you can always take up cnc machining and make your own http://cncguns.com/

 

Haha, I wasn't thinking about building them like that.

 

RRA is - people wise - a very small company, and they have federal contracts (most notably with the DEA) to meet as well, so their delivery times vary accordingly. If you really want an RRA lower/upper/complete rifle, the best bet would be to find a stocking Rock River dealer and buy/order from them, and even then you may be waiting a while if they don't have what you want in stock. The last two RRA lowers I ordered took about three months to get from my dealer.

I've built rifles on DPMS and Bushmaster lowers, and they turned out great. Both are easier to find than RRA lowers. The DPMS tends to run a little cheaper than the RRA, about $100-130 street price depending on where you shop, and the Bushmaster a little more than the RRA, about $200.

For rifle kits, I like Del-Ton. They're top notch kits that can be customized to your heart's content when you order, and delivery time is usually no more than two weeks, if that long.

 

Ya my buddy might be able to get a gun for me or so to say pieces to put together a gun since he's a DEA pilot.

Quintin, I trust your opinion so with a $1200 budget. What would you get?

 

Do you guys not have any local gun shops? If so go check it out... that way you can get a hands on comparison of all the brands

 

Honestly the gun shops we have are horrible. Otherwise I would, I guess I could find something in Orlando. Probably a lot better than around here. The area I live in is a bunch of people who like to make their live's earning on one sale instead of making a repeat customer. If you understand what I'm saying ...

 

i got you.

check this out
http://www.gunshows-usa.com/florida_gun_shows.htm

 

I'll let you know when I get home here in a few. Stupid company firewall won't let me search and link most gun stuff.

 

Okay, me personally, I'd build a rifle to suit my needs. I could come in at around $800-900 for a complete rifle that'd suit me perfectly, and still have money left over for ammo and mags and/or maybe even an optic. It'd go something like:

RRA stripped lower plus shipping, plus the transfer fee from my FFL, about $175.

Del-Ton 20" rifle kit, except I want a chrome lined barrel in a general purpose rifle, and a flat top receiver (makes mounting optics easier) with an A2 carry handle (for iron sight shooting) with an RRA 2 stage trigger, plus shipping, about $700.

No special tools are needed for assembly, so I'd be out and shooting for less than $1K. Depending on who's lower you use, and how you option the rifle kit out (a 2 stage trigger isn't absolutely necessary, but it is nice to have), you could end up at less than what I quoted.

Barrel length, rifle versus carbine, is a matter of personal preference and what you're planning on doing with the rifle. Carbines come up to the shoulder and on to target faster, and the shorter overall length makes negotiating rooms easier. Rifles have a longer sight radius, which helps your eyes line the sights up easier making you more accurate (you, not the rifle...common misconception there) and you get a little more velocity with a 20" barrel, which can be important depending on what ammo you're shooting (military M193 ammo requires a certain velocity that can be hard to consistently achieve in a 16" barrel carbine for reliable fragmentation into the target. Not really important if you're a casual shooter, but it's something to think about if you're planning on using the rifle for social/self defense situations with M193).

If you want to buy a complete, ready to go rifle, here's a few good, solid choices.

Colt's 6920. This is as close as us civvies can get to a real deal M4 carbine without NFA paperwork, the same that Uncle Sam and law enforcement agencies around the country use. Yes, you're paying a lot for the name, but they are very fine rifles, very well built and finished. They're also very expensive and don't exactly grow off trees; AR aficionados ****** these up whenever they can find 'em.

Rock River's Tactical A2/A4. RRA's take on the M4 style carbine. They have a funky carry handle/sight arrangement that'll allow you to mount an optic directly on the handle and cowitness (the point of aim/point of impact with the iron sights will be the same as with the optic - nice to have if your optic ever dies) the iron sights. RRA offers quite a bit of customization in their rifles, but as I mentioned earlier, delivery times can vary and take several months if no RRA dealers have what you want in stock.

Bushmaster's Dissipator. These are interesting rifles. The gas block is relocated under the handguards allowing the front sight base to be moved forward to the traditional 20" rifle front sight base location. What this gives you is a carbine length rifle, with a full length rifle's sight radius. Really the best of both worlds, and Bushmaster makes an excellent rifle.

Bushmaster's 20" A2 and A3 rifles. The basic, no frills, plain jane rifle, similar to the M16A2 and A4 that the military uses. My first AR was a 20" Bushmaster A3 that saw a lot of rounds downrange with nary a problem. I mean, a buddy and I shot mine to the point where I couldn't hold on to the handguard, the barrel and gas tube were so hot, but it'd still hold a sub MOA group at 300 yards (the group was less than 3") off a bench.

All the major brands in ARs make similar rifles to the ones I listed above, and really, sticking with most any manufacturer (watch out for Olympic Arms) it's really hard to get a bad rifle.

And the really cool thing about ARs is you can have one lower receiver and a slew of uppers for whatever you desire. Want to shoot something far away? Go getcha a 24" barrel varminter/target style flat top upper with a scope on it. Wanna do some close in lead-hose room clearing type stuff? Take the varminter upper off by pushing two pins to the left, and slap a 16" barrel carbine upper on. Wanna shoot NRA high power? Get a 20" A2 upper with iron sights and a free float tube, and go shoot. And so, and so on.

 

I appreciate the post, it helped me out a lot. I want a 16" barrel for my first set-up. I'm really leaning towards doing a RRA Lower. I just can't decide if I should just get the RRA 16" rifle kit or the Del-Ton 16" rifle kit like you said. What kind of scope would you use or recommend? It's only going to be for at the range, for now so I was thinking something along the lines of a 2x or 3x scope. I found one on one sight for around $400-500. I don't want to spend too much money. I figure I can buy the gun for around $800. Play around with it and than buy a scope for almost what my original budget was for ... Eventually I'll add a light to it, etc. Everyone I talk to that has own or still owns them loves ARs because of how upgradeable they are and how easy they are to work on and that's exactly what I need !!

 

The RRA kit is an excellent set up, just that they can be hard to come by, it takes forever and a day for RRA to deliver if no dealers have one in stock. I ordered one through my FFL transfer guy last year and canceled after waiting four months.

For conventional rifle scopes, I agree, I like scopes around the 2-3x power range for a carbine style AR. Leupold makes some nice, lower end glass that won't break the bank but is still very clear and repeatable. I'm honestly not up to speed on close/medium range rifle scopes, since I'm an iron sight guy for the most part, and shoot bolt guns at 600ish yards with scopes where the requirements are a little different than for a short-mid range AR optic. The most popular options are electronic/red dot style optics, like Aimpoints, Trijicon ACOGs, and Eotechs. All have their pros and cons, and it'd probably be best for you to look through each in person and buy what works for you.

A lot of folks are going to AR15 style carbines for home defense, in which case a light is absolutely essential - you've gotta identify your target before you start slinging rounds downrange.

 

Really? The RRA kit had no time frame but I'm definitely not going to be able to wait half a year to get my gun. I guess I'll give RRA a call Monday to see what they can do. I'm looking at trying to have it in my hands in maybe 3 months, it doesn't seem that unrealistic to me. I'm going to have to go to a few stores in Orlando to see what I can find. Maybe I'll get lucky. I want the light for that exact reason and only that reason.

 

Damn you Thumper !! You instigated me to finally go out an buy a Highpoint that I have been looking at. $225 out the door with a .40 S&W with 2 boxes of shells and a holster.

This is the little brother to my .45 ACP Colt Commander XSE I bought a couple years ago.

On a side note, these Highpoints come with a lifetime warranty. So if something acts up I can send it back. Plus it comes with a polyurethane cover so it is pretty scratch resistant. I picked up this gun as my traveling gun. A $160 dollar pistol doesn't bother me if it gets stolen as opposed to my $950 Colt.

I will try to get some pictures up here later. Now I have to start investigating my AR15 rig.

 

Haha .. Oops. Good news too. I actually found a REALLY good gun store about 45 minutes away. I called and they have everything in stock AND their prices are better than online prices.

 

Thumper if your looking for a 2x or 3x scope, I'd go with a Leupold MK IV CQ/T

http://www.leupold.com/tactical/prod...t-riflescopes/

I have on my RRA AR-15, and its great cause its adjustable between 1x-3x. I just with I would have had with me while I was in Iraq



Theres a pic of a few of my guns, and heres a list of what all I got along with upgrades:

Mossberg 500 Tactical Cruiser - Fold Over Stock, w/5 shell holder
Remington 12 GA - No Upgrades
RRA AR-15 - Leupold MK IV CQ/T, Skeleton Stock, Gripod, Forward Rails
Lee Einfield MK IV - No upgrades
Yugoslavian Mauser K48 - No Upgrades
Chineese SKS - No Upgrades
Sig P226R .40 - No Upgrades

I think I'm missing one or two, I can't remember off the top of my head because all of them are in Illinois right now lol...but yea I have a gun addiction and I'm only 20 so there will be many more in the future