Getting ready to buy a AR 15

[Magload]

Just about any AR will shoot 1MOA groups if you do your part, including the Sport. Sorry, I thought you were wanting something better than the average AR.

No thanks for the help I may not have explained my desires in what I was hoping to shoot. That probably stems from the fact that this platform for target shooting is new to me. In the Navy I was issued a AR two different times. First In Vietnam where I was issued the weapon and 2 loaded mags and got no instructions on how to load it fire it or a single shot of range time. Then I GTMO as a member of Ground Defense Force I am least got to fire mine but never on a range at a target. Lots of time shooting blanks during drills and a lot of spotless cleaning. If you guys can shoot a 1/3" group that is what I want.

I have just about come to the fact that I might as well start from scratch and build one and not buy one and start replacing parts. I was just kind of hoping that a MOE for $750 with a new trigger, forearm, might give me what I wanted. Don

 

[Rastoff]

If you guys can shoot a 1/3" group that is what I want.

We'd all like that. [emoji6]

Just to get on the same page, I think I need to clarify a term; MOA. MOA means minute of angle. It is not distance dependent. This is why precision shooters use this term.

A 1" group at 50 yards is 2MOA. At 100 yards, it's 1MOA and at 200 yards it's 1/2MOA. Therefore, it's easier to say you have a 1MOA gun than to say it shoots a 1" group. A 1" group at 50 yards is completely different than a 1" group at 100 yards.

So, even a cheap AR will be at least a 1.5MOA gun. Most will be closer to 1MOA though.

If you want to shoot 1/3" groups, at 100 yards, you'll need better components than any M&P comes with. I'm sure they exist, but I've never seen a 1/3MOA AR. That's accuracy that almost exclusively belongs to the bolt action guns.

 

[Magload]

So, even a cheap AR will be at least a 1.5MOA gun. Most will be closer to 1MOA though.
.

Thanks you that gives me more of a idea what to expect out of a standard AR 15. I understand the MOA thing just guess I should be using it more when defining what is expected from a gun. It is just that when we measure groups and do the Show and Tell thing we do on these forums we don't say. I shot this .75 MOA group. It doesn't tell us a thing when someone post a picture of a clover leaf group and don't say the distance it was shot at. I always look for powder burns on the target.

If I decide to build a AR I will bug you guy a lot as most of you know from experience what has worked for you. That will save me money and the size of the replaced parts box I will need. Don

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

You are probably right I can't leave anything stock but the MOE does have a better barrel then the OR. Don

You'll enjoy the adventure and likely have much of the rifle you buy today tossed in a parts box to prove it . It's all part of the fun.

I know a guy who has about mortgaged his home trying to get an AR to shoot as well as my out of the box Rem 700. Not there yet... but he's getting closer . It don't matter... he enjoys it.

 

[Kodiakco]

1 MOA = 1.047" @ 100 YRDS
1 MOA @ 100 YRDS is about 1"
1 MOA @ 200 YRDS is about 2"
and so forth.
My mostly stock OR (after market free float handguard & trigger) gives me sub (. 54) MOA @ 200 YRDS using Federal Gold Match 69 gr. From a bench using my range bag as a rest and 3-9x40 scope.

 

[Magload]

I know a guy who has about mortgaged his home trying to get an AR to shoot as well as my out of the box Rem 700. Not there yet... but he's getting closer . It don't matter... he enjoys it.

Yep, no matter how you do it, it is hard to beat a good old bolt action rifle. There is nothing like the warmth of a fine wooden stock against your cheek. You do miss out on buying all the junk to hang on it like a AR and yes that will be more then half the fun. Now to find a wooden AR stock. Don

 

[Magload]

1 MOA = 1.047" @ 100 YRDS
1 MOA @ 100 YRDS is about 1"
1 MOA @ 200 YRDS is about 2"
and so forth.
My mostly stock OR (after market free float handguard & trigger) gives me sub (. 54) MOA @ 200 YRDS using Federal Gold Match 69 gr. From a bench using my range bag as a rest and 3-9x40 scope.

I think you just sold a OR for Quantico Thanks that is the info I needed to make my choise. I had picked the OR in the first place as I liked the $649 price tag. Don

 

[ROK]

I think you just sold a OR for Quantico Thanks that is the info I needed to make my choise. I had picked the OR in the first place as I liked the $649 price tag. Don

You will be hard pressed to beat that $649 price tag. You will not build for near that price point. I also have a 6920 I purchased 1st, and was hooked. Changed almost everything except the upper receiver, lower receiver and barrel!

I then bought a complete 6920 lower and built an 18" upper. Easy 5 rounds into an inch. The 16" 6920, using the same ammo was closer to 2"/100yrds. I wanted more, so I built a complete rifle. Selected the barrel based on friends and family recommendations, and picked and chose every part that went into that 20". With 75 gr. Hornady or 77gr. SMKs, the rifle IS a bolt action for all intents and purposes to me. Lots of fun, but heavy. A bench gun. So I built another, this time on a 10.5" barrel. The AR pistol, if you would. Fun gun, but don't let it fool you. That little gun shoots into 1.5"/100yards with decent ammo. Now I'm thinking NFA and SBR tax stamp for the little one. Or another one...

Where does it end?

 

[CaptnGlenn]

I spent months handwringing over what to buy, which were months I could have spent shooting!!! I finally just went cheap, got the Sport, and put a cheap but reliable red dot on it... and my only regret is not doing it sooner. In the end, they're all great rifles, and fun to shoot. Buy one, get a case of cheap ammo, and go have FUN! bang bang!!!

 

[SGT_Lindy]

Accuracy can be increased by the following (in this order)

1. Shooter skills
2. Better Barrel
3. Better Ammo (match grade)
4. Better trigger.

The first 3 will give you the biggest bang for your buck. A trigger will only help if you stock trigger is horrible. Sure a good trigger will feel better but if your trigger control skills are good they will be good on a decent stock trigger.

Free floating a rifle WONT improve your accuracy. It can help it from decreasing it. Free floating prevents pressure on the barrel, like putting your hand guard on some kind of support, like a car hood, some kind of barrier etc., and pressing down hard on it. For your bench rest shooting it is a waste of money.

Of the two I would go with the MOE for a slightly better barrel.

However the OR does not have the A2 front sight post, which for some is irritating when using a scope. It does not bother me and I am a big fan of the A2 front sight, but I don't run a magnified optic.

 

[rrb357mag]

I have the S&W MOE MagPul which is my 2nd AR and my first S&W AR. Love it. Extremely accurate, zero issues, would buy it again in a heart beat!

 

[Grjfer]

You will be hard pressed to beat that $649 price tag. You will not build for near that price point. I also have a 6920 I purchased 1st, and was hooked. Changed almost everything except the upper receiver, lower receiver and barrel!

I then bought a complete 6920 lower and built an 18" upper. Easy 5 rounds into an inch. The 16" 6920, using the same ammo was closer to 2"/100yrds. I wanted more, so I built a complete rifle. Selected the barrel based on friends and family recommendations, and picked and chose every part that went into that 20". With 75 gr. Hornady or 77gr. SMKs, the rifle IS a bolt action for all intents and purposes to me. Lots of fun, but heavy. A bench gun. So I built another, this time on a 10.5" barrel. The AR pistol, if you would. Fun gun, but don't let it fool you. That little gun shoots into 1.5"/100yards with decent ammo. Now I'm thinking NFA and SBR tax stamp for the little one. Or another one...

Where does it end?

Psa blemished lower, buck thirty. PSA 16" MID-LENGTH 223 WYLDE 1/8 SSK15" UPPER - NO BCG OR CHARGING Handle $409 add a BCG for another $100.00 and there you are $639.00 before shipping.

 

[ClayCow]

http://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperst...urrentPage/2/sportsman/law-enforcement-rifles

Best prices for LE SW. I think you convinced me to buy either

http://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperst...wesson-mp-15ts-5.56-trxvortex-flash-hider-(le)

Or

http://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperst...d-wesson-mp-15t-5.56-tactical--free-float-(le)

 

[ROK]

Psa blemished lower, buck thirty. PSA 16" MID-LENGTH 223 WYLDE 1/8 SSK15" UPPER - NO BCG OR CHARGING Handle $409 add a BCG for another $100.00 and there you are $639.00 before shipping.

I never scraped the bottom of the barrel to make a gun. And would not encourage others too either.

 

[Magload]

I never scraped the bottom of the barrel to make a gun. And would not encourage others too either.

Not when I can get a OR for $649 and it is guaranteed by S&W. It is hard to build a AR for that price that meets the specs of a OR. Don

 

[Kadonny]

Discount Rifles for Sale to Law Enforcement Officers at Sportsmans Outdoor Superstore | Page 2

Best prices for LE SW. I think you convinced me to buy either

Smith & Wesson M&P-15TS 5.56mm Semi-Auto Rifle with Vortex Flash-Hider (LE) | Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore)

Or

Smith & Wesson M&P-15T 5.56mm Tactical/Free Float Semi-Auto Rifle (LE) | Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore)

At that price, get the T with the 1 in 8.