TexasCHLforum.com

There has been a large movement towards P-mags in the military for a while now. They have become available in the supply system now. Even before that, though, a lot of guys bought their own.

USGI mags work just fine, if they are maintained and are replaced when they get beat up. Unfortunately, that does not always happen.

TX Rancher wrote:no matter whether you buy mid or top end, it's been my experience the mags are the number one determiner of reliability. This is one area not to get cheap on. Buy good reliable mags with the proper followers and you will be a lot happier with your rifle. Buy cheap and you maximize your chances of experiencing Failure To Feed, Double Feed, bolt not locking back on last round, mag not dropping free, etc.

This right here. In 12 years in the service, 95% of the failures I have seen out of an M4 (and 99.9% of M9 failures) are bad magazines. Most of the rest are either due to improper lubrication (often overlubricating) or other user error, such as losing the extractor spring.

As far as the optics go, I think that is a place where you see a far larger quality gap between price levels than you do with an M4 rifle. Many of the cheaper scopes and optics were not built to stand up to the repetitive recoil of a centerfire rifle. You'll see (no pun intended) a bigger value increase by going with a higher end optics maker than you will with spending more on the rifle itself. Of course, there are manufacturers whose quality exceeds their relative price. And again, you have to consider your needs. While I am sure most of use would love to have a $1500 Night Force scope, is it really that much better than a $400 Leupold for what you are doing?

Champion in CS is not too far of a drive, and they probably will have the best prices around. However, you do have to be careful with their service quality and people trying to upsell you into a more expensive firearm than what you are looking for. The last time I went was a pretty good experience (I bought my Kahr there) but I have had bad experiences there before.

As far as Fountain goes- Sloan and John are great. If they aren't there, or are busy, I either wait or come back another day. It's not worth the aggravation to deal with or even listen to a couple of the kids that work there.

That Sig is a nice rifle. However, it is a piston-driven AR, and it is a Sig: both of these conspire to drive up the price. Personally, I don't see the need for a piston AR. I've been shooting DI models for the last 12 years in the Army and have had no problems.

Fountain Firearms on Hwy 6 has a good selection, but only go there if you can talk to John or Sloan. They've got some younger guys working there now who are absolute idiots. Their prices are a little high, but not as bad as Carter's Country.

Carroll's Guns in Wharton does not have a whole lot of selection on AR's , but they do have a few and their prices aren't too bad. Plus, Jim and Brick are two of the nicest guys around to deal with, and they will order you anything you want.

Tactical Firearms on Mason Road in Katy is pretty new, and kinda small, but they have good prices and very quick service. As the name implies, they specialize in the AR and other tactical firearms and accessories.

A couple of comments:

I've been doing the research like you for my first AR. I will still probably build. As long as you know what barrel and gas-tube length you want, everything else is pretty much modular and can be added on later. You are going to change stuff as time goes on, so don't let that dissuade you from building.

Personally, from all the reading and research I have done, I feel that an average user isn't going to see a whole lot of difference between the brands. I would posit that even a serious shooter isn't going to see enough difference to justify paying the extra amount between some of the mid-level manufacturers and the expensive brands. My 2 cents says there is a lot of brand snobbery in the AR world, and some people just feel better about having "the best brand" or a "Tier One manufacturer" rifle based of some forum-dweller's spreadsheet that has been floating around the Net for the last couple years. Bottom line: buy from who you feel comfortable makes a quality level that you can accept. For me, I'll avoid Olympic/Hesse/whatever else they go by, but I have no problems building myself a kit from Del-Ton, or buying a Stag, or a Spikes, or RRA. I feel that Colt or Noveske just don't offer me enough to justify the extra money. I'd rather put that money into optics, other accessories, or ammo.

Speaking of optics: Based on your description of what shooting you do, I would consider some of the unmagnified reflex optics for your AR, such as the Aimpoint, EoTech, or Trijicon Reflex. These sights are designed for the closer shooting work you describe, and are worth the money for ease of use and speed of acquistion.

One last comment: Many AR guys harp on Mil-spec, and brag about how much closer their rifle is to "mil-spec" than other rifles. Before you fall into that trap, understand what mil-spec is. Mil-spec is a set of design and testing qualifications that contractors have to meet to get a product purchased my the military. While mil-spec is designed to ensure quality, it is often written by bureaucrats and tailored to very specific concerns. While a lot of mil-spec requirements start of as well meaning design specs, they can quickly become overbearing and esoteric. Don't take mil-spec as being a basic minimum requirement for reliable function. Mil-spec is how we end up with $300 hammers and $1500 wristwatches with National Stock Numbers for me to order in my supply catalog.