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| Member |
I recently went down to one rifle (AR15) and have decided to have a spare, my main rifle is a great quality rifle but like all machines they eventually will brake down. The question is should I have an upper only or a whole rifle? | ||
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Member |
If your thinking about another upper... might as well just build another complete rifle. Since the upper is the most expensive part of the the equation. And as soft as the gun market is now... Just do it ! | |||
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Member |
Exactly this. And it's where I'm at. I 'consolidated' a couple years back and turned a couple mediocre guns into a high quality AR, but I realized I'm in need of a secondary. I posted here recently about whether or not it was worth it to build anymore. Truthfully you can get a nice, cheap backup AR. S&W M&P Sport, PSA etc are all sub-$600 and in some cases sub-$500 for slightly lower end models. But you have to figure that even one of those is going to cost you a minimum of another $2-300 customizing it to the way you want it, and at that point you're better off building it the way you want to begin with. It seems that a decent quality upper (better PSA lines, entry BCM, Aero, etc) will run anywhere from $300 to $600. I bought an Anderson billet lower for $60, PSA LPK with their enhanced trigger for $60, buffer kit for $40, and a strike industries stock for another $50, for a grand total of right around $200. It's not worth having a spare upper around when the cost to make it a complete rifle is so negligible. ________________________ | |||
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| Member |
Great quality rifles don't just fail. Poor maintenance, lack of lubrication, cheap ammo -- now you have some probable causes for breakdowns. High volume shooting? Sure, but until you get more than 10,000 rounds down the barrel, you likely won't have issues with small parts failures. Given that most AR owners never put more than a couple thousand rounds through any given AR, the gun isn't the issue. If you want a backup, get a backup rifle that effectively matches your current rifle. Don't scrimp on a bargain basement POS. Buy one that duplicates, or exceeds, your current rifle's capabilities. | |||
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| Member |
Two=one One=none  | |||
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Now Serving 7.62 |
Lowers are so cheap you should do a second full rifle. Remember to get parts to sock away for that failure too. | |||
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| Sigless in Indiana  |
Buying a spare rifle for when your primary is worn out is kind of silly if you don't already have enough ammo to wear out a rifle. So if you don't have that covered, do that instead. A lot cheaper to buy a spare parts kit with the springs and parts that sometimes wear out or break. That and a spare bolt and you will be in covered. If the zombie apocalypse ever kicks off, America will be littered with almost NIB ARs from the poor schmucks who don't survive hour zero. | |||
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| Member |
If it is really about a backup, lots of ammo (to actually wear something out) and spare parts makes the most sense. Adding an upper in a different configuration would be a decent way to spend some $ though. The lower won't wear out or likely experience any parts breakage. Change out the buffer spring after many thousand rounds. Maybe a trigger or hammer spring now and then. “People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love.” –Chuck Palahnuik Be harder to kill: https://preparefit.ck.page | |||
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| Member |
I went from one, to two, then back down to one, then back to two. The spare one would just sit there. I ended up selling it and getting an SKS instead and only need one AR; but I do have spare springs and parts. | |||
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| Middle children of history  |
What will you be doing with your AR? Mostly just going to the local range or will you be taking training classes? If you make any sort of investment in a training class it always makes sense to bring a backup gun that uses the same ammo and mags as your primary. The time and money invested in attending a training class, in terms of the class cost, travel cost, time off work, etc, would be a big loss if your primary gun died at the class and you didn't have a backup to shoot. Many good classes fill up quickly and require 50%-100% payment up front. So if your only gun breaks anytime leading up to that class you also risk losing that investment if you can't get it repaired in time. | |||
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| Member |
We tend to answer such buying questions based on our own rifle use and experience, but the OP's intended use needs to be the primary consideration. For example, I don't keep very many spare parts for my ARs. I have a backup bolt, some gas rings, and a spare firing pin. The only thing I've "worn out" so far is gas rings -- they were really loose on my carbine, so I replaced them at roughly 4k rounds. I must note that the carbine still functioned flawlessly with the old gas rings. I've seen ARs go down from parts failures, but they were heavily used ARs with 15k to 25k rounds down the tubes. The ARs that I've seen fail to function in courses and competitions have generally been due to bad magazines, crappy ammo, poor cleaning, and a lack of lube. When I go to a big competition or an expensive class, I generally take two ARs -- the one that best fits the intended use, and the one that best serves as a backup. I've yet to need my backup AR. Ammo considerations are important. I probably have enough AR ammo in my basement to erode the throats of two new barrels. My carbine's barrel is approaching end of life, and I have its replacement barrel in the basement, next to the ammo stash. For someone without a solid ammo reserve, ammo purchases are probably a higher priority than another rifle. What do we use our ARs for? Mine are primarily competition rifles, with emphasis on longer distances and higher accuracy. I train for that home defense thingie, too, but I don't have a carbine dedicated to that role. If worst comes worst, I feel confident in using even my heaviest precision AR in such role. So back to the OP: - What's the primary purpose of our current AR? - Do you expect your secondary rifle/upper to fill that same role, or a different one? - How is the current AR configured? optics, sights, barrel type, weight, doo-dads attached to the AR - What ammo do you use? What accuracy to you expect? What distances do you shoot? - What's you ammo stash like? - How do you practice, train, and/or compete? - What's your budget? | |||
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| Member |
Whole rifle, PSA is having a easter sale classic complete lowers for $129! | |||
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| Member |
-Self defense -Red dot, heavy barrel -55 gr fmj, 2-3 inch at 100 yds -25 yds, 50 yds, 75 yds, 100 yds. -Around 6000 rds -I'm beginning to take classes this spring and will continue as fonds permit -Under $1000.00 | |||
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| Member |
You describe a fairly generic use of an AR. If your current rifle is truly the great rifle you describe in your first post, it should handle your goals without any issues. Of course with good magazines, routine cleaning, and reasonable lubrication. As IndianaBoy stated above, a few spare parts, a few springs, and a bolt -- you should have adequate repair capabilities for many thousands of rounds. Barrel life should be long, as you're not demanding great accuracy. Figure at least 10k rounds, assuming you're not using bi-metal bullets. | |||
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Member |
The choices are like flipping a coin. You really need both. 2=1, 1=0 is true, but gets less relevant as the number of firearms increases (cost to benefit ratio of redundancy flattens out or turns down after 2-3 guns of equal type). Another thing to consider is whether or not you'll be arming someone else or subsidizing another person's firearm experiences. Perhaps a dependent or a spouse. They will need a gun as well. This is my situation and a good reason why I have more guns than I will "need." If you buy the upper, you'll find a good use for it sooner or later, even if it's in 10-20 years. It's like holding onto a stubborn stock that is slow to provide a return, but ultimately does. Ammo is inexpensive and good ammo is easy to find right now. Election cycle swings are the norm, so you'll have perhaps 2 years of "comfort" in a buyer's market to make some purchases at a pace that's comfortable to you. My rule is that whatever I shoot, it must be replenished. I make it a point to keep a "functional zero" ammo level. If you're going to take classes, go for the ammo to replenish what you shoot. Ammo gets the nod right now, but ultimately, you need both more ammo and a backup AR. Join and Support the NRA | |||
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| Gracie Allen is my personal savior! |
Look, keep it simple: it's always nice to have a second, complete rifle on hand that's clean, lubed and ready to go. That way you don't have to budget the time to load mags, go to the range, clean and lube all in one big lump - if you'd rather wait until the weekend to clean, having a second complete rifle means you can do that. The same holds true even if you're just talking about a lower rather than a complete rifle. | |||
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| Member |
I find cleaning a necessary evil of owning firearms. It's not my favorite task. So I timed how long the complete cycle of taking an AR out of the safe, cleaning (barrel, upper, and BCG), lubing, inspecting, function testing, and putting it back in the safe. 10 minutes tops if the AR is really dirty, and a little less if I've shot only a few boxes of ammo. Even with the ludicrous hours I put in at the office, finding 10 minutes is easy. I rarely pre-load mags for range practice, training, or competitions. It takes minimal time and effort to load Magpul mags. Furthermore, if I'm shooting a lot of volume, the minute or two it takes to load a mag gives the barrel a moment to cool down a bit. | |||
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Bolt Thrower |
Having a spare rifle is never a bad thing. Should something happen to the first, it is put in police custody, or you wish to arm someone. Another good idea would be to pick up spare parts whenever they are on a good sale. You never know what future political or economic impacts will have on your ability to keep your rifle shooting. The AR15 is easy to work on and parts are made domestically in abundance. Might as well take advantage of it. | |||
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