Everyone reading this who's mentally stable and can legally own a firearm should consider purchasing an AR-15. We are in the golden age of consumer firearms with reliable rifles being available to the masses for ~$500 or less.
I'm linking parts from Palmetto state armory because they have reliable reasonably priced parts, but there are dozens of manufactures out there to chose from:
The main parts you need are a receiver which have plenty of different designs, this is considered a gun and what you need to have a background check run on. They're only ~$50 and is your insurance policy to being grandfathered in future legislation. Some fancy ones will go for $100 but it really doesn't make much a difference. Keep in mind that if you buy one of these online it needs to be shipped to an FFL (Gun Store) which will cost a ~$30 fee, usually with the fee included it'll be the same price or more than just buying in the store. Big stores like Cabelas or Gander Outdoors are good for buying these. (I think Gander has free transfers).
Next you need a lower parts kit this is a bunch of small parts that assemble into your trigger, magazine release and a few other miscellaneous parts. These go for $30-$70 depending on the quality you want. Some people buy high quality drop in triggers for $100 but I don't think that's necessary for a casual shooter.
After this you'll need a buffer spring carbine length is probably your best bet for around $50. This just absorbs the recoil and provides a tube to put the stock on. You'll need to buy a stock if your lower parts kit didn't come with one, those are $15-$30.
Your "lower" is complete once this is all assembled.
Next you'll need an upper which is primarily your barrel. Since this involves gas tubes and needs some machinery to assemble I recommend just buying a complete upper, 16" is the ideal size for an all around gun since its lighter and easier to manipulate indoors and still can reach out to 300 yards with enough velocity. This is the most expensive single piece for the gun. These range from $200-$2000. The PSA uppers are considered reliable and accurate. Some uppers come with sights, some don't and they need to be bought separately.
Finally you'll need a charging handle to load the gun and a bolt carrier group (BCG) to recycle rounds into the chamber and extract them. Sometimes the companies offer these two parts with the upper so don't accidentally buy these twice, as a combo they are usually around $100.
That's it, if you buy all these parts full priced you're probably in the $400-$600 range. Probably best to set another $100 aside for a cleaning kit, headphones, eye protection, an AR-15 wrench, punch kit, and 2-3 magazines. This is the video I use for my builds, first time around it takes about 2-3 hours.
Being part of the community is also important so I would consider joining a local gun/hunting club as they often do community events and will allow you to network with like minded people, as well as having a place to practice.
If you want to know what's a good price and what's not I suggest subscribing and searching /r/gundeals to get an aggregate of prices. If your patient enough you'll be able to pull the price down significantly. I built a comically cheap AR-15 just to see how low I could go and came in at $330.
Any recommended AR's that are readily available for around those prices. Say from like Rural King? I have seen some AR's there, but I am not that up to date on rifles.
M&P Sport is considered one of the better cheaper AR-15s, generally goes on sale for around $500. Palmetto State also has full rifles but those need to be shipped to a store and would require a transfer fee, same for Anderson.
I would recommend building one from scratch though, just need to run into a store and grab a receiver. It'll take 2-3 hours the first time learning how to do it, but when you need to clean the thing you're going to have to spend an hour figuring out how to disassemble and clean it anyway so you might as well front load the work.
Everyone reading this who's mentally stable and can legally own a firearm should consider purchasing an AR-15. We are in the golden age of consumer firearms with reliable rifles being available to the masses for ~$500 or less.
I'm linking parts from Palmetto state armory because they have reliable reasonably priced parts, but there are dozens of manufactures out there to chose from:
The main parts you need are a receiver which have plenty of different designs, this is considered a gun and what you need to have a background check run on. They're only ~$50 and is your insurance policy to being grandfathered in future legislation. Some fancy ones will go for $100 but it really doesn't make much a difference. Keep in mind that if you buy one of these online it needs to be shipped to an FFL (Gun Store) which will cost a ~$30 fee, usually with the fee included it'll be the same price or more than just buying in the store. Big stores like Cabelas or Gander Outdoors are good for buying these. (I think Gander has free transfers).
Next you need a lower parts kit this is a bunch of small parts that assemble into your trigger, magazine release and a few other miscellaneous parts. These go for $30-$70 depending on the quality you want. Some people buy high quality drop in triggers for $100 but I don't think that's necessary for a casual shooter.
After this you'll need a buffer spring carbine length is probably your best bet for around $50. This just absorbs the recoil and provides a tube to put the stock on. You'll need to buy a stock if your lower parts kit didn't come with one, those are $15-$30.
Your "lower" is complete once this is all assembled. Next you'll need an upper which is primarily your barrel. Since this involves gas tubes and needs some machinery to assemble I recommend just buying a complete upper, 16" is the ideal size for an all around gun since its lighter and easier to manipulate indoors and still can reach out to 300 yards with enough velocity. This is the most expensive single piece for the gun. These range from $200-$2000. The PSA uppers are considered reliable and accurate. Some uppers come with sights, some don't and they need to be bought separately.
Finally you'll need a charging handle to load the gun and a bolt carrier group (BCG) to recycle rounds into the chamber and extract them. Sometimes the companies offer these two parts with the upper so don't accidentally buy these twice, as a combo they are usually around $100.
That's it, if you buy all these parts full priced you're probably in the $400-$600 range. Probably best to set another $100 aside for a cleaning kit, headphones, eye protection, an AR-15 wrench, punch kit, and 2-3 magazines. This is the video I use for my builds, first time around it takes about 2-3 hours. Being part of the community is also important so I would consider joining a local gun/hunting club as they often do community events and will allow you to network with like minded people, as well as having a place to practice.
If you want to know what's a good price and what's not I suggest subscribing and searching /r/gundeals to get an aggregate of prices. If your patient enough you'll be able to pull the price down significantly. I built a comically cheap AR-15 just to see how low I could go and came in at $330.
Any recommended AR's that are readily available for around those prices. Say from like Rural King? I have seen some AR's there, but I am not that up to date on rifles.
M&P Sport is considered one of the better cheaper AR-15s, generally goes on sale for around $500. Palmetto State also has full rifles but those need to be shipped to a store and would require a transfer fee, same for Anderson.
I would recommend building one from scratch though, just need to run into a store and grab a receiver. It'll take 2-3 hours the first time learning how to do it, but when you need to clean the thing you're going to have to spend an hour figuring out how to disassemble and clean it anyway so you might as well front load the work.
Thats true, Thanks!