Two $400 ARs (now sub-$600 ARs)
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DWalt
Member
I am not much of a fancier of ARs, but I have seen several recently which were priced in the $400 neighborhood. When they get closer to $300, and I believe they will, I may actually be tempted to buy one.
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
Who'd a thought we's be at a point where you could buy two AR's for the price of a mini 14 
Skeptic 9c
Member
Who'd a thought we's be at a point where you could buy two AR's for the price of a mini 14
Second that emotion.
Geoff
Who just added a Palmetto State Armory lower to his PSA upper. Need range time, have HEAT!
So you don't like AR's but will buy one for $300? Here's a predication, your $300 AR will disappoint. Folks need to think about this a little, how does a company make money on a sub $400 AR, I mean it takes X amount of machine time to build a part so to save $$ you use cheaper material, less inspections, increase tolerances, cheaper labor. Want to impress me put 5 K or so rounds through your $400 AR with a robust firing schedule without a major parts failure.
Arik
Member
This exactly. But when I say it I get the.....all ARs are the same..... response
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What I'm thinking is how many of those $1200 AR's "could have" been made for under $400, and the extra $800 went into the makers pocket? The reason the price of the AR's has gotten so low is a glut of them on the market since the election, and buying has slowed way down. Prices will continue to be low, (like S&W Shield's under$300), until the next election which may or may not change the "fear" level of the gun buying public.
Cardboard_killer
Member
Many of the costs are fixed. And selling product at a loss on a per unit basis to cover fixed overhead can be a necessisty in slow times. If it keeps up, you lay people off, etc., which shrinks supply, which will increase the price back up to a level where it becomes profitable again.
Gun making is a tough business. There are only so many guns people can buy, and guns last generations in some cases. At some point, even collectors become very picky. We are living in a golden age of guns, with everything from Serbian rifles to Turkish handguns available to us, cheap. Eventually, the market will settle down.
Gun making is a tough business. There are only so many guns people can buy, and guns last generations in some cases. At some point, even collectors become very picky. We are living in a golden age of guns, with everything from Serbian rifles to Turkish handguns available to us, cheap. Eventually, the market will settle down.
And is that why a $500 PSA AR had less issues in a 5,000 round test than a Daniel defense? ARs can be built very inexpensive and most of the cost of the "higher end" ARs is all marketing.
If you have looked around at AR prices lately you might notice they are creeping back up from the low point about a month or two ago. I looked around for the lowest price on a S&W M&P Sport II and couldn't find one under $500 with some approaching $600.
It would be my guess that the inventory the gun makers had around in anticipation of the wrong person winning the presidency is being depleted and they aren't making as many as they were. They want to cut back the supply so the price will go up. Supply and demand is always in play without some outside force changing things like the threat of an outright ban.
I don't expect prices to go down at all. Probably they will stabilize where they are because there will be a good many used AR's on the market sold by those who wanted to get one while the getting was good but found they really didn't want to shoot it after they bought it. And they don't fear not having the ability to buy one in the future if it comes to that. At least not for the next 3.5 years.
Prices may go up from where they are now IMO. But they won't go down. I don't believe they will anyway. The boom demand is over for the time being and that old bugaboo of supply and demand will come into play once it's clear the makers aren't stockpiling and running their lines 24/7 like they were.
It would be my guess that the inventory the gun makers had around in anticipation of the wrong person winning the presidency is being depleted and they aren't making as many as they were. They want to cut back the supply so the price will go up. Supply and demand is always in play without some outside force changing things like the threat of an outright ban.
I don't expect prices to go down at all. Probably they will stabilize where they are because there will be a good many used AR's on the market sold by those who wanted to get one while the getting was good but found they really didn't want to shoot it after they bought it. And they don't fear not having the ability to buy one in the future if it comes to that. At least not for the next 3.5 years.
Prices may go up from where they are now IMO. But they won't go down. I don't believe they will anyway. The boom demand is over for the time being and that old bugaboo of supply and demand will come into play once it's clear the makers aren't stockpiling and running their lines 24/7 like they were.
Still don't want one, whatever the price.
Must be last holdout in the country.
Must be last holdout in the country.
DumpStick
US Veteran
You're not the last one.
I finally broke down and purchased a .223.
It's an NEF single shot, came with a honkin' big scope on it. I need to go shoot it.
ExcitableBoy
US Veteran
AR Madness has all but disappeared in my neck-of-the-woods... BUYING them, that is. There are virtually flocks of used, some new (Buyer's remorse?), for sale privately, at prices above and beyond OTD at the local gun shop. Those boys will be stuck with their toys until sanity sets in, or come next tax season, when they find that they're coming up short on paying Uncle.
If you really want an AR, wait until just before Christmas or after the 1st of the year. BARGAIN TIME!!!
If you really want an AR, wait until just before Christmas or after the 1st of the year. BARGAIN TIME!!!
I think the message here is that those $400 ARs will make great chassis for a better barrel and some trigger work. Add a GOOD barrel, still under $300 probably, and for around $750, including trigger springs and some carefull micro sanding and polishing, you have one heck of a shooter.
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Skeptic 9c
Member
It all depends on what you want a carbine to do.
The base models hit silhouette targets out to 350 meters, based on my SWaMPy Sport I at 200 yards and will last as long as anything with milspec or good commercial parts.
Now, if you want to go from 2.5 MOA to under 1.0 MOA, then you play with ammo and spend money on triggers and barrels.
Geoff
Who can't figure why anyone would need sniper accuracy in a short carbine.
The base models hit silhouette targets out to 350 meters, based on my SWaMPy Sport I at 200 yards and will last as long as anything with milspec or good commercial parts.
Now, if you want to go from 2.5 MOA to under 1.0 MOA, then you play with ammo and spend money on triggers and barrels.
Geoff
Who can't figure why anyone would need sniper accuracy in a short carbine.
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