I beg to differ

 

The AR-15 is a fun rifle for plinking and can be a serious hunting rifle too.

You will get mixed opinions on what brands of AR-15 are better than others. What I like to do is build my own rifle from parts. A good starting point is to buy a lower receiver of your choice and then buy whatever complete upper receiver you like the most. You then just mate these two pieces together. It takes less than a minute and doesn't require any tools.

The first thing you will want to decide is what you will use the AR-15 for. This will determine what configuration you want. A 16" barrel makes for a great walking around hunting rifle, they are light and swing easily for fast shots, but the 16" barrel can be on the loud side.. A 24" barrel will really reach out there and tends to be more accurate but they are very heavy and not a great rifle to carry around. These are good for a sit and shoot off of a bi-pod or shooting bench. A 20" is a great compromise between the 16 & 24" AR's. I like the 20" the best for an all around use rifle.

AR's are great in that the lower receiver is the only part serialized and has to be sold through an FFL. Since the upper receiver isn't serialized you can order them online and have them shipped right to you.
(PLEASE CHECK YOUR STATE LAWS)

Check into buying a complete lower
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...749&t=11082005

And a Complete upper
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...405&t=11082005

You will come away with a really nice rifle for a fraction of the cost.

 

What about used? This would make for a dandy rifle.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...?Item=92640427

For $400 you will want to look for a Rem 700, Ruger model 77 or a Savage. They will all be good rifles and can be found for that on the used market. Heck one of the shops near me has a brand new older model Savage in 308 for $390. Just look around and visit some of the shops in your area.

Whatever you do, don't confuse the Remington model 710 or 770 as being like the Remington model 700. The 710 and 770 are complete junk so don't waste your money on one.

 

Professor,

This rifle has a good following in my hunting forum but I have personally never fired one.

http://www.olyarms.com/index.php?pag...mart&Itemid=37

 

Thanks, I actually looked into a .300 and a 338 before I came across the 450 bushmaster and I really like the idea of being able to switch the uppers and have two guns in one. I know the 450 and the 50 dont have long ranch but they will be used to shoot at distances of about 50 yards or a little longer. And on the lower reciever part, does it come with everytihng? All I would have to do it connect the upper and lower part and start shooting? And you seem to know about ordering the lower reciever part. How do I go about getting a lower reciever shipped to an FFL? Any fees charged by the FFL?

 

You can buy the lower receiver in different configurations. Some buy them stripped so they can install there own trigger kit and then choose whatever stock they like best. Others just buy a complete lower and be done with it. The link I gave was for a complete lower. Connecting the two receivers is nothing more than sliding two pins into place - slap in a mag of ammo and start shooting.

Getting the lower receiver shipped requires you to find a shop that has a federal firearm license (FFL). This can be a gunshop or gunsmith, pawn shop etc. The FFL will charge a fee to accept the firearm, fill out all the paperwork and FBI check. These fees can range from $15 on up. The FFL would then mail or fax a copy of their FFL to the company you are buying the lower receiver from - that shop would then mail that firearm to the FFL where you would come in and pick it up and fill out all the federal forms just like buying a gun from that shop.

The upper receiver does not require all of this. It's about like buying a headlight off of ebay.

(CHECK YOUR STATE LAWS)

 

Check your state and see if there are any upcoming gun shows soon. These are usually the place to buy AR-15 parts. I will buy my lowers there for around $250 and walk out with them that day. They always have hundreds of different uppers too.

 

thanks a lot, since i'm fairly new to this I am probably going to buy the complete lower piece to start with until I get used the the gun then I may build a complete one. Do you know of any other sites other than Midway that sells the lowers/uppers? Midway seems to have most of their stuff I like on backorder.

 

The Remington 700 looked like a pretty good deal there. I will check gun broker here in May when I will be working and can afford the rifle. Maybe I can find a used CZ 550 .308 like simple man said

 

No one has mentioned the Ruger 77 or Remington Model 7 yet.

For a bolt action that's handy to carry in the trunk of a car or behind the seat of a truck you can't beat the Remington Model 7. It's a short action (meaning .308 length cartridges) with an 18" to 20" barrel.

The Ruger's are quality rifles that are usually reasonably priced, plus they have controlled feed, if that's something you'd like.

I can't argue with any of the rifles that've been mentioned though.. As long as you stay away from the "budget" rifles (the $250 WITH SCOPE!!) packages.. LOL.. you'll do fine with any of 'em..

The best thing you can ever do to help your rifle is to get the highest quality glass you can afford. Honestly, that $75 scope is gonna give you huge problems in low-light (dawn or dusk) situations. You may be able to see the target with your naked eye but not through the scope. So look at the best scope you can afford and then suck it up and get the next better one. It'll last a lifetime and you'll never regret having good glass..

 

Yeah buying a complete lower and complete upper is the way to go at first. After you gain the rights skills and tools then you can start building your own from scratch. Then it gets really cheap!

There are tons of different places to buy AR-15 stuff at but I don't have access to any of my links since I'm on my work PC right now. But if you go to google and type in AR-15 lower receivers then you should get many hits.

You should also check out the new Remington R-15, it is one sweet looking rifle and I have heard it will retail for around $800 when it comes out. I think it's due out this spring or summer.

http://www.remington.com/products/fi...l_r-15_VTR.asp

 

Yeah you can't go wrong with the 700. There are a ton of aftermarket parts for them so you can easily change out the trigger system to one that is a little nicer for not much $$. But if you can hold out then I would go for the CZ. You won't be sorry.

There is another option too. Buds gunshop will finance the rifle and the scope for you. You can go right to their website and apply online and get a response in like 5 seconds. Then all you do is pick out the rifle and scope you want and they will ship it right out to your FFL. I have made purchases from Buds and they are great people to deal with.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/index.php

 

Yea but then I have to deal with the + 5% and all. That may work I will talk to my parents about it when I am home for spring break. The thing is I won't be shooting it until may anyways since I don't have my truck on campus the rest of the year. Now doing the 90 day deal in may wouldn't be bad. We'll see how it goes I'm going to keep my eyes peeled. For the Remington 700 which models should I look into. The 700p seems to be quite expensive and i'm sure all 700's are not created equal right?

 

All 700's have the same famous Remington 700 action but there are other differences and some can be major. The types of barrels, barrel finish, triggers, stocks etc will be the main differences between the different models. For a target/hunting rifle the 700 ADL would be perfect - you don't need a heavy top of the line bull barrel, you don't NEED a 12 ounce trigger and so on. Later on you could add a sweet trigger for under $100 and a different stock if you wanted to - stocks will run from $75 on up.

There are many people out there that will buy a Remington 700 ADL, BDL, CDL etc. - just to use to build a custom target rifles from. The 700 action is probably one of the most used action to build custom rifles from. The Mauser action is probably the most famous action and this is what the CZ's have.

 

Ok so if I bought something like this then a scope for it, I could buy more parts later and modify the heck out of it if I wanted right?
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...ducts_id/97359
So 495 plus 30 for an FFL to transfer plus 150 for the scope is 675. Then i would try and go cheaper on the case and ammo. And recommendations on cases and where to buy bulk ammo? I would add bipod later on in the summer, but to start just rifle, scope, case, and ammo. Looking for a good, cheap, hard case that locks. Thanks Simple man Also nikon scope model opinions? http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...ducts_id/52348
Also will I need scope mounts?