5.56 Advice Needed

[banana380]

There's always the option to build one. If you have someone in the know and/or a gunsmith shop handy (used to work @ a full function gun store), it's not a bad way to go.

I have $710 in mine, base setup. That's M4 profile DPMS upper, Tac Machine stripped lower, colt parts kit and cheapass stock. I probably put about $230 more on in accessories: Hogue pistol grip, Magpul MOE stock, DPMS carry handle, and a used NcStar scope (cheap, I know). Makes for a good beater/SHTF rifle, I would like to get into 3-gun matches when I get somewhere that has them.

 

[punx_clever]

Back in '95 my old man picked up two Colt AR-15's so me and my brother could have "good" guns in case they were banned forever by Clinton... Fast forward and the AWB's sun set and AR-15's surged back like wildfire. I still remember how cool it was that we were able to pick up 30rd israli made Orlite magazines despite the ban.

Anyways, the point of my story is, that poor AR-15 carbine of mine survived being a ranch rifle for a 7/8 year old chasing rabbits and all the abuse that entails. To this day I can plink off rabbits at 300+ yds with a carry handle mounted scope and can grab the occasional rabbit at 15yds on the run. It's not tact-cool... it doesn't have a collapsible stock, no pistol forgrip, nothin. Just a rock solid carry weapon. One of these days I'll get a nice upper for target/varmint so I can swap em out at whim and it'll be all the AR I need. Keep it simple.

 

[Tex_Hill]

I've decided to go with Spike's Tactical ST-15 mid-length LE carbine for $809.95, add the tactical gun case and it comes out to $859.99. It has all of the features of the high priced manufacturers like Colt, but for a third less. One thing I found interesting, Colt only warranties their rifle for one year while Spike's has a lifetime warranty.

Thanks everyone, & especially Rocketman for helping me out!

 

[insanebikerboy]

I've decided to go with Spike's Tactical ST-15 mid-length LE carbine for $809.95, add the tactical gun case and it comes out to $859.99. It has all of the features of the high priced manufacturers like Colt, but for a third less. One thing I found interesting, Colt only warranties their rifle for one year while Spike's has a lifetime warranty.

Thanks everyone, & especially Rocketman for helping me out!

I have a Spike's I basically built myself. I believe the mid-length is a 1:7 twist so get some heavier bullets. My rifle didn't really like 55gr 5.56 but it shot 62 and heavier pretty nicely.

 

[Tex_Hill]

I have a Spike's I basically built myself. I believe the mid-length is a 1:7 twist so get some heavier bullets. My rifle didn't really like 55gr 5.56 but it shot 62 and heavier pretty nicely.

Yeah, I saw the 1:7 twist rate, but I plan on doing a little feral hog hunting so heavier rounds will be just what the doctor ordered.

The hogs are so bad here that about a month ago on my way to work I saw about a dozen not more than 25 yards from the major highway that I drive every day. Unfortunately it's against the law to shoot from a highway 'cause someone could have cleaned house that morning. The last estimate that I saw from the Texas Dept. of Agriculture said that feral hogs cause $25 million in damage to crops in Texas, and to make matters worse I know for a fact that Russian boars have been introduced into this area. One of my customers is a 500 acre private game preserve with big game from various parts of the world. Year before last they brought in 3 or 4 Russian boars who managed to get out - along with several elk - after someone cut a hole in their 8ft game fence.

 

[ryan1234]

The hogs are so bad here that about a month ago on my way to work I saw about a dozen not more than 25 yards from the major highway that I drive every day. Unfortunately it's against the law to shoot from a highway 'cause someone could have cleaned house that morning. The last estimate that I saw from the Texas Dept. of Agriculture said that feral hogs cause $25 million in damage to crops in Texas, and to make matters worse I know for a fact that Russian boars have been introduced into this area. One of my customers is a 500 acre private game preserve with big game from various parts of the world. Year before last they brought in 3 or 4 Russian boars who managed to get out - along with several elk - after someone cut a hole in their 8ft game fence.

I think Texas is the state that contracts those guys to shoot hogs from the Schweizer helicopter with an AR.

At least in FL, people pay pretty good money to guides to hunt Russian Pigs

Wouldn't be a bad business to start - takin' people on aerial hog hunts. :tongue2_1

 

[Tex_Hill]

I think Texas is the state that contracts those guys to shoot hogs from the Schweizer helicopter with an AR.

At least in FL, people pay pretty good money to guides to hunt Russian Pigs

Wouldn't be a bad business to start - takin' people on aerial hog hunts. :tongue2_1

The problem is that the helicopters also scare the hell out of livestock and there is a lot of mixed use land up here so there is a reluctance on the part of the land owners in this area to allow that kind of hunting.

 

[Rocketman]

Yeah, I saw the 1:7 twist rate, but I plan on doing a little feral hog hunting so heavier rounds will be just what the doctor ordered.

Get some 5.56 Barnes 70 gr TSX-BT rounds if you can find'em. SSA makes them (as do others I think) but looks like they are out of stock right now. http://www.ssarmory.com/556ammunition-70gr-leadfree.aspx

I think you can also get rounds loaded with 55gr TSX but I agree you want heavy tough bullets for hogs.

My boys and I went hog hunting in central Fl last Oct. We used AR's loaded with 6.8 SPC Silver State Armory 115 gr TSX rounds. We took 4 hogs with 5 rounds. All shoulder shots. That takes a tough round. If you pop'em slightly behind the ear just about anything will do.

 

[Tex_Hill]

Woo hoo! Rifle is on order & should ship in two weeks. Man, those folks at Spike's are super nice. I got the ST-15 mid-length LE carbine with mag, the battle trigger upgrade, a sling, both a hard & soft cases (for the cost of just the soft case), and jump wings etched in the magwell. Plus he threw in 2 t-shirts for free and gave me a $46.50 discount. So with shipping I got out the door for $918.40. Christmas is gonna come early this year.

 

[Gatordev]

Sorry to jack Tex's thread a bit here, but I've been kind of interested in getting some sort of 5.56 rifle as well, so reading this thread has piqued my interest.

I had AR fun for a while - now have a Sig 556 Classic

I like it a lot better than my AR - for a number of reasons

when I got my Sig they had a factory $300 rebate (or you could get like $500 worth of accessories, something like that)

but even at a relatively expensive online shop such as impact guns... they're sitting right now at $969 with diopter rear sights
http://www.impactguns.com/store/798681418138.html

So what specifically is it that you like better? I would have thought going the AR route would be a better way to go initially since you can kit them out easily as you grow into the rifle...not to mention that when I hear "Sig" I don't think cheap, but your price there says otherwise. Just curious what your thoughts are.

As for a M4/AR for someone who only knows (very little) and shoots pistols, am I getting myself into trouble? I've shot a M-16 and M-1 a couple of times (and a sweet Stoner once that my buddy had a while back), but that's most of my rifle experience.

Just curious to hear thoughts. I can split the thread so I don't mess up Tex's thread if necessary.

 

[ryan1234]

So what specifically is it that you like better? I would have thought going the AR route would be a better way to go initially since you can kit them out easily as you grow into the rifle...not to mention that when I hear "Sig" I don't think cheap, but your price there says otherwise. Just curious what your thoughts are.

The AR is a classic with tons of custom stuff and some shoot better than others, etc. It's hard to really compare the AR to the Sig, because there are so many different flavors of the AR out there.. but having said that...

To me, the Sig 'feels' really good to shoot, it's right on accurate - with a heavier grain (1:7 twist). I have the Classic.. it's actually a 17'' barrel and feels a little heavy in the front end - which is great at the range for follow up shots - but maybe not around the house for some people. The gas-piston/rolling bolt feels extremely smooth, and the recoil is lighter than any AR I've shot. The standard trigger feels very crisp and something you'd expect from Sig. Overall it's just a solid rifle - it accepts AR mags as well as having a rail on top for optics of your choice.

The thing is that with ARs, you can get a "base" model for cheap... but they all come with a cheap stock (The AR multi position stock is probably the worst of any on a rifle besides the underfolder AK). The Sig Stock is 100x better... also when I bought mine you had an option of sights, a mini red-dot or a rear diopter... go with the rear diopter - and they all come with the BUIS. But once you add on flip up iron sights to an AR or a better stock, the price goes up a lot, etc

Plus not too many people have them at the range. I'm not really into the tacti-cool accessories for the AR (vertical grips and all sorts of stuff hanging off of it).. especially for just trips to the range and possible home defense.

 

[red_ryder]

I'm seriously considering springing for the Sig 516. Seems like a pretty solid platform, and the gas piston is a very attractive feature. Anyone have any opinions/advice/experience with this?

/RR

 

[gaijin6423]

I like Sigs, but I have no info, anecdotal or otherwise on the 516. I'd have to look at the numbers, but I'm betting that you could build or flat out buy a rifle truer to mil-spec for less. I would head over to m4carbine.net and see what I could dig up. There's also quite a few threads on piston v. direct impingement rifles as well.

I shoot my AR what some would call a lot, and I don't have a need for a piston gun. Then again, I'm not running thousands of rounds through it a week, either. Personally, I think you can get more for your money buying a quality DI rifle.

 

[Tex_Hill]

Here is a good article of why NOT to buy a piston AR: Why NOT a Piston-Operated AR-15?. Granted it is another man's opinion, but it he does make good points. The author is the gentleman who developed the M4 chart.

 

[ryan1234]

I'm seriously considering springing for the Sig 516. Seems like a pretty solid platform, and the gas piston is a very attractive feature. Anyone have any opinions/advice/experience with this?

/RR

There was some talk about Sig's 516 design being suspiciously close to LWRC. I got an email from Sig recently saying that you can simply buy the 516 upper now.

There are definitely some valid points to the whole 'polish a turd' argument when getting an AR gas piston upper. Many believe that the AR just wasn't really designed for the gas system - but there are many models out there that work... so I suppose it's personal preference...

All in all, Sig makes a great product (so far). Never fired a shot in anger but my 556 is a great rifle and just picked up a P239 for carry (my HK USPc is a little bulky) - couldn't be happier with both.