I think building an AR is the best way to go. You can get a higher quality firearm in a more budget friendly way by building your own. If you can afford a top tier rifle at once, go for it, but I cannot shell out the 2-3k for a Noveske or Daniel Defense all at once.
I would advise to not put the upper together their first go around, but if you do a safety check on your lower it will be fine. The only time I saw a lower that was put together and didn’t work right is when a guy wasn’t careful milling his 80% lower, I wouldn’t reccomend those unless you have shop experience. I also like PSA’s business model. I own one of their rifles and it has preformed well in the limited drills and training I have done with it.
My current build is a Ballistic Advantage upper and BCG. Both of which have been gone through magnetic particle inspection, so that is indicative of reliability, a Sons Of Liberty Gun Works forged lower, BCM lower parts kit, BCM furniture, and I haven’t decided what compensator and charging handle to buy yet. I will also be buying a Vortex Strike fire. All in all I would say it is on the higher end of a mid range rifle.
After that I will just pick up a WASR, and the barrel will outlive me.
I think the time of the “frankengun” pipebomb rifle 2 tables over at the range is in the rear view mirror.
I saved up and bought a Spike’s Tactical Crusader, and I love it. It’s lighter than most ARs, so the bag will be a bit easier to lug around. 14 inch barrel + 2 inch muzzle device keeps it shorter than a lot, but still legal. It was about $1,500, so it’s not cheap, but it’s not really expensive either.
I seem to recall Kevin Michalowski showing a get home bag with an AR partially broken down to fit in a bag. I love that, but worry about evaporating oil.
@James
I have to agree with you. AR-15’s are Lego’s for big kids. They are not that terribly difficult to understand or to build. You can make them basic or go hog wild with name brand parts. I have several in several flavors, not because I particularly like them but they are fun as he!! to build and mess with, that and I have WAYY too much down range time using one for a living to let that experience go to waste. Now that I think about it I don’t know that I have EVER purchased a factory AR. That said I have won more than a few National Match comps with things I have cobbled together in my garage on a budget. As with most things, if you build it you will understand it. If you still don’t understand it after you built it, take it apart and do it 'till you do.
What I do when gun shopping is, I do a search for the best rated (fill in the blank). I’ll read 4 or 5 articles, then I’ll pick out one that is listed in the articles. Example, I looked for AR 15, the APF ECONO AR 15 .223 Wylde came up in 3 articles. IMO It’s a very well build AR. It has a Mil Spec BCG, .223 Wylde is a hybrid chamber that shoots both .223 and 5.56. I then used Gun.deals to see who had it the cheapest. Found one for nearly half the manufacturer price.
So, search for “best rated whatever”, (I’d go with a carbine), find a stripped down “key and heater” model, then put what furniture you want on it. Since you’re a USCCA member, you get a 10% discount at Optics Planet, and they have a lot of stuff.
Remember this, a $1,800 gun doesn’t mean it’s more accurate than a $500 gun. Accuracy depends on you.