The Best AR-15 for a Starter???

C

cjacobs

New member
I am looking to purchase my first AR for hog hunting. I want a .223 and would like to know what's the best I can get for under $1000. Any input would be great. Thanks in advance.
 
There are a lot of options, all are very comparable. You just need to look at the minor differences and decide which suits you better and which is the best price.

I own rifles made by Stag, Rock River and Palmetto State Armory. All 3 were in the $800 price range. All are set up slightly differently. All have served me well.

There are several others in that price range and I'm sure you'll hear other suggestions.
 
For Hog hunting I'd look real hard at the Colt competition that CDNN has on sale right now and I'd put a 1-4X or 1.5-5X of some nature on it, there are many good ones for 2-300 dollars.
 
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A barrel twist rate of 1:9 or 1:8 to work with heavier bullets. I'd prefer a 20" (or at least 18") for maximum velocity.

For daytime hunting, if using iron sights, the main thing is the skill in making hits from field positions. Offhand, leaning on a tree, whatever.

IMO, "effective range" is the limit at which you can regularly hit the end of a beer can from some field position. Rifle, pistol, irons, scope--alla samee-samee.
 
Under $1000 with optics? I'd go with something from PSA, then look for some optics. I prefer a 16 inch mid length barrel, but that's just me. Your personal preference will come out on top for that. This is assuming you are doing daytime hunting too. Unless you already have night vision, you aren't getting anywhere close to under $1000 for a night hunt.
 
my advice, since you have a $1000 budget, is to get a cheapo like a S&W M&P sport, DPMS sportical or oracle, or Palmetto State Armory(heretoafter to be referred to as PSA), for the $600-ish range. shoot it a little and figure out what you want to change about it. a rock river arms match trigger can be had as low as $80 if you catch the right people during a sale, usually they are a little over $100 plus shipping. then fix the ergonomics, change the handguards, pistol grip, and buttstock should you so choose. then lastly decide what optics you want on it. my first AR15 was once known as a DPMS sportical but at this point it is no longer recognizable as such. it has a RRA trigger, badger ordnance free float handguard(free float ad some inherent accuracy but are a pain if you've never done them before and depending on the model you get), has a hogue pistol grip(for comfort) and it is topped off with a Nikon Prostaff scope... all could be done within your budget...

... heck of a lot better than spending $1000 for a cookie cutter Colt with no optics and no personally tailored features. oh, and mine shoots less than 1 inch groups with the right ammo, better than the guy behind the trigger.
 
I agree for the most part with tahunua above, however, if I were to have a a $1000 budget, I'd drop $700 on the M&P-15 Sport, about $50 on mags, cleaning kits, and the like, and spend the rest on bulk ammo, from American Eagle or the like.

I'd then shoot said M&P until I felt very proficient with it.
 
First, he needs to figure specifics for a "hog rifle". Once that's less of an unknown, the SA Rifle forum for brands, models and prices.

For instance, a K-4 on a flattop + a Streamlight SL-20 makes a good night-hunt package.
 
I agree with art. the guys over at the semi forums know a lot about flight path, trajectory, target shooting ETC, but few of them factor in energy, expansion/disintegration, nor do they care about durability which is kindof a big thing if you're hunting swamp hogs. this is a good forum to have this thread in.
 
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