best long range ar15

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jaredgunner185

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Ok I have a serious question I have a 2000.00 dollar budget and was wondering what the best long range ar type rifle I could buy. I'm looking at shooting distances anywhere from 400-1000 yards. Any advice for me out there. If at type rifle is out of the picture what do you all think as far as tactical rifle out there are best
 
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You will get a ton of opinions on this topic but check out Les Baer and see if you can find one of them in your budget.
 
IMO if you want to go that long with an AR you might want to consider something in 7.62/308. The M&P10 would be well under your budget and allow you to get some decent glass.
 
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Not that it can't be done but tough for 2 k. I would break it down like this:
Upper $12-1500
Lower with good trigger $500
Scope and mount $1500

Then you need match grade ammo which is not cheap.
 
Depends of just what kind of long range shooting you plan to do.

The real heart of the matter is a quality barrel. They ain't cheap. One of my friends is a serious Hi-Power shooter. He's constantly in the Presidents 100 and took 4th overall (highest civilian) at Camp Perry a few years ago. His barrels are something like $1200 and he says they last only about 4000rds. And long-range? He shoots open sights at 600yds!

A quality trigger is important too. The best are Geislle(sp?).

Ever try to pick a small target at 600yds with a cheap scope? Good scopes cost big bucks. Look at something 1000yds away with a $50 BSA , $500 Burris , $1000 Leupold or a $2500 Swarovski , and you'll see the difference.
 
Long range and AR15 just sounds funny in the same sentence.

Build a nice .308 and be happy u did.

Maybe even build a .300 AAC, but i still wouldnt consider that a long range weapon. Although it makes the 5.56 look like a .22LR when you compare them in distance.
 
Being chambered in .308 does not make a rifle accurate and really, .300 AAC for long range? That round is equal to 7.62 x 39mm, not a long range cartridge at all, but really we need to know more about your needs. What are the planned targets, terminal effects desired, ratio of < 600 to > 600, do you reload, how much shooting planned? Answers to these guestions would point me to either the 5.56 or the 6.5 Grendel which has better ballistics past 800 m than the .308. But even with the best equipment getting hits at long range under various conditions can be very difficult.
 
Build you own.
Pick and choose exactly what you want from barrel length and contour, to stocks and trigger that fits you.
For $2000 you can build one heck of a rifle.
However, .223/5.56 is never really going to be a 1000m rifle.
It can be done, but there are better cartriges for the job.
Of course, i didn't include the scope in that price, one that will be reliable and fitting to that kind of distance shooting would chew up most of your money alone!
 
A 223 bolt gun with a good(Kreiger, brux bartlein etc) barrel in 7 or maybe 8 twist and throated for the 80 grain bullet would be a much better way to go in 223. The AR has a lower pressure limit than a good bolt gun. And the 80 grain bullets must be loaded long and hence are loaded and shot one shot at a time. A 6br or a 260, either in a fast twist custom barrel shooting the heavier bullets would be a much better way to go. And the scope needs to have plenty of adjustment and be very repeatable. Go to accurate shooter.com and do a lot of reading if your interesed in longrange.
 
You might want to check out the 6.5 Grendel. Supposedly the 6.5 round can carry more energy than a .308 past 800 yds. Fantastic BC's.

6.5 Grendel
 
jaredgunner185 said:
Ok I have a serious question I have a 2000.00 dollar budget and was wondering what the best long range ar type rifle I could buy. I'm looking at shooting distances anywhere from 400-1000 yards. Any advice for me out there. If at type rifle is out of the picture what do you all think as far as tactical rifle out there are best
Click to expand...

First off, in the .223 realm, there are a few rifle components which make it better suited to do this kind of shooting, but none are really GOOD for it. Not compared to bigger calibers.
Gunslinger, IBMikey, and Mk41 are much more on track. I'd build one, and it would NOT cost 2K.

Barrel; as was stated, Kreiger or Les Baer. Just tep right up to a 22-24" barrel, which is where the maximum pressures are developed and retained. You will need EVERY ft lb of energy to push that little lead tip along.
As to upper, and lower? Neither matters in the least. I swear. It could be a complete junkyard dog, so long as it lines up and cycles ammo thru it, that is all that matters.
Now, add a trigger, and as was prescribed, a Giselle, or a 2 stage from RRA are good.
You are on to ammo. And, for stepping past 600yds, you are going to need to find what your barrel likes. Plain and simple, if it likes Wolf ammo best?? That is what you run with. If it likes Hornady, or Black hills? Then run with that. Let it be known, your AR will become a single shot rifle, because they do not cycle with 80gr ammo; it is too long for the magazine. You need to hand feed the rifle. (That is why I said nothing about a piston system, or DI preference. It's a moot point, so go DI for cheap. As cheap as possible in fact.)
The optic; that might set you back near 2K alone for the real thing. You CAN get away with a good 6x24 or so. I wish I was kidding, but I am not. No AR specific scope is meant for this kind of shooting.

By the time you do all this, you could have bought a real life bolt rifle that can do this right out of the box for around $500, and spent the other $1500 on the necessary optic. (And, made the rifle throw stuff like .243 or larger to get the job done much more reliably.)
 
Several things strike me:

1. You said buy the AR15 out there and your budget is 2K. You can have one, but not both for that amount of money. 2K will not get you the best, close, but not the best. As for the best there are lot of rifles that are close in performance, so it might just be subjective opinion which is best, so here's my opinion. Knight SR15-E3IWS-LPR. Match Barrel, Match trgger, Match Chamber, IWS Lower. Now figure another 2-3K in optics, set-up etc. Then you have to load you own rounds, the proper set up is close to 2k. After that, you'll need the top of the line Sierra Match Kings to load.

I agree with others, buy a .308 Socom, then have it updated in a EBR design, spend $500 to 2K on a Leupold and you are capable of shooting with the big dogs.

While the knight has a 1/7 spin on it and can handle heaver .223 rounds, it's still very effected a distances over 800 yds by wind, much worse so than the 7.62x51 round.

Finally, I confess I own a EBR Socom and an FN-AR, that's a tough combo to beat with a .223 round. JMO
 
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jaredgunner185 said:
Ok I have a serious question I have a 2000.00 dollar budget and was wondering what the best long range ar type rifle I could buy. I'm looking at shooting distances anywhere from 400-1000 yards. Any advice for me out there. If at type rifle is out of the picture what do you all think as far as tactical rifle out there are best
Click to expand...

Dave Lauck, The Home of Quality Custom Firearms, Tactical Training and The Tactical Marksman's Match..., would be the go to person for a long range AR-15. Dave was the 1st shooter (he is a world class gunsmith too) and perhaps the only, not sure on that, to break Jeff Cooper's 20-20-20 Challenge. 20 shots in 20 inches in 20 seconds at 1000 yards. Dave did it using one of his custom AR-15s. You'll probably need to bump your budget up a bit more too. :eek:

Edit: This is the most serious answer I can offer. ;)
 
jaredgunner185 said:
Ok I have a serious question I have a 2000.00 dollar budget and was wondering what the best long range ar type rifle I could buy. I'm looking at shooting distances anywhere from 400-1000 yards. Any advice for me out there. If at type rifle is out of the picture what do you all think as far as tactical rifle out there are best
Click to expand...

As someone already mentioned, you will get many different opinions with this question. For some, $2K is a serious amount of money where precision long distance shooting is concern, it may not be enough for certain serious people. If I were to make my own version of interpretation, you can probably buy an AR with 24" match barrel then mate it with a good scope. Colt accurized 24" AR-15 costs around $1.2K and there are other brands that can had it for cheaper (Stag 24" can be had for less than $1K). You will need a bipod/beanbags, really good scope, and very good match .223 ammo to hit beyond 600 yard accurately. If you know how to build an AR, you can build one for less money with better accuracy. However, I have to admit, it would be more practical to go with a bolt action .308 if you MUST hit beyond 600 yard accurately. A good scope that will let you reach out and touch 1000 yard will be FAIRLY expensive. It all depends on what you consider acceptable and how often you are going to shoot past 400 yard. Just my 2KBs worth!
 
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