The AR that AR lovers love to hate

[JimmieG]

Ok, I'm pretty sure that this is really going to stir things up, but I have to say it...

I LOVE my piece of junk, bottom of the barrel, worthless, good for nothing Bear Creek Aresenal AR15! What's worse, for those who love hating on it, it's in 7.62x39!

I love it because:

- I got a complete AR, in the caliber I wanted, for $399 + shipping & FFL
- I'm not a purist, it doesn't bother me that I don't have the best rifle or components
- I have an AR I'm not worried about scratching or dinging because I spent a fortune on it, it's a beater!
- I can shoot that nasty, dirty Russian steel ammo in it all day long (that's all it eats!)
- After many rounds down range, not a single FTF, FTE, soft primer strike, etc.
- My AR will pretty much hit anything the expensive ones will, out to 100 yards or so, good enough for me!
- I can hunt deer with my AR (I'm not a hunter, but I could use it if I was)
- I can put all the whiz bang gadets on it just like an expensive AR (i put a carry handle and sling, that's it)
- I really wanted an AK, but this was pretty much half the price of what I wanted, so I got this instead
- If it does die in a couple years, I can just get another one!
- Did I mention I got the complete rifle for $399 + shipping & FFL?

Ok, go ahead and hate me and my AR, but we are happy together

 

[55fairlane]

I shot a cheap PSA 16 inch carbine......I love mine, but mine is a 5.56 gun...

Shoot your rifle and love it......

 

[churchmouse]

Run it. Enjoy it. Run it some more. Run it harder.
If it lives...

If not you get what you paid for.

 

[JimmieG]

I shot a cheap PSA 16 inch carbine......I love mine, but mine is a 5.56 gun...


Shoot your rifle and love it......

Run it. Enjoy it. Run it some more. Run it harder.
If it lives...

If not you get what you paid for.

Sound advice from you both, thanks

 

[seedubs1]

Run the **** out of it. Report back in 10k rounds.

How many rounds through it so far? Any report on reliability?

 

[Sniper 79]

I sold all my expensive guns. Too pretty to use them and can't leave them in a vehicle. It's like having a new car. Totally sucks.

Have two decent AR rifles that I would like to sell and do exactly what you did. Have a absolute beater to shoot the hell out of and roll around in the back of the truck. Give it a squirt of Kroil once a year and blow it out with compressed air. Shoot it!

 

[JimmieG]

Run the **** out of it. Report back in 10k rounds.

How many rounds through it so far? Any report on reliability?

Only a few hundred at this point, all Red Army Standard from Century (the stuff the used to sell, not the new rounds, haven't tried those yet).

I bought some Tula a couple days ago and I'll report back on that as well.

So far, not a single issue. From all I had read I at least expected light primer strikes, but all has been great so far.

I haven't run 10k through any gun I've ever owned, not even my 10/22, so you probably won't be seeing that report

 

[JimmieG]

I sold all my expensive guns. Too pretty to use them and can't leave them in a vehicle. It's like having a new car. Totally sucks.

Have two decent AR rifles that I would like to sell and do exactly what you did. Have a absolute beater to shoot the hell out of and roll around in the back of the truck. Give it a squirt of Kroil once a year and blow it out with compressed air. Shoot it!

Exactly, I went the same route with a handgun. I bought a Bersa Thunder 380 as a beater. The nickel finish on the slide is stained and I've already broken one trigger spring, I sometimes carry it in my pocket even without a pocket holster and I sleep fine at night.

If that stuff happened to either my Beretta 92fs inox vertec or nickel finish 85fs Cheetah, I'd probably have ulcers from it!

 

[Ggreen]

Exactly, I went the same route with a handgun. I bought a Bersa Thunder 380 as a beater. The nickel finish on the slide is stained and I've already broken one trigger spring, I sometimes carry it in my pocket even without a pocket holster and I sleep fine at night.

Until you snag the trigger and run a hot 380 down your leg. Holsters are not to protect the gun, they are to protect the user.

 

[JimmieG]

Until you snag the trigger and run a hot 380 down your leg. Holsters are not to protect the gun, they are to protect the user.

I suppose you're right. I guess I should stop carrying the AR in my other pocket.

 

[Ggreen]

I suppose you're right. I guess I should stop carrying the AR in my other pocket.

It's your leg do what you want. Pocket holsters are around 15 bucks, medical bills and the shame of having accidentally shot yourself because you refuse to learn from the countless examples of others, costs much more.

Glad you like your ar. I think you will find that majority of the AR owners out there own guns in the 4-7 hundred dollar range, and most do just fine. Forums tend to be full of power users or wannabe power users, I'm the only one of my real life friends that runs more than 1k rounds through my go to rifle a year. I will sing the praises of a high end bcg and a pinned gas block from the highest of peaks. Most barrels will do fine for the average shooter, and most lowers will be good enough. You do get into a few things that can add cost fast when you want repeatable reliability. Sights, the polymer bui's just don't cut it for me. I have had a fore sight start to melt and I cant stand the messy mold line in the rear sights I've used. I like the metal diamondhead and yhm buis looking at 150 to 230 bucks in just the sights. Again poly buis work for most people, but most people don't run an ar to the point of needing gloves. I've had a cheap free float handguard loosen up on me, and that was the end of that. You can get an ALG for a decent price that will lock up just fine.

The main items to pay attention to when you are going cheap are the bits that move. An out of spec bcg or any part of it can ruin your day. I've had a carrier that had an out of spec channel for the bolt that seemed fine under normal use, ran it hot and hard once and had to use the charging handle like a kick start to free it up. New charging handle and bcg (230 bucks repair total) and that budget rifle could have been a colt 6920 that would not have had that issue/ would have been warranty if it did. I've seen a friends rifle with a cheap drop in trigger go full auto. I've had an Anderson lpk that came with a safety that was so loose that it wobbled and was like engaging through mashed potatoes. I bought a cheap barrel that was improperly headspaced, refunded but I ate the shipping to return it. Going cheap has cost me quite a bit of money and frustration, but I've learned to follow a few forums to guide me to quality deals. Now I will only buy factory rifles with warranties. It was fun "building" a few ar's but I did not truly save that much money.

 

[JimmieG]

It's your leg do what you want. Pocket holsters are around 15 bucks, medical bills and the shame of having accidentally shot yourself because you refuse to learn from the countless examples of others, costs much more.

Glad you like your ar. I think you will find that majority of the AR owners out there own guns in the 4-7 hundred dollar range, and most do just fine. Forums tend to be full of power users or wannabe power users, I'm the only one of my real life friends that runs more than 1k rounds through my go to rifle a year. I will sing the praises of a high end bcg and a pinned gas block from the highest of peaks. Most barrels will do fine for the average shooter, and most lowers will be good enough. You do get into a few things that can add cost fast when you want repeatable reliability. Sights, the polymer bui's just don't cut it for me. I have had a fore sight start to melt and I cant stand the messy mold line in the rear sights I've used. I like the metal diamondhead and yhm buis looking at 150 to 230 bucks in just the sights. Again poly buis work for most people, but most people don't run an ar to the point of needing gloves. I've had a cheap free float handguard loosen up on me, and that was the end of that. You can get an ALG for a decent price that will lock up just fine.

The main items to pay attention to when you are going cheap are the bits that move. An out of spec bcg or any part of it can ruin your day. I've had a carrier that had an out of spec channel for the bolt that seemed fine under normal use, ran it hot and hard once and had to use the charging handle like a kick start to free it up. New charging handle and bcg (230 bucks repair total) and that budget rifle could have been a colt 6920 that would not have had that issue/ would have been warranty if it did. I've seen a friends rifle with a cheap drop in trigger go full auto. I've had an Anderson lpk that came with a safety that was so loose that it wobbled and was like engaging through mashed potatoes. I bought a cheap barrel that was improperly headspaced, refunded but I ate the shipping to return it. Going cheap has cost me quite a bit of money and frustration, but I've learned to follow a few forums to guide me to quality deals. Now I will only buy factory rifles with warranties. It was fun "building" a few ar's but I did not truly save that much money.

Hi GGreen,

It certainly seems like you are speaking from a wealth of experience and knowledge when it comes to firearms. I definitely have appreciation for anyone who is willing to share their knowledge with others.

what I don't appreciate, however, are arrogant people who believe that they are superior to others, and because of this they are entitled to berate, lecture, and otherwise enlighten others with their unsolicited obnoxious opinions, site supporter or otherwise.

Yes, it is my leg, it is my medical costs, and it is my shame, but most importantly, it's none of your business.

If you can't just join in and have fun then please move on to the next post, otherwise your comments are welcome.

 

[Donnelly]

Could just carry in pocket without one in the pipe like I do. A lot of people on here will say that is no better than carrying a rock in my pocket, but I've never owned a rock that can be turned into a fully functional handgun within 1-2 seconds.

 

[JimmieG]

Could just carry in pocket without one in the pipe like I do. A lot of people on here will say that is no better than carrying a rock in my pocket, but I've never owned a rock that can be turned into a fully functional handgun within 1-2 seconds.

Not just that, but if all else failed you could throw the gun at someone's head making it just as effective as the rock!

 

[Ggreen]

Hi GGreen,

It certainly seems like you are speaking from a wealth of experience and knowledge when it comes to firearms. I definitely have appreciation for anyone who is willing to share their knowledge with others.

what I don't appreciate, however, are arrogant people who believe that they are superior to others, and because of this they are entitled to berate, lecture, and otherwise enlighten others with their unsolicited obnoxious opinions, site supporter or otherwise.

Yes, it is my leg, it is my medical costs, and it is my shame, but most importantly, it's none of your business.

If you can't just join in and have fun then please move on to the next post, otherwise your comments are welcome.

This is a public forum. If you want to put out there something that is all around unsafe with a legacy of documented injuries and negligent discharges expect some push back. Grow a spine and take positive criticism. No one got sarcastic or had a poor attitude until you popped off with a sarcastic comeback to some sound advice. Everything you type on here is subject to others posting back on. You started this thread with intentions of validating your against the grain choices and you will likely not find that validation here. Your original post is the same one that gets posted on any number of gun forums everyday and always has the exact same pushback. I did not put you down because of your choices in firearms, in fact I gave you a couple places to watch for trouble on your budget rifle. Anyone that thinks it's cool to carry in their pocket without a holster is a fool. I did not make an arrogant comment, your very first post is probably the most arrogant post in the thread. I couldn't give a @#(! care less if you carry with one in the chamber or not. I honestly do not care if you do shoot yourself in the leg, it affects my life in no way.


But don't come onto a firearms forum expecting validation with every post, especially when you are trying to attack the general consensus when it comes to quality or carry methods. We all have a lot to learn and posts that validate stupidity may be the first one that pops up on a web search of someone who is actually seeking sound advice.

 

[Rookie]

Hi GGreen,

It certainly seems like you are speaking from a wealth of experience and knowledge when it comes to firearms. I definitely have appreciation for anyone who is willing to share their knowledge with others.

what I don't appreciate, however, are arrogant people who believe that they are superior to others, and because of this they are entitled to berate, lecture, and otherwise enlighten others with their unsolicited obnoxious opinions, site supporter or otherwise.

Yes, it is my leg, it is my medical costs, and it is my shame, but most importantly, it's none of your business.

If you can't just join in and have fun then please move on to the next post, otherwise your comments are welcome.

You're going to fit right in.

 

[Vigilant]

Everything about this is so full of fail, but that’s cause I’m one of those arrogant, superior, *******s!

 

[churchmouse]

Hi GGreen,

It certainly seems like you are speaking from a wealth of experience and knowledge when it comes to firearms. I definitely have appreciation for anyone who is willing to share their knowledge with others.

what I don't appreciate, however, are arrogant people who believe that they are superior to others, and because of this they are entitled to berate, lecture, and otherwise enlighten others with their unsolicited obnoxious opinions, site supporter or otherwise.

Yes, it is my leg, it is my medical costs, and it is my shame, but most importantly, it's none of your business.

If you can't just join in and have fun then please move on to the next post, otherwise your comments are welcome.

Let me chime in here and give some incite.
In these troubled times any incidents involving a firearm being used in a dangerous manner (and trust when I say pocket carry is exactly that) we as a group tend to get as you say....on a high horse. But it is with good reason. You are new so I hope after you are here for a while you will come to see this side of gun ownership and us in general. When you put something out in the open forum that we see as a bit sketchy (pocket carry for sure) you will get lectured. It is inevitable.

Now, being a site supporter does not give you a badge of any kind but it does give you some perks. Again you are new and this will come as well. What it does show is a member cares enough to pitch in towards keeping the lights on in the forum. It also gets you 500 PM capacity over the standard 50 and you can opt for it when joining and have all the perks right off the starting line.

Just setting things straight and stopping a dog pile. We do have those on occasion as well.

Welcome to Ingo. Enjoy.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

Let me chime in here and give some incite.
In these troubled times any incidents involving a firearm being used in a dangerous manner (and trust when I say pocket carry is exactly that) we as a group tend to get as you say....on a high horse. But it is with good reason. You are new so I hope after you are here for a while you will come to see this side of gun ownership and us in general. When you put something out in the open forum that we see as a bit sketchy (pocket carry for sure) you will get lectured. It is inevitable.

Now, being a site supporter does not give you a badge of any kind but it does give you some perks. Again you are new and this will come as well. What it does show is a member cares enough to pitch in towards keeping the lights on in the forum. It also gets you 500 PM capacity over the standard 50 and you can opt for it when joining and have all the perks right off the starting line.

Just setting things straight and stopping a dog pile. We do have those on occasion as well.

Welcome to Ingo. Enjoy.

Oh yeah , well 1911's still suck !
Pocket carry G26 for life !

 

[churchmouse]

Oh yeah , well 1911's still suck !
Pocket carry G26 for life !