Which Manufacturer/brands/styles AR-15 for beginners would you recommend?

[Turk81]

Hello everyone! So I purchased my first 2 firearms . Rock River Arms Lar 15 Elite Operator 2 and Ruger precision. I had a blast at the range! It was freaking AWESOME!!!! My first time shooting. Why did I wait so long!
So I want to purchase another AR-15. What do you guys recommend? I’m a beginner. I bought some optics already. So I called the Firearms store near me that’s out of cook county Illinois where they sell ARs. I like this place so much they answer all my questions and help me out etc... Very friendly. At the moment they have some Colts and Rugers which styles I have no idea with numbers they provide. They are out of Smith and Wesson. I don’t guys what do you think? I’m doing research and there is so many manufacturers and styles. I have a lot to learn so all I’m doing is reading and looking up youtube videos and it gives me a idea. I appreciate if anyone can help me with information!
Thanks

 

[earlthegoat2]

You have an AR15 which I presume to be in 223. I would get an upper in something like 6.5 Grendel or 6.8 SPC. This gives some added oomph and the 6.5 Grendel can really reach longer distances.

Or get an AR10/LR-308 in 308 or 6.5 Creedmoor to get the AR15s bigger and older brother.

......and then flee from Illinois.....(I do get it. Not everyone can leave a place for such reasons)

 

[Hugger-4641]

If you can find a M&P sport II optics ready, that would be my first choice for a beginner. I've owned Ruger 5.56, DPMS, Del-ton, Diamondback and a few customs including a couple I built myself. Any of these I mentioned are reliable enough, but I've traded off most of them and still own my Sport II. I stay away from Colt in AR's. I won't bash them, but I have my reasons. I think for a beginner, the S&W is the safest bet for reliability and customer service, though thier service can be slow and thier stock trigger is middle of the pack.

 

[hso]

So I want to purchase another AR-15.

You're heading down the typical noob path, but you should avoid it.

You already have a good AR, why another? Save your money, take a course or two, buy good optics to go on the rifle, put some practice time in. The ammo alone will cost enough. Once you actually learn to run and care for the AR you can decide to spend your money on another.

 

[Buzznrose]

There is no such thing as a “beginner” AR15. There are high quality and low quality, reliable and less reliable, AR’s of many calibers and configurations. There are purpose made guns and general purpose guns.

Buy a quality AR and be happy.

 

[jmorris]

What do they want to begin doing? No reason to buy something one won’t be happy with in the future just because it cheap.

There are lots of AR’s out there that turn money into noise for fractions of the price one could spend on one, so no reason to go bucks up, if that’s the goal. Also, no reason to spend a lot of money on a $2000+ complete rifle when a great barrel, bolt, tube and trigger on an otherwise milspec rifle can perform the same down range.

Then again I know a lot of folks that just want to buy a Rolex for the prestige, knowing a Timex can withstand more abuse and be more accurate.

I guess it’s whatever the beginner wants. Most important thing, for all of us, is that they begin.

 

[Hugger-4641]

One thing I would recommend is stay away from the cheap cheap ones with polymer lowers.
There are many reasons to want more than one AR. If you want to divulge those reasons, it might help focus the advice you get. Personally, the Ar's I own at the moment each have a different purpose. For example one is set up for longer range shooting and coyote hunting. It has a 1/7 twist barrel and free floated hand guard. My Sport II is still bone stock with M4 hand gaurd and 1/9 barrel. If you don't know why I would want different twist rates, then that would be some good research for you.

 

[BigBore44]

If you want another AR, I’d just buy another upper, and a quality drop in trigger. I love my Bear Creek uppers. Most would consider them a beginner. I consider them a real value. A Timney DI trigger will run $120-$200.

 

[Obturation]

If I were you, I'd do as some suggested. Get to know your RRA , you'll know what you truly want when you find what you do and don't like on your current rifle. It's a tough time to buy due to higher prices and less on the shelf options to choose from. I'm sure you need ammo, we all need ammo, I'd wait for a fair market price and buy what you can afford. You'll need it and lots more.

If you do know what you're looking for, try Marengo guns (on rt20 in marengo) they usually have good inventory and better prices.

Just out of interest you may want to visit R guns (on rt31 in carpentersville ), they do a pick what you want rifle like build a bear. I haven't been there in a couple years and I don't own any of their rifles , I have heard horrible things and great things both about the quality but it's interesting to go in and just look at all the options (assuming they have inventory at the moment).

You'll figure it out. Good luck.

 

[taliv]

i don't know what the rules are in illinois, but they probably suck. and you should realize that prices are very high because people are panicking over threats to ban guns, especially "pistol" AR15 styles (or otherwise infringe on them by making them short-barreled rifles that go on the registry like machine guns)

in normal times, i would say take classes and learn a bit. but right now, if you have the disposable $, I would rush to buy at least one pistol like this https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...-12-m-lok-moe-ept-sba3-pistol-5165448952.html (I'm not advocating that brand, just using it as a convenient example, but specifically that configuration) and at least 20 magpul pmag30s, and a couple thousand rounds of ammo.

 

[chicharrones]

i don't know what the rules are in illinois, but they probably suck. and you should realize that prices are very high because people are panicking over threats to ban guns, especially "pistol" AR15 styles (or otherwise infringe on them by making them short-barreled rifles that go on the registry like machine guns)

in normal times, i would say take classes and learn a bit. but right now, if you have the disposable $, I would rush to buy at least one pistol like this https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...-12-m-lok-moe-ept-sba3-pistol-5165448952.html (I'm not advocating that brand, just using it as a convenient example, but specifically that configuration) and at least 20 magpul pmag30s, and a couple thousand rounds of ammo.

This right here.

 

[hso]

Or you could just buy a bare receiver to put back for a build once you're ready and know what you don't know now. Cheaper than a complete additional rifle and good for anyone to have.

As to 5.56 AR pistols...300 Blackout was designed for a short barrel vs. the 5.56. If you just want a lot of noise and muzzle flash, yeah, sure, but if you want to possibly have a more usable short firearm a 30cal-ish AR pistol is where we went with 10.5" barrels.

 

[Buzznrose]

There is no such thing as a “beginner” AR15. There are high quality and low quality, reliable and less reliable, AR’s of many calibers and configurations. There are purpose made guns and general purpose guns.

Buy a quality AR and be happy.

ETA: One good AR type for new shooters is one in .22 LR. You can buy a complete dedicated gun like an M&P 15-22, a complete dedicated .22 upper receiver, or a conversion bolt and magazines.

What I did was buy an inexpensive, complete 5.56 upper from PSA. Then, I bought the CMMG .22LR conversion bolt and 3 magazines. I mounted a Vortex Strike Fire red dot sight and now I shoot this AR way more than any other. Excellent training and just way fun to shoot!

YMMV

 

[CraigC]

You're heading down the typical noob path, but you should avoid it.

You already have a good AR, why another? Save your money, take a course or two, buy good optics to go on the rifle, put some practice time in. The ammo alone will cost enough. Once you actually learn to run and care for the AR you can decide to spend your money on another.

This.

Shoot the hell out of the one you have and learn to be proficient with it. At some point, you will know exactly what you want. This is why I encourage folks to buy their first AR, rather than building it. You need experience with the platform to know how to best configure one for your use.

 

[Zerodefect]

Colt OEM. It's a stripped down AR. You add the rail and stock of your choice.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

Most commercial ARs go for the "lowest common denominator" design, which is an M4 knockoff. 16" barrel, telestock, round handguards and front sight post, etc.

The box-stock version is a fine rifle that suits a lot of users (military didn't choose it for nothing), but there's a lot more that the AR can do. You can make small tweaks to the formula like eliminating the front sight post or free-floating the handguard, or you can rebuild it it into something way different. I have a Vietnam style 20" AR that's really cool, you can build a 24" long range rifle, there's ultralight ARs, there's 5.56 AR pistols, there's 9mm AR carbines that are more indoor range friendly, there's 30 caliber ARs, there's 45 caliber ARs that shoot a bullet akin to a 45-70...

Basically, the stock AR like your RRA is a 3 cheese pizza. It's going to taste good, but there's so many more toppings out there that you could try vs ordering another 3 cheese pizza.

The banic does change all AR calculations, and any rifle that you can get your hands on and afford wouldn't be a bad purchase. ideally, your second AR shouldn't be exactly like your first. There's so many other options to explore vs just doubling down.

 

[Turk81]

Thank you so much for taking the time for sharing your knowledge with me!

 

[army_eod]

KAC.

 

[Varminterror]

“A tool without a task collects dust.”

If you do not have a purpose for the rifle which drives the purchase, you will not have use for it after it is bought.

After selling, building, and/or rebuilding literally hundreds of AR’s for folks over the years, I have generally made two recommendations to first time AR buyers which know they want an AR but may not have a specific purpose in mind: 1) don’t buy a 16” mil-spec(ish) carbine, 2) a free floating 18-20” 5.56 flattop carbine has versatility which will allow MOST people to quickly determine which type of AR they really should have bought in the first place. I’ve somewhat changed my tune on the latter - as it reflects planned obsolescence. Most folks won’t really want a “master of all, master of none” 18-20” carbine. Either they will be hunting and want something lighter, or plinking and want something longer, or blasting and want something with more curb appeal to the Timmy crowd... so the upper is easily rebuilt or replaced, redesigning the rifle to their specific uses. 18-20” is short enough to do fast stuff well enough, but long and stable enough to do long range stuff well enough... until the owner decides what they really want from the rifle. The 16” mil-spec carbines simply have too much work left to be done to make them really easily or economically feasibly updated, and frankly, there really are not enough civilian applications that a 16” carbine does well to make them a good choice for starting out.

I will also say, I HIGHLY recommend 2 things for an AR owner who is a “gun owner.” 1) Have two full AR’s. Two for two disparate applications, but also two so you and a friend/spouse/family member can enjoy range time together. 2) Beyond that, have multiple uppers for various purposes. Build one or two lowers which suit your desires, then swap uppers for different applications. As an example: I use the same lower between a 10.5” SBR meant for suppressed home defense, a 10.5” 6.8 SPC meant for 0-300yrd suppressed deer and coyote hunting, and a 24” 5.56 meant for 0-700yrd long range plinking and wind reading practice. I share another lower between a 10.5” 458 Socom pig hunting SBR, an 18” 6.8 SPC longer range pig, deer, and coyote upper, a 20” 5.56 coyote hunting upper, and a 22” 204 Ruger prairie dog hunting upper. Of course, all of these will swap onto any of the other lowers, but the paint schemes line up on these “matched sets,” by design.

 

[greyling22]

For the vast majority of people there is no difference. By based on price, by based on cosmetic features You like, by based on availability.

 

[army_eod]

It’s just a semi-auto firearm

 

[stillquietvoice]

I bought my AR a couple of years ago from psa complete upper with ept lower build kit. The polished trigger is smoother than a milspec unpolished trigger, it's not a competition trigger by any means but functional. I had it's out to the range a couple weeks shooting 300 meter steel plates. It's 16 in barrel was slightly more challenging than my 22 and 24" bolt action rifles but didn't take too long to figure out the holdover. I'd like a few more to give to family members.

 

[army_eod]

My first AR was an M-16. So I have perspective.
Learn to use the tools you have.
M-16 Nam era weapon is one of the best.

 

[Rodfac]

My first AR was an M-16. So I have perspective.
Learn to use the tools you have. M-16 Nam era weapon is one of the best.

That's my take as well...actually, my first issue was a CAR15, with the shorter (?16" bbl.), so it would fit in the cockpit. It was good for the day...and the nights too.

I've owned and shot in CMP/NRA Nat'l Match competition here in KY, IN and Camp Perry with my Colt HBAR with no add'l tweaking except Nat'l Match Sights & a free floating bbl. At age 60, in '06 & '07, it held it's own at Perry. But I seldom fire it now, and then only to recheck my 'come-ups' and windage at Nat'l Match course distances. It's still an MOA rifle with Sierra or Hornady stuff, and better with 69 or 77 gr. Match Kings from a Green Box but limited by the carry handle/iron sights (even with Bob Jones apertures). Too, mounting a scope for load development is a jury rig at best. A good rifle but limited by caliber and design according to modern tastes.

Christmas last, son #2 gave me a PSA 16" bbl'd. carbine (1/7 bbl.) with no handle, but equipped with a rail that accommodates an iron rear sight or a Red Dot. Never having shot with the latter, I mounted a Leupold Romeo 5 (Red Dot) on it and had some fun. With its 2 MOA dot, I get groups 1/2 MOA larger than the iron sights out to 200 yds. That's plenty good enough for an anti-coyote/woodchuck piece here on the farm, or for more serious use should TSHIF. I like it a lot...it's light & accurate with most any load I've assembled. Groups with good bullets, run just over a MOA at 100. Without resorting to my wife's kitchen scale, I'd estimate it's a full pound lighter than the Colt HBAR.

HTH's Rod

 

[army_eod]

I have an M-16/SP1 clone/repro from Fulton Armory. You know with a 20 inch bbl it weighs about 6.75 lbs. I like light. I put a retro Colt 4x from Brownells on it. Need to go zero.