My 2 cents...…
listen to whatever Clandestine advises.....
I'll buy that for a dollar!
My 2 cents...…
listen to whatever Clandestine advises.....
Colt has nicer roll marks. Call me a bitch, but I think the Wyndham rollmarks are cringy.
That’s just me.
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.
You will find as many lwrc fail videos as ruger
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.
Google is only a button click away
No more failure videos than ANY other manufacturer.
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.
I feel like that was my original point.
I feel like that was my original point.
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.
EDITED : I meant “high-end” manufacturers. Sorry.
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.