Wanting to buy my first AR15

I've been doing some searching on the Spikes Tactical website and they have an enormous amount of options. I was looking at uppers and they ranged from 7.5" to 16" . I take it that is the length of the barrel? This is going to be a long learning experience

 

I'd look at spikes - I believe someone else mentioned them too.

A good mix of quality, without getting over the top price wise.

http://www.spikestactical.com/new/z/st15-16-midlength-le-carbine-p-443.html

That would be a great starter rifle (or...a great leave it alone and shoot it rifle too).
Truthfully, the AR15 platform isn't rocket surgery. There are very few 'bad' rifles out there among the dozens of manufacturers.

 

Not saying I spent 3 grand on everything.... But I spent 3 grand lol.... Just stocked up on ammo yesterday 600 more rounds

 

Oh lord. Maybe I should get out while I still can!

 

those numbers are barrel length. they go out past 16" too. you can get 18" 20" etc... it all depends what you want to do with it. since this is your first rifle and you are going to use it to learn, i still just suggest the S&W M&P15 Sport

 

Gotcha. Advantages of a larger barrel? I would imagine it to be more accurate at longer ranges the longer it is?

 

if you want to see if you can afford ammo in the future you are going to spend $0.30 - $0.35 a round for factory plinking ammo, less if you learn to reload or buy reloads. stay away from steel cased ammo.

 

I just started building my AR15. After countless hours of research I decided on Bravo Company. They had everything I was told to look for plus they stand by their product with a lifetime warranty. I originally bought just my upper receiver from them but I have decided I am going to buy my lower from them as well.

This is what my build concist of...

BCM upper receiver 14.5 Carbine
BCM Lower
Daniel Defense Omega FF rail
Magpul CTR stock
Eotech XPS2-0
Troy folding back up rear sight

I will post a picture of the finished product once everything comes in
The complete rife itself is right around $1,0000. The eotech and daniel defense omega rail is what puts it above the $1,000 range but there are less expensive options for both of those.


http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/

 

I have 2 long and short... they can be changed out

 

yes and also the twist rate of the barrel and the weight of the bullet.

 

Alot of people say longer barrels aren't anymore accurate than shorter ones but I dont believe them. Get a 16 for all around and 20 for hunting/longer ranges.
Oh and welcome to the black gun disease

 

As if TW didn't deplete my funds as it is, this will make me go broke lol.

Also, a lot of the searching I have been doing thus far, a lot of times the word carbine will be thrown in the mix. Is carbine consistent with a shorter barrel? or???

 

Carbine is the distance the gas port is away from the chamber. It is used on 16 inch barrels and the longer the barrel the longer the gas port is away from the chamber. A rifle length is the smoothest shooting. There is also mid and intermediate lengths. 18 inch barrels can use either mid or rifle lengths.
I'm sure someone can explain how each performs compared to the others. I've only shot rifle and carbine.

 

this is pretty true i was hitting a 10" steel target every time at 600 yards with my AR. 16" barrel 1:7" twist rate. 55gn bullets.

 

Nice! What scope do you have?

 

surprisingly i was using a primary arms red dot and their x3 magnifier.

 

With out getting to complicated a 16in barrel length is the shortest legal length you can put on your rifle with out getting a Class 3 Stamp and registering the lower as a Short Barrel Rifle or permanently welding flash hiders on to reach 16in.

Yes you can order a 7in upper off the internet tonight and slap it on your lower tomorrow. The upper is not illegal until it is attached to an unregistered lower. Even honestly misunderstanding this law will not save you on a Federal Level if you get caught.

With in reason, a longer barrel does add to accuracy. But not enough to make a difference in what you will be doing. If you want real accuracy you would also need to hand load match ammo with a recipe specific to that rifle and then create a shooting log of temperatures, wind speeds......... After all that is done people then need to learn how to correctly shoot the rifle.

16in will be lighter than an 18in+ barrel especially with run and gun. Learn proper shooting techniques and you will still be able to shoot quarters and center of mass at a couple hundred yards.

As for the ammo. If you are willing to clean your gun after shooting, do not need to shoot a single ragged hole at 100+ yards, and enjoy saving money shoot steel case ammo. You can not reload steel and you can increase the potential to wear your gun out sooner. By sooner I mean your children may have to purchase a new barrel and ejector before they hand it down to their children. I would not trust my life to steel case but an afternoon at the range I will shoot it all day.

 

a longer barrel might not be more accurate, but generally, the longer the barrel the higher the muzzle velocity... some of the varmint and high power guys will use long "bull" barrels which have a large wall thickness to reduce harmonic vibrations that occur when firing...

 

Why stay away from steel case ammo? I would shoot steel before reloads, if I didn't load it myself.

 

For $1000 you can get a Colt 6920 - essentially their "Law Enforcement" edition. Similar to what the Military M4 runs. Usually around $950 online, $1050 in shops. Some Walmarts are also reportedly carrying them.

Good brands?
Colt, Novoske, BCM, LMT.
Middle road brands? (probably still good enough)
Rock River Arms, Stag, Smith & Wesson, PSA (only b/c they're new)
Not so well thought of brands?
DPMS, some of the Bushmaster models (some are OK).

You might be able to go cheap by buying a used upper (the part that goes bang) and a cheap lower, or building one yourself (that's the part w/ the trigger and buttstock).

Go to Ar15.com and m4carbine.net and do some reading. Make sure you read the stickies in the sections you're interested in. Then set aside at least $400 for a case of ammo and 5 mags.