Edumacate me on AR15's

oldpbnoob wrote: My brother just recently bought an AR15, and got me to thinking about the impending Zombie apocolypse and my possible need to arm myself. Let's start the conversation by saying, I know little if anything about AR15's other than they are the civilian variant of the M4/M16 correct?

Incorrect, the M4/M16 is the military variant of the AR15. AR15 came first. Sure, it's a technical point, but important none the less.

If I were to buy/build one, what should I look for? I don't necessarily care about a lot of add ons as far as I know, I would mainly be getting something for occasionally going out and target shooting and/or shreading the brain stems of the non-dead. What should I steer clear of?

Steer clear of anything high end then. Building is cheaper than buying, but right now, even component prices are high. Bolt group carriers (bcgs) being the thing most affected by this. Don't go for a high-end lower. There's no difference other than the stamp on the mag well that states who made it. For uppers, definitely go with a forward assist upper. You don't often need it, but it's nice to have in a jam (hah! I made a pun!)

What costs should I expect? From my understanding, there are several companies that make them and there are better/worse uppers/lowers? Any good sites that info that wold help? My brother mentioned something about his being able to shoot different ammo or something? I'd ask him more about it, but would like to have some outside input.

You want a 5.56mm upper so you can shoot both .223cal and 5.56mm. The difference is small, but not negligible enough to allow you to fire 5.56 out of a .223 upper. ar15.com (Arfcom affectionately) is a great place to find "sticky" posts about these kinds of questions. Again, no need to go Troy or whatnot for your receiver, but don't go with the ultra-cheap either.

Not necessarily in the market to buy right this second, but considering selling some PB gear to cover the costs if I did decide to take the plunge.

I'd eat the costs now and sell the pb gear to recoup afterwards. The prices are only going to keep going up, and if legislation gets pushed through like we think it will, you're going to be SOL on finding a non-used AR anytime soon.

Edited by tallen702 - 18 December 2012 at 11:16am

Wow, had I moved to Ohio, I could have built you one....

No chance I could add anything better than Tallen has. Just wanted to drop off my recommendation for an affordable one. It's the brand that often gets recommended over on the officer.com forums when someone needs something a little more affordable.

http://www.del-ton.com/carbine_rifles_s/2.htm


Other than that, they almost unanimously(other than the smaller, specialized companies) say to stick with Colt, DD, Bravo, or MP non sport models.

I just finished my own build, and if you have an armorers wrench its not hard at all.  The only thing I don't have yet is the back up sights, which I'll throw some 100 dollar Magpuls on and call it done.

The great thing about building one, is that you can spread the cost over time. Secure the lower first.

How's bushmaster quality these days?

My last AR venture was 3 years ago, but at that time they were considered on the mid to high end in terms of holding value.


Of course, the AR design is so mass produced now days you'd likely have to look to find a crap one. There are lots of good, inexpensive options. My High Standard and two Bushmasters ate through all types of ammo accurately and reliably.

These AR discissions always remind me of talking guitars with my more wealthy friends.

"Mexican strats? You can't tune them. Complete garbage."

"Non custom shop Ibanez? How do your fingers endure that Indonesian wood?"

Teasing, of course (except the quotes-those are real.)

Also, as far as Colt, most AR shooters I know claim Colt build has diminished greatly over the years.

Why all the bobbles and whistles, have 2 AR-15's one a Colt SP-1 the 'original' AR-15, triangle front handguards, pencil barrel, fixed carry handle, the basic 1 ea semi auto version of the M16A1 rifle of the time. Second is a DPMS clone CAR-15, heavy barrel, heavy compensator, fixed carry handle, A2 sights, a basic 'plinker' or zombie killer, but more a coyote killer anymore.
Simple rifles, can hit out to 250m consistant and accurate, don't need no do-dads or high speed low drag stuff mounted on it to look 'purty'. The KISS principle applies more than not in a firefight.

My M1A (M-14) and my M-1 Garand are for the 250m+ needs, again basic military sights, basic issue models.

My deer rifle alternates between the following, Model 91 45/70 'Buffalo Rifle', M91/30 Moison Nagant, or my Sharps 1863 in .54.

Especially with looming bans, a SCAR seems like a bad idea. Good luck finding parts. You want to look for well-built parts, made to appropriate specs. Continental machine tooling is supposed to produce the best parts. Colt, Rock River, S&W, Stag etc. get high marks. I think Stag is a great deal for the money, ugly roll-mark and atrocious muzzle breaks aside.