Which is the first AR to get?

[npthaiduong]

Hello everyone,

I am saving up for my first rifle and haven't decided which model to get yet. I have been trained with the M16 in the Army, so I know how to handle it well. My intent to use this rifle is for hunting.

I have tried my friend's S&W MP15X and really like it. However, he recommends me to get the Colt M4A1 Carbine for little bit more. There are other good options like the Colt LE6920 and LE6940.

Which one should I get? Thank you

[Thunder71]

Almost like asking strangers to pick your wife.

[SSBotanyBay]

Almost like asking strangers to pick your wife.

So...are we shooting for attractiveness or "best fit"?

[mnhntr]

When it comes to ARs you will hear so much fan boy garbage it is like a 1911 conversation. In fact alot of parts for the mid range ARs are built by the same manufactures with different names put on them. In my opinion you will overpay for a colt. I have DPMS, Bushmaster, and an AR that is a mix of different companies parts put together. The best way in my opinion is to get the parts that you wnat and put it together. It is easy and saves you cash giving you a rifle built the way you want it.

[Mn01r6]

Don't resale values of homebuilt AR's take a big hit over name brand rifles (maybe the current market conditions don't reflect this, but in normal times...)?

That may be a consideration if that is the case and you ever think you might sell. I don't know enough about the market to say one way or the other.

[Hmac]

Hello everyone,

I am saving up for my first rifle and haven't decided which model to get yet. I have been trained with the M16 in the Army, so I know how to handle it well. My intent to use this rifle is for hunting.

I have tried my friend's S&W MP15X and really like it. However, he recommends me to get the Colt M4A1 Carbine for little bit more. There are other good options like the Colt LE6920 and LE6940.

Which one should I get? Thank you

Both of the Colts you mentioned are well made and durable rifles. Excellent place to start. Other good alternatives would be BCM, Daniel Defense, Noveske.

[texasprowler]

My intent to use this rifle is for hunting.

Hunting varmits? An AR is not such a good choice for hunting deer.

[Mn01r6]

My intent to use this rifle is for hunting.

Hunting varmits? An AR is not such a good choice for hunting deer.

I hear it does a decent job with a Nosler Partition and a few other hunting rounds. Hopefully nobody takes that to mean shooting 55gr FMJ at a deer is humane.

[Hanns]

I'm a former Army grunt and I'm quite a bit partial to the Huldra gas piston rifles my buddy has. Very nice rifles for the price without the direct gas impingement that I grew to hate while I was still in. The Huldras run smooth and clean, very well made guns. I don't have one just because I've gone a different route in the carbine department but I have no bad things to say about the Huldras.

[minnhawk]

I have two Daniel Defense, one in .223, the other in 300blackout, and a Bushmaster from 1994. DD are a Mercedes quality rifle, and I doubt you'll ever lose a dime in resale if you decide to sell them. The Bushmaster is a fun plinker.

[rugersol]

... the one that's in-stock, fer the cash ya got!

[JustPlainT]

... the one that's in-stock, fer the cash ya got!

This.

I'd get the first one that was priced appropriately that you could get available.

Any of the brands will work fine for your purpose. A lot of people hate on the cheaper brands (DPMS, Bushmaster, etc) but the truth is very, very few people will ever use their ARs to the point where the cheaper brands will fail them.

In my opinion, the S&W MP15 rifles and the Colt 6920 are the best overall - the best balance between parts quality, function, cost, etc. BCM, DD, and Noveske are all excellent rifles, but I don't know if you're really gaining that much for the significant cost difference.

[npthaiduong]

Thank you everyone for your input. I have found two deals available right now: 6920 for $1600 and M4V1 for $1700.

Which is a better deal for the money? I haven't touched any DD weapons before but only heard good things about them.

[rugersol]

Thank you everyone for your input. I have found two deals available right now: 6920 for $1600 and M4V1 for $1700.

Which is a better deal for the money? I haven't touched any DD weapons before but only heard good things about them.

IMO, they're both purdy overpriced!

Some might suggest the handguard and vertical grip on the DD's worth the extra $100 ... if I bought it, them, and the FSB'd be the first 3 things I'd replace!

Sorry ... but both of them look like $700 carbines (at best), to me! ... IIRC, before December, ya could get the LE6920 fer 'bout $900?!

Fer $1,500+, I'd look at a Stag 3G ... ya also might be able to get into a JP fer not much more?!

[yuppiejr]

If you're hunting with the rifle using factory .223 soft-point ammo on game larger than a coyote I'd opt for the longer 20" barrel configurations out there to take advantage of the boost in velocity/energy that extra 4" of tube gives you (versus the 14.5" + 1.5" welded flash hider or straight 16" barrels out there in most "defensive" carbines), along with the longer iron sight radius. Hunting bullets can have specific velocity requirements for proper expansion on big game so make sure you verify the maximum range at which the bullet will properly perform (penetrate/expand) out of your rifle and limit your shots accordingly (actually using a chrono with your rifle and the cartridge in question to verify the data isn't a bad idea). For the most part this falls within a 100-200 yard practical range which was also around where the bullet was carrying less than 1000 foot/lbs of energy. While the difference is not huge from 16-20" you're flirting with the low end of what's needed to do the job on larger game with a .223 so, in my opinion, every extra bit of energy you can bring (along with a well placed shot) is important.

Considerations for accurate paper punching or defensive applications are different than what you'll want for hunting deer with an AR chambered in .223 or 5.56 (etc..). Most of the advice people dispense about the AR platform is based on non-big game hunting applications so keep this in mind when you are doing your research.

Summary : if I had to own one "do-all" AR and had any intentions of hunting deer with it I'd go with a 20" A2 (or similar) configuration all the way. I'd skip the optics as well given the very good iron sight system on the AR platform and relatively short practical ranges involved in big-game hunting with the .223 Remington cartridge (makes for a much handier rifle in the field and you are familiar with the system already). As far as brands.. others have covered this already.