millions upon millions of cases out there.. you just have to run them through a 300 BLK die and youre good to go..).. and the projectile is a .30 projectile (so also easy to come by.. tons available)..

Ballistically, for shooting at home defense (or even inner city, house to house and block to block type stuff) it delivers significantly superior down range ballistics.. with almost negligibly more recoil... and the same mag capacity as 556..

If youre wanting to take a 400 yard shot.. 300 BLK isnt the better choice..

but for 150 yards and closer, it blows the 5.56 completely out of the water IMO..

Seen the ammunition here at the gun shop...only problem is the the barrel...which obviously is a slight problem...

 

[Red Leg]

I like accuracy. Mine are custom rigs, match triggers, very good barrels (two have black hole polygonally rifles barrels). To give you an idea, my 6.5 Grendel shoots sub 2”, 5 shot groups at 300, I have a 5.56 that shoots about the same and a DPMS in 7.62 that shoots moa out to 600. The uppers and lowers are a mixed bunch, I don’t know how much that matters, they all seem about the same. The barrels, triggers and optics are where I put my money.

Totally agree on where investment matters. Before taking it home, we replaced the trigger on the DDm4 with the match grade version on my .308 and other 5.56. The DDm4 is primarily a ranch defence weapon - one that could be used inside or out. For that, I find the 5.56 hard to beat. It is equipped with a red dot.

My other 5.56 is a true rifle with a match barrel. My local guy built it from the ground up like so many are (I would have to go look to see what the lower is.) It is equipped with Trijicon optics, aforementioned match trigger and will shoot sub-MOA to way out there. About as "way out there" as I can see on our little place is 300 meters down to the San Gabriel, and it will easily roll a passing coyote at dawn at that range. It has a green flood on it that will reach the feeder that is 250 meters from the back door. The 70 gr Barnes TSX is surprisingly lethal on pigs at that range. So much so that the .308 pretty much guards the gun room.

The .308 is essentially a somewhat bigger version than the 5.56 rifle. With it, and a bit of time to set up, one can control quite a range fan. I just have a difficult time coming up with that scenario. It also has Trijicon optics, light and match trigger and would seemingly be better for harassing pigs. It is also supremely accurate. It is though a bit like getting a SAW deployed when compared to the 5.56 rifle. As I say, it doesn't get a lot of use these days.

 

[Royal27]

I am in the market for an AR for defense, range, and just in case there is a ban.

I am intrigued by the Rock River Arnms LAR-15.

Helpful.

So for general purpose use there are a LOT of good options, including but not limited to, RR and DD.

Pick an AR, any AR.... Caliber, barrel length, do dads, whatever.... Make it how you want.

Another option if you're doing this partly for fun is to build your own. It's not that difficult and there are lots of Youtube videos. @gizmo helped me put together my first one but I'd do it again in a heartbeat on my own. I actually like that one much better than my COLT.

Palmetto State Armory is a great place to look for the parts and get some ideas.

 

[rookhawk]

I hate the look of ARs/ the plastic, the picatinneys, the tactical look.

But I like a well armed Citizenry.

This is what I made with my 9 year old to square those seemingly conflicted opinions.

 

[rookhawk]

Also, in this day and age:

I highly suggest milling your own receiver. Put your name, city, stare, and an 8 digit serial number, AND DATE OF MANUFACTURE on it.

1.) you have your privacy
2.) it will likely be grandfathered since you made it pre-ban
3.) you probably won’t need to register it since you serialized it
4.) the manufacturers date will prove it was lawful when made

 

[Red Leg]

Another fun rifle is the S&W M&P Sport in .22 LR. It was conceived of as a full size training rifle for AR equipped police forces and the like, but S&W quickly realized they had product with its own market. It is essentially a clone of a AR, but built as a .22. Mine is very accurate, and has a very usable two-stage trigger. I have it equipped with Trijicon scope and a suppressor. It pretty much lives on the backseat of the mule and has accounted for legions of red squirrels (we harvest our pecans), armadillos, and carp down at the river.

 

[mdwest]

80% lowers are cheap... so are the milling blocks/templates...

I've never milled my own.. but my understanding is you dont even need a mill.. just a decent drill press and some decent bits will get it done..

I've thought about buying a couple of 80% lowers just to play around and see if I can do it correctly..

 

[mdwest]

Mine is very accurate, and has a very usable two-stage trigger. I have it equipped with Trijicon scope and a suppressor.

That is good to know/hear..

I've considered picking one of those up to use as a squirrel/raccoon/armadillo/whatever gun.. but didnt know how well they functioned... all of the old 22 conversion kits I messed around with in the late 90's pretty much sucked.. I was hopeful S&W worked out the bugs by designing and building a .22 from the ground up.. but I have never spoken to anyone that actually owns one to know how well or poorly it performs..

I have an old Aimpoint Comp ML sitting in the safe that combined with a reliable semi-auto .22 would make for very bad days for squirrels..

 

[Red Leg]

That is good to know/hear..

I've considered picking one of those up to use as a squirrel/raccoon/armadillo/whatever gun.. but didnt know how well they functioned... all of the old 22 conversion kits I messed around with in the late 90's pretty much sucked.. I was hopeful S&W worked out the bugs by designing and building a .22 from the ground up.. but I have never spoken to anyone that actually owns one to know how well or poorly it performs..

I have an old Aimpoint Comp ML sitting in the safe that combined with a reliable semi-auto .22 would make for very bad days for squirrels..

Most conversions seem to be jamomatics. This rifle feeds extremely well regardless of magazine size. Also, the magazines are designed to cleanly fit the AR receiver. It doesn't look like someone jammed a .22 mag in the receiver base as an afterthought. Good little rifle.