Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles For a Newb (sorta) Which AR???

been a few years since i regularly used an AR type... with the standard 5.56 as a given, what are the better choices out there???

i have little to no interest in accessories, with the possible exception of one of the optical sights. rugged, quick and foolproof would be the order of the day for them...
straight flat-top designs are of little interest, although a convertible might do.

i will not hunt with this, it will be strictly a security blanket item.

Bravo Company, Noveske, Colt, etc

Lots of good choices, what is your budget?

in that instance of SHTF issue, COLT of your flavor, and replace the trigger. Resale value never hurts.

Colt 6920 or 6720 (light weight) and leave the stock trigger in. A Daniel Defense would be my next choice.

I'd go Aimpoint T1 or H1 micro in a good mount like LaRue and use a good BUIS, like Troy or LaRue.

A good weapon light and mount is a must have, along with a good sling.

My home defense AR will probably wind up being the .300 Blackout, with 16" barrel. I'll add a grip/laser on the lower front rail, and likely some night sights. Not too crazy about weapons lights, which is admittedly a controversial subject. I have a prism sight for medium range but I think that optic will stay off for inside the house use.

Kind of specialized, but I have other uppers which I can easily used for target shooting or hunting.

You can get 11% more rifle for your money by buying the upper and lower separately. That's how much the federal excise tax is on a complete rifle. Buying the halves separately avoids the tax.

The whole AR family has improved dramatically since 2003. Everybody gets trickle-down from the military's R&D and all the big name companies are selling decent ARs now. Here's a pretty recently updated list. I won't get in to the comparative worth of the rifles except to say the only thing wrong with Spike's is the silly company name. They've grown a reputation for building a helluva rifle that's well worth the money.

Flattops are so common because the late model combat optics have improved the hit rate about four-fold over iron sights. And a weapons light and laser add a whole 'nuther dimension to your capabilities. I'm not arguing, I'm just saying ....

i've owned expensive ar's and cheap ar's. these days i see very little differents except for price.

in a 5.56 you can build a decent gun real cheap. i have one now with a plumcrazy lower and a red x arms upper. 525.00 total. shoots as good as anything i've seen.

point there though.. decent gun for 525 I agree. One I'd trust my life come hell or high water on.. nope.. and I"m all about doing it as cheap as I can generally as long as it doesn't fail...

But on this one the way the OP was asking... Colt... and I'd still replace the trigger though... just me though. He wasnt looking for the best shooter. Thats a different issue.

I have serious lust for the Spike's rifles!

If you don't feel like spending two grand, Rock River, Smith M&P, Bushmaster, and CMMG are all good choices. Trigger replacement is something you'll want to do, and a free float handguard is not a bad idea either.

$2k would be dumb to spend on a rifle for the intended purpose, but I recommend getting a quality gun in the $850-1,100 price range for your one and only self defense carbine.

Excellent quality S&W, Rock River, Spikes Tactical, Bravo Company(BCM) guns can be had in that price range. No need to change the trigger unless long range shooting is in the works, IMHO.

http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=6920

While out of stock now he get's them in often enough. I continue to look at different brands that folks claim are just as good as but the list that actually lives up to the claim is a short one.

Even though some are priced higher... Colt is the gold standard in a defensive AR.

+1

To get anymore reliable you'll have to get a Ghetto Chopper

I agree, you got my attention I looked at Clyde Armory site and that's a good gun for $1K.

i like the colt answer as well as anything else, although i have some fairly close connections with RRA...

what is the reason for the trigger replacement? i'd be easy to convince because i'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to triggers...

what about twist rate and ammo matchup??? i have heard that 1/7 twists don't shoot well with 55 gr bullets, which are the most abundant and cheaply available, locally... $35/100...

"i have heard that 1/7 twists don't shoot well with 55 gr bullets"

That is what I had read also. But not true, I have a 18" WOA 1 in 7, and it shoots 1/2 MOA with factory 55gr all day, when I do my part.

If I was not a accuracy nut,( I will not keep a gun that will not shoot 3/4 MOA or better), and just wanted a SHTF AR, I would get a used one, I see them all the time for $600 to $800, heck Marks outdoors in B'ham AL just had new M&P M4s for $895.

Your question is sort of like going to the hardware store and asking which drill makes the best hole.


What you ask for was ultimate reliability, that's why the brand Colt came up the most. The RRA is a fantastic AR-15 that will serve you well. Colt, S&W, LMT and maybe a RRA are non-boutique brands I would fell good about as defence weapons. The thing about most AR-15's on the market these day's is they all work well. Some just have a long standing reputation for being extremely reliable. Colt is a great name in the buisness but if I really wanted an RRA I could sleep good at night owning it. There are a few brands I would stay away from for this type of AR-15 but besides Bravo Company none of them have been mentioned on this thread.


A 1 in 7" or 1 in 8" twist will serve you well. The 1 in 8" is probably a little more versitile. If home protection was my highest priority a carbine with a 16" barrel will probably be your best bet. I would buy a flat top reguardless if I thought I wanted one or not. After you've owned one for awhile you'll be glad you picked it.

Terry

I would replace the trigger as well with a RRA NM trigger!

Does the 6720 feature a chrome lined barrel? That would be key for me.

I'd still stick with a Colt, 7 or 9 twist, chromed barrel. Replace trigger with Geisselle single stage.

Don't screw with free float stuff or other gadgets...

You can go other routes, but this one is exactly what I'd do if I were asking the question you were.

There are some reasons there, one of them is Colt is flat reliable hands down, AND it carries resale or trade value more than the others in time of need, folks may not have heard of the hopped up Wilson you paid mucho thousands for... but they've all heard of Colt and it'll hold a bit better value in trade.

Jeff