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Question of the Day: What Would Be Your Perfect AR-15?

Robert Farago - comments No comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx9VKKJpdBc

I know what I like and don’t like in, on or around a rifle. But I’m a single parent, OCD blogger and unrelenting babe seeker. I don’t have the time to design a storage system for my vast collection of unused and unusable holsters, never mind exploring the advantages of various lengths and twist rates for cold-hammer forged barrels. Damn that sounds sexy. Which is why I’m not adverse to paying a bit extra for an upgraded rifle package like the somewhat redundantly-named Ruger SR-556VT (Varmit Target). But you guys? You guys are superultramegapersnickety. You know exactly what you want. You’re willing to discuss the ideal AR set-up down to the last barrel retaining ring. So gopher it. Tell us your perfect AR in excruciating detail. Go on. You know you want to.

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Robert Farago

Robert Farago is the former publisher of The Truth About Guns (TTAG). He started the site to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns.

0 thoughts on “Question of the Day: What Would Be Your Perfect AR-15?”

    • I wish we could get some big stupid legislation overturned through the court systems soon. You guys in CA need some help!

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    • You know where the road that leads out is, RIGHT? You Californiacs love California more than you love liberty! What’s up with THAT?

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      • I do not love California more than liberty, but I will be damned sir, if I will sit idly by and let these ass-hat politicians get away with tom-foolery and douche-bagery in this state. In the end we may loose, but it will not be due to people laying down and giving up! We will make sure as best we can that this will not simply happen, with gun owners simply sitting silently, and letting it happen.

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  1. Ultra lightweight, 20 inch pencil barrel with a slow twist, 1 in 9 or slower, A2 style sights for simplicity. No stupid crap hanging on the end, either. Fixed ultralight stock.

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  2. AR 15?

    Armalite receivers (flat top upper)
    18″ 1:7 .223 wylde chamber
    Magpul furniture all the way around
    Timney trigger
    Apex compensator

    AR10?

    One of those dpms hunter lites in .243

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  3. Here’s another university story for you:
    During the 1930s, prominent science-fiction writer Issac Asimov attended one of the Ivy League schools and lived in a house with three other science-fiction friends from school. Being young males they would do things such as don elaborate sci-fi outfits and duel with each other using fencing swords on their front yard.

    One day the FBI armed with shotguns and Thompsons raided their house based on suspicion that the group of geeky friends were dangerous communist sympathizers and subversives. Nothing came of it and no one was prosecuted.

    Moral of the story: there are over-reactive, intolerant, and extremist oppressors on the far Left and far Right.

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  4. The most expensive one. I’m an AR newbie (still researching what exactly I want), so I don’t know what would be best. I figure a standard DI gun with a 16-18 inch barrel, flip up sights, threaded muzzle, full auto fun switch, some kind of expensive glass on top, and a flashlight out front. I shoot left handed, so throw in as many ambi controls as I can and it sounds good to me.

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    • Bingo.

      Of course, as a seasoned and well-heeled hunter of rogue squirrels, and a lifetime white male NRA member who is also a TEA Party racist and who didn’t vote for the Kenyan-in Chief, I am distressed that Guv-nuh Chrissie would take away my preferred gun of choice while hunting said rogue squirrels. Because a .50 cal, you know, is awesome for small game. Of course. All my cool friends agree with me.

      HA!

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  5. I’m really hoping that any talk of Christie being taken seriously as a candidate for 2016 is just people making jokes.

    This guy is the last thing the GOP needs. We’ve already got more than enough RINOs, thank you very much. This guy has done exactly one thing which conservatives got excited about: he stood up to the teachers’ mafia (whoops, I mean “union”). That’s it, and that’s all.

    The rotund one stuck a finger in the air, figured he didn’t want a ka-ka storm in NJ like the idiot cuomo stirred up in NY, so he “is only going to take a few guns away.” And we’re supposed to jump for joy over this ? All the while, Christie has no problems whatever with NJ’s already extremely restrictive gun laws.

    Others have already noted his chummy relationship with the muzzie brotherhood … as if we need more of that trouble here in the USA.

    No thanks. This guy is not much more than an embarrassment.

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    • I think if Governor Tubby wants to be President Tubby he will have to change parties. He originally wanted to restrict .50s from being used as concealed carry weapons but then someone told him what a .50 was.

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  6. Why do they target 50 caliber rifles? It’s completely silly since they aren’t used in any crime whatsoever. Just more proof that the lawmakers are complete buffoons. We should just throw them all out of office.

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    • Why ‘target’ .50 cals?

      Probably because with those you can stop an ElectoLocomotive from a mile away. Along with 18-wheelers.

      With that you demolish the food distribution system.

      Regards,

      Chuck(le)
      P.S. The TRUE solution is for people to become Christians….as opposed to Muslim wannabes…..]

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    • They would target hollowpoint ammunition but…Shazaam! They already did that years ago. Possession of a single round is a felony. They sure would have a fit looking in my ammo locker (and carry magazines). They have to ban SOMETHING for the theater of “doing something.”

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  7. Christie has no chance of being president – ever. The Republicans will never nominate him because he helped BO get reelected And even if he switched parties, the Democrats would never nominate him because he took on the unions.

    Perhaps he doesn’t want the 50BMG to be legal because it has sufficient penetration to get through his extra layers of ballistics gel?

    Too bad really. We could use a fat president. We haven’t had a fat president since Taft. Just not this fat president.

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  8. Thank God in don’t live in NJ, a Barrett is on my dream list ( although I still have a few years left to save for one)
    That being said, to all ttag readers in NJ …. if you need any type of support ( I.e. attending rallies ) let me know and I’ll do what I can. I live in pa so I can’t give you a vote but you have my support

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  9. New Jersey already banned the exact same rifles and muskets used in the Revolutionary war. Do you really expect them to leave giant target rifles alone?

    I say we sell them back to the British Crown in exchange for a cup of tea. The deal probably puts us ahead value wise cause when was the last time you heard of anything good coming out of New Jersey?

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  10. As i have said along…it is not just a democrat or a liberal…it is all politicians who are crooks. They stick it up your poop shoot as much as they can and do not give you the consideration of giving you a reach around.

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  11. Does anyone else find it incredible that a single, solitary 19-year old punk terrorist had an ENTIRE CITY, and its surrounding suburbs on lockdown – and that this occurred in Boston mayor Mumbles Mennino’s gun-free “zone of peace”? I mean, compared with the 1972 Munch Olympic bombing, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing, 9-11-2001 and the 2005 London attacks, this is the only time I can recall an entire city’s populace was ordered to stay indoors, because of a terrorist attack.

    I’m glad they dealt with the terrorists, of course; but if one wants to see what a police state looks like in “Amerika”, Mumbles Mennino’s Boston is it.

    Almost as frightening was CT Senator Chris Murphy actually demanding that Fox not air the NASCAR race from Texas last week; not because of what he considered “objectionable programming”, but because NRA paid NASCAR so it could sponsor the race. A politician demanding censorship of a privately-owned media communications outlet, because he didn’t like the fact that a group fighting for our constitutional rights paid private money to sponsor a stock car race.

    I hope and pray Civil War II won’t be fought in my lifetime.

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  12. Daniel Defense V5 (medium wt. 5.56); V5LW (light wt. 5.56) or V5-300 Blk. Add good iron folding sights like Yankee Hill QDS. Other optics: [this space intentionally left blank – if you can’t hit it with irons… ]

    Daniel Defense is going to offer an integrally suppressed SBR (one stamp) in 300 Blk.

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  13. When I get BUIS i might put my fixed sights on the side to look all three-guneriffic.

    I like mid length gas systems. I don’t like the AFG, i tried it. Might try a VFG. 5.56 chambering is good, I suppose. Currently free floating a 16″, but might get a second AR with 14.5 and pinned flash hider and Delta Ring for home defense and closer up stuff.

    I dunno, I like M1A’s. AR’s are nice and light and super useful, but I can’t get excited about them.

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  14. I wanted to grab one of these when they were $450 (iirc) on Bud’s. After Newtown that last I saw was $580. Then i didn’t see it anymore.

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  15. My smart a$$ answer is there is no way to perfect a rifle based on the crappy 223 cartridge. But in the Spirit of the question an AR in 243. Oh wait, that would be the perfect AR-10.

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  16. The value of a cops viewpoint on the subject of felons, is that he has seen what these guys do. And he knows the number of lessor crimes that had to be committed by these perps to get to the hard time serving.

    If you dont like cops, then you should walk in their footsteps a while so you can have an informed opinion.

    Firearms rights restoration processes should be available for non violent offenders who have served their time and are not likely to re offend. This would serve justice and prevent much later accidental charges being filed.

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  17. Well, my perspective starts a bit further back than the launching of lead hither and yon by the police.

    Here we have a truly low-budget attack, something that when done in a dozen other cities around the world has never resulted in the shutdown of the entire 1+ million population of the area. That alone gave these two low-budget bombers a hugely outsized impact on the region. The only reason I could possibly contrive to order everyone to stay inside after such a small device explosion would be a dirty radiological bomb, or a chemical/biological device. That’s it. A couple of IEDs? Shut down the immediately affected area and people get on with their lives. That’s how it’s done the world over.

    One can only imagine what will happen the next time an attack happens in the gun and bomb phobic northeast: Someone dumps a M-80 into a public toilet and they’ll shut down a three state area in the northeast?

    Next, the circumstances under which the suspect was found in said boat: The homeowner had been cooped up in his house all day, courtesy of the hyper-active civic “leaders,” and when the “shelter in place” order was lifted, he goes outside, sees the tarp flapping on said boat, sees the hold-down strap cut, blood in the area and calls 911. Betcha he would have called 911 sooner if the oh-so-terribly-competent police hadn’t told everyone to stay indoors all day.

    Calling the police to account for launching rounds hither and yon in an urbanized area is nitpicking. Sure, it’s dangerous, but it’s par for the course from cops now. Shutting down an entire city for a day and costing the local economy in excess of a quarter billion dollars is a bit more salient point to be making here.

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  18. You all do realize that RF will post controversial items to elicit comments, right?

    I think the lock down and massive police response was over the top, but then none of us have the real intel that drove those actions.

    If I didn’t know that the 2nd subject was captured alive, I would think he was riddled with bullet holes and dead. Hey Matt, they captured him alive and didn’t appear to shoot any innocent citizens or their dogs. I call that pretty decent police work by today’s standards.

    Let’s fire up the false flag “they were just innocent choir boys” conspiracy theorys while we’re at it.

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  19. “requiring a parent to sign off before junior can take home the latest Gears of War”

    California assemblyman (now senator) Leland Yee (D – San Francisco) tried the same thing in 2005 with AB 1792 and AB 1793. It ended up costing the state $324,840 in legal fees, and was ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court in a 7-2 decision. This will be a short lived, expensive law. As far as the other abominations, it seems like California has gotten away with them so far.

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  20. I was going to simply make a joke that I didn’t think smoking in Massachusetts was still legal when I read that the presumably unarmed idiot home owner upon seeing blood on his boat’s cover and a strap cut went ahead and stuck his head under the tarp for a closer look. Duh! It’s not like a local stray cat would be the culprit.

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  21. The only thing you can open carry in Cali is your bong.

    The problem is that in the free world, open carry isn’t necessary, and in slave states it isn’t permitted.

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  22. I don’t know man, if I was gonna self check out, I’d go with a hand full of sleeping pills and some alcohol…I want to go out comfortable with no drama Nice, comfortable and relaxing route to the dirt nap. If your already hurting why add more?

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  23. I am a bit confused… Throughout the whole review, I got the feeling the reviewer actually LIKED the weapon, commenting on its appearance, its feel, its accuracy etc. etc. – even its logo! But then at the end, as an overall rating, he gives it only a 1 star, indicating it is an ok weapon to play with at the range. I gather that the reviewer’s biggest concern is a “small safety”? This weapon has many safety features on-board that are no less designed for the safety of the shooter (and everyone else) than any other quality firearm out there. Personally, I like the smaller, out of the way, ambidextrous safety lever. In a tactical draw, it’s a simple process to deactivate the safety as you clear the holster and bring the weapon on target, then to reactivate the safety in a tactical re-holster. Personally, I prefer this “tiny” safety lever to the little push-button safety so many other weapons have. I don’t think the lever has anything to do with the blocking mechanism inside the weapon. You’re exhibiting a personal opinion on a safety feature of this weapon. I don’t think it’s fair to beat the weapon to death with 1 star and call it a range weapon because you don’t like the safety lever.
    There was no comment on how closely the LH9 (and Daewoo DP51) are “related” to the Smith & Wesson 5906 (it’s a copy)… They can even share magazines and likely some other parts. In my opinion, the S&W 5906 was a superior weapon to others in its class in many ways. The 5906 was trusted by me as a duty weapon while I was a Police Officer. Now, I have the predecessor to the LH9, the Daewoo Dp51, which follows the S&W 5906 in dependability. The Lionheart LH9 is exactly the same weapon in form and function as the DP51, including the “Double Action+” feature. It is manufactured by the same company, with only a slightly different outwardly appearance, so this is not a NEW weapon with NEW features. It’s an old, reliable car with a new paint job. The only difference is, the LH9 has a more tactical appearance than the DP51. Other than that, it’s a tried and true design and was the side-arm of choice of the South Korean military and law enforcement agencies.
    I have personally never had a single safety issue with the DP51. I trust it with my safety as it is often my CCW. I have no concerns with carrying this weapon for protection. It’s remarkably accurate, dependable and it eats any ammunition I put in it with no issues.

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