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Best value under $2500 AR

E

encoreguy

Private
Minuteman
Mar 7, 2006
11
0
I am looking to buy my first AR and I wanted advice on what you consider to be the best value in a .223 platform for under say $2000. I am not looking for a home defense carbine, my number 1 focus is accuracy and reliability. I will use it for hunting and target shooting. So I would prefer something that will shoot under 1 moa consistently. Can I accomplish that for under $2500? What are your recommendations?

thanks!
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

You can build a top tier AR that will run with anyones and include optics for 2500 . AR's are not all that tough to assemble with a minimal outlay for tools so you can spend your money on quality parts . Spend your money on a quality barrel like a Krieger and go from their as far as what kind of stock , trigger , etc. that you want .

If you gotta buy something assembled I would look to Noveske as I believe they probably deliver one of the finest AR rifles on the market today but thats just my opinion .
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

You can easily accomplish that for under $2500. Do you want to build or buy a complete rifle? If you want to build it, the possibilities are endless; slap a WOA upper on a lower with a decent trigger and be prepared to shoot tiny groups for much less than $2500. If you want to buy I'd go Noveske, Larue, or JP Enterprises. I went the Noveske route and am impressed with its accuracy and reliability.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

There are so many choices. If I may toot my own horn, using a match grade barrel and a match grade trigger, billet lower, my base model is $1049, so with a great set of glass you can have a killer rig.

Noveske and Jp are on the high end of the spectrum, but you can't go wrong with either.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

Noveske takes the cake. Top tier. My 18" SPR shoots in the .3s with 55 TAP to handloads with 75OTM and 77SMK. I was thrilled that it liked the shitty 8 lb. jug of varget I have.

I wouldn't piss on LMT if they were on fire...just saying.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tango__Down</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Noveske takes the cake. Top tier. My 18" SPR shoots in the .3s with 55 TAP to handloads with 75OTM and 77SMK. I was thrilled that it liked the shitty 8 lb. jug of varget I have.

I wouldn't piss on LMT if they were on fire...just saying. </div></div>

Tell you what, i'll give you a couple bucks to piss on the LMT's when you see them on fire. Then ship them to me, I'll take all you can piss on...

Bill
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

Spend $2500 and get a very nice, accurate rifle...

Spend some time on here and the other "black rifle" forum and then...

Spend $2500 and build your own VERY accurate, reliable rifle out of top shelf components, have an exceptional understanding of how and why it works AND have $$$ left over for quality scope, mags and ammo...lots of ammo...

Capt Beach
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

For $2500 I would get a Noveske. I have a Noveske and an LMT. The LMT out of the box waas shooting shoot gun groups. Jay & Chris at Sport OPtics told me the barrel might have been torqued incorrectly. I retorqued it and it now shoots fine. That's pretty poor QC for an expensive rifle. My Noveske was a tack driver right out of the box. It is my favorite AR.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

LWRC, Larue and Noveske....

Owned them all and all are great platforms.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

Stag Arms Model 6. Factory order lead times.

The only issue I had with mine was magazine breakin. Once the inside of the mag lips wore in, it feeds as smooth as silk. Very, very accurate rifle. First time out shooting FV200, came in right within a point or two of the rest of the Varmint barreled AR's, and I hadn't even begun load development on it yet.

Greg
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

If you're just going to use it for hunting and targets...I would get a Rock River. They are very accurate and have a 3/4 moa guarantee. You can get the varmint for way less than 1/2 of your budget and use the rest on nice optics and ammo.

If you're going to shoot 2-3K rounds a year and take carbine classes, without a doubt I would go the way of Noveske, LMT, LWRC etc.

Jim
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

Two thoughts.
One, buy a known rifle, do not build. Think RESALE as it is likely you will want to change later and no one pays much for the DIY stuff that is so highly reccomended to you now.
Two, the most accurate rifle you can find will be a Les Baer.
RTH
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

Another Noveske vote.

Have owned three of them and each was/is great. My chrome Afghani is still shooting great, thousands of rounds later...
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: a1-equipment</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Les Baer customs ultimate ar varmitt model my shoots sub 1/4 out to 300 </div></div>

Les Baer is definitely the route to go if you want to buy instead of build, and want the utmost accuracy out of whatever you get.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

I would consider Les Baer or noveske both will be great shooters.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

I used to own a Les Baer Ultimate IPSC rifle which I then spent some more money upgrading the parts I didn't like . It did shoot very well and the finish was very nice . By the time it was all said and done I was into it nearly 4 grand with optics . I think you might have a hard time finding a new LB rifle with optics that would be under your 2500 dollar maximum . Of course the same could be said for Noveske so I would still have to suggest building something .

Les_Baer_1.JPG
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bass Ackwardz</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tango__Down</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Noveske takes the cake. Top tier. My 18" SPR shoots in the .3s with 55 TAP to handloads with 75OTM and 77SMK. I was thrilled that it liked the shitty 8 lb. jug of varget I have.

I wouldn't piss on LMT if they were on fire...just saying. </div></div>

Tell you what, i'll give you a couple bucks to piss on the LMT's when you see them on fire. Then ship them to me, I'll take all you can piss on...

Bill </div></div>

I will take some of that piss too...man what the hell did LMT do to you? Just Asking

77
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: encoreguy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am looking to buy my first AR and I wanted advice on what you consider to be the best value in a .223 platform for under say $2000. I am not looking for a home defense carbine, my number 1 focus is accuracy and reliability. I will use it for hunting and target shooting. So I would prefer something that will shoot under 1 moa consistently. Can I accomplish that for under $2500? What are your recommendations?

thanks! </div></div>

I have a LMT MRP with TA11 optic on top that is a tack driver....a tad more than your $2500 ($2750) that I would not trade for anything, regardless of what Tango says....this is a fine set up....you cannot go wrong with LMT.

77
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 77Bronc</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bass Ackwardz</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tango__Down</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Noveske takes the cake. Top tier. My 18" SPR shoots in the .3s with 55 TAP to handloads with 75OTM and 77SMK. I was thrilled that it liked the shitty 8 lb. jug of varget I have.

I wouldn't piss on LMT if they were on fire...just saying. </div></div>

Tell you what, i'll give you a couple bucks to piss on the LMT's when you see them on fire. Then ship them to me, I'll take all you can piss on...

Bill </div></div>

I will take some of that piss too...man what the hell did LMT do to you? Just Asking

77 </div></div>

Shitty parts and barrels one after another. All new from LMT or a authorized dealer.

12.5 piston barrel - LEMON ...had to be replaced.

2 MRP uppers milled off center and incorrectly. .... REPLACED

18 SS barrel - shot shotgun group and was replaced finally it shot .75" moa. still not worth owning to me.

16 CL barrel shot gun groups - brand new and crown was all jacked up. had to be replaced. didnt care how it shot. SOLD IT

Since then I have off loaded alll of their junk. Even after I got it back after spending up to 4 months waiting on the shitty replacement parts. Absolutely ridiculous.

If you want a gun built to even Mil spec. with any expectation of 2 moa accuracy then but something else. Buy lmt...be expected to spend a money in fuel and shipping to send their junk back to them over and over. They caused me months of waiting and several hundred dollars in shipping and fuel and ammunition going to the range to only be disappointed and mad as hell. I'd take a STAG ARMS $700 gun into battle over any of LMTs shit any day. Id be willing to bet that any off the line randomly picked delton gun would shoot straighter than any randomly picked LMT rifle.

..........thats what they did to me.
smile.gif
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tango__Down</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 77Bronc</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bass Ackwardz</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tango__Down</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Noveske takes the cake. Top tier. My 18" SPR shoots in the .3s with 55 TAP to handloads with 75OTM and 77SMK. I was thrilled that it liked the shitty 8 lb. jug of varget I have.

I wouldn't piss on LMT if they were on fire...just saying. </div></div>

Tell you what, i'll give you a couple bucks to piss on the LMT's when you see them on fire. Then ship them to me, I'll take all you can piss on...

Bill </div></div>

I will take some of that piss too...man what the hell did LMT do to you? Just Asking

77 </div></div>

Shitty parts and barrels one after another. All new from LMT or a authorized dealer.

12.5 piston barrel - LEMON ...had to be replaced.

2 MRP uppers milled off center and incorrectly. .... REPLACED

18 SS barrel - shot shotgun group and was replaced finally it shot .75" moa. still not worth owning to me.

16 CL barrel shot gun groups - brand new and crown was all jacked up. had to be replaced. didnt care how it shot. SOLD IT

Since then I have off loaded alll of their junk. Even after I got it back after spending up to 4 months waiting on the shitty replacement parts. Absolutely ridiculous.

If you want a gun built to even Mil spec. with any expectation of 2 moa accuracy then but something else. Buy lmt...be expected to spend a money in fuel and shipping to send their junk back to them over and over. They caused me months of waiting and several hundred dollars in shipping and fuel and ammunition going to the range to only be disappointed and mad as hell. I'd take a STAG ARMS $700 gun into battle over any of LMTs shit any day. Id be willing to bet that any off the line randomly picked delton gun would shoot straighter than any randomly picked LMT rifle.

..........thats what they did to me.
smile.gif
</div></div>

Well, that sucks. Keep in mind, sample size of one with probably very few people keeping you company with that sort of experience. Still sucks though.

OP: I don't know what the Colt6920 factory accuracy is but I've seen them for $900 before, under $1300 should be a piece of cake. DD, LMT, Noveske, some S&W, Colt, Larue, JP, Rainier, etc. Those should get you going. I've never spent more than $1200-initial-purchase-price on an AR. I've had LMT, DD, and a LMT/Rainier hybrid. They've all hit everything I've aimed at, if I did my part. Besides rails, optics (red dots and 1x4) lights and slings, I've never made any internal modifications. Factory chrome lined barrels and triggers. I might do a trigger upgrade on the one I have set up for hunting. Undecided. Good luck and enjoy.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Santo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For $2500 I would get a Noveske. I have a Noveske and an LMT. The LMT out of the box waas shooting shoot gun groups. Jay & Chris at Sport OPtics told me the barrel might have been torqued incorrectly. I retorqued it and it now shoots fine. That's pretty poor QC for an expensive rifle. My Noveske was a tack driver right out of the box. It is my favorite AR. </div></div>
After 2 months of trying various loads of Varget and 4895 and with 168gr SMK's and Federal GMM the LMT MWS is a big disappointment. I always have taken my DPMS SASS to the range when I take the LMT. I can shoot 0.5"-0.75" groups with the SASS but the best I can do with the LMT is 1.5" groups with the same loads. 4 of the 5 shots will usually be 0.5" and one flyer which usually opens to group up. I have tried retorqueing the barrel but it hasn't help. Still it's much better than the shotgun groups I was getting new out of the box. I guess it's time to call LMT. The scope I am using is a NF 3-15x50 with ZS and HST.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

I shot a SASS gun with ~1100 rounds on the tube at a recent course (shot 168 Fed GMM) for 10 days and it would shoot 3 rounds in one .5" group, the next 2 would do 3/4", the next 4 about 1" and the 4 after that maybe 1.6".

As the barrel warmed up, it didn't shoot as well. 1.6MOA was about where it flatlined and became consistent. I do think I had one of the crappier guns to be fair, but I was unimpressed- the gun blew out an extractor in the 300 rounds I fired, and they are built with stuff like YHM rails and have Mangonel BUIS (puke).

Is your LMT trigger stock? Mine was 5.5lb heavy and I swapped the trigger spring to the yellow JP and it dropped to 3lbs. I haven't gotten back out to shoot it, but my groups weren't amazing with the LMT on my only trip to date (with the OEM trigger).

I shot 1-1.75MOA with the LMT with HSM ammo, but then found the HSM to vary in OAL by .030" and began to suspicion the ammo quality heavily.

My gun was previously owned by Steve Aryan at USSA and he claimed the gun was doing .5MOA for him with handloads and his Magpul ACS.

My stock is an Old LMT Sopmod and I noticed a lot of rattle and put a couple layers of clear tape on the tube to stop the stock rattle too.

To make matters worse, I did drop my barrel off the workbench by accident so I'm unsure whether the barrel was damaged or not. I dinged the threads and repaired them, but that may have hurt the barrel's accuracy potential a bit.

Too many variables for me to call the LMT gun crap yet. I'm hoping it shoots better with an ammo swap next time I go out.

Scopes were 10X M3 on the SASS and 3.5-10x40 MKIV M3 on the LMT gun.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tango__Down</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
If you want a gun built to even Mil spec. with any expectation of 2 moa accuracy then but something else. </div></div>

Funny you say that, my brother had a lemon 12.5 piston barrel he just returned. It would not function for 3 rounds in a row (malf malf malf). My brother and I would never think of returning an OEM barrel for accuracy problems. LMT said there were some poorly chambered 12.5" barrels in circulation.

I also bought a 10.5" LMT upper back when Wes Grant was saying they were the bee's knees and my gun turned out to have the threads cut .011" Eccentric to the bore. So I couldn't shoot a suppressor on it.

Maybe they do have some QC issues.

My LMT MWS is a pretty gun, I have a lot invested in it. I hope it shoots better.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Sorry to get off topic. If you want a Sub MOA 5.56mm Ar, buy an ADCO CMV suppressor threaded barrel and build one. Their barrels are shit hot. I've got 3 of them, even the 10.5's hold 1MOA.

Or if you want a strictly match grade rig grab a WOA (or better brand) barrel. </span>
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Griffin Armament</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Or if you want a strictly match grade rig grab a WOA (or better brand) barrel.</div></div>

Centurion Arms
whistle.gif
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

White Oak Armament is the obvious choice for a target gun with your budget, and they will build you one in your price range that will outshoot the others mentioned here (even the pretty good ones like Stag Arms' 3G). http://www.whiteoakarmament.com

Another option is to contact Rainier Arms: http://www.rainierarms.com/

and tell them what you want. They can build you one with a Mega billet upper/lower, Geissele trigger, match grade barrel, and all the other bells and whistles within your budget.

Either company will be glad to talk with you to make sure you get exactly what you want. Best of luck,

John
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

I just picked up a Rainier Arms RUC on Friday. I had them put an SSA-E trigger and one of their 16" Ultramatch barrels on it. I really like the BUIS it comes with and it really came out nice. I paired it with Bobro mount and Leupold VX-6 1-6 scope. Now if I had not torn my knee up last week I could have posted how it shot. Steven
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

Give me a call and let me know what you're looking for. We'll go from there but I'm QUITE certain we can get you setup in your budget and in a rifle that will far exceed your expectations.

Rich
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tango__Down</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I wouldn't piss on LMT if they were on fire...just saying. </div></div>

This is the kind of "NEGATIVE" crap we don't need here on the hide. Whether you like or dislike LMT, they build a solid AR platform for any user......and they have proved it time and time again.

FYI.... I don't own an LMT, but have personally shot them and they are a quality product.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Oldrifleman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just picked up a Rainier Arms RUC on Friday. I had them put an SSA-E trigger and one of their 16" Ultramatch barrels on it. I really like the BUIS it comes with and it really came out nice. I paired it with Bobro mount and Leupold VX-6 1-6 scope. Now if I had not torn my knee up last week I could have posted how it shot. Steven </div></div>

Hope you get a chance to run that rig soon. I'm curious to see how it does. Rainier's first foray into a production rifle was more oriented towards a light carbine build; I got one myself with the DD LW 14.5" and the balance is fantastic. I'd like to know how throwing a match barrel in it turns out.

Centurion Arms and High Caliber sales do Mk12 uppers with the contract barrels, if you're interested in that style of setup. People are getting great accuracy out of their Mk12 builds. You should be able to hit your <1MOA goal at $2500 with or without optics a variety of ways. It's not really that lofty a goal with today's market of high quality barrels and triggers.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

I have a JP and love it. Never a problem with the rifle. John makes real nice stuff. Great barrel and an awesome trigger. Also have a armalite and it's well worth the 1,000 dollars. Shoots almost as good as my JP.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

I'm sure most people will tell you to go with DI as opposed to piston, but I have a couple of LWRCs and love them. They shoot lights out. Ceteris paribus, maybe a JP is more accurate, but at that level, I think it comes down to the shooter.
 
Re: Best value under $2500 AR

I can assure you,although I've never owned or fired an LMT,I do have a Delton upper on an olympic lower that was thrown together just to play in the ar game,and it's not a bad combo.It's not as sexy or optioned out as the other fine examples listed in these posts,but it just shows that you don't have to spend a small fortune to have a weapon that runs reliably and hits where you are aiming.
 
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