AR advice needed

[Delaware_Dan]

For all the AR experts out there, I think I might be ready to get started on one. I have never really liked the AR platform but with all of it's versitility it's starting to grow on me. What do I need to know? Can I slap any complete upper on any complete lower? What if I want a 9mm upper, will it generally come with everything I need to just put it on? I am completly in the dark here so any help is welcome. Upper and lower brand suggestions are appreciated as well. Ideally I would like to have a 5.56 upper (that will also shoot .223 right?), a 9mm upper, and a 5.7 upper. Sorry for the overload of questions, I just never thought I would be asking them. Thanks for all the help in advance.

-Dan

 

[greyson97]

if you want a 9mm Ar-15, id buy a complete kit. since the lower needs a mag well, and depending on wether you get a carbine 9mm ar, or a pistol 9mm ar youll have stock issues. and barrel length issues. if you want a 9mm carbine, get a cx4. also magazines are non standard. a lot of the 9mm lowers/mag wells use uzi mags, and depending on where you live or the internet stockages, threy can be easy/hard to come by

 

[Kurbsky]

I would stay with 5.56 - you will have more flexibility with ammo. I would get the same brand lower and upper and I would pay extra but stay with a reputable but not overpriced brand like Stag, YHM, BCM and I am sure people at this forum can suggest more brands we are blessed with here in America.
It's great to have such a large selection!
One more personal advice - If you really like something but decide to buy a somewhat cheaper version of it, don't do it! I did it several time with my weapons only to sell the cheap staff at a loss and still buy the real thing later for more. Even though with AR-15s my feeling is prices will go down little bit eventually. But you live now and if you want it now, don't worry about it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[greyson97]

in regards to a traditional ar-15 in 5.56, wha do you wantto do with it. Are you gonna put a scope and bipod on it? are you gonna use it for cqb? do you want a traditional looking m-16? cause with ar-15s you can buy something and it will actually have features that work against what you want to do with it. like, if you want a long range sniper, dont buy something with a collapsible stock and a fixed carry handle. and if you want cqb dont get a traditional fore end and a fixed stock.

actually, never get a fixed carry handle, ie a2 version. with an a3 you always have the opption of leaving it on or taking it off.

 

[Delaware_Dan]

if you want a 9mm carbine, get a cx4.

I should have bought one when they were $550, but I had to procrastinate, and now they are over 800 bucks. I just want the versitility, but if it's that much of a PITA then I was mistaken from the get go. I thought it was as simple as swaping out uppers, but you learn something new everyday.

If you really like something but decide to buy a somewhat cheaper version of it, don't do it!

No worries there, my Pop always told me "Buy quality once" and it's stuck with me. I would rather eat pasta for 3 months and have a quality AR than buy a cheap one.

Thanks again guys.

 

[45Gunner]

Be careful with .223 and 5.56. Not every AR will allow interchangeability. It must be engraved on the lower as to the caliber. For example, I own a Bushmaster and it is engraved .223/5.56. I can shoot either.

Three of my friends and myself all bought AR-15's within a close time frame. Neither of us consulted with another about our decisions of what to buy. All four of us ended up with Bushmaster Carbines in .223/.5.56. Says something for the rifle.

 

[brian923]

not to start a fight, but 45 gunner is WRONG!! what ever is printed on the lower has NO effect to the chamber of the upper. ANY MILSPEC LOWER WILL ACCEPT ANY MILSPEC BASED UPPER. now, you cam go into the past and look at colt's propritary l;owers that had different size front pins, but you probably wont encounter this problem. (besides, they have a remedy for that as well) example: people have lowers that they bought as a 458 socom, but can put a .223 or 5.56 upper on it. the lower is still marked .458 socom. the correct ammunition will be stamped on the barrel.... this is whats important. as to 5.56 vs. .223, the 5.56 has a longer leade, (throat) many reasons for this. also, 5.56 nato ammo is thicker in the web of the brass, and is loaded to higher pressures than commercial .223. (good to know if you reload) if you get an upper, get one marked as 5.56. this will allow you to use 5.56 nato, or .223 commercial ammo and remain safe to use.

get an AR and be proud of it. they are wonderful guns. i have a custom built with a rock river arms upper, bolt group and national match trigger, and a stag lower with a white oak armament 18" SPR barrel in 1/7 twist. the gun will always shoot better than me, but i have something i can pass to my children and know that it will still be a top quality AR. another cool thing is, with some ingenuity, you can replace all the parts on your gun with minimal hand tools and some knowledge.

as to the 9mm, i believe that they make direct replacment uppers, and a mag well converter to use uzi mags, (just place in you lower, and then the mags go into the converter) but i dont know much about the pistol calibers.... yet... look at olympic arms, they carry tons of AR pistol stuff, and also the very cool WSSM calibers. man, gotta love them AR's!!


brian.

 

[Kurbsky]

One more thing: If you want to shoot long range, I would recommend .308 caliber AR. The best value is DPMS, but if you go for it, make sure you add options like 2 stage trigger (that's a must) and some other things you can add when building it on DPMS website. Get at least 18 inch barrel. They go as far as 24 inch stainless but I personally think it's an overkill.