AR Good Price?

Dpms Orcal
Here is the description fromDPMS
Whether you are buying your first AR rifle, or need an affordable yet accurate plinking gun, the Panther Oracle is for you. Built to bridge the gap between the Sporting and Tactical markets, this introductory level carbine features a 16' light contour barrel, an A3 Upper receiver with Picatinny Rail, heat dissipating GlacierGuards and a collapsible, six-position Pardus buttstock. Altogether, it weighs in at only 6.6 lbs. The flat top A3 upper allows the shooter to mount the optic of their choice on the Picatinny Rail. The 16" barrel, although light, provides plenty of velocity for most sporting and tactical applications. The Pardus stock makes this carbine comfortable for any shooter.

With Magpul MOE forarm and vertical grip with Primary Arms Red Dot 2 30rd mags and case. 125 rds through it. $725

 

Here is a pic.

 

I'd buy it.

The last dpms I fired was a panther oracle IIRC, functioned flawlessly

 

seems like a good deal to me

 

That IS a great deal

 

Picking it up tommorow.

 

Read this. (yes, it is a LOT of info.)
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/guns-hunting/86115-so-you-want-buy-ar-15-faqs.html

I was going to buy a DPMS Sportical ($709), but read a lot of stuff and decided to build my own:
http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/ar-15-05/rifle-kits.html
I purchased a stripped Spikes Tactical lower for $120, then I'll put together a kit from PSA and assemble myself.

 

if you like quality and standards then I would not support DPMS

the original owner probably realized this and thats why he is selling it.

 

I've got little to no experience with this stuff....

Who has dependable lowers? What price range should I look for?

Am I right that I could put one together Kit + Lower for around 800$?

Any good/bad words for the Palmetto Kits?

 

Its a ok price

 

Lowers are almost a commodity type item these days. They sell more for their roll mark than anything else.
Price range : $50 - on up
Hint: Why not pick a roll mark that will enhance the value of the weapon ?

It's possible. Depends on what you choose and how heavy you tool up.

Palmetto is about the only one stop shop that I can think of for someone on a budget but still wants pro-quality parts.
Often you're buying from 6 or 8 different vendors to get exactly what you want.

Edit:
Sorry for the jack, OP

 

I know no details about what you're talking about, and I'm not picking a side but I've owned two and both have performed flawlessly and accurately for 2000rds+

 

I've seen more posts and threads about how their dpms broke or had some type of problem. Go to m4carbine and search why is dpms junk. I'm on my phone otherwise I would post 100+ threads for you.

 

OK, here's my take on DPMS:

DPMS is fine for a plinker or hunter. Once you get it up and rolling you should be good to go. You may have fewer rounds between stoppages without cleaning but I don't know if that matters to you or not.

Look at it this way. They're parts procurement specialists. They also take those parts and put them together to sell rifles. They go in search of the cheapest parts they can possibly find, because they're not held to any sort of official Mil-Spec or QC standards. Now, like with any free-market economy, they have to maintain some minimum standard of quality, or they would be out of business in short order.

I had a DPMS 20" bull barrel AR that held sub-MOA groups at 100 yards. I didn't care if it needed cleaning every 500 rounds to keep working, because I wasn't in Iraq. I would not take a DPMS to Iraq. I would plink with one all day, shoot coyotes or prairie dogs, etc.

The Oracle is designed to be cheap. It's a cheap barrel and cheap furniture and they sell it cheap. That does not make the Oracle bad, it just makes it cheap. You can say the same about Olympic, Model 1, and lots of other cheap AR builders out there. If you like it, buy it. The guys who don't know ARs will think it's cool. The guys who know ARs will think it's cheap, but it is what it is. If it works for you, that should be good enough.

 

It'd be a waste of your efforts. Like I said, not choosing sides, just sharing my experience for the OP.

 

This is my first AR so I am taking all this info in and I want to say thanks for everyone's two cents. That being said I will probably be setting this gun up for some coyotes at ranges no further than 200 yds due to the area where I live. Coyote hunting for me is just a time to get ready for spring gobbler season. I do understand that DPMS is a cheap AR and that is one reason I decided to go ahead and buy this one. I was just wondering if $725 was a good price for what I was getting. I'm loving all the input uys, keep it coming. A

 

http://www.m4carbine.net/gtsearch.p...bine.net/showthread.php?p=1195952#post1195952


http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=33194

 

That's a very good assessment right there.
I especially like those two highlighted sentences.

 

As of late in the current AR market you can get a Colt M4 for ~$950~. It will be made using the correct parts and the correct assembly methods. Paying $725 for a DPMS when compared to what you get for the extra ~$225~ with the Colt is just foolish IMO.

 

Agreed, nothing against DPMS, I have 2 stripped lowers that I built up using parts from other manufacturers and they work great, but considering how cheap you can get a nice Colt, spend the money and you wont have to worry about it later.

Also from my experience the guys over at M4Carbine.net are very very picky, and a bit rude if you go over there without a top end rifle. There is a lot of good information over there, and a lot of smart people, but if you show up with inexpensive stuff, prepare to be flamed over there. I am not a tactical operator, armor or law enforcement, and most of the guys over there are, which is cool because they have experience and knowledge, they dont use cheap stuff because their life depends on it, so take their view on guns with a grain of salt if you are just looking for a backyard plinker.