The Most AR-15 Bang For Your Buck: Finding The Best AR-15 For The Money
The AR-15 market is a hot one and it has been for years. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of manufacturers out there. With different materials and feature combinations, it can be a tricky world to navigate. So, let’s dive in and examine what you should look for when shopping to make sure you find the best AR-15 for the money.
AR-15 Background
The AR (which stands for ArmaLite Rifle) is America’s most popular rifle for good reason. In the mid 1950’s the government asked Eugene Stoner to downsize his AR-10 rifle to fire the 5.56 cartridge in hopes that the US military would adopt the ArmaLite as its rifle of choice. Eventually it did, but only after ArmaLite sold the patents and plans to Colt. Colt eventually tweaked the design into the M16.
The AR has served the US military in some form or another ever since. There’s no doubt that has certainly helped the rifle’s popularity.
When the initial patents expired in the mid 70’s, other manufacturers started to produce the rifles. From there, capitalism did what it does best! Today there is a competitive niche in the firearms industry that surrounds the AR-15. There are guns available from companies big and small and everything in between. Models vary in more than just color. They range from Plain Jane and inexpensive to highly customized and pricey.
The Start of Your AR-15 Search
For the average consumer, selecting the AR-15 that is right for them can be a daunting task. AR-15 prices vary widely, even for rifles that seem to have similar features and accessories. That makes finding the best AR-15 for your money quite a challenge. No one wants to waste money on something they don’t need, but at the same time we can all think of an experience when we wish we would have followed the “buy once, cry once” philosophy.
So a fundamental question exists for those who are thinking about purchasing an AR-15: What makes a good AR-15 a good AR-15?
In order to find an answer, I talked with three experts. When these gentlemen talked, I listened. Not only are they smart guys with loads of experience, but right now it is a buyer’s market and I am in the mood for a new rifle!
Here is what they had to say:
AR-15 Value Is Similar To Value In Cars
In the gun industry we make a lot of comparisons to cars. Sometimes those comparisons are a bit off and other times they hit their mark. When it comes to buying the right AR-15 I think there is some wisdom that can be gained by comparing the purchase to buying a car. When we are shopping for a new daily driver we need to look at our purpose for the car and then select the right car for the job. It is the same when buying an AR-15. Consider what your use is and then buy the rifle that fits that use.
Grant Allen knows what it takes for a rifle to do its job. He is a retired law enforcement officer who used his personal duty rifle to stop a gunman while he was still on the job. Allen described his thoughts in car terms. That makes perfect sense as his shop, The FiringLine, is a metro Detroit area FFL dealer and indoor range.
“An AR-15 is like a car. Some like a Mustang and some prefer the Camaro. Is there really that much of a difference?” asked Allen.
He continued, “If it is a tool you are betting your life on? Then it probably makes sense to invest a little bit more.”
Allen talked about sports cars but I’ll take it a step further. Some folks need a Corolla, others a minivan or an SUV, while others might select a pick-up. We make a car selection based on a variety of factors. What we NEED, what we WANT, and, let’s face it, what we can AFFORD. Your AR-15 selection should probably consider these areas as well.
Your Experience & Plans Matter
You might also factor in your level of experience with the AR-15 or guns in general. A new driver might be enthralled with a Porsche 911 GT2 RS but if their main goal is to get to school and back safely when it’s snowing out, a used Subaru Forester might be a better choice.
When it comes to the AR-15, the concept is the same. There is no sense in spending money that you aren’t going to put to use. If you are new to guns, it might make sense to buy a middle of the road rifle that can do it all reasonably well. From there, you can always make upgrades to parts or the whole rifle when you have a better understanding.
Grant’s favorite wheels are from BG Defense. Think of the BG Type-A rifle as a Mustang with a few nice aftermarket upgrades including a full cerakote job from the factory.
Some AR-15’s need to be able to go ANYWHERE and do ANYTHING.
Some folks are generalists while others are demanding users. I depend on a truck with serious tires and four wheel drive to deal with the winters in NE Ohio. A truck plows through the mud and rough terrain I come across at the ranges I frequently visit. In turn, I sacrifice some comfort on the road and fuel economy. I’m also not surprised when I plow right through some kind of a mess or when I fill up sooner than most. I have enough experience to know what I need and what I give up in return.
Some shooters are the same way: demanding users who expect their tools to perform regardless of the situation. The shooters who show up at Alliance Police Training Facility tend to be that way.
Cory Hupp spends his free time teaching on the range and in the shoot house at Alliance. When I say free time, I mean it. Cory doesn’t get paid. He is a volunteer and logs hundreds of hours working with students and their rifles. He has seen what it takes for a rifle to make it through a stressful, high-round count course.
According to Hupp, “When you spend more on an AR-15, say $1800, you get a couple of important things. You can expect better customer service (if you need it) and you know you’ll get better parts. Most importantly you get parts that are proven to work well together. Like the gas system. For that kind of money it will be midlength, properly tuned, and it will run.”
Selecting the right rifle gets easier with experience. Just like driving in winter or off road, getting stuck helps to teach you what you can do to avoid the pitfalls and what tools are going to bail you out. Pushing your gear WILL lead to failures and those moments will be instructive if you are paying attention. We simply want to make sure we push to failure while training so that we avoid the cost of lessons when the chips are down.
If you know you are going to run your gear hard you might take Hupp’s advice and make the investment in a high-end rifle right off the bat. Cory would tell you that Bravo Company Manufacturing is the way to go for an AR-15. A BCM is going to deal with anything.
An $800 AR doesn’t have to be junk!
It’s easy to enter the AR-15 market at the low end and learn hard lessons as we go. Although it will sting in the pocket book, you can take the opposite tact and go top of the line right out of the gate.
Or you could take Deryck Poole’s advice.
Deryck is the owner of Echo 5 Training Group and spends his time training everyday folks to efficiently use firearms in self-defense. Deryck has a practical approach to AR-15s. He’ll probably shirk away from my car comparison since he is a Toyota FJ kinda guy, but I think it fits nonetheless. According to Road & Track, if you need one car to do it all, a Jeep Grand Cherokee might be the right course. In the same vein, if you need a rifle to do it all, a capable, middle of the road blaster might be just what you need.
Poole, a Marine who knows the AR-15 well, looks at it this way: “An $800 AR doesn’t have to be junk; a great example is the M&P Sport. For less than a grand you can get into a rifle that has the features of a more expensive rifle. It probably uses some lower quality parts, but for most people, most of the time, it will get the job done.”
A Jeep SUV isn’t cheap, but it’s not luxurious either. It’s a solid middle of the road vehicle that can accomplish a wide variety of tasks just like the large number of mid priced AR’s out there.
As much as Deryck’s clients appreciate his conservative advice, the value of a more refined AR-15 isn’t lost on him.
“When you spend more money you should get a higher quality free float barrel with a solid muzzle device. The gun will have a one piece MLOK handguard to make attachment of accessories easy. You’ll benefit from an upgraded trigger and some ambidextrous controls like a charging handle and safety selector. You’d probably expect a more ergonomic pistol grip and stock. Once you hit the $1800 or higher range, you would expect a billet upper and lower with some attempt to make the rifle lighter.”
If Poole needed to recommend a rifle that delivered maximum bang for the buck he would send his students looking for a Patriot Ordnance Factory Wonder.
What Is The Best AR-15 For The Money?
That is the million dollar question, isn’t it? It pairs nicely with the question we set out to answer: What makes a good AR-15 a good AR-15?
The answers are going to be as unique as the shooters who ask them and are a bit rhetorical.
At the same time, when we look at the viewpoint of three experts we can see a bit of a convergence. If your rifle is going to be a tool you need to depend on, something for duty use or home defense, it makes sense to skew your choice toward the quality end of the spectrum. An inexpensive rifle might serve you well in a pinch, but we can’t afford to learn the hard lessons when it counts. Head to the middle of the pack or better. Make sure you have room left in the budget for dependable accessories and invest in quality training to make sure you are as capable as your gear.
I built my ar for less than 400 bucks. I’ll put it up against any AR for 800 to 1200 dollar Ar. Bring it on. Everytime I read these articles they mainly have to do with AR’s for people that have the bucks to spend a lot of money on them. Almost like if you don’t have 800 bucks or more for an AR you shouldnt own one.
IMO, the best AR15 for the money is the one you build yourself, whether with a serialized lower or an 80% lower you finish. You can pick and choose every other piece of the rifle, barrel, LPK, trigger, stock, handguard, gas system, flash hider, etc. Every one of my 7 ARs are custom built by me, only one cost more than $400 and that was the AR10 from an 80% lower and ran close to $800. Optics not included in the build cost. And only one used a serialized Anderson lower, a 300BLK pistol. (the stripped lower was on sale at my LGS, faster to buy than mill and drill another 80% lower)
There aren’t too many “low-quality” AR-15’s being built. This article is more about where to beef up in advance of some specific high-use scenario, without actually saying too much about where and why it’s critical. Meanwhile, there are a lot of mid-grade rifles that will benefit enormously in shootability and simplicity just from a drop-in trigger assembly instead of the clunky MILSPEC bag of doodads. Nobody needs to worry about paying extra for a piston gas system unless that’s just your thing, and you practically work at a range where you get to burn a thousand rounds every week for almost no cost. Most people don’t need to shoot more than 200-300 rounds in a given session before they’re too fatigued to make any more progress, and that’s really not a lot for the direct impingement system to handle. And that kind of range work is really it, right? The rifle kept on hand for duty, hunting or self-defense probably won’t need to go through a single magazine in years, so you could just as well have two such respectively-designated rifles for the same price if you stay focused on realistic probabilities. On the off chance one should find themselves in a dire SHTF scenario, needing to run a thousand rounds to handle a small riot or skirmish over the course of several hours before there’s a chance to even wipe the feed ramps or pull a bore snake, it’s still not very likely at all to run into the 10,000+ round count that it takes to wear out average-quality parts in this market. Some people act like they’re going to defend the village against barbarian hordes for weeks on end with only one rifle. Very few M-4/M-16’s in actual combat zones over the last 20 years ever saw anywhere near that level of use, because if those troops really needed that much, they needed much more of something much bigger than 5.56mm before all that to live through it.
I disagree with that entirely.
If a person can afford it, why NOT buy/build a SHTF AR? ESPECIALLY if it’s the first one.
If the situation arises, I don’t want range toys in my safe, I want a battle rifle. It seems those who buy/sell toys LOVE trying to convince others that the decision is the “right” choice.
My first AR choice? A POF P308 SPR Gen4 EDGE in Robar NP3+ finish. Atlas PSR bipod, topped with a Leupold Mk5 HD 3.6-18×44 MOA Tremor w/ADM QR mount (distance), or Trij ACOG w/ADM QR mount (CQB/CQC), and POF “low profile” METAL flip ups (again, not plastic toys). 2 dozen mags (20 & 25 rd), with over 1k of ammo always on hand. Buy guns (and outfit them) like your life depends on it, because it just might.
I bought an M4 Sig Sauer from Walmart for 600 bucks so y’all can say what you want but the thing shoots right runs right all the time
It all comes down to personal preference. Some want to drop a more durable AR in the safe before purchasing some range use ARs. I’ve seen “affordable” ARs lose plastic sights just dropping off a tailgate.
My point? Be sure to have a serious AR in your hands if your life depends on it running right.
So price equals durability? You must own a Range Rover, the biggest POS on the road. Grow up.
So a chrome lined barrel is as durable as the Nitride machine gun grade barrel POF ARs have? GAFC.
The most durable parts cost more to produce.
And I would not drive a RR if it was given to me.
Do you even own an AR?
I purchase my AR practice ammo in 1000rd blocks (5 200 cases), and chose to purchase an AR that has a barrel capable of shooting over 50k rounds and retain acceptable accuracy. If there are sub-1k ARs that can retain sub 1moa after 50k rounds, do tell. POF has TONS of durability/accuracy results online, 70k + rds with San Bernardino PD w/1.2 MOA accuracy afterward, 40k rounds of Wolf steel case run without issued….
You’re saying and yet not understanding that your “more durable” AR absolutely IS your “range use” AR. Far more rounds are fired on the range than on the battlefield. So yeah, if you want to shoot 50K rounds in between barrel changes at the range, then you need a better barrel. But a chrome-lined barrel is just fine for the battlefield. You just don’t want it to rust. You’re not shooting sub-MOA on the battlefield either. The average US Army soldier qualifies on pop-up targets out to 500yds with a dirty M-16 built by the lowest bidder. Those rifles see years of service, and just like the M-14’s and M-1’s before them, most come back fine, but a few will have bent sights and broken stocks. Not one with a shot-out barrel. Armorers usually only see that with squad-automatic weapons, like the M249. If dumping 100rnd snail mags “full-auto” is seriously in your mission profile, then you’ve got seriously bigger problems and need to work more on diplomacy – making more friends than enemies, LOL
So the S&W M&P Sport ‘probably’ uses some lower quality parts? Have any PROOF of that claim by the jarhead? By the way, a Jeep SUV is total garbage, not a ‘solid middle of the road vehicle’. Where do people like this author come from, Mars? Methinks Carlson is a professional BS slinger.
Jeep Wranglers have been pretty solid for decades, but since they dropped in the Pentastar V6 about five years ago, they’ll easily run over 100K without batting an eye before anything more than tires and oil need to be changed, and roads are optional, so, “middle-of-the-road” is perhaps still not the best choice of words, LOL The dealerships don’t offer discounts on them because they can’t keep them in stock. For a “bug-out” SHTF vehicle, however, I’d recommend getting the Rubicon with a standard 6-speed and avoid the now-ubiquitous automatics.
It seems the article was more about cars and trucks; this could be from lack of knowledge of the AR? They’re not much difference between AR’s accept the gadgets you want to put on them. Most companies get their parts from a few companies and as far as the triggers goes, I know the military does not polish the triggers. The trigger will break- in over time. There are barrels with different twist rates, and they all do fine if you use good ammo some barrels like lighter rounds and some like heaver. Most people have gotten away from the art of using open sights they need a red dot that is find its your choice it’s like taking a digital compass on a trip in the mountain’s and the battery goes dead or you can’t get a GPS signal. I like open sights and a manual compass. I will try a scope one day when my sight gets bad, so get and put on what makes you happy. Enjoy want you have.