New to guns - Advice on AR's

View · by **Sledaddict82** on Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:21 am

I've learned its a plum crazy lower but that's all I know as of now. I think I'm gonna check it out after work today.

View · by **shooter115** on Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:50 am

That's exactly why I said without knowing what it is I would stay away.

Plum Crazy lowers are very cheap all synthetic lowers. I have seen and shot them....They worked for the time being, but are not what I would consider quality. I've seen group buys on these as low as $80 for complete lowers. They don't make uppers at all that I'm aware.

For a first AR I think you can do a lot better. My2cents

View · by **AutomaticAron** on Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:55 am

If you want an all polymer, lightweight lower then I'd go Cavalry Arms. It's a great lower at a great price. The entire assembly is one piece, and it's as comfortable and durable as all get-out. I've not used a Plum Crazy system before, but I've not heard many good things about them.

View · by **UnaStamus** on Sun Oct 16, 2011 12:00 am

If you want to buy a polymer lower receiver, be ready for stuff like this:

Get the idea?
Don't waste your money. Get a proper AR, or don't get one at all. Buy once, cry once. If you buy junk, you WILL regret it. The fact that an AR-15 style rifle is being sold NEW for $650 should be a sign that there is something off about the rifle. I could go into the extensive list of problems with polymer lower receivers on ARs, but suffice it to say, most of the issues have been addressed by the photos above. Polymer AR receivers are an answer to a question never asked. Sheer gimmickry.

View · by **Sledaddict82** on Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:26 pm

Thanks for all the advice. When it comes time to buy, I will look for a complete gun. Once I get a gun in hand, then I can take the time to learn all about the parts and how it comes apart, etc. Then I can mix and match parts and uppers/lowers and build what I want down the road. Thanks again. Let me know if you hear of any guns for sale or if any of you guys have any that you're willing to part with. I don't need anything too fancy.

View · by **codilly** on Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:52 pm

If a .223/5.56 is what your after I think this would suit your needs very well and its a quality rifle.
.http://www.stagarms.com/product_info.ph ... cts_id=211
If you do plan on hunting deer and other big game I do strongly suggest an AR-10 they are a little more but will have the power you need to ethically take big game.

View · by **shooter115** on Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:36 pm

codilly wrote:If a .223/5.56 is what your after I think this would suit your needs very well and its a quality rifle.
.http://www.stagarms.com/product_info.ph ... cts_id=211
If you do plan on hunting deer and other big game I do strongly suggest an AR-10 they are a little more but will have the power you need to ethically take big game.

Nice rifles yes.....but bull 24"s weigh a ton. I've buit 2 for guys (two brothers) about 2 years ago and both came back within about 6 months to be cut and re-crowned. One is now 20" and one is 18". They both shot great (and still do) they were just to damn heavy for a yote' gun. I even tried to talk both into going with 20" H-bars to start with, but some guys just think they need a huge bull barrel to shoot well.....I just came to the conclusion they were just trying to make up for other shortcomings :lol:

View · by **UnaStamus** on Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:54 am

shooter115 wrote:
Nice rifles yes.....but bull 24"s weigh a ton. I've buit 2 for guys (two brothers) about 2 years ago and both came back within about 6 months to be cut and re-crowned. One is now 20" and one is 18". They both shot great (and still do) they were just to damn heavy for a yote' gun. I even tried to talk both into going with 20" H-bars to start with, but some guys just think they need a huge bull barrel to shoot well.....I just came to the conclusion they were just trying to make up for other shortcomings

Very much agree on the barrel length. It's pretty well documented that those heavier 24" barrels are really unnecessary. The most one needs is 20", and even 18" works well; if not better. There are documented incidents where Army Rangers and Navy SEALs have taken kill shots out to 900m in A-stan with Mk12 Mod0 and Mod1 rifles (18" barrels) using Mk262 Mod0/1 ammunition. The only time the longer barrels become necessary is for benchrest, and that really isn't a conducive sport for AR usage.

View · by **2in2out** on Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:44 am

Scott Notaeh wrote:
UnaStamus wrote: Keep it simple. Crawl, walk, then run.
That's just my $0.02.

I came to respond to your questions but UnaStamus has everything right. Read his post closely.

There is a great list of AR features to look for here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key ... utput=html

Yeah, I'm going to read that again, and I'm not even looking to buy an AR - VERY good information. THANK YOU!

View · by **connsolo** on Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:08 am

I've got a spikes st-15 on order. Downside is the several month wait. My brother just bought a rra entry operator for about the same price and got to take it home that day.

View · by **zachkuby87** on Sun Oct 23, 2011 3:35 am

I'm no ar expert at al in fac I don't even own one YET but.... from my research over the past 8 or 9 months I think S&W M&P 15's are the way to go whether you go with the sport or one of the more tricked out models they seem very sound and I have come across very few complaints on them. Me personally I'm saving for the m&p15 moe which is about 1000 bucks I've been tempted to go with the sport but I think I'm gonna wait till I have all the funds and when I do I'm gonna learn it inside and out then start building my own ar.

View · by **Sledaddict82** on Mon Oct 24, 2011 5:12 pm

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

View · by **mmarino** on Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:29 pm

dpms in my opinion is the way to go for your first AR. they are not the best out there but also not the crappiest, good price and reliable. and i say for your first because after shooting it for a while you will get the bug and end up picking up another one, and another, and another etc etc.

View · by **MnHornet** on Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:29 am

If you want to fondle a bunch of AR's in different configurations I suggest you go up to Element Arms in Becker. They are great guys, have a HUGE selection, all the parts you could ever need, and lots of AR knowledge and experience.

View · by **Sledaddict82** on Wed Oct 26, 2011 3:14 pm

MnHornet wrote:If you want to fondle a bunch of AR's in different configurations I suggest you go up to Element Arms in Becker. They are great guys, have a HUGE selection, all the parts you could ever need, and lots of AR knowledge and experience.

I've heard about this place from a guy at my work also. I'll definitely have to go check them out here soon.