Inexpensive ARs

[Lex Luthier]

@Lex Luthier

I have an M&P15 TS with some upgrades, (trigger, Aimpoint, Magpul sling, etc), which I've owned for a few years.

Not sure if you are asking me a question or pointing me toward a rifle. (I'm not in the market.)

Whoops! it was a clumsy way of saying that you are a discerning user who has one of the series as a serious business tool and found it reliable.
And I thought you might be interested to add to the conversation. (Looks like the TS is an earlier variant in the series)
Sorry for not being clear!

[blues]

Whoops! it was a clumsy way of saying that you are a discerning user who has one of the series as a serious business tool and found it reliable.
And I thought you might be interested to add to the conversation. (Looks like the TS is an earlier variant in the series)
Sorry for not being clear!

No worries, brother. I know that the TS has been used and well received by various LE agencies here in NC and elsewhere. (At the time I purchased, however, I wasn't aware of that.)

[LockedBreech]

I know 3 LEOs in 3 different agencies who have used the M&P Sport II for several years now, one at my recommendation because money was tight and they had to provide their own duty rifle. His "Budget Duty" setup was a Sport II and a Vortex Sparc. He was very happy with it and said it never missed a beat. Come to think of it, I know at least 2 other people with the Sports (not sure if I or II) and I don't think I've ever heard a bad word about them. Given the quantity Smith & Wesson produces, and the relative silence about issues with them, I'm inclined to think that's a first-rate budget choice.

I was super gung-ho about parting together rifles the last couple years but getting 2-3 jams in my first magazine of my new .300 BLK build even though all my individual parts were generally well-reviewed was...offputting. I'm inclined to just do easy-button prebuilts from now on. At least I've got one source for parts, one customer service inquiry source, etc. in that event. And my boring-ass stock Daniel Defense M4V1 is at like 11-12 years perfect now. Only thing I replaced was the charging handle with a Giessele Super and the magazines with M3 Pmags.

So I think Smith for sub-1K (I get that you can get the 6920 assemblies for $750-800, but when you add all the shit that's needed you're probably out of budget territory).

If you're gonna go above 1K, and you can just wait a bit longer, I'd be more inclined to spend $1500. That gets you Colt, FN, Geissele, SOLGW, pretty much any dialed in professional-grade AR.

In a way it sorta mirrors my handgun buying. Around 2014-2018 I used to LOVE the $400 market area for handguns. Don't get me wrong, I still love a bargain, my $324 Beretta APX is a point of pride. But all else considered, these days I'd rather just spend the $600 for an MOS Gen 5 Glock. Pistol-Forum helped me realize you can USUALLY wait a little longer to get something better.

[OlongJohnson]

OEM2 is $703.99 after code "SAVE12" today.

https://www.primaryarms.com/colt-le6...ard-stock-16in

Almost buying one just because.

[Paul Blackburn]

I would get the Colt 6960.

The 16" will do most anything, its mid length, and has a good M-lok rail.

You can add the light, optics, sights, furniture that you like.

[UNM1136]

I am of the opinion that the M&P is the standard of the budget friendly/basic AR. Unless you are wanting a Colt for posterity sake or a higher end gun because you operate or just want the little extra a DD or BCM provides, then the search starts and stops with the M&P.

The M&P comes in two versions. A sport model and then the model produced for law enforcement. Does the l.e. model have a budget price? Resale value is one reason to buy the Colt.

I’m not familiar with a specific LE variant of the M&P15. They do produce the Sport II series, the “standard” series, and then the Performance Center guns. I’m only familiar with the Sports and the Standards.

The Sport II is from my limited experience a very good budget AR. They have been favorably reviewed by several bigger name instructors including Chuck Haggard and I have recommended them to many of my friends and they have all been happy with them. This information is easily searchable on this forum if you want to spend the time. I also know of at least one Police Department (Cheyenne Wyoming) who issues them for their patrol rifles and from my friend their - they perform fine. You can (or at least could) find them going for the $600 range during the holidays.

My personal experience has been with the standard M&Ps. They typically sell at the $1K price point which is still under the more premium brands. Mine was my primary carbine for my CSAT classes and for several years unlit being replaced by the 516. Put about 5K rounds through it. Other than initially having an out of spec receiver (I purchased it 2nd hand and the receiver was replaced by S&W free of charge) and having a glass ring need replacement at about the 4K mark (and that never affected reliability), it’s been trouble free. The other was a Tactical model that belonged to a friend. It was a great little rifle for him with zero issues but not a lot of rounds.

I agree - if prices are equal I would go with a Colt, but prices *usually* are not equal. That said the standard Colt LE is not what they call “optics ready” where the M&P is sold in far more flavors than budget Colts are. While Colt will probably bring you more on the second hand market, S&W has a hell of a lot better name recognition and thus probably get your better ROI than an Anderson or AeroPrecision (which even when factory guns will always have me suspect they are garage builds).

Based on experience, I cannot scream 'NO' loud enough. My agency has bought a couple dozen guns on the State Contract. They are the reason I hace a Christensen Ams chamber reamer, a Brownells Gas Key Screw Staker, and a whole bunch of extractor springs and donuts. On my dime.

pat

[HCM]

Based on experience, I cannot scream 'NO' loud enough. My agency has bought a couple dozen guns on the State Contract. They are the reason I hace a Christensen Ams chamber reamer, a Brownells Gas Key Screw Staker, and a whole bunch of extractor springs and donuts. On my dime.

pat

Are you talking about the Sport or the standard M&P-15 ?

[LockedBreech]

Based on experience, I cannot scream 'NO' loud enough. My agency has bought a couple dozen guns on the State Contract. They are the reason I hace a Christensen Ams chamber reamer, a Brownells Gas Key Screw Staker, and a whole bunch of extractor springs and donuts. On my dime.

pat

Dang, that sucks, I thought those were pretty dialed in, but a good data point to have.

[UNM1136]

Are you talking about the Sport or the standard M&P-15 ?

I believe the Standard was on the State Contract. I will have to check records. $750 a unit was the contract price that I recall, while the individual Officer Purchase price for LE 6920 were about $1k-$1100.

pat

[HCM]

I believe the Standard was on the State Contract. I will have to check records. $750 a unit was the contract price that I recall, while the individual Officer Purchase price for LE 6920 were about $1k-$1100.

pat

My early standard (tactical) has no issues. S&W standard were the main POW rifle option via the officers association for our local city PD for several years before they switched to SOLGW a few years ago. They haven’t had the issues you describe.

The move to SOLGW was driven by supporting a local company rather than problems with the S&W..

Current LE price for a Sport II is $700 to $ 750.