Best deal for Ar-15

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JohnnyK

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just as the title says... what is the best deal for price and quality for Ar-15? thanks, Johnny:)
 
Depends what you want it to do.

For instance the Colt 6720 mentioned is fantastic for a fighting rifle or home defense gun, but would not make a very good prairie dog or bench rifle.
 
You have not provided enough info.
Do you want best deal on any AR, or MilSpec, or what?
Mix-master, all name-brand, or top-end?

Further, you have not specified which 'general' AR you mean--Carbine, pistol, pistol-caliber, mid range, standard barrel, precision barrel, or what.

You see, the best price ona franke-ar legoed together of least-expensive parts will be different (very different) than a New-in-Box Colt LEnnnn. A name-brand , milSpec M4orgery will be different from a varmint-barreled 22" precision shooter.

So, that best buy could be $300, or is could be $2000.

In essence, your question is "What is the best deal on a VW?"
 
Do you want a 300m, 9lb scoped tack driver or a more combat oriented, 6lb rifle? While there is certainly some overlap, there are a few distinct philosophy of uses for different styles of AR15's.
 
The S&W Sport seems to be a decent AR for under $600 most places. I have a couple of S&W ARs (M&Ps, not the Sport) and I think they are fine rifles. I would look hard at the Sport were I in the market for an entry level AR.
 
A 16 inch carbine is more than capable of slaying p-dogs
Click to expand...

Yes but it is far from ideal.

The Colt 6920 is the ubiquitous suggestion that is always thrown out that really isn't that great of a rifle.
 
Lots of good ways to go. With an AR, a lot depends on what the round count will be over the life of the rifle and how much you plan on shooting it from the bench. This will matter because some ARs will last much longer than others when shot a lot, and there are some very accurate ARs that weight a whole lot, as well as some fairly accurate ARs that are light and handy.

A 16 inch carbine is more than capable of slaying p-dogs

Yes but it is far from ideal.
Click to expand...

Just to put this in perspective, does anyone recommend any 16" barreled, non-free float, 1.5 moa capable, 5-8 lbs trigger rifle for hunting p-dogs other than the Colt M4? What? No one? That's not even close to what's ideal? Perspective...
 
With current prices, This is the time to purchase an AR.

You need to start somewhere and I am sure the Colt LE6920 is a great start at under $860.00

The S&W Sport looks to be a logical choice for an entry level AR, under $600.00

Actually there are many others including Windham and Adams, etcetera that all ha e good options. As someone who is looking to purchase his first black rifle, it seems there are too many options. Everyone seems to have strong opinions, but based on a few characteristics such as barrel type, twist and length, impingement vs gas, sites, stock.... Is there really that much difference ?

Besides AR's seem to be very modular allowing swapping out and adding parts later, unlike M14's that there seem to be compatibility issues.

Why not buy the base Colt and start there ?
 
The best place to start is buying a barrel, upper, lower, lpk, bcg, trigger, gas block/tube, buffer tube/buffer, stock, Magpul armorers wrench, vise block and building yourself a rifle that will suit YOUR needs.
 
Don't buy without giving the new Ruger AR 556 a look.

As an owner of a few Colts and RRAs, iff'n I was to buy another AR (not that I need one) I'd be awfully tempted to get one of the new Rugers.
 
Get a complete rifle from BCM, one that wears a KMR hand guard and rest confident that you didn't under buy. Bcm Recce 16 ought to do it.
 
JohnnyK didn't ask "what's the best deal on a rifle?" he asked "what's the best deal on an AR?" That's not like asking what's the best deal on a car, or a VW- that's like asking what's the best deal on a Mustang

IndianaBoy said:
Yes but it is far from ideal.

The Colt 6920 is the ubiquitous suggestion that is always thrown out that really isn't that great of a rifle.
Click to expand...

The 6920 is a great choice

NWcityguy2 said:
Lots of good ways to go. With an AR, a lot depends on what the round count will be over the life of the rifle and how much you plan on shooting it from the bench. This will matter because some ARs will last much longer than others when shot a lot, and there are some very accurate ARs that weight a whole lot, as well as some fairly accurate ARs that are light and handy.
Click to expand...

This is where the conversation goes sideways

Just to put this in perspective, does anyone recommend any 16" barreled, non-free float, 1.5 moa capable, 5-8 lbs trigger rifle for hunting p-dogs other than the Colt M4? What? No one? That's not even close to what's ideal? Perspective...
Click to expand...

Here is where we throw in a big strawman argument. What does recommending a non-Colt AR in this configuration have to do with anything? It doesn't.

For those who wish to skip right to the point, this question is asked a thousand times a day. 99 times out of 100, the right answer is a 16 inch carbine.

How This Thread Went Sideways
Folks who want to be helpful or show how clever they are or just want to show how much more they know than the new guy toss out the "well, it depends on whatcha wanna do with". Actually, it doesn't Most anything you want an AR to do can be down with a 16 inch carbine.

I've come to realize that no matter what accessories you throw on an AR, there really is only about three different types before adding optics- Rifle length barrels, carbine length barrels and SBR length barrels and the 16 inch carbine will do most things the rife & SBR will. The sights determine how a rifle will be used more than anything else.

You don't think so? Then answer this- What is better for p-dog shooting- a 20 inch rifle with a free float tube, G trigger and open sights, or a 16 inch carbine with round handguards, standard trigger and a 6-24x variable?

Certainly, it would be better to put that variable on that 20 inch rifle, but the point is that the sight determines what a rifle is suitable for, not barrel length, not handguard type and not trigger. All this "It depends on how you'll use your rifle" gabble just confuses the issue

What do you think would give a new AR shooter more satisfaction- agonizing over what accessories they should have on their $2k AR that will take 6 months to fund, or an $800 6920 they have in hand in a month or two and will add accessories as they go along because they found out by shooting their rifle which accessories actually match how they use the rifle?

Why a Colt 6920 is a Great Choice
Prices on Colt 6920s i lower than they have been for many years and they are easily available. Colts are well made and you can count on them working right out of the box. It's a basic carbine and while it's configuration isn't ideal for everyone, I'd much rather add a free float tube to an $850 carbine than get stuck with a handguard I don't like on a $1400 carbine.

If the shooter decides, after sending a few rounds downrange, they've out grown the 6920 it will be eaiser to recoup their investment. During times when ARs are scarce and hard to come by, Colt price go up before any of the other brands.

Bottom line: When someone asks "What's the best deal for an AR" it's much easier to tell them to go get a Colt 6920 rather then try to educate them on their choices. This question comes up a thousand times a day on the internet and if the poster was really interested in a more informed answer, they'd do their own research and come up with the answer for themselves.

That's why saying more than "Get a 6920" is a waste of time
 
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Coyote3855 said:
The S&W Sport seems to be a decent AR for under $600 most places. I have a couple of S&W ARs (M&Ps, not the Sport) and I think they are fine rifles. I would look hard at the Sport were I in the market for an entry level AR.
Click to expand...

Exactly what i was thinking. It sounds like the OP is concerned about budget, and wants something that walks the line between economy and quality, and I'd say the S&W Sport does that as well, if not better, than anything else.
The Colt's listed at $850 are surely a good suggestion, if the OP's budget can handle it. But, I'd be a little leery about Colt's less-than-stellar customer-service, and their looming bankruptcy (even if they don't go fully bankrupt, or someone buys them out, or whatever, this could affect the quality and commitment of their custumer-service response to a problem).
If they still have them, the Spikes Tactical mid-length at AIMsurplus for $799 delivered would tempt me hard.
Still, on a budget, I think the S&W Sport is probably the best option available.
I've seen them recently as low as $539,delivered.
 
99 times out of 100, the right answer is a 16 inch carbine.
Click to expand...


To be blunt, the right answer is never a 16 inch carbine.

An AR with a 16 inch barrel will always be optimal with a mid-length gas system. Even a 14.5 is better with a mid-length gas system than with carbine length.


If you plan to scope your rifle, the FSB of the 6920 is in the way.

I made the mistake of a 16 inch carbine for my first AR. Rather than doubling down on a mistake, I would rather lead others down the correct path.

There are much better options for the money, and options that lend themselves better to upgrades down the road.

Also: The M4 barrel contour is a poor choice. For several reasons. Colt uses them because they are cheaper due to economy of scale, not because they are better.

BCM, DD, Palmetto, etc all offer better options for shooting and upgrading than a Colt 6920.

To each his own. my .02
 
IndianaBoy said:
To be blunt, the right answer is never a 16 inch carbine.

An AR with a 16 inch barrel will always be optimal with a mid-length gas system. Even a 14.5 is better with a mid-length gas system than with carbine length.


If you plan to scope your rifle, the FSB of the 6920 is in the way.

I made the mistake of a 16 inch carbine for my first AR. Rather than doubling down on a mistake, I would rather lead others down the correct path.

There are much better options for the money, and options that lend themselves better to upgrades down the road.

Also: The M4 barrel contour is a poor choice. For several reasons. Colt uses them because they are cheaper due to economy of scale, not because they are better.

BCM, DD, Palmetto, etc all offer better options for shooting and pgrading than a Colt 6920.

To each his own. my .02
Click to expand...

Here again we get caught up in details that the shooter won't know if they matter until they shoot the rifle. A carbine length gas system works well when the gas port is the right size and Colt has the right size. The middy is preferred by many but it's not clearly a better choice. A properly ported 16 inch carbine length gas system is preferable to a middy with the wrong port size and 14.5 middies can be particular about ammo.

A shooter won't know if the fsb in the sight picture will matter until they shoot the rifle. If it does, they can either have it replaced or cut it down.

I'm not a fan of the M4 profile barrel but there is nothing about it that impacts accuracy, reliability or durability. The truth is, all of the common AR barrel profiles are for scale of economy.

Bringing these points up is a disservice to someone asking "what's the best deal?" because they don't know enough to understand them and they won't until they shoot enough to find out for themselves. Chances are, they will never take the time to shoot enough to find out because they never took the time to find out enough to refine their answer.

I've already spent more time on this thread than I should but I'm trying to help people understand why "Colt 6920" is the right answer to "what AR?" and why the more detailed answers should be reserved for those who take the time to research and ask more specific questions
 
S&W Sport is hard to beat for the price has excellent reviews I feel it is just a great solid rifle for the price, and yes I do own one and I do own other higher
priced AR's but really the Sport works and goes bang every time just like the rest of them :)
 
I believe walmart had some colt ar15s on sale for $700, otherwise it is hard to beat a psa classic lower and a bcm upper if they are still on sale.
 
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