Looking to buy 1st AR15.

[BC98]

Colt OEM models are in your price range and then you have the fun of picking out some furniture and sights you want

+1

I would take one of the Colt OEM guns with some Magpul furniture any day of the week.

[Lil' Dog]

Bought one. I got a Colt Competition. It is a dumbed down version that Colt makes for Cabela's. They can lower the price that way. They have a little less furniture, and no middle man. Cabelas has a decent write up about it on their web site. I contacted Colt and they sent me a bunch of info on it as well. They are test fired and the target is included. My says .426 at 100 yards shooting 69 gr. SMK's. The guys at a Cabela's do not know too much about them. Colt explained to me that Cabela's has dropped the ball on the roll out of the gun. They are a new product to them. It also depends on who you talk to behind counter. Have not shot it yet. Plan on making a trip to the range tomorrow. Good or bad I will post my results.

http://www.coltcompetitionrifle.com/

http://www.cabelas.com/product/colt-174 ... s&Ntt=colt

[Squib Joe]

I got a Colt Competition. It is a dumbed down version that Colt makes for Cabela's

Just so you're clear on what you have, the Colt Competition Rifles are manufactured by Bold Ideas Texas, not by Colt or at the Colt factory. The Cabela's description on this one is very misleading.

That being said, CCR/Bold Ideas makes a very decent and affordable rifle and I'm sure you'll be happy with your purchase.

[Lil' Dog]

Yes, I know that they come from Texas.When I talked to Colt they were clear about that. The guns do have a lot of nice features.

[yukonjasper]

Another good shopping choice is Slickguns.com. Not local like others have posted, but you can find exceptional deals if you are OK ordering and having one shipped to an FFL.

[Uffdaphil]

+2 on the Colt OEM. First thing most folks replace is the stock and handguard anyway so why pay for them?

Here they are for sale with front sight ground down to low profile gas block. I have dealt with Grant for years and he is an expert armorer.

http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/co ... E6920-OEM2

[gun_fan111v2]

+2 on the Colt OEM. First thing most folks replace is the stock and handguard anyway so why pay for them?

Here they are for sale with front sight ground down to low profile gas block. I have dealt with Grant for years and he is an expert armorer.

http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/co ... E6920-OEM2

Out of stock - their website is a little funny that way...

What do you guys think about OEM versus the Cabela's exclusive?

[ZardozCZ]

I know I will get more info then I can handle, but I am looking to get into the AR game and I had a few questions. First question is does anybody own a rifle from Windham Weaponry, and why did you choose it? Next question is about the Ruger AR 556. Any reviews of it? Last question, is there a gun store that caters to AR buyers in the Twin Cities area? If I was to set a budget, I think somewhere between $800.00 to $1000.00 dollars for the gun. I know to buy the rest of the setup will be an endless pit of money.

Not that you asked... I recently waded through hours and hours of reading reviews and learning much about the platform, to find my first AR (still only, too). I was attracted to the piston system, as my VZ2008 had the same and found it quite reliable, and the big bonus is keeping the bolt group CLEAN and unfouled. If I'm going to ever have to depend on it in uncertain circumstances, I don't want fouling to ever be an issue or even consideration. I did not get it out sub zero this winter, but it ran just fine at 8F.

So after figuring out to look for melanite, high twist (want to shoot 62+gr mostly) I ran across Adams Arms carbines on Bud's for ~$599. Put it on layby until I had the cash. It had an issue with the trigger group double firing with very slow reset motion, and they sent me a new trigger group in exchange for sending them back the old one. Cost me ~$7 but that was very good service. I'm sure they would have taken the rifle back and done it themselves and returned it, but that was unnecessary.

My point? This may be more info than you care to handle, but before you adopt notions from others for or against DI or piston, see what you'd rather deal with. I found a bargain in this rifle IMHO. Others wouldn’t have it for their reasons, but it suits me fine. Don't know if Bud's still had the AA15 "blems" (couldn’t find any blemishes in our out, maybe the shade of black was wrong?). but that might be something to consider.

I've put a Magpul grip and forgrip on it, and some rails on the foregrip, a cheapo scope and red dot and now have a new range toy. I also bought the reloading dies and case trimmer but that paid for itself very fast! Hint - get some 10 round magazines for range fun. You'll not burn through ammo nearly as fast as with the 30 round magazines. Have fun, whatever you choose!!!

[Lil' Dog]

I took the gun out this past Friday. After the break in of shoot, clean, shoot, clean etc. I started to shoot some 3 and 5 shot groups at 50 and 100 yards. The gun ran fine. It held most groups under an inch pretty easily. I put a 2x7x32 scope on it. It was what I had laying around. I had a more difficult time seeing at 100 yards. Go figure. In all I shot 75 rounds. No problems were encountered. The gun comes with a scope mount. I did not use it. I am waiting until I buy the scope that I want. The trigger is suppose to be at 6lbs. The local gunsmith measured it closer to 7lbs. It may get better after I put some more rounds through it. By chance the gunsmith had a $1300 to $1400 dollar Colt Competition that someone had ordered. The trigger was the same or within 2 oz. of mine. Food for thought.

Here are the flyers that Colt Competition sent me. This tells you what Cabela's does not, or do not know about the gun.

[2in2out]

Congrats! Looks like a good rifle.

[atomic41]

Great first AR, congrats!

[Back In Black]

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_7_21/15241 ... TO_GO.html

[Meta-Prometheus]

Colt is always a good choice for a first time AR-15. Many people say you just pay for the name, but you're really paying for important stuff like MPI (magnetic particle inspection), HPT (high pressure testing), staked gas key, staked buffer tube, M4 feed ramps, etc. You know, things that are actually important that they be present on an AR-15. Congrats and have fun with it.