Best Bargain AR?
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Ridge_Runner_5
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Del-Ton
ndking1126
New member
I would buy Stag!
You can build a pretty good AR for around 800-1000. I strongly suggest you build one for the price range your in, however if you dont want to build the s&w AR-15's built by stag are great rifles for the price from what I read (M&P's). I personally own a bushmaster m4a3 that i got for around 1k. I love it and its an amazing rifle.
Bamashooter
New member
S&W M&P-15 Sport would be what I would look for on the cheap end of AR's.
chris in va
New member
My Sport has been stellar. S&W seems to have deleted the features you don't need and invested in a good trigger, barrel and design. 1500 rounds through mine, and I found a gentleman on another board with 4500 on his.
Here's my take, after talking in person with military guys and long-time AR owners.
The forward assist is unnecessary for general range use. If the round jams, forcing it in just makes it worse.
Dust cover is a take it or leave it, only gets used between firings.
Removeable trigger guard usually gets replaced with a more curved piece, which S&W has addressed.
The M203 cut on a civilian AR barrel is pointless (unless you like lobbing dummy grenades).
So in turn S&W made sure it has M4 cuts, staked/chromed gas key, internal/external Melonited 5R barrel, good removeable rear sight, crisp trigger and F-marked front sight.
The only thing I wish they had included is a heat shielded handguard, but those are inexpensive enough so not worried about it.
Here's my take, after talking in person with military guys and long-time AR owners.
The forward assist is unnecessary for general range use. If the round jams, forcing it in just makes it worse.
Dust cover is a take it or leave it, only gets used between firings.
Removeable trigger guard usually gets replaced with a more curved piece, which S&W has addressed.
The M203 cut on a civilian AR barrel is pointless (unless you like lobbing dummy grenades).
So in turn S&W made sure it has M4 cuts, staked/chromed gas key, internal/external Melonited 5R barrel, good removeable rear sight, crisp trigger and F-marked front sight.
The only thing I wish they had included is a heat shielded handguard, but those are inexpensive enough so not worried about it.
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http://www.pkfirearms.com/Smith__Wesson_Rifles/138/c
Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport Rifle
Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport Rifle features a 16" barrel with 1/8 twist. 5.56 NATO chamber, Adjustable front and rear sights, 6-position collapsable stock, M4 ramped flat top receiver, Carbine gas system, standard trigger and A2 flash hider. Includes one 30 round PMAG.
Our Price: each $709.00
Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport Rifle
Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport Rifle features a 16" barrel with 1/8 twist. 5.56 NATO chamber, Adjustable front and rear sights, 6-position collapsable stock, M4 ramped flat top receiver, Carbine gas system, standard trigger and A2 flash hider. Includes one 30 round PMAG.
Our Price: each $709.00
ksstargazer
New member
I paid $600 for my Smith and Wesson M&P15 and it is very accurate. One of the best deals out there.
psycho nut
New member
I bought a Stag Arms Model 4L for $960ish and I love it if that means anything to you.
My being left-handed was a deciding factor, but the gun itself is awesome. Shoots everything, and I haven't tried any sort of accuracy tests with it but I always hit what I'm aiming at.
My being left-handed was a deciding factor, but the gun itself is awesome. Shoots everything, and I haven't tried any sort of accuracy tests with it but I always hit what I'm aiming at.
I've only seen Mossberg's MSRP's on their AR-ish rifles. Mossberg's AR's are missing a couple things that pretty much all "standard" AR's have so the street prices on their guns had better be below what's on the market now.
You can assemble an AR, using a complete upper, stripped lower and LPK for around $600. You could save a few more dollars by assembling the upper but you'll need some specialized tools.
Palmetto State Armory, Spikes, Rock River, Bravo Company, Del-Ton ... and a dozen or so others all source their stripped lowers from the same couple manufacturers.
Get one of those and put together your own lower. It'll be just as good, if not better, than the Mossberg of S&W budget guns and you'll learn a lot in the process.
Twist rates determine the rotation of the bullet as it travels down the barrel and then toward the target. A 1:9 rate is acceptable for most people. If you want to shoot heavier bullets - say 72 grain+ - you might want a barrel with a 1:7 twist. The faster rate, in theory, is capable of stabilizing a heavier bullet.
Chambered in 5.56 is good. That allows you to shoot .223 if you want. I wouldn't recommend going the other direction (shooting 5.56 is an upper chambered for .223).
BTW, if you assemble your own lower, it's chambering generally doesn't matter. Many lowers are marked "multi". This means you can build a gun, based on that lower, that will shoot 5.56, .223, 6.8, 7.62, etc.
You can assemble an AR, using a complete upper, stripped lower and LPK for around $600. You could save a few more dollars by assembling the upper but you'll need some specialized tools.
Palmetto State Armory, Spikes, Rock River, Bravo Company, Del-Ton ... and a dozen or so others all source their stripped lowers from the same couple manufacturers.
Get one of those and put together your own lower. It'll be just as good, if not better, than the Mossberg of S&W budget guns and you'll learn a lot in the process.
Twist rates determine the rotation of the bullet as it travels down the barrel and then toward the target. A 1:9 rate is acceptable for most people. If you want to shoot heavier bullets - say 72 grain+ - you might want a barrel with a 1:7 twist. The faster rate, in theory, is capable of stabilizing a heavier bullet.
Chambered in 5.56 is good. That allows you to shoot .223 if you want. I wouldn't recommend going the other direction (shooting 5.56 is an upper chambered for .223).
BTW, if you assemble your own lower, it's chambering generally doesn't matter. Many lowers are marked "multi". This means you can build a gun, based on that lower, that will shoot 5.56, .223, 6.8, 7.62, etc.
I bought my first AR (first rifle of any kind since I had a Marlin .22 as a kid) this summer. I shopped around a lot and finally got a S&W M&P15 Sport for $610 at a local gun shop. I haven't put many rounds through it yet, but so far I love it. Nice trigger and more accurate than I am at this stage. It spends its days off in a nice padded case so I don't worry too much about the dust cover, and the way I shoot I cant ever see NEEDING the forward assist. For the price it seems like a heck of a rifle.