Any AR15 experts out there

Not sure if I would call myself an expert at all, but I did build my AR and carry one every day for work.

check this spreadsheet out, it has all the technical data you could need to make a decision.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k...=5&output=html

Depending upon what you were going to use it for, and what type(grain) ammo you are going to fire I would say go with the MP15. The only real drawback of this rifle vs. the other is that it has a 1 in 9" twist rate. the slower twist rate means it won't be able to stabilize heavy grain rounds. However if you aren't planing on shooting heavy grain rounds and are getting it for plinking purposes go with the MP15. as you can see from the chart it has better quality assurance and manufacturing processes. any questions about anything on that chart let me know.

[JE3146]

Originally Posted by dogface_313

Not sure if I would call myself an expert at all, but I did build my AR and carry one every day for work.

check this spreadsheet out, it has all the technical data you could need to make a decision.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k...=5&output=html

Depending upon what you were going to use it for, and what type(grain) ammo you are going to fire I would say go with the MP15. The only real drawback of this rifle vs. the other is that it has a 1 in 9" twist rate. the slower twist rate means it won't be able to stabilize heavy grain rounds. However if you aren't planing on shooting heavy grain rounds and are getting it for plinking purposes go with the MP15. as you can see from the chart it has better quality assurance and manufacturing processes. any questions about anything on that chart let me know.

A 1-9 twist will properly stabilize 55 and 62gr rounds which constitute about 90% of the offerings for the AR-15 to digest. If a heavier grain round is desired for hunting, I'd reconsider the AR-15 platform all together, and based on the OP's questions, I seriously doubt he'll be needing something along the lines of 77gr SMK's with a 1-7 barrel and throated chamber.

Bottom line, is a 1-9 twist will treat the average person just fine.


The biggest questions to consider when purchasing an AR-15 is A2 vs A3/A4 receiver, chrome lined vs not chrome lined, profile of the barrel and then finally 16" or 20" (with a multitude of others, but that builds up the primary lengths)

My recommendation is if you're looking for a gun to just do some plinking, maybe occasionally trying to hone in on accuracy, to look for an A3/A4 style AR-15 with a 1-9 twist chrome lined bbl, HBAR profile, and 16".

The velocity out of a 16" is sufficient for anything sub 250 meters when firing at paper, the chrome lined will allow for less strict cleaning practices and accommodate the heat generated by anyone wanting to just touch off a mag, HBAR to provide solid barrel harmonics for accuracy and weapon weight, then of course the A3/A4 flat top to allow for an easy transition between a scope, holo-sight, red dot or iron sites.

I'd recommend learning iron sites from the start to understand the fundamentals of the AR-15 platform and to learn how diverse POA(point of aim) is from POI (point of impact) due to the elevated sight height above barrel.





EDIT:: Had to add some gratuitous gun ****

Originally Posted by JE3146

A 1-9 twist will properly stabilize 55 and 62gr rounds which constitute about 90% of the offerings for the AR-15 to digest. If a heavier grain round is desired for hunting, I'd reconsider the AR-15 platform all together, and based on the OP's questions, I seriously doubt he'll be needing something along the lines of 77gr SMK's with a 1-7 barrel and throated chamber.

Bottom line, is a 1-9 twist will treat the average person just fine.


The biggest questions to consider when purchasing an AR-15 is A2 vs A3/A4 receiver, chrome lined vs not chrome lined, profile of the barrel and then finally 16" or 20" (with a multitude of others, but that builds up the primary lengths)

My recommendation is if you're looking for a gun to just do some plinking, maybe occasionally trying to hone in on accuracy, to look for an A3/A4 style AR-15 with a 1-9 twist chrome lined bbl, HBAR profile, and 16".

The velocity out of a 16" is sufficient for anything sub 250 meters when firing at paper, the chrome lined will allow for less strict cleaning practices and accommodate the heat generated by anyone wanting to just touch off a mag, HBAR to provide solid barrel harmonics for accuracy and weapon weight, then of course the A3/A4 flat top to allow for an easy transition between a scope, holo-sight, red dot or iron sites.

I'd recommend learning iron sites from the start to understand the fundamentals of the AR-15 platform and to learn how diverse POA(point of aim) is from POI (point of impact) due to the elevated sight height above barrel.





EDIT:: Had to add some gratuitous gun ****

Sweet, Love that stock. Is that the Magpul short vertical grip? Very nice stick, what kind of upper and lower?

Like I said before 1/9 or 1/7 is all about what you are planning on doing with it, and what ammo you have available. Another big thing to look into is what round the chamber is designed for. I.E. .223 or 5.56. 5.56 can fire .223 but .223 chamber can not fire 5.56.

[JE3146]

Originally Posted by dogface_313

Sweet, Love that stock. Is that the Magpul short vertical grip? Very nice stick, what kind of upper and lower?

Like I said before 1/9 or 1/7 is all about what you are planning on doing with it, and what ammo you have available. Another big thing to look into is what round the chamber is designed for. I.E. .223 or 5.56. 5.56 can fire .223 but .223 chamber can not fire 5.56.

Good catch on the 5.56/.223 . Forgot to add that.

Another one to watch out for is the Wylde chamber which is similar to a 5.56 only a bit tighter for 'supposed' increased accuracy. The Wylde isn't terribly common though.


As for the rifle, it's got a Magpul UBR stock, MIAD grip, TD vert grip, KAC M4 RAS handguard, and TA31F ACOG. Upper and lower receivers are RRA parts, LPK is RRA, Barrel is a 14.5" Bushmaster chrome lined govt profile with a 1.5" Phantom flash suppressor permanently attached.