My first and only AR 15

[dlee56]

Looking to purchase my first and possibly only AR 15 (5.56/.223). It’s a challenging market to come into given there’s 10,000 brands making seemingly identical rifles, all from $500 to $5,000.

I’m eyeing the Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 SLW Link but I’m not sure if I can legitimize paying that price for an AR given plenty of mil-spec options that are much cheaper. Also eyeing a Bushmaster, Springfield Saint, and Sig Sauer.

I’d rather buy one I can customize and be done with it instead of upgrading to new platforms down the line. Mainly in the market for home defense, rec shooting, and varmint hunting. At the end of the day I need something that will work faultlessly when I need it to (home defense).

I’m eager to hear folks thoughts or recommendations.

 

[FrankNess14]

DD is great and local to me. Toured their factory and they sponsor local high school sports! Bravo Company Machine is another very solid company. I’d focus on AR manufacturers only, not someone who also makes AR’s. I’ve had good luck with Areo/ballistic advantage and Faxon.

Personally, I wouldn’t even consider bushmaster, Springfield or sig for an AR. Go with someone who that’s their bread and butter and hasn’t had ownership been passed around like a…doorknob…

 

[keystone112]

What’s your budget?

 

[deadwolf]

IWI Zion Z-15 16” doesn’t break the bank and is a decent rifle to start with. Primary Arms has them in and out of stock regularly.


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[dlee56]

What’s your budget?

Budget is preferably under $1500, but I can stretch if there’s real reason to

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

Having played the poor game for years, and now I’m the Gucci game…


Stick to your budget but buy quality. There is a difference but it’s not really a difference until it’s abused a lot.

I’d not use a varmit set up for home defense. I’d not use a hunting rig for that same purpose.

I use a DD mk18 as my home defense set up.
I have a 14.5” as my battle gun do to all.
And my socom is my hunting gun.

They could all be swapped out if needed.

 

[TaperPin]

The last AR I bought was a simple mil spec DPMS and it has worked flawlessly. It’s basic and nothing special, but goes bang every time. At times these are so cheap they might as well be free. Lol

 

[keystone112]

Home defense and varmint hunting are kind of opposite things. One would be best with a Red Dot or LPVO, a shorter barrel and a suppressor. The other would be better with a higher power magnification scope, a longer barrel and a sub 2 MOA accuracy type rifle.

16” barrel is kind of in the middle. Make sure you are happy with the trigger or plan to swap it out.

IMI Zion mentioned earlier is worth a look.

I think you will spend more upgrading than just buying better stuff up front.

SOLGW is solid and wouldn’t need any upgrades for your use.

 

[zblink]

Lwrc the DI series has a street price of 1300 to 1600 and is a good step above aero, Springfield, Ruger and on par with DD quality wise

 

[Rjk300]

Check out BCA. My experience with their ar’s is in 450bm but all function and shoot very good for me and some others I hunt with. I drop in a CMC trigger and put a brake on for the guys not suppressed.

 

[juju]

You have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find one that won't get by for a few thousand rounds. I haven't seen $1500 make an unbreakable AR, but I haven't seen everything. Palmetto State Armory is probably about right since you mentioned customizing. I'd get a case of ammo and run it hard to see if anything is going to break immediately no matter what you get.

If you upgrade the buffer retainer or toss it and use a captured buffer you'll avoid the broken retainer. Unless you get lucky you'll want a trigger. Look at KE Arms. PSA barrels don't always shoot as well as you'd like. If you replace it, do an adjustable gas block while you're at it.

I prefer a bullpup for in the house. It's not as long, suppressed. That's more of a one & done because you don't have all the options as with an AR.

 

[jpmulk]

Looking to purchase my first and possibly only AR 15 (5.56/.223). It’s a challenging market to come into given there’s 10,000 brands making seemingly identical rifles, all from $500 to $5,000.

I’m eyeing the Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 SLW Link but I’m not sure if I can legitimize paying that price for an AR given plenty of mil-spec options that are much cheaper. Also eyeing a Bushmaster, Springfield Saint, and Sig Sauer.

I’d rather buy one I can customize and be done with it instead of upgrading to new platforms down the line. Mainly in the market for home defense, rec shooting, and varmint hunting. At the end of the day I need something that will work faultlessly when I need it to (home defense).

I’m eager to hear folks thoughts or recommendations.

Check out FN. they have some quality affordable offerings. Very happy with mine.

 

[gman82001]

Geissele super duty buy once cry once

 

[stoddc4]

Out of the brands you mentioned I would go Daniel Defense for sure not questions asked.

There are a ton of great options and everything is so customizable now it’s hard to go wrong.

I think it really comes down to personal preference and budget.

I’d recommend stretching your comfort level a little bit on the budget side of things. You won’t regret going a little higher end but you may regret a cheaper option.


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[RockAndSage]

It would be really hard to beat a Daniel Defense for cost/value - most ARs that are its peers for the mix of durability, reliability, and accuracy, are going to be north of $2k. Lowest market price on Gunbroker for buy-now is about $1800, but you can sometimes get a deal, especially if you time auctions on there well. DDs are about the cheapest of what I would consider to be hard-use gucci level, and don't really give up much to significantly more expensive guns at that tier. They also have just about the best barrel in terms of the mix of durability and accuracy. Other companies may offer barrels that are more accurate, or more durable, but they've got the best mix of both, IMO.

Bravo Company/BCM makes a great gun that is cheaper, and the IWI someone mentioned above is probably the most solid at the least cost.

Whatever you do, don't fall for the "just as good" idiocy - it's been my experience that those who barf that drivel have simply never pushed their equipment to the extremes. If I were recommending to family, it would be the DD, hands-down. Need cheaper, BCM. Absolute budget, the IWI. There's just the least amount of BS to deal with.

 

[justinspicher]

So you want an AR. Lots of options and lots of opinions. I personally wouldn’t use an AR for home defense, but that’s just me.

In my humble opinion of using an AR for work and play, my list of what I would buy in order are:

1-Knights Armament
2-LMT
3-LWRC
4-BCM

Anything else is a budget rifle. If it says it’s a Milspec rifle but costs over $1200, it’s a waste of money and you’re paying for a name. If you truly want to buy once and cry once, get an AR15 that you don’t need to change anything on out of the box.

I personally own two KAC upper and a lower and have shot thousands of rounds through them and they are are still as accurate as the day I bought them. I might clean them once a year. That cleaning is a bore snake and a spray off of brake cleaner and then wiped down.

Now I will admit that they are hard to find and when you do, they are spendy.

For 90% of the dudes using an AR, I’d say start with a BCM and you’ll be more than happy with your purchase.

You can upgrade a PSA or a BCA rifle all you want, but you could have saved that money and just gotten a better rifle from the start, kind of like trying to turn a Ford Pinto into a performance based vehicle.

 

[dlee56]

So you want an AR. Lots of options and lots of opinions. I personally wouldn’t use an AR for home defense, but that’s just me.

In my humble opinion of using an AR for work and play, my list of what I would buy in order are:

1-Knights Armament
2-LMT
3-LWRC
4-BCM

Anything else is a budget rifle. If it says it’s a Milspec rifle but costs over $1200, it’s a waste of money and you’re paying for a name. If you truly want to buy once and cry once, get an AR15 that you don’t need to change anything on out of the box.

I personally own two KAC upper and a lower and have shot thousands of rounds through them and they are are still as accurate as the day I bought them. I might clean them once a year. That cleaning is a bore snake and a spray off of brake cleaner and then wiped down.

Now I will admit that they are hard to find and when you do, they are spendy.

For 90% of the dudes using an AR, I’d say start with a BCM and you’ll be more than happy with your purchase.

You can upgrade a PSA or a BCA rifle all you want, but you could have saved that money and just gotten a better rifle from the start, kind of like trying to turn a Ford Pinto into a performance based vehicle.

Any specific BCM or LWCR? I see they both have several options.

Any reason to not go with DD?

 

[Shortschaf]

It would be really hard to beat a Daniel Defense for cost/value - most ARs that are its peers for the mix of durability, reliability, and accuracy, are going to be north of $2k. Lowest market price on Gunbroker for buy-now is about $1800, but you can sometimes get a deal, especially if you time auctions on there well. DDs are about the cheapest of what I would consider to be hard-use gucci level, and don't really give up much to significantly more expensive guns at that tier. They also have just about the best barrel in terms of the mix of durability and accuracy. Other companies may offer barrels that are more accurate, or more durable, but they've got the best mix of both, IMO.

Bravo Company/BCM makes a great gun that is cheaper, and the IWI someone mentioned above is probably the most solid at the least cost.

Whatever you do, don't fall for the "just as good" idiocy - it's been my experience that those who barf that drivel have simply never pushed their equipment to the extremes. If I were recommending to family, it would be the DD, hands-down. Need cheaper, BCM. Absolute budget, the IWI. There's just the least amount of BS to deal with.

As someone with a BCM I feel like the PSA it replaced was totally fine for the money spent

If I am OP, I would just focus on a home defense AR that is a compromise for varmint shooting.
Use it for varmints until you can afford to build another purpose built AR (or better yet just use a bolt gun for varmints)

 

[KY_coop]

There's tons of great companies out there building AR's. Nothing wrong with DD but there are plenty of other good options that usually come in a bit cheaper. The general "starter" rifle that is great quality is an aero lower with bcm upper. Other uppers I've enjoyed using are sionics and wolfpack armory.
The details and differences in most AR's usually dont matter a whole lot until you add a suppressor. Then things can get funky.

 

[justinspicher]

Any specific BCM or LWCR? I see they both have several options.

Any reason to not go with DD?

For a new AR user/owner, I’d go with a basic BCM 16” rifle. It’ll do everything you need it to do from “home security” to kill big game. The factors for what you specifically want it to do are based off an optic and a bullet, but more importantly how you train to use it.

You can have a $2500 AR and $25 worth of capability and that rifle won’t matter much.

I am not a fan of DD because they cost too much for they are. I’ve also broken more DD rifles than any other AR I’ve ever used combined.