What's the best deal on a good quality AR with a budget of up to about $1,200.00?

A walmart Colt.

What do you want to use it for?

Plinking, predators, Zombie Apocalypse...

Tough to beat a Colt 6920 for $1079 at Walmart, if an M4 suits your needs. Plinking, yeah, zombie apocalypse, yeah. Home defense, yeah. Predators, not so much, but I'm sure it would work.

Colt 6920 for reliability, should be more than accurate enough for what you want.

Colt, RR, Bushmaster, S&W, Take your pick they are all great rifles. RR will probably be the most accurate one.

You can't beat the Colt 6920 from Wally World.

Our Wally World doesn't carry any guns. I'll check around.

That figures. The WW in Pullman WA sells Colt 6920's, Varget, M855 in the can, and George Dickel. Gotta love it.

What caliber does that George Dickel come in?

Just order one to your local GS.


Colt 6920 lots of choices

For $1200ish, you can get a BCM or a DD. Colt is great as well as the others mentioned.

I would buy the AR that is listed in the classifieds for $875.00 shipped.

thanks for that link......

Check out Gunbroker. After the AR panic subsided last year I picked up a NIB LMT carbine for $900 and a NIB BCM carbine for $970. I assume there are still deals like these on gunbroker since I continue to see sale priced ARs on various retailer sites.

the question noone asked is what do you want the gun to do?? home defense, plinking, target shooting, do you want to do some coyote calling with it. before someone says just buy a colt, I don't agree with that it depends on your use for the gun. the colt people are worried about milspec parts because they are going to be a soldier fighting terrorists in afghanistan someday.

I am a rock river fan, unless there is something wrong with the RRA gun its going to shoot circles around the colt in the accuracy department. A chrome lined bore will generally never shoot as good. I don't want a chrome lined bore. some don't care about accuracy if 1.5- 2 MOA is plenty accurate for you then disregard what I am saying. I am sure there are others who will chime in and say their colt is a half minute gun. I also do not want a 1:7 twist barrel. that is too much twist IMO, I prefer to shoot lighter bullets in my AR 15's 1:9 is about ideal but if you get stuck with 1:8 its ok. but this gets back to what you want the gun to do, some people may want to shoot 80 grain bullets if they want.

I also feel the colt is very options limited, you get a crappy trigger that will need something done to it in order for the gun to be half way shootable. for the same money with RRA you get a very shootable 2 stage NM trigger. so again back to what you wanna do with the gun, how important is a decent trigger to you?? for me I like sub MOA accuracy and I like good triggers. I could be called a trigger snob, thats just me though. I say get a rock river you can't go wrong with it.

Perhaps you need to read from the beginning.

LOL. He saw "Colt" and went into condition black.

You can put a damn fine rifle together fo under $850

I just threw one together for 800

Mega upper and lower
Wilson 18" 1in8 match
Extended latch
Magpul furnature
JP trigger kit

LOL, people can be pretty predictable can't they...

RRA will be hard to beat for those uses, if accuracy is important.

Any of you dudes shoot/hunt a Rock River Predator Pursuit with a 20 inch barrel? If so, how'd you like it?

I am not sure I would want a 1-9 twisted barrel unless varmints only are on the menu. I had a RRA with a chromed barrel back in the day of the vaunted DEA contract. The gun was simply heavier than my neighbors Colt 6920 with similar furniture and did not shoot as well. I have two chromed pencil barrel guns that will shoot 5 rounds under an inch, one a Colt one a DD. I am fond of the 62 grain TSX but have killed a few animals with the 75 grain Swift S2, but pay no attention to me as I actually have some experience with RRA, Bushmaster, Colt, DD, Noveske, and now Smith and Wesson!

My vote goes towards Colt, BCM, Daniel Defense, or LMT.
I might even buy the upper and lower separate.

I got what I think was a great deal from Davidsons. A S&W M&P15 OR for under $850.

Ernie

I was always under the impression that the military furnished a weapon for their employees???

I believe that was sarcasm.
However, it was probably a bad attempt at justifying a lower quality rifle.

exactly!!!!! so if thats the case why does any civilian need a chrome lined bore when it makes the gun LESS accurate?? whats wrong with a chromed BCG?? but wait that aint milspec. This is the argument for buying a colt isn't it? that because of its milspec parts that have been tested and are a certain spec it somehow makes the gun better and more reliable. how many grenade launchers are you going to mount up to your personal gun. I just want to point out telling a guy out of the gates just go buy a colt could be bad advice. IMO there isn't much I would keep stock about a colt even if it was given to me for free. it would have a new barrel, new handguard, new trigger, new stock, it wouldn't be a colt anymore but thats just me. for the average guy if they just want an ar 15 to be used in the same manner as a STOCK colt would, ie basic personal defense, I would get a sportical for 650, or better yet build a parts gun for less than $500

GW I say build your own gun with the parts you select, AR 15's are extremely fun to build and play with. beware it gets expensive because you keep wanting more and more parts to build more guns.

Yes, some parts of the AR being mil-spec will make it more reliable.

The problem with your diatribes against mil-spec parts is that I don't think you have any friggin clue which parts are useful and which aren't.

And please do enlighten us on what AR you'd build for less than $500 that you'd use to defend yourself and your family.

Complete AR under $500

Cowboy, I am no AR expert at all, but I do on a Colt that shoots several of hand loads well under an inch. So I would have to call BS on you accuracy claim.

I don't think they are manufactured as a precision varmint gun but they are certainly not as horrible as you make them seem

Sounds like Sour Grapes

That's what you'd choose to defend your family with?

this gets back to my fighting the taliban in afghanistan comment. yeah I would defend my life with a $500 AR 15 parts gun, of course after I had shot several hundred rounds through it and tested it to be reliable. this is what anyone with an ar 15 should be doing anyways regardless of brand. by defending your life are you talking taliban invasion of the mainland or a burglar?? a grab and go rifle that needs to reliably shoot a magazine full of ammo doesn't need to be a colt or an anything special ar 15.

I am actually making fun of the milspec comments, because I think there is a look down the nose snobbish mentality about it. I also think in reality, guys that really shoot their guns on a regular basis are going to want other parts that suits their needs that are better than milspec parts. I want to enjoy my gun and shoot it quite a bit, that means I don't want an 8# trigger among other things. the argument for a colt is its going to be more reliable and its going to last longer, if your shooting it that much to know the difference you are going to want better parts anyways. the reliability part should be something you test and find out in actual shooting. if I was forced into only being able to have the features of the 6920 I would rather just have a home built parts gun and save the extra money.

on edit: I just clicked the link for the $500 ar 15, I actually just put one of those together myself. The rifle functions just fine and is probably just as accurate as a colt. would I trust that gun??? yeah I would .

You do realize that a mil spec bolt carrier is chromed inside where it counts...

I look at it as a minimum, I have SS target barrels and a Colt chrome lined barrel. They have there place but a gun that doesn't meet the minimum isn't a bargain at any price.

The 6920 is a fine base to start with.

let me repeat, a good chrome lined barrel will shoot under MOA with hand loads. Not just once in a while but every time. Finally if you live in a humid environment stainless or chrome or melonite is always a good idea.

To me this argument is akin to Keltec vs Glock, both are good pistols both shoot fine, but given a choice I would want the Glock.

So all I need is a chrome lined barrel to ensure my hand loads are accurate?

Ha! Can you shoot? All of them who say a chromed barrel cannot be accurate just can't shoot is all.

What about a Ruger SR556E? Local store has them on sale for $999.99 with Mag-Pul backup sights, one 30-round Pmag, no tax.

Did you buy the Ruger?

No, I hoped to get some feedback before plunking down $1k.

the ruger is a piston gun, unless running suppressed I think the original DI setup is best.

I'd go with a Colt 6920 M4 carbine.

The Ruger SR556 is not going to be a bench gun but they run good. Don't know for sure but it mite be hard to change out the barrel in that upper. If it was me I'd get the Colt or buy from http://www.jsesurplus.com/ar-15.aspx and just have them put it together for you with the parts you want.

+1on the Colt6920.

get a bushmaster varmint special with the 24" stainless barell and 2 stage trigger very accurate shoots moa at 200 yds reliably with factory ammo

Cousin has a bushmaster varminter, we had it punched AI and it does shoot good but throw away the 2 stage trigger that comes with it and get a real 2 stage.

But it ain't light nor handy and won't hold a candle to the 6920 as a do it all gun. I've said it before and I'll say it again, a man can kill anything worth killing with a 1.5 MOA gun at any range the 223 is commonly used for 0-400 yards.

yeah but with the colt it comes with an 8# trigger, if a guy needs to change things out on the colt, is it really a colt anymore, its really a custom at that point.

I don't suggest anyone get a varmint ar 15 UNLESS they are going to shoot colony varmints with it. a 24" varmint ar 15 is going to be one heavy gun.

GW never said his intended use for the gun which I still don't know, real quick for a do it all gun
16-18" hbar of fluted hbar barrel, midwest gen 2 ss rail, RRA or geissele trigger
coyote calling, fluted 20" hbar barrel, with the same rail and trigger as above.
colony varmints 24" bull same rail and trigger options as above.

all I need is a proven barrel in the above examples and uses, if the barrel is good, I will verify its reliable through actual shooting, I don't care what brand the stripped upper or lower are,

The tough part is figuring out exactly what features you want before buying one. Is there any chance you could shoot a couple different configurations friends or shooting buddies have?

From my personal experience while I like the feel of the M4 platform, after three of them I just don't care for the muzzleblast from a 16" barrel. I had a Rock River predator persuit that was both amazingly accurate and really cut down on the muzzle blast but was too nose heavy.

Which lead me to what for me is the best setup which was a gun I assembled based on a WOA SDM barrel. I get the steller accuracy of a match barrel, 20" to cut down the bark and it's fluted so not nose heavy. And you could assemble such a gun for right around $1200 if you didn't get carried away with accessorizing.

So before saying what's the best AR under $1200, you need to figure out what configuration you want. And getting consensus on that will just as tough as sorting out best gun under $1200.

[quote=TWR]Cousin has a bushmaster varminter, we had it punched AI and it does shoot good but throw away the 2 stage trigger that comes with it and get a real 2 stage.

But it ain't light nor handy and won't hold a candle to the 6920 as a do it all gun. I've said it before and I'll say it again, a man can kill anything worth killing with a 1.5 MOA gun at any range the 223 is commonly used for 0-400 yards.

[/quote

yea the second stage is undetectible when your easing back on it she goes off without you knowing you hit the second stage]
it is very heavy but i like it cuz it is rock steady when im resting it on my shooting stix looking a a called coyote and can be shot offhand if you dont have to hold it too long

I think the Ruger is 1-9 but 5.56 chamber. For me not good because I shoot long bullets. I would not be that afraid of it because the resale is probably good. I would trust resale of Ruger, smith,colt over RRA and bushwoman. Buy it and try it!

I seem to manage to kill plenty of coyotes with a Colt chrome lined pencil barrel stuffed into the lightest AR I will use. Oh and off sticks too.

I don't call changing the 6# trigger a custom gun, if so then do the 15 minute trigger job and rock on. I've used plenty of hbar's, bull barrels and custom contours down to pencil barrels. Lighter is better in the real world, it must be, I've never hunted with anyone who's watched me kill coyotes or used my guns and said my guns need to be heavier. But I have been cussed after handing my gun to a partner when climbing a fence, they claim it ain't fair to carry a light gun all day, maybe it ain't. And I've yet to see anyone say they won't shoot out in the field. They just work.

Yea my wife uses the carbon special she doesnt like mine at all. I just like the added fps of the 24" and the extra weight

I seldom walk more that 400 yards to a coyote stand. a coyote calling gun does not need to be super lightweight. I don't want a pencil barrel or an m4 profile barrel. if your changing out the 6920 trigger you can just add that to the cost of the gun. I never said a chrome lined barrel will not shoot a coyotes the truth is if a gun shoots 1.5" its accurate enough to shoot beyond the capability of the 223 in the first place. the nature of chrome lined is that the barrel is machined larger and the chrome coating is supposed to make up the last difference in tolerances. a chrome lining will never be as accurate as bare metal. I am talking chrome in the barrel not bolt carrier.

yep a custom heavy SS barrel from WOA, Wilson, Noveske,etc has to shoot better than a chrome lined pencil barrel. I won't carry one 1/2-1 mile into the woods however.

I wish I didn't have to walk so far but we usually wind up walking 5-10 miles a day, which ain't much but any extra weight adds up. There lies the difference in people's choices and why it's so hard to pick something for someone else. I just hate to read suggestions of varmint type guns needed for coyote hunting when any AR will work fine if the shooter is up it.

I like a light weapon...even if it is just from the house to the truck. I have one heavy barrel AR in the back of the safe.
I have never been in the habit of carrying a pocket full of lead when I walk around. If I don't need it I don't carry it.

me too! when you add a scope, mount,sling, 10rds, cold weather gear + a few layers, zero degreee muck boots to keep your toes warm, fanny pack with odds and ends, flashlight, headlight, sitting pad, binocs, water bottle, powerbar lunch, .45 Auto with 7 rds etc. etc. It's good exercise!

Frankly the 16 inch pencil barrel while loud is real handy.