AR advice

[VikingsGuy]

I have not had that much interest in ARs. A while back I did buy (and still have) an M&P Sport 15 - kind of the Savage Axis of ARs. I am interested in getting a better one for range use and home defense. I have two questions.

First, what is the Tikka of ARs - high quality, decent price.

Second, do I go with 5.56NATO or something like a 6.5 Grendel.

I am open to a range of options. What is your advice?

 

[mdeerjunkie]

AR’s are pretty hard to get right now unless you want to pay a high price. Can’t say much on the tikka. But for ammo I would personally go with the 556.

 

[JohnCushman]

You can build one yourself for less than buying a factory one. As for caliber choice, it's all up to you and what you mainly want it for. The military is starting to go to 6.5's on AR platforms for urban sniper needs, so there is some merit to them on the bench. In my personal opinion, an AR is pretty useless for home defense, so just build one for fun.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

1. Daniel Defense is a good balance of quality and price. For a little bit more TRIARC, seem to punch above their weight class when it comes to quality v price.

2. I would go 5.56 or 300BLK. Home defense is going to be all about bullet construction. Lightweight varmint style bullets will reduce over-penetration. If you want to go short barrel, go 300BLK, you can get pretty impressive performance out to 300m with it out of a 9" barrel, and it will hit harder. At some point it also depends how much you want to spend feeding it, especially if it will be more of one-way vs. two-way range gun....

 

[Deleted member 38069]

I naturally lean towards Rock River Arms and Daniel Defense rifles. Bravo company usa has a website that is a great resource. If you want to stay in a particular price point, I would build off of your current rifle. I'm a sucker for nostalgia, so I stick with 5.56 NATO.

 

[MO Betta]

LARPerators can be some of some of the most obnoxious people of the shooting sports world but the below chart is reasonably accurate. I'd ignore the snobbish nomenclature in this. I'm a big fan of Aero Precision, damn good quality for the price. SOLGW (Sons of Liberty) is also good in that tier. Next highest tier DD & BCM are pretty good, I've only messed with Seekins rails. Top tier - I've never owned a Larue rifle but their parts I've used in my builds have been excellent. H&K groups are the most obnoxious of all, but really nice rifles from what I've seen (and will cost you).

For me, I use 5.56 (Also have an LR-308 (AR10) in 7.62)). These rifles are about having fun shooting for me + truck rifle for coyotes so low cost ammo is a big plus. Other calibers have some uses like the 450 Bushmaster etc. in straight wall cartridge rifle areas. 300 BO is used a lot by folks running subsonic rounds with a suppressor, but I've seen more accidents happen from 300BO rounds shot in a 556 rifle than anything else. A lot of guys and gals really like 6.5 grendel for hunting deer. Pretty accurate from their accounts.

View attachment ARlist.png

 

[fishing4sanity]

I'm a bolt guy and not all that versed in the AR platform, but I did compete for a little while with a 6.5 Grendel from Precision Firearms and that was one impressive rifle. It had a Les Baer barrel and was very accurate.

 

[Wildabeest]

For a range toy, I’d stick with 556 NATO if for no other reason that ammo cost. If you’re going to put a ton of rounds through it, it makes a difference. My son has 2 AR’s in 556 - one he bought and one he built himself for about the same cost but with really good components. On a typical range day, we may put 10-20 rounds each through our hunting rifles, but then put 100-200 rounds through the AR’s. They are just fun to shoot.

 

[EastTNHunter]

What are you going to use it for, VG? I own two 5.56 ARs, and am far from an expert, but I really like my CMMG for good quality at a good price. My CMMG will easily shoot sub moa with numerous different handloads. My daughter and niece have killed deer with it.

My home built cheap PSA shoots well enough, but is definitely rougher than the CMMG. It is a home defense rifle for me, and I load it with cheap Hornady 55 SPs. I have a two story house (kids bedrooms are upstairs) and my neighbors are a good ways away, so over penetration is not as much of a concern for me.

If you don’t mind ammo prices, 6.5 Grendel or 6 ARC are very good on ballistics and do well on deer sized game

 

[matt0550]

No matter what brand named complete rifle you buy, you are not getting your dollars worth. Study up and build your own, not just to save a dollar, but so you can have everything you want and nothing that you dont. As for caliber, the 6.5 Grendel is far superior to the 5.56 in every way. Ammo availability may be slightly more dicey, so hand loading for the Grendel seems to be the way to go. I have AR's in .223Wylde, 5.56 NATO, 6.5 Grendel, .308 win and 6.5 Creedmoor. The best "all around" rifle of this bunch is the Grendel IMO. I hunt with the Creedmoor, and I love it. I've been carrying an AR of one form or another for over 30 years professionally and as a result I am horribly biased toward the subject. I own plenty of other actions, and I have bolt rifles that will outshoot my autoloaders - BUT I still love my AR's more.

 

[rjthehunter]

Rock river, scheels carries them. Go check them out, then when you decide to get one order the lower and corresponding upper to make the same rifle for 200$ cheaper.

 

[WVgoodguy22]

CMMG Endevour in 6mm ARC. Well since that is new even building one is expensive. The uppers or even barrels are not reasonable. I myself am still trying to figure out how I want to go about building my .223 for target fun and coyotes/varmints, that scope I got from you needs to be married to a rifle and put to work. I also have a 50 count box of already reloaded .223 ammo (65 grain Sierra GMKs in front of CFE-223 powder) It has been difficult with today's world of mass hysteria to find parts to build ARs at least as far as complete uppers and building my own lower is concerned.
Are you hunting with it, having fun at the range whether precision shooting or 3 Gun style fun, home and self defense or combination thereof? Are you only going AR-15 (with the two calibers you mentioned) or open to AR-10 (.308, 6.5 CM, 6 CM, 243, etc).
The 6.5 Grendel gives you more versatility and punch, while the 5.56/223 is cheaper ammo, easier to find ammo/more variety of available ammo. You could get one in 5.56 and then get an 6.5 Gren upper and mags. From watching Johnny's Reloading bench both are easy to reload for, but the .22 Nosler and .224 Valkyrie are not so much.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Does anyone chamber the 6.8 SPC anymore? If I was in market that's what I'd look at. At 15 weight but ability for big game at reasonable yardage. I had a .308 but it was real heavy. Sold it for my new hunting rifle.

 

[WVgoodguy22]

Does anyone chamber the 6.8 SPC anymore? If I was in market that's what I'd look at. At 15 weight but ability for big game at reasonable yardage. I had a .308 but it was real heavy. Sold it for my new hunting rifle.

It is still chambered in some choices and I agree that would be pretty good option as well, it gives more energy on target with heavier bullets but drops off much quicker than the 6.5 Grendel from the charts that I have seen. I still love my .270 (6.8 cal) Win.

 

[MTLabrador]

I’m probably going to buy a Daniel Defense at some point in the future. Very nice rifles.

For an all around rifle for range fun, coyotes, zombies, and get off my lawn duty I’d go 5.56, 1:8 or 1:7 twist for throwing heavy bullets, 16” free floated barrel.

 

[Fullquiver]

I've built and bought few Ar's and will say that building is the most cost effective way to build a consistently sub moa rifle that is reliable..

Many tier one parts are exceedingly overpriced. However barrels and triggers are going to be your best investment...

I wouldn't even be looking for an AR right now with the state of the market.. Just don't buy a low grade rifle at an inflated price just to make yourself feel better now. You won't be happy in the long run.

Also get a 223 Wylde chambered rifle if you want the best accuracy and pressure safe rifle. I also wouldn't even consider any other caliber rifle than 223/5.56 as ammo costs and availability is far and away better than any other caliber..

 

[MO Betta]

Yeah, this is a really bad time to look to build or buy. Black Friday is generally the best time of year to accumulate parts at steep discounts, but like everything else this year I doubt it will be that way. If you want, I can send you a build list from the last couple I did so you can have a list of all the parts you'll need and what you can expect to pay on a build.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Yeah, this is a really bad time to look to build or buy. Black Friday is generally the best time of year to accumulate parts at steep discounts, but like everything else this year I doubt it will be that way. If you want, I can send you a build list from the last couple I did so you can have a list of all the parts you'll need and what you can expect to pay on a build.

That would be outstanding! FWIW - I am going with 16" barrel as I don't want to mess with NFA.

 

[Nick87]

Rock River has my vote as well. I've heard that delton is an up and coming solid rigle that's price point hasn't quite met its quality yet. Heard that from a good source but I have no first hand experience yet.

 

[MTLabrador]

A sheriff’s deputy friend of mine carries a Rock River M4 clone as a patrol rifle. I’ve shot it quite a bit and it’s a solid rifle.