So I am finally working my wife into the idea of me getting an AR. I saw the Sig for sale at Wal Mart, but Im not sure I can pay that much at this time. I am looking for an entry model for more around $500-$600.

Questions: Do most after market parts fit all makes of AR?

I plan on using it for plinking and hog eradication

You need to raise your price point a couple hundred bucks. Only thing you'll find in that price range is junk or a worn out used one. Look at the entry level Bushmasters or DPMS optics ready flat tops.

There is a DPMS panther arms sportical rifle for 597 at wal mart also.

Is that worth a crap?

I have a DPMS sportical and a Bushmaster optics ready carbine and unless you are in a fire fight, they run fine and are great hog guns, fun for kids to shoot, kill plenty of doe, and make shooting a Slide-Fire a blast. There are plenty of high end ARs to dream of but unless you life is on the line, you are a competition shooter, or measure your peter based on your ARs name brand, then just buy one, have fun, and move up as $$ is available.....

If you can make it out to Independence, they had probably ten different AR's under $800 last time I was out there. The dust cover and forward assist deleted on a few entry level guns aren't really essential.

Those run just fine, but you put sights or a scope on it, and his target budget is busted. Reality is an entry level AR is $700-800.

Would I be better off with the Sig from Wal Mart, Sig M4000 SRP with 3x prismatic scope and adjustable LOP stock for $897

Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport.

Can get them for close to $600.

I love mine, and only bought it after overwhelmingly positive reviews online and from other shooters.

You'd be better off building

I'm with tx4guns. You aren't going to find anything new in the $500-600 range. I can barely build a base model M4gery for less than $650, and that's using my C&R FFL discount at vendors and trolling the trader boards for good deals and lightly used parts.

If you've got $600 to spend right now, either save for another month or two and buy the SIG, or buy the SIG now and eat rice & beans, beans & rice for the next couple of months. You'll be amazed how quickly you can come up with a couple hundred bucks by evaluating non-essentials.

Personally, I am not a fan of these new breed of "Sporter" model AR's. Yes, they leave off the forward assist, which isn't really needed, but they should at least have a dust cover. If you are running the BCG wet, as it should be, that oil is going to pick up a metric crap ton of dirt. And the receivers are extruded aluminum, not forged. That's the reason those receivers look bulkier; they are made with thicker walls, to make up for the lack of strength.

Why no love for the M&P Log?
http://www.lostbraincells.com/2012/05/smith-wesson-m-sport.html?m=1
That's typical of what I see online and hear from others.

If someone intends to hold onto the gun for years, not wage war, and look to spend some coin on ammo this makes a lot of sense.

I've got a new DPMS Oracle I'll sell for $650. M4 style and I believe it's got the forward assist and dust cover. Won a Bushmaster XM15 this weekend also M4 style but I don't have it in hand. I'm looking to sell it as well once it has been shipped to my FFL.

If you want the gun to last a lifetime and have something to grow into, then build it yourself (lots of people on here are willing to help you) and build it with quality parts.

If you intend to learn more about AR's and to grow to be a better marksman, then this is the best route. Otherwise, you will one day find yourself knowledgeable about AR's and very dissatisfied with your bottom of the barrel AR and will not be able to get what you paid out of it.

Friends do not let friends buy DPMS/Bushmaster/Delton/ETC when you can build a Much Better gun for the Same price.....

Independence has the Oracles on sale right now for $649, $699 with a quad rail.

You can get a very good Palmetto State Armory rifle for around $700-$750ish.

It is a very good basic package that you can add on to later.

Local gun stores usually sell out quickly though but I know an FFL dealer that can get you one if you are interested.

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If you want the gun to last a lifetime and have something to grow into, then build it yourself (lots of people on here are willing to help you) and build it with quality parts.

Friends do not let friends buy DPMS/Bushmaster/Delton/ETC when you can build a Much Better gun for the Same price.....

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My competition rifle has been mainly DPMS parts for years. Any of those rifles will work great for the average AR owner. There are tons of expensive AR's out there that never see the light of day because their owners thought they had to have an expensive rifle. No rifle is going to last a lifetime without repair if you actually use it. Barrels get shot out and parts wear. My JP trigger, which by any standard is top of the line, just wore out.

I bought into the internet PSA hype and got 4 stripped uppers late last year for some builds and they all required a considerable amount of material to be taken off the front to get them to be true where the barrel mates up. Not particularly impressed with their stuff but it was cheap.

I think the AR building advice is good in theory, but it's only applicable for certain people that can actually do the work. I know you can watch the how to video at Brownells.com, buy parts kits, and get help on the OB. Nonetheless, I'm not sure building is the best route for the first AR. I think if a person is willing to go into their first AR purchase with the mindset that they are going to learn on this one and sell it at some point to buy what they learned they want, then they should go with something less expensive. DPMS would be just fine. They could experiment with different features and add-ons. Get acquainted with websites like gunbroker.com and AR15.com. There are good deals to be hand on used accessories. Buy the first AR, do some mixing and matching, read about AR's on internet forums after you own one, and quite a bit of the jibberish you were reading before you bought one starts making some sense. Then on the 2nd AR purchase go for something with more quality and the accessories you want, or if you're so inclined, then build the exact one you want. I plan on building the exact one I want for my 2nd AR, and I wish I would've gone ever cheaper than I did on the first.

Also, Log and tx4guns are right about the price of a quality rifle. And the other poster that said something about not needing anything more than the walmart cheap version unless you're taking it to war or your life depending on it isn't giving the best advice either. I would say the more you plan on shooting it, the better it needs to be. If it's only going to be 10 - 20 shots on a weekend a few times a year, then the cheapo's will do just fine. If it's going to be a couple hundred rounds per month, you may want to consider a little bit better quality.

EDIT to add: I have a DPMS LR308 AR-10 that I really like and my AR-15 is Rock River. So I believe in less expensive.

[This message has been edited by Bluto (edited 9/24/2012 2:57p).]

@ big ben: IFA summer sale ended last week or the week before. Oracles are 699/749 w/ rail.

****!

I told you I have a brand new Oracle for sale for $650!

I would definitely say the more you plan to use it, the better quality it should be. And parts are luckily very easy to replace on AR's. Extractors and springs are what mainly wear out and a new extractor is $10 and a 5 minute fix.

Springs are $0.50-$1.00

Then you May need to eventually change the bolt if it sheers a lug, at which point that's $50-$60

Then you May eventually shoot out the barrel, at which point it's $200 or so for a quality melonited barrel from ARP or a stainless steel barrel from WOA, $300 for a DD chrome lined CHF barrel, or $400 or so for a Noveske.

AR's are incredibly easy and cheap to fix...

So far as building your own: you can make a parts list, get it approved on here, order the parts, and then you can assemble the lower yourself.

It literally takes a $5 hammer, a $10 set of punches and a credit card to assemble a lower--that's it! There's a ton of youtube videos and it's very easy...

It's extremely rewarding to put together your own as well and you get a much better product for not much more.

Regardless, if either you're not going to shoot it that much or if reliability, durability, and accuracy take a back seat to the price (just a "plinker") and you just want something that will go "bang" most of the time, then those lower brands will do.

They are cheap because corners are cut on quality control, lower grade/cheaper steel and aluminum are used, and the parts are made with cheaper processes. WASR AK's have a similar status in my book. There is a reason that the mid-to-high grade manufacturers list the parts and material types they use and the lower grade manufacturers do not...it's extremely unnerving to say the least.

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They are cheap because corners are cut on quality control, lower grade/cheaper steel and aluminum are used, and the parts are made with cheaper processes. WASR AK's have a similar status in my book. There is a reason that the mid-to-high grade manufacturers list the parts and material types they use and the lower grade manufacturers do not...it's extremely unnerving to say the least.

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DPMS inexpensive rifle clearly lists the materials of the major parts.

LaRue Receivers made from same material as DPMS. Barrel material only listed as "Stainless Steel, Blackened"

Noveske first rifle I clicked on doesn't list receiver material or barrel material. Only says "M249 Machine Gun Steel" for barrel.

I didn't pick and choose which to compare, just grabbed the first few that popped into my head and had been discussed in this thread. The DPMS rifle most clearly lists the materials it is made of and is the same type of material as the LaRue receiver, albeit forged vs. machined. The Noveske receiver is also forged. A machined lower is just a waste of money while a machined upper can be better, a forged lower with a few areas properly machined can be just as good. I'm not saying the LaRue isn't made with tighter tolerances and better quality control but the DPMS shouldn't be dismissed. The first trip to the range should tell you if their QC department missed something.

I don't see any reason for a first time AR owner to spend a ton of money. Far more often than not the rifle is never going to be used in a way that it will matter.

I had a stag AR as my first, it has since been sold, but it was fine for a starter AR. Stag/cmt makes a lot of parts for other companies and they decided to have their own brand when they started stag.