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Alright, I'd like to get an AR and I've been reading AR forums and internet articles all over the internet. What a great wealth of confusion!!

Anyway, It appears that the way to go is to buy an upper and have it delivered to your house and that is perfectly legal and then buy the lower at a gun store. Since I'm in TX, I think I can have as many scary, evil black rifle accessories as I want as long as I have a 16" barrel and it's a semi-auto.

So, I think I want:

16" 5.56 barrel that is all chrome lined, 1/7 twist and I should make sure it is parkerized under the front site block.
"F" labeled FSB
gas piston operated
flash suppressor (should I care much about this?)
flat top since I want to mount some optics
3 sided rails rather than the stock heat/hand guard (mostly because they look cooler)
6 position sliding stock.
Maybe a 22LR conversion kit of some kind
2 stage trigger

I see a lot of good stuff about CMMG, so I though about getting the upper from them.

Does this make sense?

OH, I'd like to keep it under $1000 not including the optics

What's the purpose for this gun? Bench rest tack driver? all around plinker? a problem arises / zombie gun?

Piston and sub $1k don't usually go together. If I were going to go with good optics, I'd rather get a gas block with rails rather than a standard FSB. That way you could mount flip up BUIS, and keep the optics more in line with the bore.

re 22lr conversion- I've had three- CMMG, Spike's tactical, and the Olympic m-261 conversion. The spike's unit runs like a sewing machine. The nickel finish and upgraded spring really add to the reliability.

I built a CMMG ar for less than a grand last year. bought the upper off of gunbroker and picked up a CMMG lower and parts kit from a local gun store. 18" non chrome lined 1 in 7 twist to shoot heavy bullets. if you are local to me and need any help let me know. BTW mine was not a piston upper though.

Ashlar wrote:What's the purpose for this gun? Bench rest tack driver? all around plinker? a problem arises / zombie gun?

I think it's plinker/zombie/get one before Obama outlaws them. Basically general purpose.
I don't want an AR collection, just one multi-purpose that I can bolt/unbolt stuff onto as needed.

Maybe I can spend a bit more for gas piston. It sound like a good idea.

Looking at your list...

1. 16" 5.56 barrel that is all chrome lined, 1/7 twist and I should make sure it is parkerized under the front site block.
2. "F" labeled FSB
3. gas piston operated
4. flash suppressor (should I care much about this?)
5. flat top since I want to mount some optics
6. 3 sided rails rather than the stock heat/hand guard (mostly because they look cooler)
7. 6 position sliding stock.
8. Maybe a 22LR conversion kit of some kind
9. 2 stage trigger

My answers...

1. probably a good choice, if I had mine to do over, I would exchange the M4 profile barrel for an HBAR.
2. I would go with a flip up front sight mounted to a rail (see #6)
3. not realistic at your price range; has certain benefits, but millions of AR15 owners are getting along just fine without them.
4. flash suppressor a good idea; lots of different configurations available
5. get a flat top, you can always mount a carry handle if you want to, but your optics choices will be better
6. get a free floating railed fore end, mount a flip up rear sight to it (see #2)
7. adjustable stock good, but some of them are cheap junk; spend a little more to get higher quality
8. no opinion one way or the other
9. 2 stage trigger a good idea if you are building a varmint/target rifle, but probably a waste of money for a CQB carbine, so decide what you're building

android wrote:Maybe I can spend a bit more for gas piston. It sound like a good idea.

There's nothing inherently wrong with gas pistons, but people who buy them because they expect it to be maintenance free are mistaken. My ARs (4 of them in different configurations) work just fine without gas pistons. Do your maintenance, and the rifles will run just fine. BTW, my M1A, which does have a gas piston, requires the gas piston assembly to be disassembled from time to time for cleaning.

The criticism of the AR system is that they "poop where they eat." Well gas piston systems "poop in their pants," so to speak. Both systems vent gas from the barrel into an operating mechanism, which must in turn be periodically cleaned in order to function reliably. So although gas piston systems on ARs have a certain cool factor, I personally don't see them as absolutely necessary.

Here is another accessory you might want to consider. Mine is out for delivery on the UPS truck right now:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=590224

It's a wall mounted photo display case which hides an AR15 carbine for ready access.

The Annoyed Man wrote:Here is another accessory you might want to consider. Mine is out for delivery on the UPS truck right now:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=590224

It's a wall mounted photo display case which hides an AR15 carbine for ready access.

android wrote:

Ashlar wrote:What's the purpose for this gun? Bench rest tack driver? all around plinker? a problem arises / zombie gun?

I think it's plinker/zombie/get one before Obama outlaws them. Basically general purpose.
I don't want an AR collection, just one multi-purpose that I can bolt/unbolt stuff onto as needed.

Maybe I can spend a bit more for gas piston. It sound like a good idea.

General purpose? I'd probably build a kit from model1sales.com. Inexpensive, yet a good platform to build from.

If you're really feeling frisky, you could always build an AR-15 pistol :)

The Annoyed Man wrote: I would go with a flip up front sight mounted to a rail

Do you prefer having a pair of flip-up sights as opposed to a flip-up rear and stationary front sight? I'm in the middle of making my first as well and haven't ordered my upper yet. I don't plan on getting serious with optics but wouldn't mind a red dot or ACOG.

I second the input about not needing a gas piston upper. Take care of your rifle and it will take care of you. In other words...just clean the darn thing when you use it. I personally like a 20" barrel with full sized hand guards. I like the longer sight radius and a heavier profile barrel. The free float rail set up is nice, but if your are not going to attach a forward grip, by-pod, laser, light...that kind of thing save you money and weight of the rifle and just get a free float tube style hand guard. The rails are not as light as you might assume, I have an AR with a LaRue rail and they are about as light as they come and it added a noticeable amount of weight over the MOE hand guards that were installed previously. The two stage trigger is a waist of money in my opinion, especially if you are not hunting or competing. I have a two stage in one of my RRA rifles and its nice, but I would not pay extra for it. It came like that from the factory so I went with it.

karl wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote: I would go with a flip up front sight mounted to a rail

Do you prefer having a pair of flip-up sights as opposed to a flip-up rear and stationary front sight? I'm in the middle of making my first as well and haven't ordered my upper yet. I don't plan on getting serious with optics but wouldn't mind a red dot or ACOG.

If you get an ACOG then you are serious about optics! Those things are tough enough to crack walnuts with, but they will do the same thing to your bank account. Red dots are hit or miss in my opinion. If you don't spend good money on one don't complain when it is not as good as an Aimpoint or Eotech. Truglo, Barska, and a Bushnell red dots will work, but they are not nearly the level of quality or ruggedness of the Aimpoint especially.

Forget about the piston drive and spend the money on some optics + BUIS instead - I like the Millett DMS I have on mine which works like a 1x red dot at one end of the zoom range and a x4 at the other. A stock that gives a good cheek weld is worth the money IMO - I like the vltor emod - really lets you pull that gun into you in a way that a cheapo stock doesn't.

Checkout texasguntrader.com for a lower.

Alright, went to GT Distributors at lunch and looked at the wall of ARs.

It's a bit more than my target price (of course ) but I'm liking the Ruger SR-556FB. It pretty much has all the features I want except it has a single stage trigger. It even come with 3 mags and BUIS.

That plus and EOTech sight and I think I would be pretty happy. I think the only other thing to buy would be a sling.

As to the cleaning and the gas piston... I love to clean my pistols, but if I can get something that lets me keep it cleaner easier, then I think that's a good deal in the long run.

What you guys think about that one?

karl wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote: I would go with a flip up front sight mounted to a rail

Do you prefer having a pair of flip-up sights as opposed to a flip-up rear and stationary front sight? I'm in the middle of making my first as well and haven't ordered my upper yet. I don't plan on getting serious with optics but wouldn't mind a red dot or ACOG.

Keep in mind that this is just my preference and why, but I'm not a tactical guru or anything...

I currently have a fixed front sight and a flip up rear, and I would prefer a flip up front instead of the fixed sight I have. The reason is that my primary sight on that rifle is an Eotech, and when I'm looking through it I can see the front sight out there and it is a little bit of a distraction to me. I would prefer to be able to fold it down out of the way when I'm not using it — just like I prefer to keep the rear sight folded down until I need it. With that in mind, I would prefer to have a mid-length to rifle length fore end rail with a low profile gas block rather than mounting the front sight on a gas block with a rail. Also, the less weight (in the form of a gas block) suspended out on the barrel, the better the results of free-floating the barrel on accuracy.

And the reason I wanted a flip up rear sight was because my next purchase for that rifle will be a 3X magnifier with a flip to side mount to combine with the Eotech, and I don't want the rear peep sight to interfere with the magnifier when the peep sight is not in use..