I've hummed and hawed about getting an AR and I think I've finally made the mental jump from debating to actually getting one. ( We wont talk about the physical part of getting one as I'm in no financial position to get or shoot one, but I can plan for the future can't I?)
Overall plan:
Get one, good quality Lower, and have 4 uppers to change out and play with.
.22LR
5.56 NATO / .223 Rem
.300 BLK
.50 Beowulf
I'm really not sure about brands or custom options, that kind of stuff you slowly build up on anyway. I just know I'm a fan of a monolithic upper rail with something like a VLTOR CASV or similar.
Given that I'm only planning on buying the one lower I'd like to have a really good one. I understand guys like to buy the Norc and a .22 conversion kit as the cheapest way to get into a .22 AR, but I think i'd rather go with a dedicated upper, which would negate the reason for buying a norc just to get into a functional but cheap lower. I've heard a lot of good things about Daniel Defense, and then there's the champagne models like Knight Armament and LaRue, but what would be a good upper/middle ground model? Are the Remington ARs (R5?) available for civilian sales or are they LE/Mil only? I haven't been able to find a straight answer anywhere.
I suppose a prudent question would be. Do I buy a lower first and uppers to customize, or do I buy one complete rifle (in whichever chambering) to start the kit. And which models of lowers are actually available as lowers only?
I thought about the possibility of going to the US to buy directly, wondering if that would help with price at all. I frequently travel there, a few times a year.
The other reason that added to the thought of buying in the US is that the family has a cabin in Montana. To avoid all the garbage up here maybe it would just be better to buy all the fun stuff I wanted and keep it at the cabin, so I can go and shoot it down there without having to feel like a criminal for so much as owning one.
I know there are tons of important questions I didn't ask. I'm new to the AR platform. I never wanted to own one until very recently and always figured something from HK would be my thing... I've reconsidered, but I'm still a total newb, and everything I know about it I've learned from Chris Costa videos.
Overall plan:
Get one, good quality Lower, and have 4 uppers to change out and play with.
.22LR
5.56 NATO / .223 Rem
.300 BLK
.50 Beowulf
I'm really not sure about brands or custom options, that kind of stuff you slowly build up on anyway. I just know I'm a fan of a monolithic upper rail with something like a VLTOR CASV or similar.
Given that I'm only planning on buying the one lower I'd like to have a really good one. I understand guys like to buy the Norc and a .22 conversion kit as the cheapest way to get into a .22 AR, but I think i'd rather go with a dedicated upper, which would negate the reason for buying a norc just to get into a functional but cheap lower. I've heard a lot of good things about Daniel Defense, and then there's the champagne models like Knight Armament and LaRue, but what would be a good upper/middle ground model? Are the Remington ARs (R5?) available for civilian sales or are they LE/Mil only? I haven't been able to find a straight answer anywhere.
I suppose a prudent question would be. Do I buy a lower first and uppers to customize, or do I buy one complete rifle (in whichever chambering) to start the kit. And which models of lowers are actually available as lowers only?
I thought about the possibility of going to the US to buy directly, wondering if that would help with price at all. I frequently travel there, a few times a year.
The other reason that added to the thought of buying in the US is that the family has a cabin in Montana. To avoid all the garbage up here maybe it would just be better to buy all the fun stuff I wanted and keep it at the cabin, so I can go and shoot it down there without having to feel like a criminal for so much as owning one.
I know there are tons of important questions I didn't ask. I'm new to the AR platform. I never wanted to own one until very recently and always figured something from HK would be my thing... I've reconsidered, but I'm still a total newb, and everything I know about it I've learned from Chris Costa videos.


















































