I'm starting to save for and research my next rifle, and I'm leaning the AR way in 223/5.56 persuasion. This would be my first AR and I don't know what I don't know if that makes sense. From what I've seen thus far there's about 3 price ranges: under $800, $800-1200, and $1200+. I will be using it for groundhogs and coyotes and paper. Tell me what to look for & avoid please. I've handled many but haven't had the chance to shoot any but am hoping to rectify that soon. I have noticed I prefer the flat top look so will probably head that way and add flip up sights. That's about the extent of what I've decided. Thanks for any help you can provide. Oh, almost forgot, I also have been kicking around a m&p 15-22 instead...thoughts about that route??

Having just been down that road I will tell you what I learned and what I did. I did a lot of research on building one. Looked at kits and read reviews. I had some experience with M16-A1 in the Army in 74-77 but hadn't really touched an AR since. After much worrying and fretting I bought M&P15 off the shelf and am very happy. It was about the same as a mid range kit price wise. I added a cheap low power scope because these old eyes were having a tough time with the iron sights. I could still shoot with but it cause nasty eye strain. I will probably build my second one though just because...

Not an AR, it's an AR look-alike, two completely different rifles on the inside.

You'd probably get a better response if you posted which brand/model of rifle you are looking at - it sounds like you are thinking about a 18-20 inch barrel, longer forearm 13-15 inch (tube or railed?), flat-top upper for a scope as primary?

Under $800 - you can catch a Colt carbine if you pay attention, the longer barreled Colts tend to be in the middle price range, IMHO.

The AR market is flooded with rifles, and upper tier rifles are coming down in price, some to keep up with the market, some to keep sales going.

S&W, Ruger, Rock River all make good entry rifles - others will add their favorites, you really have a buyers market to choose from - at the moment.

Buy the AR in 223 and ad a 22 upper later on...

Brand wise I am not set but I was just reading about the Ruger mpr and it looks like exactly what I want. Probably a dumb question but would I be able to swap another brand upper onto the Ruger lower? If say, I wanted to try a 300 blackout etc.?

Yes, you do that. Ruger will take any standard dimension upper.

Yes, you can play with different uppers.
The MPR comes with a very nice trigger and free floated barrel/handguard - gives you a great start on the road to accuracy. I like the balance of the MPR better than a 16" barrel carbine. I see the MPR for $650 right now.
The only downside to the MPR is that you have to add a sighting system. $50 for flip-up iron sights. $200 for a good Red Dot. $350 for a scope setup.
BTW, I see the Ruger AR556 carbine for $480 - if you just want an entry-level AR.

The Ruger MPR is likely the most for the money in an off the shelf factory model & at 6.8 lb. for a 18" barreled gun it's fairly light.

It's hard to go wrong with that; add a scope & you're set for PD's at a reasonable range, about as well as you can be with an off-the shelf gun.

In order to hunt PD's, you'd have the same scope/mount expense no matter what gun you choose to buy, so that's just a cost for doing business.

By contrast to the MPR's <$700 price tag, the Les Baer Varmint Rifle discussed on another thread is a $2,600 piece of equipment.

MM

A Rock River Varmint would work too.

I'd be half tempted to try a MPR, if I were in the market for another AR.

If you are going to buy a complete AR I would seriously consider a Rock River Lar 15, I have one and with handloads I have shot several groups under half inch at 100 yds. I have put over 2000 rounds through it and not one malfunction.

I'm far from an expert, but two things I've learned about them in the last couple of years:

1. .223/5.56 is all most people need provides cheap practice.

2. No matter what your first one is, it's a "learner" rifle, after a while you'll figure out what you really like and go from there.


So the easy answer is get a Ruger or S&W to start with and graduate later.

OP, you're getting some pretty good recommendations here. Don't spend $1500+ on your first AR unless you want to and have $$$ coming out your ears. As noted previously, a mid range AR will do just what you want it to and you can always make improvements/add upgrades in the future. The Ruger, Springfield Armory, S&W, Savage, and even Mossberg offerings are good values. There are some others out there but you're off to a good start.

I couldn't agree more. Great out of the box accuracy.

Thanks all. Good points here

Here's a shameless plug.....
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...2978625/re-fs-varmint-ar-15#Post12978625

Hey, Craig2506, I sent you a PM.

I see right at half a million (yes, 500,000) rounds shot a year. The vast majority is 5.56 for the AR based family.


If a person goes anyway but the Larue Ultimate Upper kits... they’re probably leaving things on the table. The UU kits are ridiculous for what they are.

https://www.larue.com/products/larue-ultimate-ar-15-upper-kit/

Formidilosus,

You seem to like a lot of Larue gear. Of course, that a much easier choice when someone else is picking up the tab!

That la rue kit doesn't look all that bad actually. Has enough stuff that I don't really see the need for, for the most part, and for most folks but needs and wants are 2 differing things.

Are they making in house barrels these days I think I heard some time back? Instead of culling through Walther tubes?

Colt 6920 is always a solid choice. Expect to pay ~$900. The problem with $600 AR's is not that they don't function, it's that by the time you change them to your liking, you could have bought the BCM, Larue, or Colt that you didn't think you wanted to spend the $ on. Consider buying a Colt, 2 cases of ammo, an Aimpoint Pro, a Blue Force Gear Vickers sling, and a decent weapon light- Done. If you make changes, it will be because you know what you need & why. YMMV, as always.
Edited to add; Rost495 has forgotten more about the AR15 platform than I think I know...

the MPR looks like it would be a great truck gun, I don't think I could build anything for less money than that thing is selling for, tempted to try one just to see what it will do. 18 inch barrel is interesting along with 6.8 pounds, you could get those cheap magpul plastic flip up sights and put a swfa 1-4 on it in one of the chinese pepr mounts from burris.

Funny part is excepting service rifles, I've yet to see an AR that has exactly what I want. Hence building is the best option, OR just buying a "stock" gun.

But if you know what you want and someone has it, its rare that you save much if any money by building if you are getting fancy so to speak, though many times you can build a more accurate gun by using a top line barrel.

Though these days almost any AR functions fine and is 1 to 1.5 Moa accurate.

The only thing thats a given is either buy one with a better trigger or assume you'll replace the trigger eventually.

Ehh. I buy my own Larue barrels.....

Larue does some things (barrels, 7.62’s) right, and some things (scope mounts) should be updated/changed. But the UU kit even getting it assembled is $900. It is functionally identical to the $2,600 Predatar. Before the UU kits, the top of the heap in “combat” carbines was KAC, Hodge Defense, and Larue. Those were all nearly $3,000. Now the Larue is $900








Yep, he’s making his own barrels. They are generally quite good. They group MK262 to about it’s limit- 1.3-1.4 MOA for ten rounds, and they last longer than most stainless match barrels under heavy use.

I think a Geissele 2 Stage trigger should be part of the budget. I think a SW MP and a good trigger is a lot of return on investment for a first AR15.

Thank you. I appreciate your input. I'll take it under serious consideration for the future.

Another vote for a Rick River Varmint

Don't go super cheap and get a 1/8" barrel twist.