Hello all, I have been looking into getting an AR-15 for awhile now, I have seen that WalMart is carrying them now and with the holidays coming WalMart is now allowing layaway for the holiday season, I am thinking one putting one on layaway and get it out before December just in time to use it one hogs and deer before the season ends. Now, I have seen that they have several brands to choose from, they have a bushmaster, a windham weaponry, a dpms, and also a colt. prices range from about $600 to about $1200, I am leaning towards the colt but wanted to see what you guys opinion were on the brands listed above from either from what you have heard or your first hand experience. Thanks for reading and I look forward fro reading your replies....And as always thank you for your input.

Get either the Colt, or if it is out of your price range, the Windham. I would pass on the DPMS and the Bushmaster, you can get better quality AR's in the same price range.

In before the Bushmaster crowd....

I can just tell you which one I bought





I believe the Le6920MP-B is 1168$ at walmart.

With the iron sights, I was able to group cheap steel case ammo 1" at 50 yards.

With the leupold scope, 1" at 100 yards. Haven't shot any further yet.



I have put a several hundred rounds though. Tul Ammo, HPR Vmax, Winchester FMJ and Winchester SP hunting ammo. It has fed all of them without issues.

I shot about 30 rounds before the rifle seamed to "break in" and start shooting very consistently.

Heard a lot of bad things about stock AR triggers, and I was planning on investing in a nicer trigger. Fortunately, this rifle has a nice trigger, and I didn't need to upgrade.

Texas Heat, thanks for your reply. Yeah... I am looking into getting the colt but was looking for a runner up choice wise. I have heard the Windham was a good AR for the money. Again thank you for your response.

Colt W, Nice set up.. That is the one I am looking into getting at wally world. I was wondering what gr loads have you fired through your AR, have you fired any of the heavier 60gr-65gr ammo and how do they shoot? I plan on using that grain ammo for deer and hogs...

Just 55 so far. I have a box of 62 and 75 HPR, but I haven't put them through the rifle yet.

Colt, Windham, Bushmaster, DPMS. In that order.

Colts are nice, but for the money I would get a Windham. They are good guns for the money.

Of those listed, Colt for sure. If it were me and that was the budget I'd just build one. It would wind up being better than any you can buy at that price point.

Palmetto State Armory

http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/firearms/rifles/palmetto-state-armory.html

I would advise looking for a 16" midlength gas system, 5.56 chamber, 1/7 or 1/8 twist barrel.

if in Dallas or Austin check out GT Distributors

I just sold a RRA Tactical Operator 2. $200 cheaper than the Colt and shoots every bit as good. Killer factory trigger, full float quad rail, nice stock, flip-up front sight, etc. I've had the cheaper models and it's worth the money to upgrade IMHO.

But for what they cost and if that's all your budget permits, the cheaper models do shoot pretty good. Just make sure you avoid the light profile barrels and get a flat top for optics.

A4 Flattop for sure. Optics ready.
Lightweight profile barrels are fine for civilian use. No sustained high volume
fire fights going on and easier to carry longer distances.
LW is your friend.

Why would you avoid LW barrels? LW barrels rock, and heat doesn't effect them much at all. I have a couple I run on my M16 lower. Our government used LW barrels forever, and they are back in style now big time.

Agree. Matter of fact all I run now are lightweight barrels, even turned my 308 AR barrel down to LW.

My first AR-15 was a DPMS Panther A3 Lite. Shot lights out until you got past 30 rounds. Went from 1.5"-2" groups at 100 yards to dinner plate groups.

Just my experience. Maybe some companies' light barrels are better than others. I just don't see the point in sacrificing any accuracy if you're not carrying it around all day. It's a minimal weight difference.

A bottom barrel DPMS, is not comparable to a BCM 1/7(or similar, LMT, PSA etc) hammer forged barrel 4150 steel barrel, they definetly won't open up to a pie plate.

My Wilson Combat 16" will hold hold MOA out several hundred yards with cheap XM193, fluted stainless 1/7 twist, 5.56 chamber

i got rid of my dedicated 18" rifle length for 3g, yeah, they shoot a tad smoother but I just couldn't justify it..

Go with the Colt at Walmart, unless you see another Colt cheaper close by....

Thank you guys for the replies, I am definitely looking at getting the colt. They also have one called or made by a company called diamondback . I have never heard of that brand and do not know it's reputation... Anyone ever heard or have experience with that brand of AR?

Diamondback is Taurus, stay away from them. Have handled a few Dimondbacks and the quality was junk.

Seriously, take a good look at RRA. $200 cheaper than the Colt and every bit as good.

Nope. Rock Rivers are heavy pigs, and I have seen a good amount of them with issues out of the box and needing to be fixed.

That surprises me. The gun shop that I use regularly is a dealer for them and several others. They say they rarely have any issues with them. They're definitely the best bang for the buck on the spec sheet. Myself and 2 buddies all have one (well I just sold mine), but all of us loved them.

How much heavier is a RRA than it's competitor and what are you doing with it that a few ounces would matter that much?

What type of issues have you seen out of the box? Are you a dealer or a consumer who just happens to have seen a bunch of RRA with issues?

I don't want to sound like I don't believe you, but I've seen the Colts. And you're paying quite a bit for that pony stamp on the side. They make a nice gun, but it's pretty much the worst bang for your buck out there. The stock trigger on a RRA is light years better than the significantly more expensive Colt. You can have a Rock River Tactical Operator with a P223 scope on it for the same price as a Colt, and the RRA will have a scope, quad rail, flip up front sight, better stock and better trigger.