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First AR

M

mikep

Hellcat
I’ve put it off long enough and just bought my first AR. I picked up a Ruger AR556, standard plain Jane model. Living in NJ makes it difficult with all their restrictions, which is why I’ve held off so long. I went the plain Jane route since no compliance modifications are needed. It was between this and the M&P Sport II. I couldn’t have gone wrong with either but the Ruger won out because of the 1:8 twist as opposed to 1:9 in the M&P and the Ruger barrel is cold hammer forged.
I’m going to shoot it with iron sights only for a while and leave it stock for now. Trigger is on the heavy side but not too bad. The trigger and the handguard may be the only thing that gets swapped out down the road. I am happy with my choice.
B7F65C18-C19B-4BF5-A23C-F2972233B009.jpeg
 
Congrats Mike...I went with the M&P a few years ago. Since then the absolute BEST upgrade was a 3lb drop-in single-stage trigger. Yes, got a new grip, irons, 6-7 optic choices (scopes and dots), BAD lever, stock, sling...

I do regret buying a barrel with a 1:9 twist...but I don't want to pay for 77gr rounds anyway. Besides, I'm looking at a new upper, 18" barrel, 1:7 twist, quad-rail....there's so much crap you buy for these lego sets it gets mind-boggling.

Sorry about the non-threaded barrel on the pic...that limits your options for fun out front!
 
Jfal said:
Congrats Mike...I went with the M&P a few years ago. Since then the absolute BEST upgrade was a 3lb drop-in single-stage trigger. Yes, got a new grip, irons, 6-7 optic choices (scopes and dots), BAD lever, stock, sling...

I do regret buying a barrel with a 1:9 twist...but I don't want to pay for 77gr rounds anyway. Besides, I'm looking at a new upper, 18" barrel, 1:7 twist, quad-rail....there's so much crap you buy for these lego sets it gets mind-boggling.

Sorry about the non-threaded barrel on the pic...that limits your options for fun out front!
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I figure the 1:8 gives a little more flexibility. I have a mini-14 with 1:9. Shoots 55 gr just fine. Not so much with 62. Not a big deal.
Anything without the a2 front site had a threaded barrel, which i’d have to pin/weld. I sort of like the retro look with the a2 site and i like shooting irons so for me it’s not a big deal.
 
I highly Recommend the Hiperfire Designated Marksman in the $100 range or the Palmetto State Armory EPT in the $40 range ( if you don't want to spend the hundo) Both are smooth and break very clean. The Hiperfire is in the 3lb range and the EPT is in the 5-6lb range.

Also I put a Romeo 5 on my buddy's A2 rifle and he loves it.
 
Bassbob said:
I highly Recommend the Hiperfire Designated Marksman in the $100 range or the Palmetto State Armory EPT in the $40 range ( if you don't want to spend the hundo) Both are smooth and break very clean. The Hiperfire is in the 3lb range and the EPT is in the 5-6lb range.

Also I put a Romeo 5 on my buddy's A2 rifle and he loves it.
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Thanks. I will definitely check them out.
The romeo 5 was suggested to me by others as well.
 
mikep said:
Thanks. I will definitely check them out.
The romeo 5 was suggested to me by others as well.
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It's a solid optic in the $110 range. I can personally attest to their durability and reliability.

If you find you have an increased budget for optics, we certainly can steer you through the maze around here. I'm a fan of the Holosun 510 ( ($350 range), but there are optics for nearly any budget.
 
Bassbob said:
Don't get me wrong, my JMT triggers are damn nice and I don't anticipate any issues with them and they are very light, silky smooth triggers with no slop and a fast reset, but so are the Hiperfires and any number of "Enhanced" mil spec triggers ( Geissele, et al )
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Thanks for the information. A whole new platform for me to learn along with everything that goes with it.
 
mikep said:
I’ve put it off long enough and just bought my first AR. I picked up a Ruger AR556, standard plain Jane model. Living in NJ makes it difficult with all their restrictions, which is why I’ve held off so long. I went the plain Jane route since no compliance modifications are needed. It was between this and the M&P Sport II. I couldn’t have gone wrong with either but the Ruger won out because of the 1:8 twist as opposed to 1:9 in the M&P and the Ruger barrel is cold hammer forged.
I’m going to shoot it with iron sights only for a while and leave it stock for now. Trigger is on the heavy side but not too bad. The trigger and the handguard may be the only thing that gets swapped out down the road. I am happy with my choice.
View attachment 52747
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My first also, I bought the same Ruger model #8500 over the M&P for the same reason, the 1:8 rifling. It eats any ammo I have fed it except Tulammo steel case, it hung up constantly. It shoots any brand 55 gr I fed it so far just fine but it actually feels more solid somehow and sounds better shooting 62 gr ammo. It's just a reliable shooter to me.

I put a Magpul grip and hand guard on (on sale) which is a fairly inexpensive upgrade that really improved the feel and grip of the rifle. Also on sale I added Ruger's 452 Elite trigger, it's a fairly nice, inexpensive 2 stage trigger which does improve shooting. I've had a few different optics on it from red dots to 1-6 LPVO, all worked great on it, as did the iron sights.

Have fun and enjoy!
 
Bear007 said:
My first also, I bought the same Ruger model #8500 over the M&P for the same reason, the 1:8 rifling. It eats any ammo I have fed it except Tulammo steel case, it hung up constantly. It shoots any brand 55 gr I fed it so far just fine but it actually feels more solid somehow and sounds better shooting 62 gr ammo. It's just a reliable shooter to me.

I put a Magpul grip and hand guard on (on sale) which is a fairly inexpensive upgrade that really improved the feel and grip of the rifle. Also on sale I added Ruger's 452 Elite trigger, it's a fairly nice, inexpensive 2 stage trigger which does improve shooting. I've had a few different optics on it from red dots to 1-6 LPVO, all worked great on it, as did the iron sights.

Have fun and enjoy!
Click to expand...
ARs were really not meant for steel cased ammo. Most will run it, but if you leave a round in the chamber of a hot gun for any length of time there's a fair to middling chance you're going to be knocking it out of there with a cleaning rod or something. It's also hard on the ejector and extractor.

Life's too short for steel cased ammo.
 
Bear007 said:
My first also, I bought the same Ruger model #8500 over the M&P for the same reason, the 1:8 rifling. It eats any ammo I have fed it except Tulammo steel case, it hung up constantly. It shoots any brand 55 gr I fed it so far just fine but it actually feels more solid somehow and sounds better shooting 62 gr ammo. It's just a reliable shooter to me.

I put a Magpul grip and hand guard on (on sale) which is a fairly inexpensive upgrade that really improved the feel and grip of the rifle. Also on sale I added Ruger's 452 Elite trigger, it's a fairly nice, inexpensive 2 stage trigger which does improve shooting. I've had a few different optics on it from red dots to 1-6 LPVO, all worked great on it, as did the iron sights.

Have fun and enjoy!
Click to expand...
I saw the 452 trigger and heard good things. Thanks.
 
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