So, I'm thinking it might be time for me to finally bite the bullet and get an AR...

[Echo40]

Thanks for all of the feedback/suggestions!

Currently I'm most interested in some M&P15 police trade-ins I've been seeing online because they're priced at around $550 and I honestly dig police trade-ins because they have some real character as well as a bit of mystique to them from the actual duty wear on them.

However, should the sales dry up before I can get to them, then I will absolutely begin looking into some of the other budget options suggested here.

 

[dsf]

I have reasons why I don’t build my own AR’s. For starters it requires a few special tools in order to do it right. It also requires knowledge on how to do it right (& I have no interest to assembling them for others). In addition I wouldn’t trust my life to a firearm that wasn’t built by a professional. The closest I’ll get is buying assembled proven quality uppers and lowers separately and putting them together.

That's an OK approach too. Another way to "build" is buying a stripped lower to build up and an assembled upper. The upper is the more challenging assembly. The lower really requires no special tools at all.

Acquiring the building habit is first had if you decide to replace the trigger. Which requires nothing more than a punch to drift out the pins.

Attached is a "sort of" GAU 5 that I built up. Similar to what I carried overseas +5 decades ago. I kind of like the triangle handguard look. Aluminum two position stock and Colt pistol grip.



I've got a bunch of scoped and fancier ARs. This one is pretty simple, works fine.

In case anyone asks - the shotgun is a Franchi Aspire and the revolver is a 1968 Colt Cobra.

 

[xfarfuldog]

The Colt haters show up even here in a AR thread. The S&W AR's are fine for a basic rifle. I own a 6940 (6920 with a rail), a Bushmaster XM15 and SA Saint. Only the Colt has been fired.

 

[BC38]

I'm sure that .308 is better just about everywhere, but unfortunately AR-10s cost like 3x as much as an AR-15 for reasons unknown to me, so I really cannot afford one, nor does it really matter.

If I should ever feel that 5.56 is insufficient, then I'll convert it to something more powerful like .300 BO or .450 Bushmaster Beowulf or whatever.

A 7.62x39 upper is a good way to get a 308 caliber in an AR-15

 

[BC38]

The Colt haters show up even here in a AR thread. The S&W AR's are fine for a basic rifle. I own a 6940 (6920 with a rail), a Bushmaster XM15 and SA Saint. Only the Colt has been fired.

Who said anything about "hating" Colts? What did I miss?
Sorry but HATE is a really strong word that is just so ridiculously over-used these days.
Don't like something - you're a "hater".
Disagree with an opinion or a position - you're a "hater".
As a society we've got to dial down the hyperbole in the way we speak to one another IMO.
Sorry for the rant...

 

[Farmer17]

People talk about the expensive guns holding their value better. I did make a big profit on a Colt SP-01 that I sold but I've also made great profits on all the ARs I assembled and sold. They were all 100 percent reliable and quite accurate and I would trust my life with one and I never spent more than 500 bucks on one.

 

[xfarfuldog]

When posters put down Colts at every opportunity, I believe they are Colt haters. If you disagree that's OK. I own Colts, Smiths and others. I just get tired of seeing posters denigrate them all the time. The Colt 6920 is the bench mark for AR;s. Some brands are better and some worse. YMMV

 

[BC38]

When posters put down Colts at every opportunity, I believe they are Colt haters. If you disagree that's OK. I own Colts, Smiths and others. I just get tired of seeing posters denigrate them all the time. The Colt 6920 is the bench mark for AR;s. Some brands are better and some worse. YMMV

You must either have a reading comprehension problem or a chip on your shoulder that you have to defend Colt as the only good AR.

I just re-read EVERY single post containing word COLT in this whole thread and there is not ONE comment bashing the Colt AR. NOT ONE.

There are a few comments that say other products are as good as a Colt, and a few that say for the money there are other brands that are a better value or "good enough, and there lot of comments that have something positive to say about Colt ARs.

There are no Colt haters in here - but there does seem to be one "all other AR brands" hater...

 

[Oldsalt66]

A 7.62x39 upper is a good way to get a 308 caliber in an AR-15

A 7.62×39 upper requires a matching 7.62x39 lower which is not interchangeable with an ordinary AR lower.

.308 bullets are too small in diameter for acceptable accuracy when loaded in 7.62x39 cases which are factory loaded with .311 bullets.

 

[BRL40]

Actually OP I've read your post a few times and think you'd be happy enough with an already built AR platform rifle like a S&W Sport or Sport-II.

I've owned several AR brands in the past, Colt, Olympic Arms, Sig Sauer, and I currently own a Ruger AR-556 but truthfully I've enjoyed them all.

I do like the post that refers to keeping an eye out for moisture but I wound up adding stainless barrels, nickel boron BCG's and enough other unnecessary stuff over time to have dang near built a complete rifle anyway.

Just keep it oiled, have fun and go from there.

 

[Echo40]

A 7.62x39 upper is a good way to get a 308 caliber in an AR-15

I ain't firin' no filthy commie cartridge through my all-American Alpha Romeo One-Fiver!

But seriously, 7.62x39 isn't as powerful as .308, requires more than just an upper, and .300 BO was designed to replicate the performance of 7.62x39 in a cartridge as American as mom.and apple pie.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

ARs in 7.62 ChiCom caliber all have one flaw…good, reliable magazines. The magazine well is not designed for the necessary curvature of the 7.62x39 round so good magazines are critical to reliable functioning.

 

[BRL40]

Well Ruger does make that SFAR in .308 and MagPul does make 20 round magazines.

As far as sharks go...a stick of dynamite in a bloody fish carcass maybe?

 

[rincar]

Any time a politician does not want you to own something. Thats the time to buy as many of that item as you can possibly afford. I do not trust any politician. 99.9 percent of them are crooks. Guys keep on buying those AR 15's.

 

[BC38]

A 7.62×39 upper requires a matching 7.62x39 lower which is not interchangeable with an ordinary AR lower.

.308 bullets are too small in diameter for acceptable accuracy when loaded in 7.62x39 cases which are factory loaded with .311 bullets.

I beg to differ.
I personally own a Bear Creek 7.62x39 upper that I mated to a standard run-of-the-mill Anderson AR-15 lower, and it has always functioned 100%. I also bought some good quality steel 7.62x39 mags specifically designed for the AR lower to go with it, so maybe that is what makes the difference?

And yes, you are correct, 7.63x39 isn't exactly a .308 caliber, but for purposes of this discussion it is close enough.

 

[ladder13]

I'm sure that .308 is better just about everywhere, but unfortunately AR-10s cost like 3x as much as an AR-15 for reasons unknown to me, so I really cannot afford one, nor does it really matter.

If I should ever feel that 5.56 is insufficient, then I'll convert it to something more powerful like .300 BO or .450 Bushmaster Beowulf or whatever.

Just bought a PSA AR10 lower for $200 shipped, on a one day sale. Now waiting on another one day sale special to pick up an upper.
My first venture into AR10 territory.
I have a 300 BLK SBR.

 

[BC38]

I ain't firin' no filthy commie cartridge through my all-American Alpha Romeo One-Fiver!

But seriously, 7.62x39 isn't as powerful as .308, requires more than just an upper, and .300 BO was designed to replicate the performance of 7.62x39 in a cartridge as American as mom.and apple pie.

It is true that 7.62x39 AK ammo isn't as powerful as standard .308 (basically the 7.62x51) ammo, but it is reasonably close.

Personally I wouldn't mind also having a .300 BO upper as well. Though it would add just one more caliber to my reloading bench. But since I found a good deal on the 7.62x39 upper, I bought one. The fact that it is a Russian (AK) cartridge isn't a deterrent for me - especially since I already have an AK too.

 

[BC38]

Any time a politician does not want you to own something. Thats the time to buy as many of that item as you can possibly afford. I do not trust any politician. 99.9 percent of them are crooks. Guys keep on buying those AR 15's.

I
And if the government says you don't need a SPECIFIC type of gun, then you DEFINITELY need one!

 

[bamashooter]

Thanks for all of the feedback/suggestions!

Currently I'm most interested in some M&P15 police trade-ins I've been seeing online because they're priced at around $550 and I honestly dig police trade-ins because they have some real character as well as a bit of mystique to them from the actual duty wear on them.

However, should the sales dry up before I can get to them, then I will absolutely begin looking into some of the other budget options suggested here.

If it's decent you'll be ok. Not sure about prices these days. I have found through personal experience and observation, if purchased new by the PD, their rifles, carbines, and shotguns have less rounds through them than the average privately - owned weapon. Scuffs don't count.

 

[BSA1]

The Colt haters show up even here in a AR thread. The S&W AR's are fine for a basic rifle. I own a 6940 (6920 with a rail), a Bushmaster XM15 and SA Saint. Only the Colt has been fired.

So you have no idea how reliable the Bushmaster and SA Saint are and how their accuracy compares with your Colt.