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I am thinking of getting my first AR. This rifle will be used for plinking with a secondary role for home defense, I do not anticipate heavy useage or a high round count so I am not willing to spend a fortune, but I don't want junk either. Bud's Gun Shpe has two DPMS versions available at about $580 and I am wondering what their reputation is and if either of these would be a good starter AR. I also see they have several AK types for sale in both .223 and 7.62X39 in the $450 price range. Only problem with these is thry were made by Century International and though I can't find the thread I think I remeber hearing substantial negative feedback about Century.

I would appreciate any advice on my first black rifle purchase.

Dave

DPMS are great guns. I dont think Century makes guns, they import them.

DPMS is a reputable manufacturer. In fact, they used to manufacture the lower receivers for other "manufacturers." The difference between the two carbines in question on the Bud's Guns website is that the $578 model is of the "sportical" variety, lacking either the forward assist or a dust cover. The $589 model has the forward assist and the dust cover.

There is some debate as to whether either is necessary to a happily functioning AR15. My personal inclination is that for only $11 more, get the one that has the forward assist and the dust cover. All 5 of ours have them. You may never need the forward assist, but on the day that you do and the poopy has hit the oscillating air displacement device, you might wish you had one. The counter argument is that the bolt carrier has that indent in the side of it so that you can use your thumb to "assist" the bolt forward if it fails to go all the way into battery. My answer to that is that this is fine if you're wearing gloves. An AR15 bolt gets HOT under fire. I wouldn't want to do that with my bare thumb.....particularly since you're thinking in terms of a secondary home defense weapon, when are you going to have the time to put on gloves? The forward assist obviates the need for gloves.

As far as the dust cover goes, I suppose that if you used the weapon all the time and you regularly cleaned it and kept it stored in a case, you might not need a dust cover. On the other hand, if your gun is going to sit around unused for extended periods of time, then maybe a dust cover might be useful. My own ARs live in a safe, and dust doesn't seem to be a problem. Also, I'm just a fat old guy who has never fired a shot in anger with any kind of gun. I'm not likely to be found in a dust storm in Afganny Land. That said, I do plan to take one of my carbines white tail hunting some day, and having a more or less dust free action might be a consideration.

I call it 55/45 in favor of having both the forward assist and the dust cover, particularly since the price difference is negligible. Certainly having them both does no harm.

AndyC wrote:

bauerdj wrote:I think I remeber hearing substantial negative feedback about Century.

You remember correctly; the only thing worse than a Century-built rifle is a Hesse/Vulcan/Blackthorne built rifle.

In my opinion.

Century does seem to have some monkeys with hammers building their guns sometimes. If you can hand inspect a Century product, you can walk away with an ok gun. Check for canted sights, sloppy fitment and things of that nature. If you find one that seems to be put together decently, they're not a bad deal. But you are by no means buying a top of the line product. If you're okay with that, then a hand inspected Century is probably fine. If you're of the "buy once, cry once" philosophy, I'd look elsewhere.

Skip the 7.62x39 AR. Everyone I know that bought one sold it bc it wouldn't feed very well. If you look around there are plenty of people selling their ARs at good prices. I'd also skip the AKs that shoot the .223 I'm sure there are some good ones but why take a chance

I am a new AR shooter. My first rifle is from CMMG. It is a plain AR, but that's what I wanted. It has been perfect for about 2,000 rounds.

Some good info. here: http://www.ar15.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Love my DPMS Sportical 7.62X39 ... (30 cal. wallop !)

Mac

Rock River Arms makes a quality rifle at a good price, IMO. I built my first AR piece-by-piece with RRA parts, starting with a stripped CMMG lower I got on sale from Midway. I got to make my AR to my desired specifications at a cost of around $1000. If you're looking for a standard configuration, built rifles can be had significantly cheaper.

http://rockriverarms.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's also worth watching the CMMG bargain bin, as some really good deals on rifles can be had there at times. Right now it looks like there's only mags in there, but it changes frequently.

http://cmmginc.secure-mall.com/shop/?cat=161" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And here's mine, immediately after completion:



and how it looks today:

The OP was looking at spending around $580.00. RRA is pretty good. We like ours. But it costs considerably more than $580.

.45mac.40 wrote:

Some good info. here: http://www.ar15.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Love my DPMS Sportical 7.62X39 ... (30 cal. wallop !)

Mac

Your .30 cal. wollop on the bottom, mine on top:

I picked up one of these DPMS about a year ago:

http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/products/?prod=5632" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm very happy with it. I stuck a Bushnell Tactical Elite on it and good to go!!!

I have a DPMS AR. The rounds I put down range went down range. That's all I ask.

Spend the extra 10 bucks and get the assist and dust cover. No, you probably wouldn't ever need it-----but I only used it once. In a firefight. In Afghanistan. And surprise surprise, it worked. Post firefight, I broke her down to see what the deal was, and there was a rock (maybe a pebble) in there. Apparently when I was firing, somehow a rock (pebble) flew into the ejection port while a casing was ejecting, thus taking me out of the fight for a few seconds. Wierd things happen.

+1 on the assist and cover. So far I have never needed to use either. I purchase my hardware to use and keep, but realistically I know if things get rough and I need to liquidate to pay something unexpected, those are features a buyer might be wanting.

Same thing goes when I am buying a car/truck. I may not need or want heated mirrors (for example) but when and if you need to sell or trade, is it desirable to a buyer?

And +1 on DPMS, you won't be disappointed. Mine is a 7.62x51 and is awesome, surprisingly accurate for a 16".