2018 new ARs

JRHorne said:
2018 should be the year of "buy them cheap, stack them deep" when it comes to ARs, mags, and ammo.
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Agreed. I sense that some of these companies are trying to push the "buy at any price" philosophy. But why would you buy a DMPS, Del-Ton, Bushmaster, CMMG, or Double Start > $1K* when you can get a Colt 6920 for $800??

*I know these are "MSRP" and will be cheaper at the LGS
 
Chuckman said:
Agreed. I sense that some of these companies are trying to push the "buy at any price" philosophy. But why would you buy a DMPS, Del-Ton, Bushmaster, CMMG, or Double Start > $1K* when you can get a Colt 6920 for $800??

*I know these are "MSRP" and will be cheaper at the LGS
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I know Colt is an icon, but what advantage do they offer over other brands? You can find the same materials and build quality in other companies.
 
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chrishf12 said:
I know Colt is an icon, but what advantage do they offer over other brands? You can find the same materials and build quality in other companies.
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Same materials, sure, I would argue that Colt has better QC than many others. You don't read about many 6920s crapping the bed. I would say that if Colt had not lowered prices and were still $1,200, I'd get a BCM or DD over the Colt, but to me, at $800 =/-, it's the best value. My humble opinion.
 
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Chuckman said:
Agreed. I sense that some of these companies are trying to push the "buy at any price" philosophy. But why would you buy a DMPS, Del-Ton, Bushmaster, CMMG, or Double Start > $1K* when you can get a Colt 6920 for $800??

*I know these are "MSRP" and will be cheaper at the LGS
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Seriously, when I got the LE6920 OEM1 for $609 shipped I should have bought 10 of them.
 
Chuckman said:
Same materials, sure, I would argue that Colt has better QC than many others. You don't read about many 6920s crapping the bed. I would say that if Colt had not lowered prices and were still $1,200, I'd get a BCM or DD over the Colt, but to me, at $800 =/-, it's the best value. My humble opinion.
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This 100% aligns with my sentiment. Aero was the deal with the Ballistic Advantage barrels, but if the 6920s start showing back up at $700, it's going to be hard to argue saving $100 on building an Aero rifle or spending another $400-600 on a BCM or DD. The next tier to me is Noveske, PWS, LMT, etc, but a lot of what you're paying for with them is things like full ambi function, some aesthetics, including nice accessories you'd otherwise buy aftermarket (like MBus Pro, Ambi Charge handles, rail panels, etc).
 
Chuckman said:
Same materials, sure, I would argue that Colt has better QC than many others. You don't read about many 6920s crapping the bed. I would say that if Colt had not lowered prices and were still $1,200, I'd get a BCM or DD over the Colt, but to me, at $800 =/-, it's the best value. My humble opinion.
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I can agree with this, especially for factory rifles with a warranty. I would put them in line just behind BCM, & DD, just the same.

I just have never understood the allure of Colt parts, and how they normally bring a premium in the classifieds for take offs.
 
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A lot of AR parts are made by the same companies between major brands. Different companies may have differing QC standards, but as long as you're buying your AR from a known company, chances are you're getting a quality firearm.

If you don't have an AR, or enough mags/ammo, now's the time to start stocking up. I've currently got one of my AR's on consignment at a local shop, but if it doesn't sell soon, I'm going to bring it home and stash it in the closet as a spare.
 
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224 seems to be a hell of a hot rod so far, I've only read reviews mind you, but if I'm going for AR number 10 in my stable, its going to be 6.5 Grendel.......
 
11B CIB said:
I really want to build a 224 Valkyrie
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I have one that I sadly I have yet to shoot other that a rough zero/function test. I was able to shoot a quick 1" 5 round group at 100 yds with the Federal 75 grain TMJ (cheap) fodder. I generally hold of on new calibers since I don't reload but I shoot a lot of 6.8 SPC so I had mags and a spare BCG. I have a reloading set I bought awhile back from Lucky 13 so maybe this will give me a reason to start reloading.
 
I can’t see dropping a grand on an AR when you can build your own exactly how you want it for half of that, unless it serves a very specific purpose. I’ve got the one I need, working on a pistol, and am in the process of stocking up on magazines and ammo now.

Now if I were to decide to want to build an SPR, then I’d be talking about an AR-10 or something in 6.8 SPC or 6.5 Grendel. There’s just too many other things I want to take care of first.
 
JakeH said:
I can’t see dropping a grand on an AR when you can build your own exactly how you want it for half of that, unless it serves a very specific purpose. I’ve got the one I need, working on a pistol, and am in the process of stocking up on magazines and ammo now.

Now if I were to decide to want to build an SPR, then I’d be talking about an AR-10 or something in 6.8 SPC or 6.5 Grendel. There’s just too many other things I want to take care of first.
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I agree to a point. That said building a rifle with the exact parts you want often ends up being more costly than biting the bullet and buying a factory gun. All you have to do is look at the "custom" AR-15s that some guy put a ton of maney in and can't sell for what he has in parts. Same deal with Glocks. I couple years ago I decided to trim the herd and focus on quality. I got rid of a few things and bought a LWRC M6A2 upper that CDNN had on sale. It is a beast and I like the fact that if I need to sell it I can likely get a decent price as compared to some home builds I have the same amount of money in.
 
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nchunt101 said:
I agree to a point. That said building a rifle with the exact parts you want often ends up being more costly than biting the bullet and buying a factory gun. All you have to do is look at the "custom" AR-15s that some guy put a ton of maney in and can't sell for what he has in parts. Same deal with Glocks.
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To that point, building an AR lets you pick up parts as you go. Of course you could always put a nice one on layaway but that won’t drive the wife near as crazy as having gun parts laying around the house.
 
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JakeH said:
I can’t see dropping a grand on an AR when you can build your own exactly how you want it for half of that, unless it serves a very specific purpose. I’ve got the one I need, working on a pistol, and am in the process of stocking up on magazines and ammo now.

Now if I were to decide to want to build an SPR, then I’d be talking about an AR-10 or something in 6.8 SPC or 6.5 Grendel. There’s just too many other things I want to take care of first.
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I have AR barrels that cost $500. It depends on what you want. If you just want “an AR”, and don’t care about anything else, sure go ahead

Resale doesn’t matter to me; I build precision guns I’m not selling that I can use for a variety of purposes. But each part was purchased intentionally with a lot of though into it
 
An AR10 at nearly or a over 10lbs isn't really an SPR.

The Valkyrie is great for someone that can use the capabilities at distance. Hard to do on the east coast. Unless you own multi-hundred acres or a utility line cut. I am still tyring the capabilities of my cheap to shoot 18" rifle gas 5.56 SPR, and my .308 DMR. One day when I am really bored or find myself in the desert Southwest I will try a boutique AR.
 
11B CIB said:
I really want to build a 224 Valkyrie
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This should be the discussion not what a lame 223 ar cost. How's it compare to 260 rem? I'm debating on another AR. I like what the valkyrie puts out. Seems like it would be good on deer and smaller game.
 
Ikarus1 said:
An AR10 at nearly or a over 10lbs isn't really an SPR.
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SPR simply stands for Special Purpose Rifle, as in issued to designated marksmen rather than a whole unit. The M110 is such a rifle and yet as-issued doesn't come in under the 10 lb mark. So, what then is the basis for weight being a criteria of the SPR designation?
 
Matt.Cross said:
SPR simply stands for Special Purpose Rifle, as in issued to designated marksmen rather than a whole unit. The M110 is such a rifle and yet as-issued doesn't come in under the 10 lb mark. So, what then is the basis for weight being a criteria of the SPR designation?
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The M110 is a SASS, not a SPR. The "classic" SPR is that jack-of-trades-master-of-none 18"-barreled AR first built by Crane for NSW. Even then fully loaded and with heavy-ass optic is can still be > 10 pounds.

But to your point, now it can mean many things, and in it's purest form issued for designated marksmen.

The Marines never bought into the hype; they had the SAM-R, which was awesome, now going to field the HK M38 (still destined to be 'less than' the SAM-R).
 
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Chuckman said:
The M110 is a SASS, not a SPR. The "classic" SPR is that jack-of-trades-master-of-none 18"-barreled AR first built by Crane for NSW. Even then fully loaded and with heavy-ass optic is can still be > 10 pounds.

But to your point, now it can mean many things, and in it's purest form issued for designated marksmen.

The Marines ever bought into the hype; they had the SAM-R, which was awesome, now going to field the HK M38 (still destined to be 'less than' the SAM-R).
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So they’re basically taking the Leupold 2.5-8x scopes off the SAM-R’s and putting them on the M27 with a bipod and calling it the M38?

The SAM-R’s were basically 20” MK12 Mod 1’s without the Ops Inc profiled barrel, if I recall
 
11B CIB said:
So they’re basically taking the Leupold 2.5-8x scopes off the SAM-R’s and putting them on the M27 with a bipod and calling it the M38?

The SAM-R’s were basically 20” MK12 Mod 1’s without the Ops Inc profiled barrel, if I recall
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Yup. A lot of S/S and designated marksmen in the Corps are really deriding the M38, calling it a horrible decision. The SAM-Rs did everything we needed. Not saying the SAM-Rs didn't need to be upgraded, though....they were old. But the M38 seems to be swing and a miss.
 
Chuckman said:
The M110 is a SASS, not a SPR.
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SPR isn't a weapon-specific designation, and neither is SASS. They both simply denote a specialized role.

My point was that weight isn't a factor in whether or not a given rifle is a Special Purpose Rifle. To that end, it wouldn't have to be an M110 to be a SASS. The SR-25 for instance, also a SASS.
 
Matt.Cross said:
SPR isn't a weapon-specific designation, and neither is SASS. They both simply denote a specialized role.

My point was that weight isn't a factor in whether or not a given rifle is a Special Purpose Rifle. To that end, it wouldn't have to be an M110 to be a SASS. The SR-25 for instance, also a SASS.
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SPR didn't come about until the Mk12; since then it's been bastardized for all sorts of "not a regular M4 or M16" rifles. But honestly I have never heard the term applied to non-5.56 platforms. Never in the military.

But whatever. Tomato, to-mah-to.
 
Chuckman said:
SPR didn't come about until the Mk12; since then it's been bastardized for all sorts of "not a regular M4 or M16" rifles. But honestly I have never heard the term applied to non-5.56 platforms. Never in the military.

But whatever. Tomato, to-mah-to.
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I have been mistaken before, I may be mistaken here as well. I thought that a designation was like 'Mk12 Mod 0', and the descriptor followed, as in 'SPR'.
 
I'm seeing a lot of .224 Valkyrie being confused for an AR10 platform. Its not. Its an AR15 platform cartridge, uses the 6.8 bolt and mags and not in any way comparable to a 6.5 creed or .260 gun other than BCs. Its a necked down 6.8 spc with around a 90gr bullet. Its faster and flatter than the Grendel but less energy. Makes sense for those that already have the 6.8 parts and mags.
 
Ikarus1 said:
I'm seeing a lot of .224 Valkyrie being confused for an AR10 platform. Its not. Its an AR15 platform cartridge, uses the 6.8 bolt and mags and not in any way comparable to a 6.5 creed or .260 gun other than BCs. Its a necked down 6.8 spc with around a 90gr bullet. Its faster and flatter than the Grendel but less energy. Makes sense for those that already have the 6.8 parts and mags.
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I don’t have any 6.8 stuff but I have a lot of .224 bullets. I want to see what it’ll do with a 77gr Tipped Match King and an 80gr Hornady ELD. The 90gr bullets still seem kind of slow to me but I’ll still try them
 
11B CIB said:
I don’t have any 6.8 stuff but I have a lot of .224 bullets. I want to see what it’ll do with a 77gr Tipped Match King and an 80gr Hornady ELD. The 90gr bullets still seem kind of slow to me but I’ll still try them
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There's a huge article in the Feb 2018 Firearms News about the .224 Valkyrie. Looks to add quite a bit of zip to the heavier .224 projectiles. I just can't justify another boutique round to reload for, still trying to work out
the perfect .300 Blackout round. I will try to copy the ballistic charts from that article if anybody wants em. Here's the excerpt:
http://www.firearmsnews.com/ammo/federals-new-224-valkyrie-cartridge-touted-as-flat-fast-shooting/
 
I'm just going to continue adding to my stack of lowers and boxes of parts. I've got enough for at least three complete rifles at this point. I may even pick up a few akm receivers and parts kits for diversity.
 
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