Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Which AR

The son of a friend of mine is looking for his first AR in .223. He wants it for home defense (he lives unfortunately in Memphis) and feels he needs more firepower than his 9mm daily carry. He also wants something he can take to the range to enjoy.

I have several RockRiver ARs and they all shoot incredibly well, however all are heavy barrel and not the best solution for home defense.

His budget is $1,000ish for the firearm and another $600ish for a red dot or scope. He hasn't decided yet on optics.

He's looking at - https://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=2111

But is open to other ideas. So considering his budget, what would you recommend? (Other than moving of course)

Stag or Rock River.

Go to PSA, spend $600'ish on a 16" MSR. while you're there, pick up a Holosun 503 . Then get a case of ammo and shoot the thing. No more screwing around with man-boy furniture stuff or pimple-ranching operator-wannabe gizmos.

Sig Tread 400?

That'll work...but definitely wring it out good before declaring it home defense worthy.

1. Sionics Patrol Rifle (chrome lined)1200
2. IWI Zion (nitride barrel) 850
3. PSA premium upper (CHF, chrome lined) plus PSA
lower, 600

Springfield Saint ST916556BM $831
Best buy in its price point

https://www.impactguns.com/semi-aut...-stock-30rd-706397926410-st916556bm#wiki

https://www.springfield-armory.com/...int-556-m-lok-ar-15-rifle-pic-gas-block/

Most any.

AR’s have been around long enough and mass produced enough that nearly every manufacturer knows how to make an AR that is reliable for home and range use. Just make sure to run a number of rounds through it like you would with any other gun before trusting it and keep it oiled. AR’s like 1911’s like to run a little wet.

I have AR’s ranging from super low budget to low budget PSA to midrange Colt, Areo, Spikes, BCM, and DD. I’ve never had one that wasn’t reliable for home defense and range use right out of the box or as assembled. It’s not as though it’s being taken into a war zone and being expected to withstand a daily beating or high volume shooting with sustained firefights.

If it were me I’d look for a pencil profile nitrided or chrome lined barrel, a milspec receiver, a good bolt, a stock that locks up without any slop, and a decent trigger. Money spent on a high end rail is overrated unless you want to splurge, they’re not a bang for the buck item.

I've been impressed with my Primary Arms sale Andro Corp 16" mid length for a budget AR.

$449 right now.

Andro Corp AR

I just went over to Palmetto State Armory (PSA) and checked prices.
You can get a decent 16" AR sub-$500. A sig Romeo RDS (has shake awake which I like) for $120 and suddenly you have a pile of money to buy a case or two of ammo and shoot the thing - which is the most important aspect of buying an AR. Far too many pimple-ranchers buy doo-dads but never shoot - ya gotta get the rounds in.

As TheLastLemming76 opined above, it is a very mature platform that is hard to screw up - no need to buy a name.

Anything that you like from BCM or FN.

But we also have 3 14.7" uppers with FN barrels from PSA that have been 100% solid & bullet proof.

None of the above can be called precision guns as they all have Chrome lined barrels, but they are all more than adequate, all going a consistent 1 1/4 - 1 1/2" with good ammo.

MM

If you're going PSA, get the Sabre line. FN made CHF barrel, great trigger. Still in his budget.

CHF barrel Sabre rifle

Slap these two products together for a very accurate rifle with plenty of room in the budget for a good optic. I was guided toward this by the members here and could not be happier.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...p158-nickel-boron-bcg-ch-5165449759.html

https://palmettostatearmory.com/blem-psa-ar15-complete-moe-ept-stealth-lower-black.html

Same barrel is in their other premium uppers too.

You can even get a Geiselle rail in some versions if you want to pay the price.

MM

For those who don't want to put one together there are a ton of options. All of mine except for an Armalite I got years ago have been pieced together. Here is my latest franken gun. With the new (er) front hand guards you only need a crescent wrench to build an upper.

Here is my latest franken gun. 16" chrome lined DelTon barrel and Midway USA bolt carrier group. Everything else was in a drawer or box I had in my workshop.
kwg

I have this upper,

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...-m-lok-upper-with-bcg-ch-5165450023.html

And this lower,

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...trigger-black-no-magazine-516444743.html

If a guy just wants a decent priced lower and doesn't mind not having a good 2 stage trigger he can get several of their lowers for well under $200.

Also buy one of their ammo/P-Mag packages.

Pretty good advice on the PSA it works for me..mb

The Sionics is the only option I’d choose of everything mentioned. And it’s an excellent choice. Or this….. https://www.primaryarms.com/sons-of-liberty-gun-works-m4-patrol-sl-5-56-nato-ar-15-rifle-16in

When you see a lot of rifles come through a program you see trends develop. The budget brands consistently have failures.

And anyone who says that ARs are “figured out” is right. The recipe for a reliable AR is available. And only a handful of companies follow the recipe. Nearly every brand mentioned will have serious issues.