Thread: buying my first ar15, seek for some advice

Most AR's jam cause their owners cannot reload good ammo. Almost all the issues i have seen (even at 3 gun matches where people supposedly know better) are related to reload. I was no different. my last couple had minimum spec .223 chambers and my reloads would not chamber. But would chamber fine in my other AR's

Originally Posted by mikee

Most AR's jam cause their owners cannot reload good ammo. Almost all the issues i have seen (even at 3 gun matches where people supposedly know better) are related to reload. I was no different. my last couple had minimum spec .223 chambers and my reloads would not chamber. But would chamber fine in my other AR's

+1

Shit ammo and shit mags cause most problems

I have read this thread and still none the wiser. Why would you spend $5k of a rifle? I'd love an Ar-15 for fun but it's a lot of $$.
I had a mini14 many years ago, and it shot really good and didnt jam. Shoul'd have never sold it as I haven't found one that came close since.
What other good .223 semi's are there that shoot well?
I don't want to hit a 20c piece at 200 yards, but don't want jams either, but wont be spending $5k on something that only sees light of day once a week for a few hours.

On a side note, how hard is it to get 3-cat licence these days?

I've got 2 windham weaponry ar15s, I can't speak for other brands but find these very good, no issues, no drama

Originally Posted by han308

I have read this thread and still none the wiser. Why would you spend $5k of a rifle? I'd love an Ar-15 for fun but it's a lot of $$.
I had a mini14 many years ago, and it shot really good and didnt jam. Shoul'd have never sold it as I haven't found one that came close since.
What other good .223 semi's are there that shoot well?
I don't want to hit a 20c piece at 200 yards, but don't want jams either, but wont be spending $5k on something that only sees light of day once a week for a few hours.

On a side note, how hard is it to get 3-cat licence these days?

@han308

I settled on a CMMG Mk4 RCE from NZAR15.com ......... spent around $2k with some extras ........... no jams so far even with my reloads ......... and no regrets either.

Cheers
Pete

Where did 5 grand come from? Gun City isn't the only place that sells them

Originally Posted by polarbear

never had any experience with the ar platform, use ak47 all the time, now seeking to buying my first ar, can some one please give me some advice on

1 what brand i should get first? there are gun city ranger, bush master, rock river arms, satg arm. i'm not very good with diy so not going to do futher mod, which model would best suit me if budget under 5000, i want buy the best stock ar without any mod.

Good basic makers in NZ are,

Stag
NZAR15 (NEC)
Windham (ex-bushmaster)
CMMG
DPMG

basically around $2k for a 'decent basic gun" though I think Stag's 3G is $3k, have a close look at it, its supposedly setup for 3G.

Stag Arms Model 3G 3-Gun Competition, 5.56 NATO 18" A or E Cat

I wouldnt touch GunCity stuff, way over-priced and chinese....nuff said.

2 is it true ar need lot more care than ak? i need keep lub it everytime i shoot? say if i shoot rapid 200 round, does it jam?

Lots of good lube and cleaning tips on youtube.

The only jams I have had was the first feed using barnaul ammo (2 out of 3 times) as the poly casings are a bit more "sticky" than brass or if using sh**ty Brownells mags in 400 rounds (I only just got my Model 4 Stag rifle in December) I would expect 1000+ rounds then a quick lube on the bolt and carrier and another 1000 from what I can read.


3 what sight i should mount on ar? is it possble to have an scope and holographic sight at the same time? i'm after some good brand, for tactical 3 gun shooting, any one can please give me some suggest brand and model i can get?

Depends on your budget.

4 last how to customise my own ar? i not good with my hand, so have to pay someone do it, is there any good gunsmith around auckland area i can take it to?

It is very easy to bolt bits on, almost too easy. it is a light gun platform, lots of accessories just makes in heavy IMHO.

any adivice be great thank you very much

Watch out for the stock turn over, some gunshops have un-sold guns that are 2 or 3 years old, newer models have improvements like better barrels so shoot more accurately for the same money.

Find out what ammo you are allowed to use, I assume you wont be reloading your own so you will need to buy samples of lots of makers and shoot it to find what your gun likes, then buy a batch of 1000~2000 of it.

Ammo to try,

Belmont, cheap pretty accurate, their "seconds" are very cheap, cheaper than barnaul and shoot way better. 1.25MOA.

ADI match, accurate but way expensive, < 1MOA

Ammo probably best to avoid
tula (4moa in my gun)
barnaul (2MOA vertical strings) but trying handloads of it as its way cheap (19cents a projectile)

I have some Aoraki coming to try......

I can recommend spikes tactical, will admit I had bad luck with a barrel nut but I put that down to bad luck, the rest of the gun is flawless. And so was the barrel nut, it was just installed too well. Stacks hornady on top of each other at 100m and that's after I cut it down to 14.5 inch. Definitely my preferred rifle to shoot. I also have a .270 bolt action for the Reds.
I changed a bunch of stuff but only because I rushed in the first time, I know Ken can basically build what you want, he told me a version of the build your own with choice of rail and full spikes parts was around 2300.

And why do I have one? Well I loved Lego as a kid and they're pretty much big kids Lego. Except much more fun.

Cheers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by steven

... find what your gun likes, then buy a batch of 1000~2000 of it.
.

Where can you buy good value ammo in bulk these days?
Cheers, Vic.

Aoraki Ammunition

Though Aoraki's stock is apparently a bit low with more coming in June.

Just got a quote off Belmont and their prices have jumped 20%, think I will pass.

E-cat License is a piece of piss to get, you just need to upgrade to a better safe

Originally Posted by han308

I have read this thread and still none the wiser. Why would you spend $5k of a rifle? I'd love an Ar-15 for fun but it's a lot of $$.
I had a mini14 many years ago, and it shot really good and didnt jam. Shoul'd have never sold it as I haven't found one that came close since.
What other good .223 semi's are there that shoot well?
I don't want to hit a 20c piece at 200 yards, but don't want jams either, but wont be spending $5k on something that only sees light of day once a week for a few hours.

On a side note, how hard is it to get 3-cat licence these days?

Belmont ammo is pretty meh

HI again,

I see that GUNS NZ have finaly got their S&W AR15s in. at what seems a good price. Any thounghts on these;
S&W M&P15 SPORT 5.56 NATO A or E Cat
and how they compare to the Stag Arms;
Stag Arms Model 2, 5.56 NATO 16" A or E Cat

I'd like a chance to see and compare but not likely to get to Auckland anytime soon.

Cheers.