All good and yes it is pretty sad we have to worry about that.
I haven’t seen it myself but have been told one of the current proposals is to ban anything semi automatic that has 10 rounds or more. That would be both pistols and rifles.
Not sure it would pass but you never know.
I have had a M&P 15-22 since my dealer could get the very first one. That AR has way beyond 100,000 rounds thru it. In just the first 6 to 9 months there wee 550 rounds put thru it (AT LEAST) 7 days a week. Then there is the one that I added a lot of different parts to, then there is the pistol. The last one was the top of the line model. Yes! I do like my M & P AR 15-22. I DO NOT think anyone would like to be in front of it when and if I would use it as a defense weapon even it only being a 22 LR.
.223 is easy to shoot. I would get the AR first just to have the real thing. That being said it sounds like you want the .22 to shoot with your son, and that’s a whole different thing compared to picking out a gun as a tool. .223 is not hard to shoot though. It’s obviously more lock than .22lr. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of having something fun to play with your son so he can learn the ropes comfortably though. I definitely get that.
I have the AR, but I haven’t got to shoot it as much with the ammo prices lately, though I actually run into .223 and 556 fairly regularly. 22lr might actually be harder to get right now. So you may want to see if that will be an issue.
Wouldn’t blame you either way. I would like a 23lr to shoot with my son down the road, but my boy is just a wee little man right now, so I still have a few years to pick one up.
You won’t have any problems with the AR, but I would opt for a complete personally. If not, I’d definitly buy the complete upper. I have a lower to put together. I started and had some trouble and decided to buy a special tool to help with the springs, but I never got back around to it because of time constraints. If your handy, I doubt you’d have a lot of issues with assembling the lower.
I enjoy shooting and training much more than tinkering, so I’m happy with my M&P 15 complete 
.
That was going to be my recommendation. Yes, the upper has fewer parts, but head spacing can get tricky. Not to mention needing the Go/ No Go gauges, barrel nut wrench, vise block, etc…
Lowers can be built w/o specialty tools. Not so much with uppers.
Thanks. My neighbors was a lot of fun to shoot. My son put close to a hunred rounds through it and had a blast.
Thanks. I like the idea of the 5.56 and running 223 through it with him. Just concerned about the sound since we shoot at the indoor range. I also know if I opt for the AR I wont be able to get the conversion kit for a few months.
Thanks. Not 100 % figured out…but working on it.
Thanks. I am sure it is probably due to all the new buyers but I have found it fairly hard to put together a lower kit and stripped receiver for what PSA sells the blemished completed lowers for. As long as the blem is only cosmetic I could care less.
As a newbie to the AR platform I really like the new weekly training videos about them.
As for finding ammo…while the 223/556 is more available right now it is also way more expensive. Still doesn’t seem to be in any stores locally. I would have to get online.
I traded some ammo to get 22s so I could take my son shooting. About a week before I took him, I ran across a deal (about 8 - 10 cents) on 22 lr ammo. I foolishly passed on it. I told a friend but it was gone by the time they got online.
Since he loved it so much I have since got some on order through Federal but will take a couple of weeks to get. Still around 10-12 cents around though which seems good right now. Especially if you can find it.
Thanks for all the feedback, comments and suggestions.
Hopefully I will be giving an update on what I go with soon.
You’re thinking to settle on a purchased rifle you and your son both love to shoot together, in likely hood passing it down to him. I’m no professor @Martin36 but I think you got it figured out, grab that M&P .22LR take that boy shooting.
I will be still shooting 22’s that cost me $12.50 for the Federal 550 bulk box for a very long time to come.
Definitely double up on the ear protection for both of you. I do this even outdoors.
I bought the M&P 15-22 three years ago. I still enjoy shooting it and so do my sons who are 16 now.
We go to classes/training once or twice a month depending on availability. Every month, they have one class where the training includes both pistol and rifle (if you have one). I cycle through various rifles, AR-9 pistols, and the 15-22. Doesn’t seem to matter what I bring. We enjoy shooting it and learn something new in the training every time.
This is what I have on order.
Seems like a decent deal.
Edited for spelling
And @Martin36 shows me up dropping in the Federal - 325 box.
I knew it. like I said…
I have no further questions your honor.
Nah…more like me being the fool. The week before I took him they had the 800 round box. I passed because I wasn’t sure if he was going to like it. So I ordered the stuff above.
Now they have the 800 round available again.
Deals come and go especially now but it won’t always be the case, and somewhat like @FunCycle was saying there’s going to come again in the near future ammo supply leveling out and these companies will look to offload the supply they ordered and overstocked. Then we pounce. I remember 500 box of federal less than $20 on a Walmart shelf.
If you’re looking to stock up do it man stock up. If you’re just searching for some power buys by all means get those deals. If you don’t really want to buy anything that’s cool too. To wrap this up, there’s plenty good deals hiding out there if you do some good searching. All the best @Martin36