Looking to spend my tax refund, need help.

Abynum1

New member
Hey guys, I'm ready to take the plunge to an AR 15!
To start off, I am prior military and have spent many hours with an M-16, so I can probably still take one apart and put it back together with my eyes close. However,we had the G.I. issue rifle and never had to make any choices whatsoever, so I have NO idea what to look for when purchasing one myself.
Heres what I'm thinking;
-I want one for predator hunting.
-I want to keep the price under 900.00
-Living in MS, I'll probably never take a shot over 300 yards, 100-200 would be closer to the norm.
-Although I'm sure they are more accurate, I didnt really like the feel/weight of the heavy barrels that I saw in the stores.
-I would like a flat top so I can add optics(an option to put on a carry handle would be nice but not neccesary.)
-collapsable stock
-would allow me to add Picatinny rails to it for a light, bi-pod,etc.
-able to accept 30 round mags. (I'm assuming they all can.)
-leaning towards the 223 caliber.

Can I use a standard military barrel for predator hunting, and if so what length? I dont have a clue what the "twist" means or if I need chrome lined barrel, and all that other stuff.

The problem is I've found dozens of rifles within my price range on Gun Broker,AR-15 Pro.com, and Buds Gun Shop.com.
I have no idea which web site to use,or which Manufacturer, let alone the things I mentioned above.
Any and all help to narrow this down would be greatly appreaciated!!!
 
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Albynum1, I'll just give my personal opinions based on my experience..

-I want one for predator hunting. Good Choice

-I want to keep the price under 900.00
Try CMMG's Bargain Bin selections... About $600. The only problem is there are no upgrades offered with them

-Living in MS, I'll probably never take a shot over 300 yards, 100-200 would be closer to the norm. Unless you have a bunch of wide open land, Most of your shots will be under 100yd

-Although I'm sure they are more accurate, I didnt really like the feel/weight of the heavy barrels that I saw in the stores. Again, unless you are shooting over 300 yards and frequent strings of 15-20, (Prairie Dogs, Etc.) a bull barrel will be a waste of money

-I would like a flat top so I can add optics(an option to put on a carry handle would be nice but not neccesary.) I like the M4 Carbine configuration for a hunting rifle

-collapsible stock Pretty standard on the M4

-would allow me to add Picatinny rails to it for a light, bi-pod,etc. There are quite a few after market mounts individually available for specific items.

-able to accept 30 round mags. (I'm assuming they all can.) Yep, I find the 5 & 10 round mags are easier to manage in the field.

-leaning towards the 223 caliber. Good choice.. Lots of various bullets available if shooting factory...even more if you reload

Can I use a standard military barrel for predator hunting, and if so what length? I dont have a clue what the "twist" means or if I need chrome lined barrel, and all that other stuff.

The M4 usually has a 16" barrel..the twist rate will determine the bullet weights that will work best in the barrel...1/7=heavier, 1/12=lighter.... If you can, find a stainless steel barrel or a chromemoly barrel as opposed to the chrome lined for accuracy
 
OldTurtle pretty much covered it IMO.

Two other things to consider are the trigger and the handguard. The CMMG bargain bin looks like a great deal and I have nearly moved in that direction more than once. Drawbacks for me are the lack of a free float tube and the need to drop in a better trigger -- both accuracy issues, but both doable. But then you have to count up the expense of doing those and then the RRA 16" carbine starts looking good.

Thank you for your service and welcome to PM.
 
Abynum1...Sorry about misspelling your screen name in my first post..
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You will find that any 'factory' AR will generally need some work on the trigger,, I forgot to mention that...If you decide to modify one, you will find there are designations for "large pin" (usually Colt) and "small pin" (almost all others) and there are adapters that allow the matching of two types, but I've never used one..

There is a poster on here (Bill Springfield, I think) that reworks stock triggers and has a reputation for doing wonders with them...The next best upgrade (cheapest) is a Rock River 2-stage Match trigger, and then you can get into the higher dollar ones...

I have three ARs, one has a Rock River, one has a Chip McCormick (don't think made any longer) that is an excellent single stage, and a JP Industries that is also excellent, without getting into a lot of details..and it's adjustable.. There are quite a few upgrades out there, most of it will depend on what you want to spend..

If you are going to install optics on it, I would strongly suggest an elevated one piece mount...Burris puts out a P.E.P.R ($90) and up the line is the LaRue ($180)... It will save having to install a riser on the flat top, to use normal scope mounts, and having to worry about it coming loose over time, causing you to miss that 'perfect' shot..

All of my ARs have had an EOP (Elevated Optical Platform) upper (allows for using standard scope mounts) until recently when I traded one, for one in the M4 configuration (flat top) and it included a LaRue...It's a really solid mount..

You will find that ARs for hunting (or anything else) are addictive...There are so many configurations and toys for them that they are sometimes referred to as "Lego Rifles"
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Turtle, concerning the elevation for the flat top; it looks like the Bushy that I posted the link to has that addressed. Is that what you're talking about?
 
the only information I didn't see listed in the ad, was the barrel's twist rate...Just be sure it will handle the ammo you think you will be shooting...(Personally, I like the 1/9 twist rate) for allowing a wide variety of bullet weights.

The one I traded off was a 1/14 and it didn't shoot anything above 55gr very well, but with 40gr & 50gr, it was a tack driver...My 1/9 handles anything from 50gr-70gr without a hiccup...I used to have a 1/7 barrel, but never could find a load below 75gr that it shot to my standards and that load was too long to fit in the magazine..

The one in the ad shows a couple if add-on risers...If they installed properly and a little loc-tite was used on the threads, they should be good for quite a while...the only danger to loc-tite is heat, as it will degrade it..so you will need to check them periodically...
 
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I went to Bushy's web site, it's got a 1/9 twist, so I guess thats good. It's called a ORC (optics ready carbine) so I guess that covers the EOP huh?
 
Here is a link to the Burris PEPR mount: Burris

And the LaRue: LaRue

Both of them will hold the scope up to a comfortable level and a little forward to give you ideal eye relief...

In the photo below, without moving the scope forward (It's a long range scope), I had to set the scope in the rings with the front of the scope non-supported...Not a good idea if it ever gets bumped good...

DTechCompleted.jpg


With a smaller scope, I had no problems with the regular mounts..(Note the EOP):

DPMSARa.jpg
 
Thanks Turtle,I see exactley what you're talking about now. It's absolutly amazing how much a person can learn on these forums.
 
Here is an option for you..

Plum Crazy lower. COMPLETE. $99.99 CMMG Upper M4-LE Complete, no carry handle $445..
Plus your shipping, and any FFL fees on your side..
 
Originally Posted By: Abynum1Thanks Brasshound, where do I go for these?

Send a PM to Brasshound, he will hook you up. I know this from experience. I have one of those lowers on the way, and may also buy one of those uppers, as well.

kevlars
 
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ShARps Lower Receiver ($75 but can be bought for $55 off rguns.net)
DPMS lower parts kit ($55)
6 pos collapsible stock ($45)
DPMS upper ($530 shipped) rguns.net

$705 in total!! shoots .5 inch groups with 55 grn VMAXS all day!
 
I own a Bushmaster ORC that I bought in a situation almost exactly like yours. I am military and very familiar with the M16 but wanted something smaller. I bought the ORC and to be honest with you, for predator hunting I really do not like it. I shoot off of a bipod when hunting and have found that this gun is too light for my tastes. If you are going to use it for predator hunting only, I personally think that there are a lot better options out there. I have since bought a 16 dpms bull barrell uppper, and a full a2 stock. My kid shoots the ORC now, and it works perfect for him.
 
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