My brother wants to buy his first rifle. He’s in his 30’s and has been around guns, has a 9mm and 12 gauge, but this will be his first rifle. It’ll be for very occasional shooting and just to have in case the need ever arose to protect himself (natural disaster/SHTF/etc).
My research has been geared towards top end stuff so I’m a bit ignorant on the budget/basic carbines.
Like I said, he’ll rarely shoot it- probably won’t see 100 rounds a year. Not worried about something top tier that’ll take 25,000 rounds.
We was looking at the S&W M&P 15 sport for $699 at sports authority. I was going to sway him towards a Colt 6920 or something like that. I started out in AR’s with a RRA for $750 a decade ago, and that rifle is still going strong.
No quad rail needed. I have an extra MOE forend and AR handle/peep sight to put on the flat top until he can afford optics.
Would like to keep it under $1000. The family is all chipping in to make it his Christmas present.
If you’d ended your sentence there, then pretty much any AR pattern rifle would work, whether it followed the typically civilian-legal sections of the TDP or not.
But when you add this:
Then you move into the level of Colt, Bravo Company, Daniel Defense, Noveske, etc.
Which, frankly, really aren’t that much more expensive than a dirt-clod-shooter toy in the long run.
Please do your brother a favor and get him a decent rifle. If he decides he really doesn’t like it, then it will have better resale value.
If he decides he really does like it, then he’ll have a quality firearm that will give him years of service.
If he decides he really doesn’t like it but hangs on to it “just in case”, then if the worst does happen he’ll have a quality rifle that he can count on to defend himself and his family.
Other than a couple hundred bucks for the initial purchase, there’s really no downside to buying a quality rifle.
I guarantee you that five years from now, you will not look back on your purchase and think “Man, I really wish I’d spent $200 less and bought my brother a cheaper, less reliable rifle.”
Would be a sweet Christmas. Trying to convince our parents to chip in too. But they don’t want to seeing as he owes them big $$$. Might just have to opt for some Remington 870 accessories for his shotgun. BUT if we do go AR, I’ll get the 6920…
If you don’t mind using used parts, a decent rifle can be assembled fairly cheap. Shop on the EE here and other boards for decent deals. I am currently putting together a budget build on the cheap for shits and giggles and this is what I aquired.
Colt 14.5 complete upper for $200.00
Complete Colt lower for $275.00
New BCM BCG for $110.00
Mod 4 CH for $30.00
The upper I got here in the EE is completly assembled and exchanged my 9mm Colt upper reciever only plus $200. It was complete with gas tube, used barrel with fantastic bore, new unfired upper reciever, F marked FSB. The lower I got here also and it’s complete with Colt 6 position stock for $275.00. I’m just waiting for it to get to me now. I picked up a BCM new unfired BCG for $110.00 shipped from the EE here also. My total out of pocket for this Colt project is only $615.00 and it doesn’t get much better than that! If you want a new rifle, the Colt 6920, BCM or DDM4 is your best option IMHO.
DD is a great company, but I would leave DD off this list as they are a little more expensive than the Colt or BCM and you said you don’t need a quad rail.
The above comments make for a very solid argument for a Colt AR. It doesn’t matter if he is just a beginner or that he will only shoot 100 rounds per year, the quality of the Colt will provide him with a certain pride of ownership and may encourage him to become a skilled shooter with his new rifle.
If you have the where-with-all, you could build a fairly solid AR for under $1k. However, out of the box I’d agree with what others have said: Colt, DD, Noveske
This was my very first thought until I saw the family is paying. If you can figure a way to do it, talk them into paying you a few hundred bucks for your RRA. Then you have money towards replacing it with whatever you want.
If they want to buy new, Colts are the easiet option. Youll be a little over the $1000 budget, but piece of mind is worth it. Or you can try to find a BCM blemished lower and BCM upper.
Who knows, if he ends up shooting it as little as you say,he may just end up selling it down the line. You could but it back at a used price.
Over the summer I built a PSA rifle from
Parts every time they had a sale going.
Lower parts kit with stock and buffer for 69.99, lower for 49.99, PSA upper for 279.99 bolt and charging Handel for 100.
If you can reach for the Colt, go for it. That said, are you set on an AR15? $700 doesn’t get you very much in the AR15 world, but it’ll go far towards a Mini-14 or AK pattern rifle. Just a thought.