How To Find Black Rifle?

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stonewall50

New member
I am a newbie to the whole black rifle craze. I do not plan on buying anything for the next 2 years at least (start research early to keep myself from buying the "next big thing/flop.")

This is NOT...I repeat NOT...a thread about what rifle do I buy. This is literally about the art of buying the right Black Rifle. I have NO idea what to look for. So that is my question? Where do I start? The reason I really have trouble here is that I am not a rifle shooter really. I am great on a shotgun, and getting great on a handgun.

So with these black rifles...I understand there is so much variety within stocks, tacticool accesories, scopes, sights, foregrips, and on and on and on and on and on. What are the key ingredients?

I need to know what sites to search? What are the major brand names (not guns...just the brands...like Colt, Sig, S&W are really the only 3 I know)? I assume I need to put a few in my hands too. I assume that if I like the way a certain stock is...I can probably find a rifle with that stock on it?

As you can see I have a ton of questions, but what worries me is also the questions I am not asking, because I don't know anything about these guns. I litteraly know nothing about them. Special lingo that applies to them is meaningless to me. I don't know what the lingo means. Is there somewhere I can turn to educate myself on this stuff too?

Oh and with like 5.56/.223? Are there guns that shoot both? I know the ammo is different, but I have heard that some guns can cycle both?
 
Wow, I don't know where to start.

.223/5.56 are one and the same.

You already have a great resource: the internet.

Like buying a car there are all kinds of manufacturers and assemblers. Your budget will determine where you end up. But there are lots of used AR15 to be had and I would definitely start slow/cheap buying a used one from someone near you. Preferably after testing it out at the range.

Good luck
 
I would suggest if you really want to buy one, that you start your research now, and buy ASAP. Was at my local gunstore yesterday and the same rifle I bought 3 years ago has increased by aprox. $450. Also, with the coming election in November, if stupid shows up again at the voteing booth, you might not see anymore "black rifles". Just some food for thought.
Ralph
 
.223 and 5.56 arn't the same, thats why there's wylde chambers. If its safe for 5.56 then its safe for .223, but there are some differences. Top names that come up are BCM, Spikes, Colt, Daniel Defense, Knights Armory. (no particular order) Rock River Arsenal, Bushmaster, Armalite...and I haven't even scratched the surface.

As far as places to buy them from...Dicks, Acadamy, Bass Pro, Cabella's, pawn shops, guns stores.... Though I'd be leery of pawnshops and gunstores. I just stopped by a place near me and they were charging $899 for a used bushmaster. I saw them new for less. I'm going to look around a gunshow next weekend, if I don't find what I'm looking for I'm going to find a FFL and order my stuff through them.

Take everything you read with a grain of salt, esp off manufacturer's sites. Google that specific whatever and see how its holding up and what not.

I'm kinda in the same boat as you, only I used Colt M4A1s for 8 years. I thought all AR's were the same and the only differences were looks and sizes of the parts. It's not!! Learn the language too. Most people on here throw a lot of goid info out, but they speak in AR gibberish and acronyms. GOOGLE is your friend.
 
Thanks guys. The thing I am worried about first is of course getting a cheap and crappy gun that isn't dependable. That is a big thing for me. I want something that fires every time I pull the trigger.

I am not limited to JUST ARs. My mind is open to pretty much anything. I am planning on going into LE in the near future, and so I am not sure if that limits or changes what rifles I can use, but we will see. Like I said. I am not looking to buy right now. I am looking for direction. Ideas. I need the ideas form the idea of the perfect rifle, because as of right now if you handed me a wad of cash to spend...I wouldn't know what to buy (well I could find some stuff to buy...but it wouldn't be the dream "assault rifle.").
 
Rick hit the nail on the head.

I recommend for folks new to the AR to sit down with a piece of paper and list what you want to do with it. The optimum rifle for HD is different than the rifle to take prairie dog hunting which is different than the deer hunting version.

If you begin by looking at the options, you will become overwhelmed. (more so if you're a Gator...;))
 
Not many rifles that can be easily owned are assault rifles.

Most are semi auto versions of assault rifles.

But its a common misconception.
 
I use the "assault weapon" term losely. I generally just mean something that certain politicians don't like.

I like the list idea.

Being a Gator certainly does help speed along the process of educating myself on the subject. All it took were a few ideas and now I have a working idea of what I want (subject to change as I figure out more and get some stuff in the hands).
 
Stonewall,
Most AR-15 are legacy gas impingement system, the new generation AR-15 are piston impingement systems. Many people are not even aware of them. That's the big decision you have to make, the rest flows from that.

Here's a link that shows you what a piston system is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3LHEYUha9c

There are many gas piston manufacturers H&K, POF (Patriot Ordnance Factory), Sig, LWRC, Remington, ect... They cost a little more but the difference is real. By the way mine is not all black.
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Good luck
 
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So it seems to me that the Gas Piston System is cleaner and generally easier on the gun? Does it have problems? Just curious if anyone has particular problems with the system? Or knows any flaws in their own experience?
 
Also, with the coming election in November, if stupid shows up again at the voting booth, you might not see anymore "black rifles".

Ditto what Ralph said.

Ever heard of the "U.N. Small Arms Treaty" proposal? Hillary and Barry are all for it. :mad:
 
I have a S&W Sport. Lovely gun, 3000 rounds so far and zero issues.

Honestly though I wouldn't mind having a rifle length upper for more sight plane and milder recoil. Really it boils down to personal preference.

If you just want to pay for a gun and not regret anything later, get a Colt 6920 and call it good. $$$ though.
 
From what I've read the whole DI/piston issue was a solution to a non existant problem which creates more problems in the AR platform. No only does it add moving parts and a slight weight into a system not designed for it, it had no real benefits or the problems it caused outweighed any benefits it might have. As I've been searching, I've found a few places who refuse to make/sell them.

I think I read something about them helping with the blowback of gasses when firing a suppressed weapon.
 
Stonewall, if you were a 'nole, you'd have picked it up faster...;)

Semi-problomatic is going down the same path in another thread, trying to figure out the wide world of the AR and what route is best for him.

Once you figure out what you want, then the folks with experience here can help guide you through the next steps. Suggestions on rifles, like the M&P-15 Sport, are IMHO, premature at best right now. If you want a hunting rig, that's not the best choice. If you want a plinker, then it might be.

As for Eppie with the gas piston suggestion, gas pistons do have a benefit, and that is less carbon fouling in the receivers. However, this is NOT the system the military uses, nor is it how the rifle was originally designed. I personally do not see the benefits outweighing the cost.
 
Last I heard the Army was converting their guns from DI to gas piston set up when the XM trials flopped. Its a short term fix until they find the money to upgrade the rifles.
 
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