Carbine HELP!

S

stonewall50

New member
I am not in the buying phase of a semi-automatic rifle yet. I am looking for something along the lines of an AR, Sig, or generally anything that falls under the old "assault weapons" classification :D . So I really need some ideas because I have NO idea where to start. I will provide some simple qualifications below that the gun needs to meet, and that is about it.

Reliability is a MUST. I use an 870 and I run that gun like a rented mule. I need a rifle that will hold up to my particularly abusive nature (mud, the occasional bump, and doesn't NEED to be cleaned after every use [I DO clean after every use, but I don't want it to NEED it lol]).

Short. I need it to be able to move around corners and get in and out of a vehicle with it.

Range: Accurate to 300m or under.

Able to make it Tacticool lol...All I really want is a flashlight attachment and a red dot or some kind of quick aquisition sight. The light is for obvious reasons, and the sight...well open sights on rifles are my nemsis.


PLEASE PLEASE suggestions. All are welcome.

Oh and 5.56-7.62 is fine. Either or and anything in between. It just has to be accurate.
 
This will be good.

Well, you've certainly opened a can of worms. Everyone will chime in, they'll all say everyone else is stupid, and three hundred different rifles with one thousand different tactical attachments will be recommended.

So, I'll go first. I have a Colt 6920. I figured Colt made my M-16s when I was an 11B, so I figure they'll be fine for my civvy AR. I have a friend who has a SIG 400, and it seems tight as well.

I like DI, fewer parts, slightly lighter, and piston gives me no real advantages for the cost (I like cleaning my rifle, it's relaxing and I like the smell of Hoppe's and Scotch :cool:).

I like the MOE equipment from MagPul, it's durable and inexpensive for the build quality. I have the MOE stock (protected lever), the pistol grip, the forend, and the foregrip.

I have a sling that can be used in single point or two point config.

I like 5.56, because for most applications, it is enough power, it recoils less, and the ammo weighs less.

Overall, I feel my rifle is as good as any, and I can not shoot as well as it can.
 
PS: the MOE forend can have rail sections attached. That way, you can have a good grip, without the rail covers. I don't have any rails, but if I wanted to, I think that's what I'd do.

PPS: All the MOE furniture is in Flat Dark Earth. 'Cause I can't accessorize with shoes, purses, hats, and jewelry; why let the girls have all the fun. :eek:
 
Yea. I understand everyone has their own brands and models. I am BRAND NEW to the black gun scene though. I have no idea what half the stuff you said was lol.

Piston? Did we just get into automobiles? lol MOE? DI?

You have to really dumb it down for me. The list of rifles I have are a .22 Win Mag Short Lever Action, CZ 550 American .308, and an 1894 .30-30 (which has been the only go to rifle for self defense...and the 870 with slugs outranks that lol). Of course I shot a ruger 10/22 as well. But I have never cleaned that...it is my father's gun and I only shot it when I was really too young to take it apart without supervision.
 
I was all set to recommend a Saiga AK until I read the part where you said: "It just has to be accurate". In that case I would recommend an AR in the M4 configuration with 16" barrel and preferably a mid length gas system. I would recommend looking at Palmetto State Armory. It seems to be the best bang for the buck to me. You can get something really nice in the $700 price range. http://palmettostatearmory.com/
 
DI AR. Based more on experience and less on any budgetary concerns, I'll say LaRue and BCM are great places to start for an upper (IF you go the AR route). Get good with iron sights and them come back and open up the optics can of worms. :D
 
Reliability is a MUST. ....................Able to make it Tacticool lol...All I really want is a flashlight attachment and a red dot or some kind of quick aquisition sight. The light is for obvious reasons, and the sight...well open sights on rifles are my nemsis.
Click to expand...

The more crap you pile on a rifle, the more the reliability problems you're going to have.

You'd be way a head of the game if you find a good simple reliable rifle, and put the 'tacticool" money into rounds down range learning to shoot.
 
this would be my choice, Colt 6721.

colt_ar6721_b.jpg


then if you want a light and red dot then change the hand guard to this:

mctar20g2pu.gif


no tools required.
 
DI is the old gas system. Gas shoots directly into the chamber to push bolt back and cycle the round. Piston, to my understanding, caps off the end of the gas tube (basically) with a spring loaded piston. Supposed to keep gas, fouling and heat build up down in a chamber. Adds more moving parts, debateable on reliability (from what I've read), supposed to help if you put a suppressor on a rifle. Arguable that it'll make your rifle need to be cleaned less, due to residue and gasses not being blown into the chamber. Also some of the various bolt and bolt carrier coatings (Ni comes to mind and teflon) are supposed to help make parts last longer and cleaning take less time.

Magpul is a name brand, makes things like buttstocks and pistol grips and front rails to hang esspresso machines on. I find the pistol grip and buttstock on an AR to be a bit anemic.

As far as to what and who from.... Might as well get a 16 inch barrel. Its the shortest you can get (even the 14.5 inch have a 2 inch flash suppressor welded onto them). Spikes, Daniel Defense, Colt and BCM all come up in every post I've read. My only experience has been with colt M4A1's. They work, but you can get better configurations in the civilian world.

If money were no object I'd get a knights armory. Apparently they're the best. If I could slip 2k past the wife without her having a nuclear melt-down I'd get a spikes, upgrade the furniture (pistol grip, buttstock, floating rails), 3 point sling, buy a good eotech, a few more mags and a 1,000 rounds or so of some lake city ammo.

But since I can't do that, I'm going to use my O/T, buy a part or two a month and build my own the way I want it.

Some other things you might see;
Mid or carbine length gas system. The mid system is supposed to be better for follow up shots due to diff recoil pulse...never tried it. Also a barrel maker claims that due to the longer extraction time the mid system makes steel cased ammo wear out your chamber less than in a carbine length gas system.

Chrome or non chrome lined barrels. They say as long as you're not going crazy with the rapid fire and getting your barrel insanely hot that a non chrome lined barrel will be ok and slightly more accurate. If you want to go crazy with the cheeze whiz then get the chrome lined. Something like 1/4 " (or 1/4 moa) less accurate at 100 yards. 10,000 round longer barrel life...

People go crazy about attaching red dots/holo sights on here. I mentioned that I want magpul furniture and a red dot and some guy accused me of wanting to up on tons of weight and $800 designer stocks on.... Not sure what that was about. I'd try to pick through the fan-based bias and hater talk like walking through a cow pasture. There's a lot of crap but as long as you pay attention you can stay put of it. I'll give you an example: Spikes and colt look about the same on THE CHART (google man!) but spikes is $500 less. I'd do a lot of research before I dropped $500 on a name.
 
Last edited:
here are some of the old banned features that might be desireable again someday:
collapsible stock
Hi cap mag
bayonet lug
I would look for something with all three if you live in an area where legal. I have a del-ton hbar 16" upper which only lacks chrome lining. It is extremely accurate.
 
Reliable ? check
Easy to clean ? check
Rails ? check
Compact ? check
Accurate ? check
Tacticool ? Come on, look at it ! :D


P1000125.jpg
 
If you want it rugged and still operate under abuse, then the AK should be the right platform for you. It wont be as pretty nor will it fire with quite the accuracy of the AR, but it sure will take the abuse.
 
Sorry Stonewall

Let me dumb it down for you.

Operating System:
DI is short for direct impingment, which means that gas is vented directly into the receiver to operate the bolt.

Piston operated rifles have the gas push a rod that operates the bolt.

The AR platform was originally designed with the DI system. There are advantages to both and disadvantages to both. The DI system gets more gunk into the receiver and requires more cleaning. The Piston system is slightly heavier and has more moving parts.

Brand
Colt made my rifle when I was in the Army, so I figure they'll do for me now. Any brand will probably do, there are many. Stag, Rock River, Daniel Defense, Noveske, SIG are all quality, but I like Colt.

Add ons/Tacticool
I didn't just like black, so I got the Magpul MOE (magpul original equipment) stock, forend, and pistol grip. It's Flat Dark Earth, which is kind of like a brown. The forend can attach rails so you can put a light or foregrip on your rifle. My Colt, along with most rifles today are flat tops, which means that you can put a scope or red dot on top very easily.

As for the requirements, any AR with a 16" barrel will be easy to maneuver. Any quality AR will be accurate to 300m. Any quality AR will be very reliable and more than capable of meeting your needs.

To start, just get a quality rifle. Shoot it and become intimately familiar with it. As long as you get one of the quality brands, learn to clean it, and shoot it regularly, you really can't go wrong.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top