A pinned flash hider is necessary to bring the overall length of the barrel to the legal inch mark. A solid all-around choice.
Do you want a short package like an M4, but care more about durability and shoot-ability? Buy a inch barrel with a mid-length gas system. This is a compromised system. It is a bit higher on theoretical reliability than the carbine, but less so than the rifle. If you want a jack of all trades to start with the mid-length 16inch AR This will be another excellent all-around shooter. Do you want an M16 clone or a rifle high on reliability and muzzle velocity? Get a rifle length system. Typically these will come in 18 inch and 20 inch flavors.
With the rifle length system we have arguably the most reliable AR15 of the weapon family. It also has the highest muzzle velocity, and it is one of the softest shooting variants of the three systems. IF you want the nitty-gritty details of pressure, dwell time, army reliability tests, ect.
Now that we have covered the gas systems, its time to decide your rifles goal: do you want tack-driving accuracy or a tough, long-wear fighting machine? Poke you in the eye down a hallway this one can. Here we are going to touch on three popular barrel types.
Chrome lined barrels will last a great many rounds before deteriorating. Due to slight inconsistencies when applying chrome to the bore of a barrel, they are considered less accurate than other options. Keep in mind that the Marines use a chrome-lined barrel to hit man-sized targets at yards. These barrels can typically do 1. This option will have a long bore life and be more forgiving of less frequent maintenance.
As the barrel erodes the match-grade accuracy will degrade to very good accuracy. See ADCO firearms test here. This is the barrel you want if you value accuracy over barrel life. Typically capable of 0. Nitriding has more lubricity than chrome, it is harder than chrome, and does not add inconsistency to the thickness of the bore. This is a layer that is added both to the bore and outside of the barrel. These barrels are a great balance of accuracy and durability.
I would rank them between SS and Chrome lined. Nitrided barrels are becoming well established and they offer clean looks and good to excellent performance at a budget price. Everything has a bit of a trade-off.
Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. A match-grade chrome-lined barrel from Criterion will lean towards the accuracy of a SS barrel as an example. If you want the best, prepare to pay the cost. It is very common to find rifles that come standard with a tactical rail.
The question is do you need this upgrade? Here is a video I did of my rifle for a post I put together a while back: in the video I compare red dots with iron sights but it is a good video to show that a non-free-floated rifle can hit distant targets easily. If that is the case then investing in the free-float system will be a wise choice. Free-floating eliminates unwanted interference from the barrel by isolating it from the hand-guard.
Many free float rails have slots or rails to mount things like lights, lasers, bipods, foreword grips, ect, and in recent years, modular rails such as MLOK or Key-Mod have become popular for their lightweight and affordability without sacrificing utility.
At this point in time most companies offer these modular rails for very little extra cost, and they appear to be cheaper than plastic hand-guards and the related sub-components. Go ahead and free float to save yourself the upgrade down the road. These rifles integrate the free float rail and upper receiver into one rock-solid unit.
These receivers are extremely rugged platforms for building an accurate, hard use rifle. While the initial cost of a monolithic or polylithic AR15 upper may seem high, they offer exceptional strength over other systems.
So by now, you have your carbine or rifle picked out with a certain goal in mind. Recce: A carbine with a 16 inch barrel utilizing a stainless steel barrel for match-grade accuracy.
A great choice for a do it all style rifle. Top this type of gun off with a x variable and you have a jack of all trades. Accuracy in a small package. SPR: A 18 inch stainless steel barreled weapon used by the military. A very popular and accurate configuration. Extremely Accurate. M16A2: You are likely to find one of these clones in the gun shop rack. An A2 fixed carry handle upper receiver with a 20 inch barrel and a fixed butt-stock. Overall a good rifle but many view the lack of a railed upper receiver as outdated.
The carry handle does limit your optics choices, but is a very shootable as is rifle. M4 clone : This build is a very common offering from various manufacturers. They can be found with 16 inch barrels or This ensures that the total barrel length is 16 inches. The minimum barrel length, according to Federal law, is sixteen inches. For instance, gun owners can have a However, it is important to note that some states and municipalities have their own laws governing firearms and their accessories, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations in your area.
Due to these restrictions, we strongly advise first-time shooters to purchase at least a sixteen-inch barrel so that they can swap out muzzle devices at will. On the other hand, longer barrels can provide higher velocities as there is more space for the powder to burn and more room for the bullet to accelerate. On average, sixteen-inch barrels are able to reach a target from four hundred yards away. That being said, the traditional fifty-five grain load grows more imprecise after three hundred yards, so fire carefully.
Shorter barrels generally weigh less and are easier to handle. When you first get into guns, it can be overwhelming. There are so many numbers and so much technical jargon that it might seem scary or confusing. There are slight differences between that last one and Chrome Molybdenum Vanadium steel alloy contains a range of elements from chromium and nickel to molybdenum and so forth.
It is renowned for its strength and hardness. Both are high tensile strength steels which make them great for guns as well as bicycles and the like. There are three basic options on the market when it comes to the inside of your AR barrel. They are as follows:. Many environmental factors such as heat, moisture and more can affect your exact round count, but you can count on approximately ten to twenty thousand rounds before you need to re-barrel. As I said before, there is a lot of technical mumbo jumbo that comes with owning guns.
Some acronyms that manufacturers like to throw at you include the following:. Of course, some ARs have not been tested at all, so buyer beware! This refers to the thickness and overall shape of your barrel.
Fortunately, there are several options available. They include:. There are two primary types of gas systems for the AR They are DI and Piston. DI stands for Direct Impingement. DI is the original design whereas the Piston only became popular in recent years. The AR operates by transmitting hot gas behind the bullet into the gas tube at which point it the gas tube uses the gas to either move a piston or deliver the gas directly back direct impingement.
No matter how the force is applied, it makes the bolt unlock, move back, eject the spent casing and push a new cartridge into the chamber. Like most things, there are pros and cons to each. Gas system length is the distance to the gas hole. The gas hole refers to the triangular front site base FSB that sits on top of the barrel. You also get more rail space because the handguard extends from the upper receiver to that front sight base. Another good thing about this style is that it can be converted by grinding down the front sight base to allow for a free-floating barrel.
Front sight blocks generally use non-free-floating handguards. So the two-piece handguard touches the barrel at the front sight base which, unfortunately, can add a bit of inconsistency when it comes to force. Consequently, your shooting accuracy can be affected. Nevertheless, if you are a non-competitive shooter, the non-free-floater will be accurate enough.
While there are some aluminum models, most are made from polymer and are cheaper and just as good at more affordable price points. Magpul MOE handguards are our go-to handguards because they enable the shooter to attach Picatinny rails on slots which allow you to add accessories.
Picatinny rails are a tad on the heavy side, but if you like to attach accessories, this is the way to go. It retracts when you pull the charging handle back. When you let go of the handle, the bolt carrier group moves forward, strips a round from the mag and releases a round into the chamber. When you pull the trigger, the hammer is released and it strikes the firing pin, hitting the the primer.
This sparks the gunpowder, sending the bullet down the barrel. This is where the gas system comes into the picture. Below is a full list of all the top AR manufacturers around followed by my personal favorites. As of the publishing of this article, we vouch for the following eight companies as the absolute best manufacturers of AR15 rifles :. I suggest you run at least 1, rounds through one of these rifles before you trust any of them with your life. They are inexpensive and may be the right choice for starter rifles.
This is just based on our own tests. Since its introduction back in , the Ruger AR has firmly established itself in the AR market as one of the best budget ARs available. The AR is a more inexpensive variant of the SR series of rifles. The primary difference is that the AR is a direct impingement weapon, and the SR is piston driven.
The AR comes coated in a matte black oxide finish for excellent rust and corrosion resistance. It comes standard with a 16 inch barrel that is cold hammer forged with ultra precise rifling for both longevity and excellent accuracy. The handguards over the barrel and gas tube are built out of a glass filled nylon and are very heat resistant so they can withstand repeated firing. The M4-style synthetic buttstock is easily adjustable with six different positions offered.
Additional features include a forward assist, dust cover, brass deflector, an elevation adjustable fixed front sight, and a Ruger flip up rear sights. This is a mil-spec M4-style AR that comes with a 16 inch M4-profile barrel with a twist rate. The lower and upper receivers are built out of forged aircraft grade aluminum. As a mil-spec AR, an A2 handguard and collapsible synthetic stock are also installed on the rifle. This is also an optics ready AR, meaning that it is ready for you to add a red dot or scope to the Picatinny rail on the top of the receiver.
There are no sights on the rifle, so you will need to add those yourself if you so desire as well such as the Magpul flip up sights. With a chrome lined barrel, the Mod 0 was not designed for the gamer, rather it is geared toward tactical applications. But when it comes to training and range shooting , this one packs a lot of punch.
The Mod 2 is a quarter of an inch wider than the Mod 0 and shares its cable lock and 5. The first time I picked one up, I felt like I was in a Predator movie. Seriously, just look at this design:. As with the Mod 0 and Mod 2, the Recce 14 is a 5.
Even though Wilson Combat is most well-known for their pistols, they have been making headway into the AR market over the last couple of years too. This is a match-grade AR that comes with a precision rifled barrel built out of stainless steel. The end of the barrel features a Q-Comp muzzle device that does an excellent job of both reducing recoil and the amount of blast that is sent back to the shooter upon firing.
The 2-stage tactical trigger from Wilson is incredibly crisp, and has a modular construction design that makes it easy to takedown as well. The carbine also utilizes a mid-length gas system, which Wilson claims helps lend itself to superior reliability. Additional features of the Wilson Combat Protector worth noting include the BCM pistol grip, high quality aluminum tactical trigger guard, low profile gas block, M-Lok compatible hand-guard, QD sling mounts, and mil-spec grade upper and lower receivers.
Daniel Defense is one of the biggest names in the AR world, and they are widely regarded as manufacturing some of the highest quality ARs on the market. The carbine-length 16 inch barrel is cold hammer forged and comes with a flash hider threaded onto the end of the barrel.
Despite this being a carbine, Daniel Defense utilized a mid-length gas system for superior reliability. In other words, you have a variety of options for adding sights, accessories, and optics. We mentioned the Predator movie earlier, right? Rock River Arms were founded in They have been steadily earning a solid reputation as an AR manufacturer ever since. With a hogue grip and A2 flash hider, the LAR is comfortable to use, accurate and built to last.
The inch carbine length barrel has a twist rate, and is coated in a very rust and corrosion resistant Armornite finish. The firing pin is chromed for superior durability and longevity. A very lightweight carbine at just under seven pounds. The Saint Victor is most noted for its Accu-Tite tension bonded flat top forged upper receiver. The inch carbine length barrel is built out of a nice Melonite finish that is very rust and corrosion resistant.
Meanwhile, the free floating inch hand-guard shields both the barrel and the mid-length gas system. Welcome to Version 3. As a bonus, I recorded a podcast episode to serve as a companion to this article.
The content is very similar, but I know some readers prefer the more conversational tone of hearing me actually explain my thoughts. What does that mean? I know your struggle right now. The huge number of options and configurations is downright overwhelming. Rather, I want you to think about the role you need this rifle to perform.
That means it needs to be reliable. On the other hand, you might decide that you want to use it for competition or hunting someday, so it also needs to be accurate. Frankly, this route is a bad idea- but regardless, that means it needs to look good, right? In the end, you might get caught up in the same thing so many of us did when we started out: paralysis by analysis.
But I get it, you might not have time to go through the rest of the article right now and get my reasoning. Quality costs money and my goal is saving you time and expenses in the long run. Each of the rifles I suggest here are reliable, accurate, and will serve you well for years before you feel like you need something else.
One more thing, I am not sponsored and nobody is paying me to hawk their wares. What follows is simply my suggestions based on personal observation, research, and good reputation. This is the most straight-forward path, though the slightly more expensive one. The lightweight Colt is nearly perfect for a first AR With this particular option, you are set for a long time and are sure to have a very functional and easy to handle rifle.
But if you can find one, then jump on it. The owner, Monty, is a former Naval Special Warfare NCO with a wealth of experience on the weapons system and a reputation for innovation. There are many other complete rifles I could recommend from Daniel Defense, Sionics, and other brands I like. These companies all make great rifles, and I vouch for them. You can actually save a little money with this path since you can buy half the weapon now and the other half later.
You also have a lot more configuration options of pre-built uppers ready to go. It is what I used for my second project, and the base inspiration for the minimum capable carbine. Their Patrol Three Upper is a great option for a free-floated upper half. The AR is the most popular self-loading rifle in the country. Manufacturers spend an awful lot of advertising dollars to influence your opinion one way or another.
To start this off, I want to tell you my guiding principles when it comes to gear. I hate wasting money. Because of that, I spend a lot of time researching nearly every purchase I make.
You can imagine what the year and a half looked like while I researched my first AR Even then, I still got parts of it wrong. The simple truth is that a standard AR with plastic handguards and a fixed front sight will do a solid job at any task you ask it to do.
From CQB to mid range precision, it can handle it. As you dive deeper into the extra hardware and features, realize that you're just playing at the margins of performance and not having a dramatic impact on any of the most important features and functions of the rifle. This is an old military saying meaning that you should select equipment best suited to the task at hand. Likewise, there is little benefit to using a nice precision match rifle for dumping high volumes of cheap ammunition into a dirt berm with you buddies.
The AR, and all its various configurations, is one of the most well-understood and popular rifles in the world. There are hundreds, if not thousands of configurations. The thing to remember is that each of these configurations had a purpose in mind. But, in all, they do their specific jobs extremely well.
The more you specialize an AR for a particular role, the worse it performs at others. For example, short barreled rifles are great for quick handling at close range but have dramatic velocity drop off and skull-rattling concussion. Heavy barreled precision rifles suited to long-range shooting are a relative pain to carry. That brings us back to the question: What is your mission? Why do you want to buy an AR?
At least not starting out. Black rifles eventually tend to multiply like that, though. For someone starting out, it makes sense that the first one does a pretty good job at everything. A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one. It's just as true when it comes to choosing a rifle. The end result is that the guy looking for a good deal buys the cheaper thing, and it break on them.
The first one broke after a few months, so they replaced it with the second. That one made it about a year before they replaced it with another. In all, the money spent on three copies of the same cheap red dot was more than buying a single quality one.
That quality sight would have lasted practically forever, and come with a lifetime warranty. But I realized that I was encouraging the wrong line of thought. There is a point of diminishing returns in the AR world. Sure, you can spend a lot more than that. If a manufacturer starts advertising too far below that price, then you have to ask what compromises they are making to get there.
But if you ever suspect that you might be in a position where the rifle going bang every time you pulled the trigger is important to you, then you should consider spending a little more. By that, I mean starting with a proven reliable configuration to serve as our model.
Toyota designed, tested, and has proven that each component on the vehicle operates reliably for years upon years. Some folks want to add more lights, racks, bumpers, lift kits, suspension, and other mods. All of these things make for a more capable and fun vehicle, but the tradeoff has to come from somewhere. A supercharger adds power, but stresses the engine.
Lift kits and larger tires add ground clearance and off road prowess, but shorten the life of other drivetrain components. To summarize, every step you take away from the original design introduces variation and complexity that has drawbacks elsewhere, many have negative long term effects.
I think the AR is similar to this. For most of modern small arms history, there was a persistent belief that infantry rifles needed to fire the most powerful cartridges that could be tolerated by the average man.
Such requirements usually included the ability to make aimed hits at yards and still take a target down. As far back as the s, there was a competing theory that a smaller and lighter bullet moving at high velocity was able to deliver most of the terminal capability of a larger bullet at relatively short distances, such as to yards. Kent published a report backing the theory with evidence and hypothesized about future development. Casualties from aimed small arms fire almost all happened within yards, and almost never happened beyond yards.
Beyond that, it was essentially as random as shrapnel from artillery or a grenade. The most important factor for whether or not someone is shot is how long they are exposed and how quickly the shooter can aim and fire. To survive meant being lighter and quicker, and to be effective meant improving sight acquisition and rate of accurate fire.
By those standards, Hitchman theorized that the ideal infantry weapon would be lightweight and effective up to yards for aimed fire. Around this same time, Armalite designs the AR rifle around the newly-adopted 7. Through the use of new manufacturing methods, lightweight aluminum, and composite materials, Armalite is able to reduce the weight of the heavy-hitting rifle.
It unsuccessfully competes against the M rifle for adoption by the US Army. But the lightweight rifle made an impression, and Armalite eventually gets a request to scale the AR down so that it shoots the lighter and faster experimental. The rifle is ideally suited to combat at less than yards, but still effective to a bit beyond that. This is eventually the M, and the primary specs of being lightweight and primarily used as a general purpose rifle for up to yards serves as our baseline.
I started developing this concept several years ago when interest in the AR began spiking among my friends and coworkers. The suggestion that follows is the result of nearly ten years of experimentation, competition, training, and study.
The minimum capable carbine is one that reliably performs most tasks well. This gives you time to learn the ins and outs of the platform and develop your skills with a rifle that grows with you.
This AR carries well, has good accuracy, and always fires as long as a basic maintenance routine is kept. It is equally suited to home defense as it is carrying on a hike through the woods.
But before that, the question will come up:. When I started out, buzz said was that it was cheaper to build your first AR The idea was that you could buy the exact parts that you wanted and assemble them. The hidden costs added up. From shipping all the individual parts to all the extra tools that I had to buy to complete the assembly.
On top of that, I still had to pay someone else to assemble the upper correctly. I watched them do it and always questioned whether they did it right. To date, that upper has been rebuilt three times. That kind of money could have bought me a KAC SR or some other very high-quality rifle out of the box. These days, there are so many good manufacturers making such a wide variety of rifles that it is silly to choose the individual part selection route for a first rifle.
My suggestion, especially for your first AR, is to buy a complete rifle from a good manufacturer. These manufacturers produce a good product right around the sweet spot price point. If you still have the itch to build, then you should buy a stripped lower receiver to finish.
Then pick up a complete upper from one of the mentioned manufacturers. Several years ago, a gentleman by the name of Rob S put together the infamous Chart. These specs contributed to the reliability and performance of the rifle. In the years since the chart went public, the gun buyers got smarter and more demanding about what they wanted. In response, manufacturers started touting their compliance, lest they be seen as inferior.
These days, the chart is long gone, and nearly all those specs show up on every AR sold. That made it more difficult to tell the difference between a good quality AR and a lesser quality one by only looking only at the spec sheet.
That said, I want to run down the key specification points and offer some tips. This is not a comprehensive detailed breakdown. Each of these topics has their own associated blog post getting into more detail. Choosing your barrel is a stressful decision for most beginners. There are simply a lot of options out there. I highly suggest you check out the full piece on choosing an AR barrel , which prepares you for making this decision. Get it with a chrome lined bore and fixed front sight.
This combination is the most versatile for people who own only one AR and need it to do lots of things well. The length primarily affects the velocity and balance of the rifle. Velocity has a huge impact on the trajectory of the bullet as well as its effective range.
They targeted these towards competition shooters since heavy barrels tended to be more accurate. Their extra mass also helps put up with higher volumes of fire. The accuracy thing is interesting. But if this is your first AR then you are not likely to take advantage of the increased capability.
Otherwise, you are better served by learning the rifle and shooting out the first barrel as you practice. That will take about 20, rounds. For most people, that represents may years of shooting, if they ever get there. A lightweight profile puts up with plenty of abuse while also being easier to carry and maneuver.
Weight matters. There are a lot of barrel steels out there. It has a bit more durability for use in firearms due to its higher carbon content. Stainless barrels are often used in precision rifles. Historically, stainless barrels were easier to machine and polish, while also being more resistant to corrosion.
That means manufacturers shorten their supply chain and produce more consistently machined barrels. Stainless barrels come with some risks in durability, particularly in very cold weather. For that reason, stay away from lightweight profile stainless barrels. They should always be a medium profile or heavier. If you want to go the stainless route, then buy one made from or r stainless. If you plan to use the rifle in below freezing weather, then stick to r.
The compromise is that nitrided barrels are much less heat tolerant of high rates of fire. This applies more to fully automatic rather than your regular semi-auto rifle. I know there are nitrided stainless barrels out there on the market. Be cautious here, since the temperature used for nitriding is very close to that used for tempering a barrel.
For more information here, read my article all about barrel nitriding. Look for a twist rate of or Some cheaper barrels have a twist rate, which work fine for shooting bulk ammo in the 55gr to 62gr range. But if you ever want to use the heavier and more accurate 77gr family of bullets, then you need the faster twist.
If you want more detailed information about selecting the right twist rate for your rifle, head over to my article all about rifle twist rates. Some people are particularly passionate about this.
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