AR15 or alternative for $1000

J

jacobts2013

Joined
Jan 1, 2014
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Hey guys. I'm looking to get myself an AR or something of the sorts. My budget is limited to $1000 and I'm confused as to which rifles/brand are decent in that range. Anny advice is appreciated! Oh and I don't want to build one either.
 
Does the $1000 include sights/optics?

How much do you intend on using it and what would you want to use it for?

If you're barely going to shoot it, a lot of brands will do and you won't notice the difference between a $600 rifle and a $1600 unless you have an eye for fit and finish and machining flaws
 
Google Bravo Company (BCM) and Pat Rogers for expert advise why BCM is the best value in the market.
 
M67 said:
Does the $1000 include sights/optics?

How much do you intend on using it and what would you want to use it for?

If you're barely going to shoot it, a lot of brands will do and you won't notice the difference between a $600 rifle and a $1600 unless you have an eye for fit and finish and machining flaws
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This is for enjoyment as well as training purposes on my own time. I'd prefer an AR for the training but it doesn't necessarily have to be one. I will catch any issues with fit and finish and they will bug the check out of me but I understand that you get what you pay for here.
 
some characteristics you might want to include on your choice... most all modern ARs are 7075-T6 forged uppers and lowers... inclusion of military specification bolts of Carpenter 158 steel, and high pressure tested (hpt) and magnetic particle inspected(mpi), with properly staked carrier key is a good thing ... most mark the barrels as 5.56...an A4 flat top offers a lot of sight options...full floated hand guard keeps from applying pressure to the barrel and causing changes in point of impact...chrome lined bores and chambers reduce maintenance, but some claim less accuracy...only a few come with really good match grade triggers standard...there are a variety of barrel profiles, with corresponding differences in weight if someone with strength problems is to use the rifle offhand... a 16" barrel is plenty accurate for 10" targets to 400m and beyond
 
As mentioned earlier, BCM. I've also had extremely good luck with Spikes Tactical and their customer service has always been great.

Armalite, lot of people would recommend Colt (never been a modern Colt person, personally), S&W, Stag, etc.

There's a lot of solid ARs out there for a $1000 or less but unfortunately most will have that "generic AR look"
 
If you're not in a hurry, check out Palmetto State Armory. They offer some really good rifles for great prices. Also, the prices on Colt 6920s are pretty reasonable. You shouldn't have any problem building/buying a decent AR for $700-900.
 
Another option would be to get in touch with some smiths and see if they offer building an upper to your specs that you can put to a generic lower. A good upgrade to a generic lower is an ALG trigger for $65, an accuwedge for $6 (to tighten up the fit between receivers) and whatever pistol grip you like. This will get you an upper built to your specs and save you some money on the lower.

Don't know where you're located, but Brett of Ironworks tactical does awesome work.


-Xander
 
If you don't need the quality of a rifle like an HK 90 or an FN FAL or a custom shop AR the cheaper DPMS, Olypic Arms, Bushmaster, Windham are all good for "fun" shooting and plinking. You can shop around and find a great rifle and good optics for way less than $1000! My Olympic was less than $600 tax included. It will eat every brand of of ammo I feed it. I can knock the top off a Gatorade bottle at 100 yards all day
Do you want your rifle to be a Kershaw or a Busse? They will all perform....some are a little more....fancy!
 
Don't forget the Mossberg, solid inexpensive rigs that are actually slick side uppers and have a free float handguard.


-X
 
Colt 6920, not a lot of bells and whistles but a good quality rifle.

If it's not a Colt it's a copy (of a copy).
 
fast14riot said:
an accuwedge for $6 (to tighten up the fit between receivers)

-Xander
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I've seen accuwedges cause more trouble than they're worth, put extra strain on the aluminum and it speeds up wear on the finish and the lug. They don't need to be super right, but that's just been my experience. I had one in my first AR and kind of hated it.

Monofletch said:
If you don't need the quality of a rifle like an HK 90 or an FN FAL or a custom shop AR the cheaper DPMS, Olypic Arms, Bushmaster, Windham are all good for "fun" shooting and plinking. You can shop around and find a great rifle and good optics for way less than $1000! My Olympic was less than $600 tax included. It will eat every brand of of ammo I feed it. I can knock the top off a Gatorade bottle at 100 yards all day
Do you want your rifle to be a Kershaw or a Busse? They will all perform....some are a little more....fancy!
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Hi Points supposedly perform too, but I don't trust them. Every company has down falls and I've seen more issues with the entry level ARs than I have "higher end". Bushmasters with the castle nut over a quarter inch away from tight against the lower receiver, with the takedown detent spring pushing it out even further. Worked on an Olympic last week that had the trigger guard installed backwards, the detent was in the rear and the roll pin was installed in the front, making it a blind pin.

That being said, I'd stay away from any AR owned by Freedom Group: Bushmaster, Remignton, and DPMS. FG can't answer the damn phone if you have an issue and if they do, you're on hold for 40 minutes. Part of buying a firearm for me is customer service, FG has none. I'd go Olympic than a FG rifle just because the Olympic people have always been friendly and helpful (to me anyway)

cricketdave said:
Ruger has a new AR coming out for about 600 bucks, that would be one to look for too.
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I should have one in my shop today or tomorrow, it'll be interesting disecting it. No chrome lined or nitrided barrel but oh well. I'm curious who's receivers they're using and what the staking looks like (since they say on their specs sheet that it's "proper staking".

But, has that "generic AR" look too many rifles suffer from.

fast14riot said:
Don't forget the Mossberg, solid inexpensive rigs that are actually slick side uppers and have a free float handguard.


-X
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The fit and finish on the Mossbergs I've seen have surprisingly been good. Their forearms are a touch heavy and the knurling on them are a tad sharp at first.

But they use UTG receiver extensions and me being picky, it's always bugged me.

ElConquistador said:
If it's not a Colt it's a copy (of a copy).
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One big issue I have with Colt....is they can't answer the damn phone. Plus they sell to Walmart cheaper than I can buy them before being another dealer, they (like Freedom Group) cheapen their name and reputation being in Walmart. Plus their rifles (non Competition) suffer hard core "generic AR" look.


I'm just heavily biased against some companies, they might make a fine firearm, but it's how they conduct themselves when you have a warranty issue, QC issue, and just in general
 
All solid advice. If you are particular about fit and finish though, make sure you handle the rifle you eventually buy. My biggest pet peeve is a loose fit between upper and lower receivers. Please understand that most of these companies are simply buying parts from others to assemble rifles. There are a relatively small number of companies that actually produce receivers, barrells, etc.. compared to the total number who sell complete rifles. $1,000 for most of the big names will get you a rifle with good components. Reliability to be determined only at the range.
 
Correct, most big name companies only put pieces together and outsource a lot of their parts (Anderson makes lowers for a lot of people and they probably make the springs that's in most of the LPKs out there). But it's the QC and standards each company sets regarding those parts. If a stripped upper receiver doesn't meet BCM standard, it might meet Olympic's or someone elses.

Customer service from PSA kind of sucks (I hear it a lot), but that's one of my things against them, their ARs seem to consist of parts that are someone's leftovers' leftovers' leftovers

To completely in house an AR, the amount of space needed for machines and storage....it would be stupid large. Detents, springs, gas blocks, receiver extensions, barrels (plus the ability to chrome line them or nitride bath), muzzle devices, and if they do their own handguard... let alone making the receivers (either forged or billet) then the capabilities of anodizing or cerakoting them
 
Been a firearms instructor for close to 20 years and have fired many different brands of AR. Our Agency uses Colt (nice rifle), my first personally owned AR was a Smith and Wesson (nice rifle), 2nd was a Spikes (nice rifle), my brother shoots a Larue (nice rifle) and a LMT (nice rifle). My latest purchase was a Daniel Defense DDM4V5 & DDM4V7 (nice rifles). Point of the previous sentence is that as long as you don't purchase some fly-by-night AR manufacturer, MOST folks won't notice a difference is their AR performances. I've put several thousands of round down range and have gotten a little nit picky (I prefer and 1:7 twist, like a CQ rifle AND a Longer range rifle separate, etc.) The other guys have given some good advice. If I were you, I'd take a look at Buds Gun shop, pick out a rifle with a top rail that has some flip up battle sights (or fixed front sight) BUT has top rail that makes it easy to mount some type of optic (CQB or long range) for later when you save a bit more and know what you want. There's allot to be said for shooting with good old sight alignment and trigger control with open sights then spoil yourself later with a good optic when you save a bit more money. It's not uncommon at all to spend as much or more on optics than you do on the gun; then comes the money pit known as ammo :)
As always, a gun thread isn't complete without photos :)
Daniel Defense DDM4-V5 w/ Leupold VX-R Patrol Scope
12830721425_e432425b73_b.jpg
 
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For the most bang for the buck, I'd recommend assembling your own lower and then adding a Daniel Defense upper. You'll just squeeze in under a grand if you're careful. Bravo Company uppers are a killer deal and excellent quality as well. However, you'll still need sights and /or an optic so this might go over budget.

For a great, inexpensive out of the box rifle, I'd recommend a S&W M&P ORC (Optic Ready Carbine). They're going for $800-$900.

If you need a grand to be your total with sights/optics, mags, etc, take a look at the S&W M&P Sport. A super rifle for under $600. (Just keep it out of mud and crud because it has no ejection port cover.)
 
M67 said:
Correct, most big name companies only put pieces together and outsource a lot of their parts (Anderson makes lowers for a lot of people and they probably make the springs that's in most of the LPKs out there). But it's the QC and standards each company sets regarding those parts. If a stripped upper receiver doesn't meet BCM standard, it might meet Olympic's or someone elses.

Customer service from PSA kind of sucks (I hear it a lot), but that's one of my things against them, their ARs seem to consist of parts that are someone's leftovers' leftovers' leftovers

To completely in house an AR, the amount of space needed for machines and storage....it would be stupid large. Detents, springs, gas blocks, receiver extensions, barrels (plus the ability to chrome line them or nitride bath), muzzle devices, and if they do their own handguard... let alone making the receivers (either forged or billet) then the capabilities of anodizing or cerakoting them
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This is out of a 16" M4 profile PSA Premium upper. 50gr Vmax, 1/7 twist, less than 50 rounds through it at the time. Pretty good to me for 100 yards.


LVrK4Hb.jpg
 
RE: accuwedge...

I agree, I have seen them be more of an issue than not, but I will say that I have seen more people than not install it and never adjust them. They have to lean on the upper like trying to get a suitcase to close to get the takedown pin out with a tool still. On mine I can just press it down firmly with my thumb on the charging handle slot and push the pin out. No need to have them any tighter than to just take the noise/slop out.

They don't actually add any degree of accuracy to your rifle, and I think that's where people get mixed up, they think it should he as firm a lock up as possible to get everything rock solid. All they're doing is putting stress and wear on their receiver. Again, just firm enough that it takes the noise and slop out is all they need.


-Xander
 
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