Are any of the budget AR-15s actually decent?

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No_Joke_3207@reddit

Unpopular opinion.

Most people will never put the amount of rounds through an AR to make a difference.

Most people will never be in a situation where they are in combat with someone over 100m away.

A $400 AR with a good reticle and a lot of ammo and training and some MRE's and water purification is wayyyyyyyyy better than a $1800 AR with none of that.

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gunplumber700@reddit

I agree with the sentiment, but gotta point out that you get what you pay for…

There IS a huge quality difference between a 400 dollar AR and an 1,800 dollar AR. Whether someone notices the difference is another story… and what you’re really pointing out/ alluding to.

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f250suite@reddit

Other than function, I can't say any of the Colt M4s I was issued are really any better than any PSA/Aero/Anderson combo I've put together.

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When you said Anderson I got a tear in my eye. Just so you all know, sadly the poverty pony we’ve all grown to love has broken its leg and is no longer running the good race, they sold out to ruger, and before u hope like I did no, ruger has no plans to make lowers which is crazy! Psa is always really low on lowers, aero stays out of stock… here I sit needing one now. I am not paying $150-300 for a billet skull face pc of 💩 I really hope I can find an Anderson somewhere. They was made by the millions, surely there’s someone who wants to let one go for reasonable.

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gunplumber700@reddit

Other than function I can’t say a pvs 14 is really any better than a nightfox from Amazon.

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f250suite@reddit

I have no experience with Amazon nods, but that's an apples to oranges comparison. By function, I mean select fire capability. Any of my beater builds have performed the same as any Colt I've ever carried.

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gunplumber700@reddit

No, it’s a valid comparison…

I didn’t realize this was a jUsT aS gOoD sub

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IHeartSm3gma@reddit

Unfortunately it always has been

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Coldones@reddit

Colts really aren’t all that expensive these days. 6920s (essentially an m4 but with 16” barrel instead of 14.5”) go for $800-$900, or sometimes a little cheaper during sales, which I’d say puts them on the lower end of mid-tier

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f250suite@reddit

I use Colt as a baseline since they're standard issue. Granted, the military has logistics to repair and replace parts, as well as discount pricing on bulk orders. The point is, it's a durable go-to-war rifle you can trust your life on.

Most people on here are not going to outshoot their ARs. For how many rounds I've shot my personal ARs, I really don't see a difference in performance and the fit and finish of any Anderson lower or Aero upper receiver is on par with any Colt I was issued. As long as you have a decent barrel and a good bcg, the rest is hype.

I will say I've had one Anderson lower that was picky about metal magazines in the mag well, and I've had one LPK from PSA that required a file to the back of the hammer, so QC isn't 100%, but those have been outliers compared to anything else I built with. Nothing I've encountered tells me it's justified to buy a $400 lower receiver with a Gucci roll mark.

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No_Joke_3207@reddit

My 400$ AR will kill you just as dead within 100m. I sell guns for a living and see absolutely no difference between a bushmaster and a Q when in the hands of a civilian/layman.

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gunplumber700@reddit

That’s the most fudd store response you can make.

Quality extends beyond the ability of a gun to function…

Are you going to tell me, a veteran, that the average military shooter is better than the average civilian…? Because that’s absolute BS if you are… and if you’re not making that point then why would you say in the hands of the average civilian and make that distinction…

By your logic a high point will accomplish the same thing as a Glock, right…?

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NerdWhoLikesTrees@reddit

I’m curious your thoughts about average military shooter vs average civilian

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jdubb26@reddit

Not the original guy that said that but I can get what he’s alluding to. Not sure if average military versus average civilian was the best way to word it as even the average civilian gun owner shoots less than 1000 rounds a year… but it is astonishing how much better your average competition shooter is then your average military guy/LEO.

Not trying to shit on them, but I’ve personally seen a 20+ year retired cop classify as D class in USPSA. This is a lot more common than you would think and scarily a lot of cops only shoot their pistol twice a year at qualification.

Same thing with your average military guy, there’s a misconception that they are firearm experts… but unless someone is in a special operations unit or SWAT they will typically classify as D or low C class. The more elite tactical guys will classify as B or high C typically.

This is Matt Pranka former Delta Legend/ USPSA grandmaster talking about the above.

https://youtu.be/0qrsGFt9qPg?si=ya2xG5Z1Z2Lw7v5l

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1Crusty_Old_Man@reddit

The average person in the non-war time military is going to shoot maybe 200 rounds a year.

Training takes time and money that are usually spent somewhere else.

The exception MIGHT be the guys in the Grunt MOS's.

But as someone who served during the Carter era, we were lucky to get out 250 rounds a year for rifle qualification.

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gunplumber700@reddit

u/nerdwholikestrees

The above comment is partly what im getting at. I didn’t choose to make the comparison this way, fudd store worker did.

I agreed with the sentiment a shooter lacking marksmanship skills is likely not going to notice the difference… but to claim the guns themselves are comparable because the shooter may not have the skill to notice is absurd and doesn’t mean the guns are equatable.

Diminishing returns is a real phenomenon and after a point you’re not going to see a 1 to 1 dollar to performance increase, but it in no way means something like a 400 dollar psa is comparable in quality to a 1500 dollar geissele of a 2500 solgw mk1.

We can look at just the triggers (or just about any other major part). Is a psa mil spec trigger even close to a geissele? No.

Is the barrel in a 400 dollar psa even close to a solgw 3 groove barrel? No.

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NerdWhoLikesTrees@reddit

Thanks for the info!

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jdubb26@reddit

No problem 👍 yeah, it’s very common for Master and Grandmaster shooters to train the highest level of military. I believe that’s how Pranka and Ben Stoeger met, delta hired Stoeger to train them.

If you’re going to take a class or a private lesson those are the type of guys you want to take instruction from. Obviously tactics/room clearing/and communication is a whole different beast, but for just shooting the competition guys are the best by far.

For most of us we aren’t clearing rooms in Fallujah so learning how to get the gun out and be the most accurate is by far the most important.

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NerdWhoLikesTrees@reddit

I was taking some classes at Sig Sauer Academy but I do want to branch out. This sounds bad ass.

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jdubb26@reddit

I haven't been up there yet, but I heard its a really nice facility, they also hold the Area 7 regional match which is pretty big. I've heard good things about the classes there.

Not trying to shit on them, just showing an example. These are the Sig academy guys with a decent run.

Here are two of my runs in practice at high A class just under Master (85%) for reference I'm B class in USPSA, and high B class 1 percent away from A in Steel Challenge.

Here is the 84.92% run.

Here is the 84.23% run

Now to make it look like I've never shot a gun before. Here are Ben Stoeger and Tim Herrons runs. Both Grandmasters. Stoeger was a national and world champion.

Ben Stoegers run

Tim Herron's run

Check out a USPSA/Steel Challenge/or PCSL match. It is the fastest way to get better at shooting. I just dove into this past year heavily after doing all the CCW stuff for the last 9 years, and I've learned more from these competition guys in one year than I did in the prior 9. Head on over to practiscore and look for matches in your area, its a ton of fun.

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Nomad1787@reddit

Going through rifle quals one year I watched the MP next to me try to put his bcg in backwards. Sure it was the Air Force but that dude carried for his job, I was just wrench turner that was there for the free day out of work lmao.

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No_Joke_3207@reddit

A hi-point and a glock are totally different machines.

A bushmaster and a Q differ only in metallurgy and the logo on the receiver. And as I said, the average person will not put enough rounds through their rig for the metallurgy to make a rats ass of difference.

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gunplumber700@reddit

It the point…

If you want to intentionally take it out of context you do you.

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WindstormMD@reddit

The difference is the $400 AR will stop functioning at some random indeterminate time if used anywhere outside a flat range, because of things missed in QC and out of spec parts.

There is a point of diminishing returns at about the $900-1200 mark, once you reach a certain minimum quality standard.

Q was a terrible choice for the high end example, they have way too many quality escapes and are “influencer guns” more than they are “Serious guns”, you pay a huge premium for the rollmark and Kevin’s ego.

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Chasing_Perfect_EDC@reddit

Likely because Q kinda sucks. If you'd picked a brand like BCM, I'd say that some of the biggest things you're paying for are specs and QC. There are a lot of things a manufacturer can fall short on and still produce a functional gun. Just watch SOTAR's videos. That dude is completely anal on his breakdowns. Most of the issues he finds are only issues in theory... until several thousand rounds later where it might shit the bed early. Some people prefer to pay for peace of mind.

I say this as a guy who builds off of PSA lowers.

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gecon@reddit

You also get better QC with some higher end brands. From personal experience, PSA tends to be hit or miss. Doesn’t matter if you test it out and don’t mind sending it in for warranty work. But something to consider.

If I were in the market for a complete rifle, I’d probably get an IWI Zion-15 since QC is good and it’s not prohibitively expensive. But nothing wrong with getting a PSA

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gunplumber700@reddit

There’s more to quality than final qc checks…

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HotelDistinct1094@reddit

You realize your comment should be set it concrete and steel! People just don’t understand they’ll “never put the amount of rounds through an AR to make a difference” this should be the first sentence in every ar15 forum, I looked at BCM, I just had to have the chrome lined barrel and the expensive bcg and it just got out of hand. The best rifle I’ve ever bought is my PSA mid length rifle with Magpul furniture. 1” moa @ 100yds, zero hiccups and about 200-300 rounds per year! Did I dream of expensive uppers? Yes, but I’m not going to Ukraine next week or buying 5,000 rounds and burning through barrels. This rifle will be shooting probably 25 or more years after I’m in that big firing range in the sky. 🌌 lol

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nukey18mon@reddit

If you hate a $400 AR but love an $1800 AR you are going to be more motivated to train. Obviously $1800 is extreme, but there is still a good argument to spend more money on the gun if it means that you will train more with it.

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sailor-jackn@reddit

If your willingness to train is dependent on the price/status of your gun, maybe your priorities are a bit off.

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nukey18mon@reddit

If you enjoy training more you are going to train more. Simple as.

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SetNo8186@reddit

Having built three AR's for budget money the only thing that goes wrong is using cheap bulk ammo.

I used blem parts as much as I could - those are simple cosmetic nicks or blemishes - and functionally after a year of use in the field or Basic Training - the real cauldron of hard use - nobody can tell the difference. Getting a lower price over a tiny scratch, yes, I will do it every day.

Try that at a car dealer.

If you double the price of a firearm, watch, or knife, you only get an incremental improvement in performance. It may have better cosmetic finish but at the heart of its operations its a rapidly declining return on the money - an AR four times the price is usually not 4x as accurate and for that matter it won't make the shooter 4x more accurate either. Consumers have the false notion that if you get the better product it means you are the better shooter, and its a huge marketing lie meant to part a fool and his money. Unless you see on paper that one rifle is more accurate than another, there is no PROOF it can be. And the thing that really twists the tail of the tiger? Ammo makes a lot of the difference. Bad ammo will make a great rifle run of the mill average. A firearm is at its basic job nothing more than a bullet launcher. The bullet does the real work.

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1Crusty_Old_Man@reddit

The point of diminishing returns on an AR is exactly the price of the PSA "rifle of the day".

Spending twice that doesn't get you twice the rifle.

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achonng@reddit

Yeah most people ain’t gonna be shooting past 7yds 🤣

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f250suite@reddit

Unpopular opinion? Maybe. Grounded in reality? Definitely.

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TheHancock@reddit

Hotel? Trivago.

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Agammamon@reddit

None of them are junk. Almost no one has the skills to actually use a 3k+AR - not even 'Tier One Operators' and a $500 will do all the rest of us just fine.

Its like asking whether a J4 streetbike is junk compared to a 60k race bike - we ain't ever getting either of those bikes near the limits of their capabilities so the price tag is just for bragging.

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Agammamon@reddit

Keep in mind that the AR platform is 65 years old and is a very mature and easy to manufacture (for 2025) design. And since its out of patent anyone can (and does) make them. So the manufacturing price is low, the profit margins are low (they make money on volume) you as the buyer get a decent rifle for a low price.

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Tactical_Epunk@reddit

You're not gonna get a definitive answer here.

Budget is subjective, what I can afford and consider budget is different than you.

Most will say the cheapest you should go is PSA. I'll say while PSA offer some $400 ARs if all you plan on doing is using it for range fun it'll do the job.

There is enough issues with their base $400 on a QC level that I personally wouldn't use it for SHTF. They will absolutely fix any issue you have or get but for a bit more you can get a gun without the QC issues.

Definitive don't buy Radical, Diamondback, or Bear Creek Arms. This leve is absolutely horrid and have issues that range from un rifled barrels, unstaked gas keys, miss cut and misaligned barrels, etc.

BCM is probably the cheapest I'd personally go for a fighting rifle, Aero used to be good but things have slipped.

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DIRTBOY12@reddit

My BCA 20" upper does sub MOA groups at 100yds with basicc 55g 5.56.

3"" at 500yds with good ammo. Seems like BCA is hit or miss

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Tactical_Epunk@reddit

No it doesn't.

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DIRTBOY12@reddit

ok loser

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Tactical_Epunk@reddit

So a single group that was cherry picked with what looks like several other groups this isn't significant nore consistent. Also your other groups are definitely larger than MOA. That's all assuming this came out of a bottom of the market AR at 100 yards which I doubt significant.

Go shoot a 5 x 5. Bet you don't see sub MOA.

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DIRTBOY12@reddit

Nope wrong again. Those others are not my shots. I took 3 to verfiy zero. I can do sub 2" all day with that barrel. Looking at my notes, that is SK .223 68g. PMC 55g did just a little worse. Again all day under 1" at 100yds. done arguing

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Tactical_Epunk@reddit

You understand 3 shots isn't a group right that it isn't showing any significant data like at all....

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DIRTBOY12@reddit

You understand what zeroing involves? I took 13 shots total. Those were the last 3 I took and its is ZEROED.

Not what group, string or sequence of shots was more than 2-3" to start, form bore sighting.

Now do you understand? 3 last shots like that was confirmation or zero. Plenty of precision shooters better than me or you and 90% of this sub approved. I am talking about guys at my range that shoot 6-10 shots though a dime. Basically 1 hole 500 yds guys

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Tactical_Epunk@reddit

Plenty of precision shooters better than me or you and 90% of this sub approved.

Name 3.

I am talking about guys at my range that shoot 6-10 shots though a dime.Basically 1 hole 500 yds guys

I shoot PRS, NRL, Sniper matches, show me someone shooting a dime with 5 or 6 shots at 500 yards....

3 shots at any point isn't a group it proves absolutely nothing. Show me a 5x5 with you budget BCA at 100 yards or just shut up.

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DIRTBOY12@reddit

You full of crap.

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Tactical_Epunk@reddit

I'm not, but feel free to go research what I've said. I think you'll find I'm right.

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DIRTBOY12@reddit

I have done all this. What I posted i the end result. All groups stayed under 2".

Dude enough

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SharpMeringue534@reddit

Very much hit or miss. I had a BCA years ago when I was broke. It shot well. 1.5 out of a 5.56 chamber. I have a friend that has had to send 3 uppers back because it was popping primers on factory .223 ammo.

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DIRTBOY12@reddit

yes, seems that way for some.

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Party_Stack@reddit

Honestly none of them are really objectively shitty. It’s all relative.

Yes, a $1,000 AR is gonna run better than a $500 AR, but that doesn’t mean the $500 AR doesn’t run well. Realistically most shooters will hardly be able to tell the difference unless they put thousands of rounds through the gun.

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IHeartSm3gma@reddit

No

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birdsbeaks@reddit

Most of the ARs I have seen are fine. Name brands, budget brands, poverty builds, luxury builds - all mostly passable. Except for one. A Daniel Defense that had been submitted to a local agency for testing. It was brought to a training class by an officer of the department and, regardless of magazine (we must've tried 20 different individual mags that included STANAG, pmags, ETS, etc.), it couldn't make it through a single one without jamming. I'm not saying that's an indicator of quality from the brand, I don't believe it is. Just evidence that anybody can produce a lemon.

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SharpMeringue534@reddit

I second this. My buddy has. DD 300 BO that can’t make it thru a magazine too. He has yet to get them involved in correcting it.

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birdsbeaks@reddit

I'm sure they'll make it right.

It was definitely a bad look to send a lemon to a department for testing, but overall they seem like a good company.

It's only how proud they are of their product that gives me pause.

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Glittering-Ad6911@reddit

Buy nice or buy twice

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Brewtown@reddit

Buy a middy PSA and a holosun 510 and blow the rest on ammo

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RiverDragon64@reddit

I have a PSA lower with 2 PSA uppers, 1x 8.5' & 1x 16". The gun has not had any issues that were not directly attributable to bad ammo or p-mags not seating with a full 30 rounds. And it will kill you every bit as dead as a Geissele or S-Tier model AR that costs 4x what it does.

I will never regert buying that gun.

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joesyxpac@reddit

Radical is getting hate but mine has run flawlessly for over a thousand rounds. Got a great mil discount.

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Spe3dGoat@reddit

radical, BCA, dpms, diamondback, etc.

theyre all fine. people are snoots.

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Spe3dGoat@reddit

all of them are decent, mostly.

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Trey7876@reddit

I got a ruger 556 on sale and it's my best gun now after some mods

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1Crusty_Old_Man@reddit

The basic PSA "rifle of the day" will do everything 99% of people ever actually NEED done just fine.

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dayankuo234@reddit

my radical firearms ar-15 is ok for $400, but with all the accessories that I got (sights, stock, grip), i'd be ok with one of the ones by PSA

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Tinfoil_sHats@reddit

I put about 10k rounds through my Radical (most in binary mode) and it's about time for a new barrel. Nothing to brag about and not winning any accuracy competitions, but definitely not bad for a $400 rifle!

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dhc96@reddit

Ya my Radical has been fine over the years. It’s nothing special compared to my other AR but it works.

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WillBrink@reddit

You'd need to define budget and or decent. There's plenty of good quality ARs these days for reasonable $, and some crap out there too. What's the budget? What do you do want/need from it?

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H3nCh4l1f390@reddit

Throw my 2 cents in here, I grew up shooting everything from mini 14s to ak47s, my dad and his friends had plenty of DPMS and other sub $500 ar platforms for the time, I joined the army and was issued a FN and a armalite and a colt over my years and served in the war on terror with all of them and now as a civilian I honestly pull toward the cheaper ar like DPMS. Would a $400 be my fist pick during a red dawn scenario, no, but would I take one in place of nothing, of course. You can give me a PSA or a FN, I’m am on paper at 300 and with a few good burst I’m sure Mr bad guy is full of holes.

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DIRTBOY12@reddit

Define budget first. Yes there are plenty.

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sailor-jackn@reddit

I’m really happy with my PSA.

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moebiusgrip@reddit

Imma be real…

I’m a “Buy it for life” type person. Redwing boots, French enameled cast iron cookware, Toyota truck etc.

I got a MP2.0 w/ the fixins, Tikka T3X, Mossberg 500 shotgun, etc…. Nice quality stuff. Shoot good ammo.

My AR however…. Is a Davidson Defense Aegis w/ a clearance bin Anderson lower, in .223 Wylde. The lower $40 + complete upper + lower parts kit was $274

It runs great. I put in a ballistic engineering trigger, so if feels like a million bucks to shoot. It’s a little overgassed, but it has yet to fuck up. I’ve got about 1000 rounds. The only badness that happened was the lip on a polymer mag broke, and when it cycled, it was a waterfall of rounds out of the ejection port. Then it slammed shut and pinched 3 rounds in the chamber. This is not the rifles fault. Bad mag.

I put mostly Xtac 55gr and the barrel is 1:7 twist so it’s not the worst in accuracy, like 2.5 MOA.

But I got some 62gr .223 and it was pounding 12” plates at 300, 400 & 500 yards all day. Dropped to about 2 MOA on paper with heavier rounds that matched the twist better.

I mean, for $350….. what more can you ask for. It does the thing it’s supposed to do.

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harbourhunter@reddit

PSA is fine, it will outshoot you for several years

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PuG3_14@reddit

Depends what u mean by decent. I think the average joe should definitely a budget AR since they wont ever put the necessary rounds through it for it to start having issues.

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silverbumble@reddit

The Ruger AR556, Smith & Wesson M&P Sport 2, and Springfield Armory Saint (All same price tier) I would say are definitely serviceable.

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SlicedBread1226@reddit

I got a Ruger AR-556 used a couple years ago for $400 that looked like it was never shot. Ive since shot a few more expensive rifles and none of them have motivated me to go out and buy another one. The Ruger is a great gun.

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LoboLocoCW@reddit

No, the majority of them are just fine. Not GREAT, but fine.
The military standard for an M4 carbine is 4 MOA, with man rounds between failure (MRBF) of around 6,000.
If you stick to phosphated or chromed BCGs, you should be fine.

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gofish223@reddit

No PSA & S&W level and above are totally fine. Save the $ for ammo and shoot More

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josephfuckingsmith1@reddit

Bought my M&P sport 2 “used” like 8 years ago for $300 from a pawn shop. I don’t think a single round was ever fired out of it. Things been a beast with thousands of rounds thrown at it

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leadbetterthangold@reddit

M&P is a fine platform

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RoyalStallion1986@reddit

Bought my M&P sport II 6 years ago and have absolutely sent over 5000 rounds downrange. I only had one failure to eject every because i was rapid firing with steel cased ammo.

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leadbetterthangold@reddit

This...

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Sensitive_Box_@reddit

Yeah, those are budget ARs

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leadbetterthangold@reddit

PSA is good to go. Also Rattlesnake Tactical for super value polymer lower.

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SeaFaringPig@reddit

You get what you pay for. Machining is expensive. Precision machining is more expensive.

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birdsbeaks@reddit

That's not really true. Plenty of people will sell you crap at top-dollar prices. Caveat emptor.

Machining isn't that expensive. Precision machining? For an AR-15? It's not a race-car engine -- it's either within spec or it's not. I wouldn't pay extra for it to be "more" in spec.

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NoMasterpiece2063@reddit

Gonna get a lot of downvotes for this one, but when I was a much younger man I bought a BCA ar 15 and its been just fine for me. I've put probably 2500 rounds through it, never had a failure, never had ejection issues. As with any gun, though, you should be thoroughly inspecting it out of the box. Disassemble as far as you can and make sure its in decent condition.

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Wandering_Weapon@reddit

That's a solid take. The average AR will outpace its owner. It's not mad max. I went to 3 combat zones with VERY used m4s from the government and never thought "oh gee this isn't going to keep me alive".

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ChaosRainbow23@reddit

It's not mad max.

Not yet.... Lol

/s (?)

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ZacInSC@reddit

the AR15 is a LEGO gun, in the sense that it is modular and easily assembled. So as long as the parts fit reasonably well, then the three main components most critical to accuracy are the trigger, the barrel, and bolt. As far as reliability is concerned, the gas system and buffer weight and spring are also critically important. Everything else is lining up holes and grooves and making sure the pins, springs, etc. all go in.

So with this in mind, I recommend that if you are depending upon your AR to stay alive, focus your resources on a decent MIL-SPEC receiver set and basic parts kit, minus the cheap MIL-SPEC trigger. I never recommend skimping on the trigger, bolt carrier group, bolt, and sights or optics. I also recommend quality gas block (doesn’t have to be expensive, but QC there is crucial). I would also recommend staying with standard military configurations of barrel length, gas system, and buffer lengths until you feel confident about what you’re doing if you need to tune something, so a 20” barrel with rifle length gas system and buffer tube, or 16” barrel for a carbine length gas system and buffer tube. One last recommendation is to only upgrade parts that enhance handling without affecting the way the weapon cycles (pistol grip, bolt catch, magazine release button), at least at first. And as long as the pins and springs in your upper and lower parts kits are in spec, it should function properly.

I’m fortunate enough to live less than 20 minutes from a local PSA store, so I can buy directly from them. I also have a build on an Anderson lower. I feel I could depend on either rifle to stay alive if I had to. I also like B King’s Firearms, and for my last build I bought from them everything except the trigger and prism optic to build upon my PSA lower.

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Sensitive_Box_@reddit

Yes

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Asatmaya@reddit

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-pa15-16-nitride-m4-carbine-556-nato-classic-ar15-rifle-black.html

This thing has been a tank; eats anything I feed it and drives tacks at 100 yards.

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Mini14bandit@reddit

My psa 18in upper won't shoot over moa at 100yds with any hornady 75gr load. Shit is wild

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Asatmaya@reddit

18in... 75gr

/facepalm

Yea, that's not going to work, it doesn't matter what you buy.

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Mini14bandit@reddit

You're not getting what I'm saying, every load I've ever made with a 75gr bthp shoots under 1 moa and won't shoot any worse.

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Asatmaya@reddit

Ah, ok, you are handloading, was wondering :)

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annonimity2@reddit

PSA is solid. They are cheep because they make them in mass quantity, rather than skimping on materials.

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michael_1215@reddit

I have 5000+ rounds through my PSA premium CHF upper, many mags on full auto, half of it suppressed. Once I got buffer weight right, it's had no hiccups.

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Chip_Prudent@reddit

I have no fun stamps to go with it but about 5k through a PSA upper as well and have had 0 issues.

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Jazz_horse@reddit

I mean what’s budget? $800? $1200?

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LikeSaltUponWounds@reddit

tbh even PSA’s $500 pieces are solid. I got my Rock River for like $450 ish and it’s never let me doen

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mkosmo@reddit

I got my RRA like 20 years ago and it's been great since. Best cheap 2-stage trigger I've ever had, too.

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Beagalltach@reddit

I would say nothing more than 600, but closer to 500 would be budget.

1200 is already upper mid-tier

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ParadoxicalIrony99@reddit

I bought a smith & Wesson mp sport a decade ago and it's a fine shooter. I run iron sights and can ping targets pretty easy at 100 yards.

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PaysOutAllNight@reddit

There are no "junk" new ARs on the market. Not a single one. Some are better than others, but none are junk.

If you could buy a military surplus AR that's been through 40 years of basic training classes, you might find a junk AR. But I'd still take one of those over no AR.

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MonsterMuppet19@reddit

My PSA rifles have done just fine for me. Granted I replaced the BCG & charging handle but it groups just as good as my BCM.

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1320Fastback@reddit

I have a kinda cheap DiamondBack DB-15 and it shoots pretty nice. Trigger isn't horrible and it seems pretty accurate and doesn't misfire

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tealrabbit0351@reddit

Seconded. I liked my wife's DB15 so much I bought myself one as well. Vortex LPVO and you're golden (I did change to a H2 buffer/spring from G$).

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mcgunner1966@reddit

So I purchased an AR-15 from Bear Creek Arsenal for $400. It is a fun gun. We put a bump stock on it, and we did dump after dump through it with the sons. One of the boys wanted to use it for deer and hogs. We kept dumping and hunting with it. It worked just as we expected. A short while back, I put a super safety in it. We've run a lot of rounds through it. It has always worked. Last Saturday, I put almost a thousand rounds through it, and it didn't have a single failure. It took 5 deer this season, and 3 or 4 each of the last 3 seasons. I would buy another.

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jrhooo@reddit

Define “budget” and define “decent”.

Can you buy a $350-$400 AR that will go bang every time, last for many many years, and be more accurate than 60% of the posters here’s skill level?

YES.

Can you buy a $350-$400 AR that can sit side by side with most of the recommended $800 ARs without beimg able to tell a difference?

NO.

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Phoenixcats@reddit

I have thousands of rounds through some psa uppers, and a few thousand through a facon arms barrel with very minimal opening of the groupings. My psa ar’s are incredibly reliable. They will treat you fine

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Hkfn27@reddit

A basic psa is a solid rifle for most people

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fsufan9399@reddit

what are you calling budget? my first AR was the PSA AR 15 saber 16 inch. 1K. solid AR.

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First-Ad-7855@reddit

My PSA freedom rifle with a micro best bolt has been a great beater and liner rifle.

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justuravgjoe762@reddit

With the caveat that you don't jump out of planes with guns strapped to you for a living, yes.

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MentalTelephone5080@reddit

My first AR has a BCA upper on it. It fires every time it's supposed to and doesn't when it's not.

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Broke_Bak_Jak@reddit

Palmetto state armory stuff is GTG, plenty reliable and capable of outshooting most people who only go to the range a few times a year.

A PSA 16” barrel with mid-length gas system and an mlok rail is the ideal starter rifle. Use the money saved on ammo so you can learn what you do and don’t like on a rifle, before spending good money on upgraded parts or a higher end whole rifle.

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ChrisLS8@reddit

DB15

ZION15

M&P Sport

Or the reddit special

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