After many months waiting for a change of address I can finally purchase a new toy.

The gun control frenzy seems to have died down a bit, so are guns becoming more available, and back to more reasonable prices?

I want to get an Ar15 but do not want to overpay like crazy. I know it's impossible to know, but what do you guys think:

1) get Ar now because soon you won't be able to buy it

Or

2) wait until things die down some more to make purchase

Buy mine. $2000.

 

Seriously though, I still recommend buying in pieces when possible (lower, lpk, stock, etc) yo cater more to what youll like and ultimately spend less changing stuff out.

 

Oh and I don't see why you won't be able to get one later.

I heard xring in del had a bunch

Yes they do... I was in there yesterday a whole rack ... Entry level to higher end... Best part 5minute nics call and no sales tax!...

I don't know piecing together on your own can get more expensive than buying complete.( at least in my case) gave me the option to buy what I really wanted.

I believe some forum vendors have posted some stuff available in their shops lately

I don't know piecing together on your own can get more expensive than buying complete.( at least in my case) gave me the option to buy what I really wanted.

 

If you research and buy the best parts available, then it would be cheaper to buy one off the shelf. But if you know you are going to swap out the stock, grip, trigger, and hand guards; in the long run it pays to build it to your specs the first time. Buy once, cry once.

 

 

I don't know piecing together on your own can get more expensive than buying complete.( at least in my case) gave me the option to buy what I really wanted.

 

 

If you research and buy the best parts available, then it would be cheaper to buy one off the shelf. But if you know you are going to swap out the stock, grip, trigger, and hand guards; in the long run it pays to build it to your specs the first time. Buy once, cry once.

I intended to buy once that's why I have over $2,500 invested already. Only thing I would ever consider changing out would be handguard but then I gotta kill my battlecomp to swap out. So.....

And the only one crying is the wife.. Not me..

I intended to buy once that's why I have over $2,500 invested already. Only thing I would ever consider changing out would be handguard but then I gotta kill my battlecomp to swap out. So.....

And the only one crying is the wife.. Not me..

 

 

$2500 invested into one AR-15?

buy the stripped lower in a local shop, and if you have the patience, wait for things to slow and order the rest over time... 

ive seen lowers in NJ shops for $125

buy the stripped lower in a local shop, and if you have the patience, wait for things to slow and order the rest over time... 

ive seen lowers in NJ shops for $125

this...

$2500 invested into one AR-15?

 

Very easy to do. All of mine are in the 1750-2k range including the price of optics.

I'm around 3700 in mine. All depends on what you want and how deep the well is...lol

 

Molon Labe

 

 

Building one on your own, particularly if you don't know what you're doing is a quick road to a big and sometimes enduring headache. It doesn't take much effort to find hundreds of threads on many gun forums from folks who can't get their home built/frankengun/project rifles to work. When they don't, it's mostly on you, and the other "internet experts" to fix. With a complete rifle from a reputable source, you not only have someplace to turn if something goes wrong, but the better quality you buy, the less likelihood of it having a problem in the first place. Building your own gun really seemed to come in vogue years ago, when the choices and options were pretty slim. Now a days with a little searching, you can find about every option or variation you want from a quality manufacture, complete with a full warranty. Priced out with equivalent quality parts(not junk that looks similar), the monetary savings shrink quickly, when you consider there is no real warranty with your new expensive rifle. Resale is also much easier and will hold more value with a "name" rifle instead of a home build. No one really wants to buy another guy's headache...they really aren't Legos, regardless of how many YouTube videos suggest they are...

---

 All depends on what you want and how deep the well is...

 

 

 

Agreed

There is an option in the middle, which might save you money (but less so now that supply of complete rifles seems to be improving).

 

Buy a complete lower.  Buy a complete upper.  Pin 'em together.  Add sights if needed.  Done.

 

There are also a few vendors that let you do a lot of customization right from their website (which is particularly useful for making the gun NJ compliant before it even ships).  Check out http://www.model1sales.com/ and http://store.ar15.com/ to name but two reasonably-priced suppliers.

There is an option in the middle, which might save you money (but less so now that supply of complete rifles seems to be improving).

 

Buy a complete lower.  Buy a complete upper.  Pin 'em together.  Add sights if needed.  Done.

 

There are also a few vendors that let you do a lot of customization right from their website (which is particularly useful for making the gun NJ compliant before it even ships).  Check out http://www.model1sales.com/ and http://store.ar15.com/ to name but two reasonably-priced suppliers.

 

Since I am new to the AR platform, this is what I plan to do for my first AR and after I get very comfortable with the AR platform, then I would custom build one from the ground up to suit personal preferences/self satisfaction.  Good advice, thanks for the link 10X.

 

And like checker50 said, I don't see why we won't be able to get one later.  Unless we missed something.

Stripped lowers are becoming more available as are BCGs and barrels. Probably because the lowers are being focused on as they are the serialized firearm, the BCGs because they are going in rifles and being picked up as spare parts, and the barrels because nobody was prepared for the demand in terms of the materials supply chain which is getting sorted out. LPKs seem to have shown up everywhere. 

 

We are far from done. Upper receivers are only slightly more available than before. 

 

It's getting better, but it's not better yet. And that's not accounting for drop offs in QC. 

If you do overpay, it wont be by that much.  Prices are way off the highs.   

 

I doubt prices will ever go back to pre-Sandy Hook. 

 

Buy at-least one and feel at ease that you have something. 

I'm seeing em around $1000

you are still better off piecing together your own AR, unless you are into the exotinc like a LaRue or LWRC. Even Still, You can get the uppers and Piece together your own lower (or buy a complete lower), lpk, stock, etc... and come in less than the full platform. My suggestion is to build your own lower (at least- if you need an ffl it is listed as "other component" instead of rifle or handgun) or buy a completed lower privately. uppers are easy enough to come by and parts are becoming more readily available.

Building one on your own, particularly if you don't know what you're doing is a quick road to a big and sometimes enduring headache. It doesn't take much effort to find hundreds of threads on many gun forums from folks who can't get their home built/frankengun/project rifles to work. When they don't, it's mostly on you, and the other "internet experts" to fix. With a complete rifle from a reputable source, you not only have someplace to turn if something goes wrong, but the better quality you buy, the less likelihood of it having a problem in the first place. Building your own gun really seemed to come in vogue years ago, when the choices and options were pretty slim. Now a days with a little searching, you can find about every option or variation you want from a quality manufacture, complete with a full warranty. Priced out with equivalent quality parts(not junk that looks similar), the monetary savings shrink quickly, when you consider there is no real warranty with your new expensive rifle. Resale is also much easier and will hold more value with a "name" rifle instead of a home build. No one really wants to buy another guy's headache...they really aren't Legos, regardless of how many YouTube videos suggest they are...

 

 

Obviously this is based on personal "handiness" but I would say most people who can detail strip and clean their handgun, can build a lower on watching a youtube video alone.  An upper would be a little harder, requiring particular tools, but can easily be avoided by buying a semi-complete upper such as the ones BCM sells.  You'll get the gas tube, gas block, barrel, and delta ring attached to the upper receiver.  Still being able to customize the upper at your leisure.  

 

I built my first lower and purchased an upper as I stated above with no experience and the gun has performed flawlessly through many thousands of rounds.  I don't think they are nearly as complicated as you make them out to be.

What is the dwell time of your rifle? How would you adjust it? What do you recommend as optimum?

.

.

.How about your head space? What is the range for safe and unsafe? How do you adjust it?

.

.

.

.How would you diagnose and correct an over gas issue?

.

.

 

.What torque rate on your barrel?

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.

.

Yep...they are simple. You can just ballpark it, right? It's only a controlled explosion right in front of your face...It's always fun to watch people show how much they really don't know...Go go Gadget Google...

What is the dwell time of your rifle? How would you adjust it? What do you recommend as optimum?.

.How about your head space? What is the range for safe and unsafe? How do you adjust it?

.How would you diagnose and correct an over gas issue?

.What torque rate on your barrel?

Yep...they are simple. You can just ballpark it, right? It's only a controlled explosion right in front of your face...It's always fun to watch people show how much they really don't know...Go go Gadget Google...

 

Ummmm.... He said buy a complete upper, no need to google.

That's what most of us do, buy complete uppers

What is the dwell time of your rifle? How would you adjust it? What do you recommend as optimum?

.

.

.How about your head space? What is the range for safe and unsafe? How do you adjust it?

.

.

.

.How would you diagnose and correct an over gas issue?

.

.

 

.What torque rate on your barrel?

.

.

.

Yep...they are simple. You can just ballpark it, right? It's only a controlled explosion right in front of your face...It's always fun to watch people show how much they really don't know...Go go Gadget Google...

 

I paid $650 for my M&P Sport plus $40 for a TRS-25 red dot and some extra $ for a magpul handguard.  I shoot steel cased ammo with about +/- 2 MOA accuracy.  Never had any sort of problem with it.  It meets my user requirements. 

Thoughts on this one?

http://newfrontierarmory.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=245_285&products_id=34089

I dont know I bought a used one before the madness for $700 with a hundred rounds of ammo and a nikon 223 scope.

Pull the trigger it goes bang every time. I'd wait.

I built my first lower and purchased an upper as I stated above with no experience and the gun has performed flawlessly through many thousands of rounds.  I don't think they are nearly as complicated as you make them out to be.

  

What is the dwell time of your rifle? How would you adjust it? What do you recommend as optimum?

.

.

.How about your head space? What is the range for safe and unsafe? How do you adjust it?

.

.

.

.How would you diagnose and correct an over gas issue?

.

.

 

.What torque rate on your barrel?

.

.

.

Yep...they are simple. You can just ballpark it, right? It's only a controlled explosion right in front of your face...It's always fun to watch people show how much they really don't know...Go go Gadget Google...

I'll assume you didnt read my entire post. I never professed to be an armorer on an ar15 however I am confident that I can diagnose and assess basic issues from my firearm. Again your throwing out there of it being "a controlled explosion" is unnecessarily exaggerated. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't all guns use a form of explosion? What makes the AR so much harder to maintain?

 

There are hundreds of threads on this board alone (let alone thousands on arfcom) with custom built ar's by "amateur armorers".

 

Is it for everyone? No. Are there parts that need to be exactly in spec to function safely and properly? Yes. Is it impossible for the average person to accomplish? Not at all. Will it benefit you to learn the inner workings and assembly of your weapon? Absolutely.

 

With that said, if the op feels more comfortable going to Joe Blow's guns store and snatching one off the shelf, by all means. With a reputable brand it is unlikely to let him down.

Thoughts on this one?

http://newfrontierarmory.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=245_285&products_id=34089

I was skeptical of poly lowers prior to the madness but since then A LOT of people have purchased them and I haven't seen a lot of complaints on them. It could make you a nice lightweight gun with the right upper.