Hoping to buy one of these soon. Any advice for the novice AR guy. So many options and accessories to choose from…The research that I have done says the Colt is the way yo go with the barrel and the quality of construction. It would take a lot at this point to change my mind. I do not want a custom built unit. Help
Go easy on options and accessories, i.e. pistol grip forearms are a glam accessory. They will make you less accurate by causing you to cant the rifle left or right when shooting freehand and prevent you from assuming a good prone position in many instances because the grip will get in they way.
What do you want the AR to be good at?
For close quarters to mid range, day or night, this is my final setup that served me well.
EOTech hologram, took a lot of abuse and held its zero during: daily use, in and out of the truck and banging through buildings.
Triggers are a touchy thing to mess with and depends on how you plan to use the rifle. If its going to be a range gun, your preference might tell you to lighten / shorten trigger pull. If you plan on using it for what it was built for, chances are the stock trigger doesn’t need to be messed with.
Add a Surefire light, go light weight and ensure its mounted on the forearm in a way that doesn’t obstruct your natural hand placement or get in the way when shooting from the prone. Get a light with a pressure switch that mounts on the forearm. You don’t want to have to mess with removing your hand from a shooting position to turn the light on or off.
For close quarters to mid range, day or night, that’s it. Light weight, reliable, accurate.
Home defense and target range. A tool and a toy. I have always wanted one and I have a bunch of Scheels rewards in my pocket. It will be my 3rd gun from them that was “free”. Thank you for the help.
Start easy with gadgets until you get some time with it. Maybe when you’re on the range you’ll get to try some other folks toys to see what you like/don’t like.
Iron sights are a must if you have home defense as part of the purpose. Depending on the handguard you may have a rail to attach junk to. This can be a good thing if you keep it rather clean.
I’ve got a full rail so did a fixed front from Daniel Defense and a fold down rear from Troy.
Optics are personal preference and so many to choose from. No right or wrong answer, just different pros/cons. sorry I know that doesn’t help but make sure you buy quality. Eotech/Aimpoint, or a quality 1x-6x scope if more than mid-range.
I like Woodshed’s advice. Keep it simple, light, accurate.
Maybe a sling could be nice too.
I like Woodshed’s advice. Keep it simple, light, accurate.
I totally agree with this.
However…
Just be aware that “accurate” means something different to everyone. What I found out about ARs was that obtaining accuracy comparable to better bolt action rifles may sometimes be possible, but it is vastly more expensive and usually more complicated.
If you’re fine with minute of tennis ball accuracy and plan to shoot only out to 100 yards, almost any AR will do. If you’re definition of accuracy extends to being able to hit a golf ball sized spot on a varmint at 250+++ yards, while even the most common bolt action rifle can easily be made to do this, it will take some effort and expense to get the vast majority of ARs up to this task.
Also, I find ARs to be rather maintainance-intensive as far as time spent. As one elloquent soul very rightly described it, “An AR is a rifle that uses its own puke to power the action.” Therefore, while cleaning a bolt gun after extended range or field time taks 10 minutes, an AR requires a total stripdown and a hot tub soak in the ultrasonic parts cleaner and a minimum of 45 minutes for a reasonable clean.
Obviously, (here we go again) spending more money can eliminate some of the cleaning hassles.
That they are fun to shoot cannot be denied. On the varmint grounds out west I find them just teriffic fun because the semi-auto action and larger (and cheaper) magazine keeps my eye to the scope and increases follow up shot availability.
Grouse
First piece of advice, stack the rifles tightly in your safe otherwise you’ll run out of room quickly. AR’s are an addiction.
That being said, there are many “improvements” the AR has seen over the years. Biggest one is a piston driven system vs the traditional gas impingement. I am a huge fan of piston driven AR’s and the ease of cleaning is night and day. The biggest tip I can give is don’t get caught up on brand name guns/parts with AR’s. There are many different lines Colt makes and some are hardly even their own gun, just their name stamped on it…Do your research before you drop the cash and you’ll be happy.
Had it not been for your store credit I would have recommended PSA (Palmetto State Armory) but free is still cheaper than $400.
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