Author Topic: The more I look at, the more confused I get!  (Read 786 times)

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Offline doninva

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The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« on: April 30, 2013, 11:31:13 AM »
Been shooting for 40 years but not ARs. I have looked at ARs at Sporting goods stores, gun shows and the more I look, the more confused I get. I have looked at Colt, Del-tone,Remington(made by Bushmaster) Bushmaster, S&W and several other brands. Other than how they feel, I don't have a clue what to get. I have a limit of 1000.00 and don't know what a good buy is. Is there a way to compare. Looking for a predator rifle. Don

Offline ole 5 hole group

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Re: The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2013, 01:35:37 PM »
OK, I'll give you some good advice but you'll need to come up with a little more money but it'll be well worth it years from now.  Take a hard look at the Huldra Elite.  It comes with 6 - 30-rounds mags but nothing else, so you'll have to purchase your sites/optics/sling/etc, which can be a little spendy, depending upon your tastes.
http://www.huldraarms.com/rifles/product_914ffd5b2cff/
 
The gas piston set-up sets this AR apart from most and I doubt you'll ever regret purchasing a gas piston AR, as it runs extremely clean and this particular brand has all the bells & whistles as standard - meaning the bolt carrier is ion-bonded and the chamber & bore is melonite - those are two serious upgrades right there.  I've run a lot of AR's over the years and I've seen a lot of dirty bolt carriers kept running by adding a lot of "gun oil" but you'll never have that problem with this AR - it just stays clean and "wet".
 
I don't care for the rail system, as I have no need to hang a bunch of "cool" gadgets from my AR, but it is what it is.
 
As far as accuracy - well, it'll shoot some factory stuff into 1.25" to 2.5" groups at 100 yards, which is very acceptable AR accuracy.  Handloading you might do better.  Mine shoots lights out with one load and one load only - or at least from what I have tried so far.  The ole stand-by of a 69 grain Sierra Match King with 24.5 grains of H4895 will do right at or better than 0.25" for a lot of match AR's and some Bushmaster Varmiters but not for my Huldra, as I get a consistent 0.8" but good ole Berger 77 grain tactical (not the VLD) ahead of 20.5 grains of VV N135 does 0.5" to 0.6" and that's the best mine will do and that's good enough for me. 
 
I can only shoot those groups rested with a 14X scope, as with my aimpoint, sometimes I might get 3 out of 5 to do around a half inch but those other 2 will definately have a mind of their own and those two or three can happen at anytime during the string.  Off-hand with a sling, a group of 4 to 6 inches is pretty good for me, as the norm is a tad larger. ;D   

Offline jmayton

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Re: The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2013, 05:48:02 PM »
Colt 6920.  But it might be out of your price range.  Check out a Rock River.  Great triggers and reasonable prices.

Offline mcwoodduck

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Re: The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2013, 06:30:19 PM »
The cool thing about the AR is it is Leggos for grown ups.  Everything is changeable.  The goal is to get a rifle that is as close to what you want and only change a few things.
For a varmint AR I would look for these key features.
1) Solid stock (no colapsible stocks no matter how cool they look)
2) 20" Heavy barrel. Free floated is best but standard will work,
3) Flat top  to mount a scope on.  (there are scope mounts for the handle uppers but you will need a cheek piece to keep your head down on the stock) 
Everything else can be changed, Grips , hand guards, what have you.  All can be added later. 
Personally I would look for a flat top target rifle, remove the handle sight and replace it with a scope for the type of varmints you are planning on shooting.  The next thing would be take off the A2 grip and replace it with what is on my AR now (forget the name) and then as money comes in for the project replace the military hand guard with rail type that a bipod can easily be attached to.  And add a Harris Bi Pod or two.  My Varmint 700 Wears a tall one for sitting against a tree or a short one for the bench, wall, or being prone.
Good luck on your search.  You can change out the springs, and trigger kit if you so wish.
Oh one last thing, Most AR rifles are built to a military spec and honestly there really is very little difference between the guts of the unit. 

Online Lloyd Smale

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Re: The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2013, 01:24:30 AM »
with a 1000 dollar cap the colts out of the picture. Youd need a couple hundred more for it but its a great choise if you can come up with the money. Any of the others would you mentioned would work just fine. My preferernce for an under a 1000 dollar ar is either a stag or rock river but to be honest theres very little differnce in quality between a stag, rock river arms, bushmast, dpms, remington, deltron or smtth and wesson.
blue lives matter

Offline jmayton

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Re: The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2013, 05:40:29 AM »
Another to check out: Core-15.  Our local shop sells them and they are well built.  They're staked correctly and are put together with good parts so they should be reliable. 


If you're talking predators, then an M4 profile is quite adequate.  My Colt will put 75gr Sierra BTHP's into a .25" at 100yds.  It wears a 1-4x scope for hogs and 3-gun, but a higher mag scope would be needed for yotes and such. 


For varmints, then mcwoodduck is right.  Which actually is what my latest lower will become in the near future.

Offline bcraig

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Re: The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2013, 07:27:19 AM »
Been shooting for 40 years but not ARs. I have looked at ARs at Sporting goods stores, gun shows and the more I look, the more confused I get. I have looked at Colt, Del-tone,Remington(made by Bushmaster) Bushmaster, S&W and several other brands. Other than how they feel, I don't have a clue what to get. I have a limit of 1000.00 and don't know what a good buy is. Is there a way to compare. Looking for a predator rifle. Don
DPMS Sportical from Wal-Marts for around $700.00 out the door.
Ought to be great for a Predator rifle.
Leupold or Weaver extra high rings.Leupold or Weaver see through rings,Used scope(even Leupold )4x or above(2-7x,3-9 etc)and you will come in around seven and a half pounds and less than a $1000.00
Craig

Craig

Offline Bugflipper

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Re: The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« Reply #7 on: May 01, 2013, 07:51:00 PM »
For cheapest good one my vote is for Stag Arms. CMT is the major supplier for AR parts that most of the companies in that price range get their parts from. The owner of CMT is the father of the owner of Stag. Guaranteed his boy is going to get the best parts. In all the shoots like Appleseed Stag is always at or near the top. That's pretty good considering they beat a lot of fellows with rifles costing 3-4x as much.
Molon labe

Offline drdougrx

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Re: The more I look at, the more confused I get!
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2013, 03:40:00 AM »
I'd go with a SW MP 15 Optics Ready Carbine.  Saty Simple....Play later.
If you like, please enjoy some of my hunt pics at:

http://public.fotki.com/DrDougRx

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