AR15 $1000 budget?

Excluding the accessories on my AR I built mine for just over 1k.

Complete Upper-$450
BCG-$180
Charging Handle-$30
Lower-$200
LPK-$120
Stock/Buffer/Buffer Tube-$60
Total:$1040

With my other accessories (EoTech, Streamlight, AFG, rearsight, etc.) it came out to about $1600
 
trekstor said:
Ok, fair enough on the mil spec. I figured mil spec means a standard that meet a minimum quality level that is good enough for military operations.
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You're absolutely correct. "Mil-Spec" translates loosely into "the bare minimum to function reliably." I worked with it before and it's not that tight...huh...I feel like I just had this discussion earlier this week on this forum? Oh yeah..that's because I did lol.
 
If your budget is legit only 1000, don't worry about "milspec" or "military grade" or any of those other big words that are often misused and misunderstood. Get what ever gets you on the line. If you want a work house any of the rifles the fellas have mentioned will likely shoot longer than you can anyways. Plus you'll never know what you really like until you've physically shot it! It's all about getting rounds down range.
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trekstor said:
well, I would like a AR that if I did go to Afghanistan id be ok. :) at minimum.

I mean I would like it to be even better then mil spec but hard to ask for $1000 milspec rifle as it is.

NEA wont do it for me. I do not like the square forward assist or the quad rail mounting.

I wont feel happy until it is 100% milspec at minimum.
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:agree:

Thank you for saying that about the NEA!! picked up on the square forward assist and it hasn't sat well with me since. I've been debating whether to just look past it and get it anyway, decent rifle after all. But if i'm going to spend 1000+ on a AR, I want it to look good and fire well....so I'll save for another few months to get what I like.
 
heavy metal said:
:agree:

Thank you for saying that about the NEA!! picked up on the square forward assist and it hasn't sat well with me since. I've been debating whether to just look past it and get it anyway, decent rifle after all. But if i'm going to spend 1000+ on a AR, I want it to look good and fire well....so I'll save for another few months to get what I like.
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Almost every billet AR has a square FA. But if looks are most important, then things like that will get you for sure, especially with our rifle.

If results are most important, the go to a dealer or one of our customers and get one in your hands.. This is where most people come over to the dark side.

On the range shooting paper or in the mountains shooting beasts, our customers have been very happy with the performance.

NEA-Goat.jpg
 
Yeah, thanks for ruining my day with that picture.....

Pro-tip to the OP. Follow NEA on twitter, and you may find yourself being able to take advantage of some pretty sweet deals from time to time when they have "special sales" if you're looking to build one from the ground up...
 
when people talk about mil spec ar 15 most of it is bull for one mil spec rifles are select fire semi auto/ burst so you will never be able to get a and i quote '' 100% mil spec'' rifle and as most have said mil spec is over rated most companys make quality product and its a better product then some thing made to mil spec
 
-[Crosshair]- said:
Tight upper to lower fit? Then stay away from 100% "true" mil-spec, hehe. As a CF armourer I can guarantee you that military rifles rattle like all hell. Our C7/C7A1/C7A2 and C8/C8A1/C8FTHB/C8A3 parts are made to be interchangeable and installed on every other rifle in the entire Canadian Forces arsenal... I can take an upper built by Colt in Connecticut in 1984 that's seen a dozen deployments and decades of abuse from some vandoos and fit it on a fresh lower made by Colt Canada of Kitchener in Ontario in 2009 without any problems and everything will fit fine. And rattle a bit. ;)
...
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LOL the amount of destroyed rifles I've seen while working with vandoo's lol priceless. But the RCR and PPCLI are not much better but Still funny as hell lol
 
well I could get past the square forward assist if it functions well.

Is the barrel chrome line? How important is chrome lining?
 
Ya why do they put chrome on the inside of the barrel where you don't see it? Wouldn't it make more sense to put the chrome on the outside? I want my barrel chromed on the outside so it's nice and shiny, maybe I can just blind the enemy with its reflectiveness so I don't have to shoot him. Can zombie's be blinded to conserve ammo?
 
Take a look at NEA rifles; from what I hear they are reliable and within your budget + domestic company feels good to support.

Good luck!
 
been reading more on the NEA rifles....very impressed....I suppose I could learn to love the square forward assist...and supporting a Canadian company does make me all warm and fuzzy inside. A question, why did you opt to square the forward assist instead of rounding it?
 
trekstor said:
can you explain the difference and why we should stop thinking why chrome is the way to go?
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What do you think chrome lining does?

It coats the metal with a very thin but very hard outer layer. This increases barrel life and makes it slightly easier to clean. The trade off is chrome lining is very difficult to apply evenly, so it does have a slight detriment to accuracy. In "mil-spec" guns, this trade off is considered acceptable.

The advanced nitrocarburizing process NEA is talking about (I'm no expert at this part, but I have a basic understanding of it) does basically the same thing and treats the barrel so it is very hard and has a longer barrel life, but doesn't have the same trade off of an uneven application that chrome lining does. This is because the ARC+ process does not coat the barrel like a chrome lining does, but treats and changes the chemical composition of the metal. Basically, it's a better, more modern and advanced barrel treatment process. This is a prime example of how "mil spec" can let you down in overall quality.

Edit: The one other thing chrome lining does is provide protection against corrosion, which is a great advantage when using corrosive ammo... but that isn't an issue as you rarely, if ever see corrosive 5.56/.223 ammo. I'm not sure how/if the ARC+ process helps protect against corrosive ammo though, but as mentioned, this point is moot.
 
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heavy metal said:
been reading more on the NEA rifles....very impressed....I suppose I could learn to love the square forward assist...and supporting a Canadian company does make me all warm and fuzzy inside. A question, why did you opt to square the forward assist instead of rounding it?
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Because it looks hot. ;)

The honest truth why billet receivers are more angular than round like forgings;

Forgings like curves, they come out of the shell easier when they're produced. Billet receivers are CNC cut.. it's much easier to cut a angular surface than a round one. That's why you may see a lot of radius cuts/corners, but very few round surfaces. It can be done but it's a matter of speed. We could cut a receiver to look just like a forged one, but it would take 2x the time per piece.. and 2x the price.
 
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