TexasCHLforum.com

Liberty wrote:

ninjabread wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:I posted this elsewhere, but Buds has the Ruger AR 556 for $449. Not under $400, but a darn good entry level AR, IMHO.

If I were on the hunt for a cheap AR made by a reputable company, THIS is the one I'd take. It may not be the best AR available, but it is likely to be the best one available at that price; and it is backed by Roger's warranty. Plus, MSRP on that gun is $799; so $449 is a pretty good price for it.

Now, the first thing that comes to mind is that MSRP is $799, compared to Bud's price of $449....almost half of Ruger's price. So one of two things is happening. Either they are an overpriced from Ruger (the manufacturer), or Bud's is blowing them out to get rid of them because they're junk. That doesn't mean they ARE junk, but it sure does mean that they are only worth $449, not $799, and $449 doesn't get you anything better than a plinker.

I don't know if I will ever understand the pricing of guns. It's hard to find a decent handgun for under $450.oo The 100 year old 1911 design for less than $700. The R&D cost have already been recovered. No one ever pays Ruger's MSRP unless they what to be the first one on the block to own a newly released price. I bought my Ruger AR at Acadamy pretty cheap. I would not buy any other AR for this price. Ruger has a reputation for building quality value priced firearms as well as decent and they have a reputation for standing behind their product, Rugers customer service support is better than good, it's legendary.
I do believe it's worth more than just a plinker though. It is built to milspec. It has a reputation for being reliable and accuracy of 1.5 MOA or better. I think that this qualifies it as a good self/home defense, hunting, truck or a general purpose gun.

You still haven't mentioned if you're worried about jealousy from your RGS, and whether or not they'll make nice together in the safe when you're not watching.

ninjabread wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:I posted this elsewhere, but Buds has the Ruger AR 556 for $449. Not under $400, but a darn good entry level AR, IMHO.

If I were on the hunt for a cheap AR made by a reputable company, THIS is the one I'd take. It may not be the best AR available, but it is likely to be the best one available at that price; and it is backed by Roger's warranty. Plus, MSRP on that gun is $799; so $449 is a pretty good price for it.

Now, the first thing that comes to mind is that MSRP is $799, compared to Bud's price of $449....almost half of Ruger's price. So one of two things is happening. Either they are an overpriced from Ruger (the manufacturer), or Bud's is blowing them out to get rid of them because they're junk. That doesn't mean they ARE junk, but it sure does mean that they are only worth $449, not $799, and $449 doesn't get you anything better than a plinker.

I'm PROUD of you son! Using my own words against me like that!

I wondered if anyone was going to catch that.

Liberty wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote: If I were on the hunt for a cheap AR made by a reputable company, THIS is the one I'd take. It may not be the best AR available, but it is likely to be the best one available at that price; and it is backed by Roger's warranty. Plus, MSRP on that gun is $799; so $449 is a pretty good price for it.

I bought one a couple of weeks ago, and while I haven't a lot of AR 15 experiance I can say the Ruger is a heck of lot nicer than the Colt M16 Uncle lent to me. Brass deflector tight fit. Never seems to jam. I find it in credible that a 16" barrel can be this accurate. A fun gun to shoot. Then again, I really like Ruger rifles.

Aren't you worried about making your RGS jealous?

FWIW, I'm considering buying a friend's complete Ruger SR-556 upper (the older one, not the takedown version) chambered in 6.8 SPC. Not convinced yet ....mostly because he wants $750 for the upper, plus 3 magazines and a couple of boxes of ammo. That seems like a bit much to me, but I have confidence in the Ruger quality.

Soccerdad1995 wrote:I posted this elsewhere, but Buds has the Ruger AR 556 for $449. Not under $400, but a darn good entry level AR, IMHO.

I think there is an oversupply of AR's on the market right now, carrying over from the results of the last Presidential election. So it is a great time to be a buyer and a terrible time to be a seller. Give it a few years and that will undoubtedly change.

If I were on the hunt for a cheap AR made by a reputable company, THIS is the one I'd take. It may not be the best AR available, but it is likely to be the best one available at that price; and it is backed by Roger's warranty. Plus, MSRP on that gun is $799; so $449 is a pretty good price for it.

While it is true that the AR prices have been inflated in recent years due to the political landscape, it is also true that in a general sense, you get what you pay for. I wouldn't tell everybody to run out and spend crazy money on an AR like I did for a very high end custom build, but I also think that when you're talking about ARs in the $300-$400 range, you're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel. Unless all you're looking for is a beater, you're going to ultimately want to upgrade it; and depending on your starting point, those upgrades may cost you.......for items that would have been standard in a better AR.

I'm looking at that American Tactical Imports Omni Hybrid Maxx P3 on the ATI website right now. Here's the description:

Our OMNI HYBRID MAXX features a fully-patented metal reinforced polymer upper receiver along with a fully-patented metal reinforced polymer lower receiver. The Omni Hybrid lower features a patented hammer and trigger pin retainment system, preventing movement from the hammer and trigger pin during firing. The Omni Hybrid also featured our patented over-molded metal insert, which reinforces the buffer tube housing and rear takedown pin. This allows for metal-on-metal contact with both the buffer tube as well as the rear takedown pin thus increasing strength and durability from recoil and consistent firing. In addition a magazine is now included with all Omni Hybrid MAXX rifles.

Now, the first thing that comes to mind is that ATI's website is selling them for $669.95, compared to Gunbuyer's price of $369....almost half of ATI's price. So one of two things is happening. Either they are an overpriced from ATI (the manufacturer), or Gunbuyer is blowing them out to get rid of them because they're junk. That doesn't mean they ARE junk, but it sure does mean that they are only worth $369, not $670, and $369 doesn't get you anything better than a plinker.

If a plinker is all you want, then it's probably fine. But if you're buying it is to serve as your home defense weapon, then you should seriously consider spending a bit more for something you can absolutely bank on. I appreciate wanting to save money, and on my next build, I'm going to build a basic, utilitarian carbine, without going crazy on the boutique names. I figure I can get it done for around $500-$600, not counting an optic. But when the entire gun minus optic is coming in at $369, I'm suspicious of the quality.

That's just my 2¢, and worth exactly what it cost to read it.