Ok guys, so I know this might seem like a newbish question, but I'm spending the next year overseas and want to pick up an AR15 somewhere in the 1500-2000$ range with my bonus when I get back. However, there are SO MANY OPTIONS out there that I'm kind of getting lost in the mix. I will be living in the Hamilton area (wish I had gone to Als before I left to check some out) when I get back and mainly shooting at Silverdale (Grimsby). I'm esentially looking for something sleek and nice, flip sights to start but something that I'll be able to customize over the years. I beseech you, the good people of canadiangunnutz to offer some advice!
Ar-15: Looking to buy
- Thread starter gnichols
- Start date
Daniel Defense will do you quite well. I paid a total of around $1800 to get my DDM4V5 last year, but who knows where the market will be next year. They're good stuff.
When you get back see if you can drop by Wolverine Supplies and One Shot Tactical Supplies, they'll set you up.
When you get back see if you can drop by Wolverine Supplies and One Shot Tactical Supplies, they'll set you up.
Well you've certainly picked the right gun.
Al Simmons is a great gun shop with generally knowledgable staff. They'll get you pointed in the right direction when you start asking questions.
-Do you want to build your gun or buy a complete gun off the shelf?
Building a gun is lots of fun, but there will be an initial cash outlay for tools. You may be able to borrow some from a friend or fellow club member at silverdale. Off-the-shelf guns restrict you to solely what is offered and in stock, but if you're not interested in the build or don't trust your mechanical abilities, this is the way to go.
-Do you travel to the US at all? Want to bring your gun?
Be sure to select a barrel length 16" or greater if this is the case. Alternatively 14.5" with a welded on muzzle device that brings the barrel's length to 16" counts in the US.
-Made in Canada? Made in the USA? Made in China?
There are complete off the shelf offerings from NEA that would fall into your price range once optics and magazines are factored in. Alberta Tactical is outside of your price range in the realm of complete guns, but a receiver set would be a good place to start for a build....and definitely meets the criteria of sleek and nice. Other Canadian sources for receivers include Cadex, Dlask, Motiuk and I believe Blue Line finishes their own lowers too. The NEA, ATRS and Cadex are milled from a solid block. The others are forged. Pretty much anything made in the USA is going to fall within your price range, and for the most part you can't go wrong. Some may tell you to buy a Norinco and spend the rest of the money on optics and ammunition. This is fair but I would say if you can afford to buy something made in North America, please do. Daniel Defense is a very reputable manufacturer that falls within your price range.
Since you want flip up sights to start, then this rules out guns that come with a front sight block. So you want a gun with a low-profile gas block and a free floated railed handguard.
I would say if you want a made in Canada AR-15 with a free-floated railed handguard....you could go with an NEA-15 with the 18" barrel, 14.5", 12.5", 10.5", or 7.5" depending on your tastes. They come without sights so you'll simply need to buy your flip-ups to go with it. 1,000 rounds of ammo and a few magazines will probably put you in the $1,800 range.
Before anyone says anything, I'll inform you now: NEA released their AR-15s on the market a few years ago and it was premature. There were QC problems galore, poor finish, tooling marks, and outsourced parts that were out of spec. Since then NEA has tried to climb out of that hole and tighten things up. So I wholly anticipate other AR guys to jump in and tell you to stay away from NEA, and that's why. They had a terrible track record when they first got on the market. Now it's been forever since an NEA problem thread has come up, they've updated their handguards to a much more aesthetically pleasing method of attachment, tightened up QC and routinely dump factory-second receivers on the market for a used price....meaning they're actually checking these things over and putting aside the ones with a poor finish, tool marks, etc. Their barrels are also very good.
Some examples of what you can build:
18" NEA barrel, NEA upper and lower receivers and NEA 12" handguard (old style), Vortex Viper PST up top
14.5" NEA barrel, NEA upper and lower receivers and NEA 9" handguard (old style), LMT sights
11.5" Green Mountain barrel, NEA upper and lower receivers and NEA 9" handguard (old style), midwest industries flip up sights and EOtech
16" DPMS barrel, Colt A2 upper and NEA lower receivers, magpul moe handguard
7.5" ER Shaw barrel, NEA upper and lower receivers, NEA 7" handguard (old style) and Daniel Defense sights
All guns have magpul MOE carbine stocks
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Wow, this was really helpful everyone, especially from you Jager! Can't thank you enough! I'd like something made in North America and sounds like Daniel Defence might be the ticket. I was hoping to start off with something fairly stock, as over the years i intend to build whatever my current tastes are around the action (Fig. 2 seems like somewhere I'd like to start). Love the look of the low profile free floated hand rail system. Looks sleek!
So now, I only have to wait a year to purchase as I'm teaching in South Korea ( a very non0friendly firearms country, surprisingly and unfortunately) I know it's pre mature to ask now, but I have some time to do some research and wet my beak a bit with what's awaiting me at the finish line.
Again can't thank you all enough, I'm fairly new to the firearms community and find this forum is such a huge help and also very welcoming!
Cheers all!
So now, I only have to wait a year to purchase as I'm teaching in South Korea ( a very non0friendly firearms country, surprisingly and unfortunately) I know it's pre mature to ask now, but I have some time to do some research and wet my beak a bit with what's awaiting me at the finish line.
Again can't thank you all enough, I'm fairly new to the firearms community and find this forum is such a huge help and also very welcoming!
Cheers all!
I just bought a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 -- this is their plain jane slick top ar platform, mid length, 5.56/223, with a new style modular front end. it was about 1500 from Wolverine (they are fantastic). THis is a DI (gas) gun. Because i wanted to keep it under 2000, i initially planned on putting on iron sites, but after talking to wolverine, they talked me into a compromise of sorts-- they sold me on a Hi-Lux CMR green reticle. THe whole deal cost 2100 -- they threw in 5 mags, and 20$ for shipping.
I was like you-- i didnt know much about ar's, other than most who own one say they are a blast to shoot. So initially i had to decide between the gas guns vs. the piston guns. The only down side i saw on the gas guns is the need to clean and the effort involved in cleaning. All Daniel Defense guns are gas guns. From what i can see, between the different models (V1, V2, V5, etc etc) seems to be the barrel lengths and the rail systems up front. The barrels are all the same quality (cold hammer forged), as are the bolt carrier groups. From what i can see, the lowers between all the rifles seem to be identical in their line.
I was sensitive to build quality and brand reputation. The first because i want this to last, and the second because i want good resale if the need arises. If you look on these boards, you can get a good idea on resale. My direction towards DD was from the local Police Dept members who, although use Colt for duty, own DD for leisure.
I bought the V7 because it was the cheapest -- since the extra 200-300$ on the other versions was for more rail real-estate out front. Aside from forward grip, i dont have any current plans for heavy accessories. If i change my mind, i can buy 3" strips of "modular rail" for 30 bucks each to add onto the hand guard. Also, if , for some strange reason, i want to change calibers, i can buy a new upper for 1000 in the future.
I was like you-- i didnt know much about ar's, other than most who own one say they are a blast to shoot. So initially i had to decide between the gas guns vs. the piston guns. The only down side i saw on the gas guns is the need to clean and the effort involved in cleaning. All Daniel Defense guns are gas guns. From what i can see, between the different models (V1, V2, V5, etc etc) seems to be the barrel lengths and the rail systems up front. The barrels are all the same quality (cold hammer forged), as are the bolt carrier groups. From what i can see, the lowers between all the rifles seem to be identical in their line.
I was sensitive to build quality and brand reputation. The first because i want this to last, and the second because i want good resale if the need arises. If you look on these boards, you can get a good idea on resale. My direction towards DD was from the local Police Dept members who, although use Colt for duty, own DD for leisure.
I bought the V7 because it was the cheapest -- since the extra 200-300$ on the other versions was for more rail real-estate out front. Aside from forward grip, i dont have any current plans for heavy accessories. If i change my mind, i can buy 3" strips of "modular rail" for 30 bucks each to add onto the hand guard. Also, if , for some strange reason, i want to change calibers, i can buy a new upper for 1000 in the future.
BCshooterFMJ
Regular
- Location
- British Columbia
I am in the same boat, of all the reading I have done, and talking to people at the range with some very pricey setups, I am going with a DD for sure. You can pitch in a few more bucks, get a non restricted XCR, but I am very much on the fence with them, as early reports had them malfunctioning a lot, people say most if not all the bugs are worked out now. But yeah, if its for the range? Get a Daniel Defense, I have never heard anything but great things about them, sorry I cannot speak from experience.
angrysoldier
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- under your bed
Im building my first ar. Since I work with guns for a living I really dident want too but now uppers and lowers are so cheap (sti) that who can say no?? It will be just a fun gun for range plinking. Total cost??? under 1200!!!
Ya range plinking will be the main use the gun will get, although I've heard 3-gun and ipsc are really fun: what I'm really looking for are a solid upper and lower that I can build off of in the future. I really like the low-pro rails systems, but am on the fence about how much I initially want to spend. I mean, I still want several mags and lots of rounds to go with it, right? Again, still lots of time. Anyone with non-DD AR's have any thoughts?
Don't buy a whole carbine. Build it the way you want right from the start.
You can put together a nice rifle using the quality parts while paying less and skipping the whole "customization" stage, since you building exactly what you want right from the start.
