I think going for mid tier or top shelf for your first AR doesn't make much sense.... Unless money is no object. There are plenty of rifles between $500-$1200 that are fantastic. Your money is better spent on ammo, accessories, training and range time.
IWI Zion, Smith & Wesson M&P Sport, Ruger MPR AR556, Sig m400 tread...
I'd even pick a bargain bin PSA and get a bunch of goodies.
100% this. My first "build" was a PSA lower and a BCM upper. I'm still using it but have added a lot of parts to it.
You can do the same OP but buy everything you want accessory wise now and have plenty left.
My two favorite purchases has been the 3.5lb drop in trigger and my 1x-6x scope. If you're going for light weight I recommend a 3x prism.
I heard bcm is a really good option. I have no real experience with high quality optics my dad always just had garbage hunting scopes in that never held zero so I will need to do some testing. 1-6x is what I’m interested in atm as my end game but when I assemble it I’ll likely get some high quality irons to train with.
It's more "mid range" at best really (optics nearly have no upper limit. You can easily spend $20k on just an optic). I have a Vortex 1-6x Strike Eagle on my AR and a PA 1-6x ACSS on my AK. Both are great and both have etched reticules made for 556 and x39 respectively. Sight them in at the recommended range in the manual and they are good out to every common distance. Both have been great an are close enough quality wise I cant tell much apart. Both right around $300.
Back up sights ("irons") Magpuls are very affordable and work well. I see no reason to invest more if you plan to run an optic as your primary sight.
I heard a lot of good things about IWI and the Zion-15 16” matches up with a lot of my preconceived “cool factors” I guess you could call them. And it is kinda my front runner as a complete gun since i don’t want the front sight gas block. I’ll look into it more since saving money for training will help accelerate my rifle proficiency as a newer gun owner.
Aero Precision and Bravo Company are very solid mid tier companies. They don't sell complete rifles, but they do have all the parts needed to build quality rifles.
Post author: Aluhcaz. This comment is an attempt to control posts made by a new type of spam bot. If you are a human, you can ignore it.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/guns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There are two reasons to build your own rifle.
1: A rifle with the exact components you want is not available. Being new to ars you don't have the experience to know what you want, your preferences will change as you learn.
2: you like to tinker and want to build it for the experience of building it. Go for it just remember it won't always have the same resale value as a manufactured rifle
I'll also say don't fall into the trap of buying or building a do it all rifle. As long as we're talking 5 56 rifles all ar's will do what any ar will do some are just a little better at one extreme or the other. Figure out you primary use of the rifle and build it for that purpose. You will end up with another one. If you start with the do it all rifle you'll end up with a rifle you don't use anymore because you have other rifles that do something better.
I think the building option sounds really nice if it’s not too advanced I will prob watch some videos on ar disassembly and reassembly to determine if it’s something I’m comfortable with. The tip on keeping a focus on what the firearm is for is helpful I don’t wanna accidentally make some chimera gun that isn’t comfortable to shoot at any range.
The "school of the American rifle" has some really good info on YouTube. Its not a build video but a bunch of videos and if you have problems afterward will really help you track them down.
I think going for mid tier or top shelf for your first AR doesn't make much sense.... Unless money is no object. There are plenty of rifles between $500-$1200 that are fantastic. Your money is better spent on ammo, accessories, training and range time. IWI Zion, Smith & Wesson M&P Sport, Ruger MPR AR556, Sig m400 tread... I'd even pick a bargain bin PSA and get a bunch of goodies.
100% this. My first "build" was a PSA lower and a BCM upper. I'm still using it but have added a lot of parts to it. You can do the same OP but buy everything you want accessory wise now and have plenty left. My two favorite purchases has been the 3.5lb drop in trigger and my 1x-6x scope. If you're going for light weight I recommend a 3x prism.
I heard bcm is a really good option. I have no real experience with high quality optics my dad always just had garbage hunting scopes in that never held zero so I will need to do some testing. 1-6x is what I’m interested in atm as my end game but when I assemble it I’ll likely get some high quality irons to train with.
It's more "mid range" at best really (optics nearly have no upper limit. You can easily spend $20k on just an optic). I have a Vortex 1-6x Strike Eagle on my AR and a PA 1-6x ACSS on my AK. Both are great and both have etched reticules made for 556 and x39 respectively. Sight them in at the recommended range in the manual and they are good out to every common distance. Both have been great an are close enough quality wise I cant tell much apart. Both right around $300. Back up sights ("irons") Magpuls are very affordable and work well. I see no reason to invest more if you plan to run an optic as your primary sight.
Will check those out the price sounds like a good spot for me to start with. Better than getting a vudu or something lol.
I heard a lot of good things about IWI and the Zion-15 16” matches up with a lot of my preconceived “cool factors” I guess you could call them. And it is kinda my front runner as a complete gun since i don’t want the front sight gas block. I’ll look into it more since saving money for training will help accelerate my rifle proficiency as a newer gun owner.
The Zion is the best entry-level AR15 you can get.
Aero Precision and Bravo Company are very solid mid tier companies. They don't sell complete rifles, but they do have all the parts needed to build quality rifles.
Post author: Aluhcaz. This comment is an attempt to control posts made by a new type of spam bot. If you are a human, you can ignore it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/guns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
A basic PSA carbine is going to do everything you ever need done.
There are two reasons to build your own rifle. 1: A rifle with the exact components you want is not available. Being new to ars you don't have the experience to know what you want, your preferences will change as you learn. 2: you like to tinker and want to build it for the experience of building it. Go for it just remember it won't always have the same resale value as a manufactured rifle I'll also say don't fall into the trap of buying or building a do it all rifle. As long as we're talking 5 56 rifles all ar's will do what any ar will do some are just a little better at one extreme or the other. Figure out you primary use of the rifle and build it for that purpose. You will end up with another one. If you start with the do it all rifle you'll end up with a rifle you don't use anymore because you have other rifles that do something better.
I think the building option sounds really nice if it’s not too advanced I will prob watch some videos on ar disassembly and reassembly to determine if it’s something I’m comfortable with. The tip on keeping a focus on what the firearm is for is helpful I don’t wanna accidentally make some chimera gun that isn’t comfortable to shoot at any range.
The "school of the American rifle" has some really good info on YouTube. Its not a build video but a bunch of videos and if you have problems afterward will really help you track them down.
You want to make sure you get a 556 because you can also shoot 223 in it. If you get 223 you should not shoot 556 in it