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AR-15 Pre-Ban vs. Post Ban
- Thread starter ghilltim
- Start date
The flash from an AR15 (at least, with most ammo I've seen) is huge, even in fairly good light.
It would be nice to have the ability to have a flash suppressor.
You can get the looks of the telescoping stock with a welded one if you need it, even on a postban.
IMHO, if you go postban, a lot of the postbans out there have muzzle brakes. Maybe it's just all the 308 I shoot; but a general-purpose AR15 (not counting the slight edge in some hard-core competition) does NOT want a muzzle-brake. For a small reduction in nonexistent recoil, you will have a LOT of noise and blast redirected at people around you.
Battler.
It would be nice to have the ability to have a flash suppressor.
You can get the looks of the telescoping stock with a welded one if you need it, even on a postban.
IMHO, if you go postban, a lot of the postbans out there have muzzle brakes. Maybe it's just all the 308 I shoot; but a general-purpose AR15 (not counting the slight edge in some hard-core competition) does NOT want a muzzle-brake. For a small reduction in nonexistent recoil, you will have a LOT of noise and blast redirected at people around you.
Battler.
If you keep your eyes open and watch the semiauto/non-NFA ad boards at http://www.subguns.com and http://www.sturmgewehr.com you can find an SP1 Colt AR15 (the one that looks like a Vietnam era M16) for around a thousand dollars, which isn't that much more than a postban brand name. If you don't like the SP1 setup, you can then sell the upper and buttstock and buy an upper and stock of your choice and put them on.
one issue i have with a muzzle braked post ban AR,
is that the permanantly attached brake interferes with the
design concept of the rifle. You can not dismount the front sight base & replace the handguards with a free float set without a torch.
On a post ban AR if i wanted a muzzle device, i would go with a non threaded barrel & use a set screw / locktite attachment system.
dZ
is that the permanantly attached brake interferes with the
design concept of the rifle. You can not dismount the front sight base & replace the handguards with a free float set without a torch.
On a post ban AR if i wanted a muzzle device, i would go with a non threaded barrel & use a set screw / locktite attachment system.
dZ
Poodleshooter
New member
Pre-bans don't seem to be worth the money unless you want an investment rifle. Using ammo incorporating flash retardants is the best way to cut down flash visible to the shooter. Having the recessed crowned muzzle of a post ban is a plus for accuracy and cleaning as well. That and the price differential make owning a post ban a better option IMHO. I'm not a big fan of muzzle brakes either. Try one w/o any hearing protection and see how much you like it. This makes the weapon more uncomfortable to deal with in the field. .223 muzzle rise and recoil are unconsequential unless you are in a rapid fire match situation. As for manufacturer, try a Bushmaster. I like my Colt, but the sear block interferes with my ability to install a new trigger easily.
Rik Writer is right about the pricing, if you look around a little. What it boils down to is around $250, maybe a little more, to get the freedom to configure the rifle any way you want to, without worrying about the possibility of felony violations.
Even with low flash ammo, a 16" bare muzzle will generate heavy flash, and the muzzle brakes don't reduce flash, they just concentrate it (and the muzzle blast) off to the sides. A pre-ban rifle can legally mount a Vortex or Phantom flash suppressor, and the results are amazing in low/no-light conditions.
I don't like collapsible stocks, but a pre-ban can legally mount one of these if that's an issue for you.
Realistically, I can't get really excited about bayonet lugs, but I do think the rifle looks silly without it and it's not legal on a post-ban.
Since you're going to spend a fair bit on any AR-15 rifle, think hard about whether it isn't worth saving a little longer and getting the flexibility of a pre-ban. Unless you're really committed to doing only target shooting -- in which case you're better off with a bare muzzle -- you might decide it's better to wait a little longer. Something to think about, anyway.
Even with low flash ammo, a 16" bare muzzle will generate heavy flash, and the muzzle brakes don't reduce flash, they just concentrate it (and the muzzle blast) off to the sides. A pre-ban rifle can legally mount a Vortex or Phantom flash suppressor, and the results are amazing in low/no-light conditions.
I don't like collapsible stocks, but a pre-ban can legally mount one of these if that's an issue for you.
Realistically, I can't get really excited about bayonet lugs, but I do think the rifle looks silly without it and it's not legal on a post-ban.
Since you're going to spend a fair bit on any AR-15 rifle, think hard about whether it isn't worth saving a little longer and getting the flexibility of a pre-ban. Unless you're really committed to doing only target shooting -- in which case you're better off with a bare muzzle -- you might decide it's better to wait a little longer. Something to think about, anyway.