new gun help

[Art3]

My 2 cents...…

listen to whatever Clandestine advises.....

I'll buy that for a dollar!

 

[Steve_Zissou]

What others have already said. Stay away from the $500 budget starter AR's and throw down a couple hundred dollars more to get yourself something like a Windham or a Colt that's nice enough that you'll only be compromising on high level stuff like accuracy or ergonomics rather than more important baseline stuff like manufacturing tolerances and metallurgy.

If you like your first one, then by all means, consider building one, but it's silly to embark down the path of a custom build unless you've shot ARs enough to know A: exactly what you like and dislike and B: that nobody else already makes it or something like it (within your price range). If it ends up being the case that you want something that nobody else already makes, then building an AR is an absolute blast, though I would highly recommend either doing the Clandestine thing or building one under the tutelage of someone else who really knows what they're doing.

 

[teratos]

Colt has nicer roll marks. Call me a bitch, but I think the Wyndham rollmarks are cringy.

That’s just me.

 

[Steve_Zissou]

Colt has nicer roll marks. Call me a bitch, but I think the Wyndham rollmarks are cringy.

That’s just me.

Yeah, but I'd rather support the Maine economy than give money to Connecticut. Maine honestly needs the jobs.

As for rollmarks, I built all of my ARs on Aero lowers because their rollmark works best with the Neil Blomkamp-esque cyberpunk vibe that I tend to go for in my built guns.

 

[PorP]

What others have already said. Stay away from the $500 budget starter AR's and throw down a couple hundred dollars more to get yourself something like a Windham or a Colt that's nice enough that you'll only be compromising on high level stuff like accuracy or ergonomics rather than more important baseline stuff like manufacturing tolerances and metallurgy.

If you like your first one, then by all means, consider building one, but it's silly to embark down the path of a custom build unless you've shot ARs enough to know A: exactly what you like and dislike and B: that nobody else already makes it or something like it (within your price range). If it ends up being the case that you want something that nobody else already makes, then building an AR is an absolute blast, though I would highly recommend either doing the Clandestine thing or building one under the tutelage of someone else who really knows what they're doing.

Not really sure where the metallurgy comment comes from... but

You will find as many lwrc fail videos as ruger

As far as building, some people enjoy it, enjoy knowing exactly how their weapon works and enjoy being able to self repair any fault.

 

[Mr.Blue]

You will find as many lwrc fail videos as ruger

 

[Steve_Zissou]

That's why I didn't say "buy an LWRC/Daniel Defense/whatever". The boutique manufacturers of high-end ARs often have just as many QC issues as the dirt-cheap brands do, mostly because their production volumes are still small enough that they can't justify the QC programs and staff that someone like Colt can, and their owners tend to justify their Anderson/PSA-tier reliability in the same way that a Ferrari owner justifies having to rebuild the engine every 25,000 miles. Your best bet for buying an off the shelf gun is to buy one from someone who does contract work for the military like Colt/FN, or a mid-tier manufacturer like Windham that's known for their QC.

And yeah, building an AR is definitely my go-to, but for someone who didn't even think of owning an AR until their kid shot one and liked it, like OP, it probably isn't the best or most realistic option.

 

[PorP]

Google is only a button click away

 

[PorP]

That's why I didn't say "buy an LWRC/Daniel Defense/whatever". The boutique manufacturers of high-end ARs often have just as many QC issues as the dirt-cheap brands do, and their owners tend to justify their Anderson/PSA-tier reliability in the same way that a Ferrari owner justifies having to rebuild the engine every 25,000 miles. Your best bet for buying an off the shelf gun is to buy one from someone who does contract work for the military like Colt/FN, or a mid-tier manufacturer like Windham that's known for their QC.

And yeah, building an AR is definitely my go-to, but for someone who didn't even think of owning an AR until their kid shot one and liked it, like OP, it probably isn't the best or most realistic option.

I do see your last point, but... I also think that a fair share of that is mechanical experience. I personally built my first (and all the rest) from 0 but i had enough mechanical experience and Google videos to support the build.

 

[Steve_Zissou]

I do see your last point, but... I also think that a fair share of that is mechanical experience. I personally built my first (and all the rest) from 0 but i had enough mechanical experience and Google videos to support the build.

Yeah. Ditto. I used to autocross and building an AR was child's play compared to rebuilding an engine, fabricating exhausts/cages or welding in new mounts for coilovers, but I wasn't going to make any assumptions about OP's mechanical prowess and err on the side of caution.

 

[Mr.Blue]

Google is only a button click away

EDITED:
No more failure videos than ANY other high-end manufacturer.

 

[PorP]

No more failure videos than ANY other manufacturer.

I feel like that was my original point.

 

[Mr.Blue]

That's why I didn't say "buy an LWRC/Daniel Defense/whatever". The boutique manufacturers of high-end ARs often have just as many QC issues as the dirt-cheap brands do, mostly because their production volumes are still small enough that they can't justify the QC programs and staff that someone like Colt can, and their owners tend to justify their Anderson/PSA-tier reliability in the same way that a Ferrari owner justifies having to rebuild the engine every 25,000 miles. Your best bet for buying an off the shelf gun is to buy one from someone who does contract work for the military like Colt/FN, or a mid-tier manufacturer like Windham that's known for their QC.

And yeah, building an AR is definitely my go-to, but for someone who didn't even think of owning an AR until their kid shot one and liked it, like OP, it probably isn't the best or most realistic option.

FYI - LWRC has the DEA contract as well as numerous foreign contracts. Many contractors are also using them over in the Middle East. I won’t argue anymore. It’s not answering the OP’s question.

 

[PorP]

I feel like that was my original point.

I guess I should add, I wanst trying to poo poo lwrc, they make great firearms and maybe some of the sexiest on the planet.... especially the bronze colored ones.

I just used lwrc as am example

 

[Mr.Blue]

I feel like that was my original point.

EDITED : I meant “high-end” manufacturers. Sorry.

 

[Steve_Zissou]

FYI - LWRC has the DEA contract as well as numerous foreign contracts. Many contractors are also using them over in the Middle East. I won’t argue anymore. It’s not answering the OP’s question.

I like LWRC and have used their furniture in builds, but I would bet money on their consumer products being no more reliable than, say, an equivalent FN, Colt, or Windham, (though I'd also bet money that the LWRC will be somewhat more accurate and will probably have a nicer trigger feel, etc).

 

[PorP]

EDITED : I meant “high-end” manufacturers. Sorry.

Just did the search, ruger had 6 issue videos in the first 30 hits, lwrc had 6 issue videos in the first 30 hits.

And who do you think has more in distribution.

 

[clandestine]

I named Windham because their QC is often quite good for the price. They occasionally have ramp issues but overall are not bad.

BCM and Colt are the only two I would trust without gauging.

There is a vast difference in QC, Materials, and Build Procedures from company to company. If you don't have gauges and know the AR quite well it's easy to be deceived.

There are huge variances in parts from Manufacturers. I have been tracking them, even Bolts and Carriers have huge variances than effect service life and reliability.

 

[clandestine]

The current QC on LWRC smokes Ruger.

I'm not a fan of LWRC's AR's but I doubt I would have to replace any internals on a current production D.I. model.


For the Ruger I would swap out the entire BCG. They do have good barrels though.

 

[dist1646]

That can be a mistake. Shops will try to sell you something they have in stock or something their armorer or gunsmith put together. Lots of Armorers and Gunsmiths should NOT be left alone in a room with an AR.

FIFY!