I bought an AR

[zahc]

So I bought an AR-15. As a city dweller I have no real use for it, but I figured I better buy one before the pre-election hysteria winds up any further, plus I'm having a kid and I figure I need to buy him one in case they are illegal by the time he turns 18.

I bought a S&W M&P pretty much without doing my research. Now I need to stock up on mags and at least 1k rounds of ammo. Where's a good place to get a case of ammo? Cabelas has sales every now and then but prices seem to be over .40 a round. Is this really how much .223 costs nowadays?

[Monkeyleg]

My cost on Fiocchi is about 31 to 35 cents a round, so 40 cents sounds about right. It's not 150 for a case of 1000 anymore.

[AJ Dual]

Here's $.32/round. (not counting shipping of course)

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/1000-rds-pmc-556x45-55-gr-fmj-ammo.aspx?a=981781

More out there, look up a search on Ammoengine, sniff around Weidners too.

All in all, you did well, the M&P is pretty well regarded. What S&W didn't make on it, they sourced from other decent names in the AR game.

[Jim147]

For stocking up on mags, my Brownells have never let me down. And they run sales on paks of them all the time.

jim

[RoadKingLarry]

Now go register on ARFCOM so you too can become an AR-15 expert.

[Perd Hapley]

Aren't those terrorist rifles?

[bedlamite]

Now I need to stock up on mags

http://dsgarms.com/ProductInfo/MA-02DSGB10A.aspx

[TechMan]

http://www.natchezss.com/ammo.cfm?contentId=ammoGroup&ammoGroup=1&searchBy=size&ammoSize=205&category=3

I have an M&P 15 as well and I love.

[mtnbkr]

So I bought an AR-15. As a city dweller I have no real use for it, but I figured I better buy one before the pre-election hysteria winds up any further, plus I'm having a kid and I figure I need to buy him one in case they are illegal by the time he turns 18.

I've always been confused by this practice.  I mean, if you just want one, cool, no other reason needed; but to buy one just because libs hate them or because they might be made illegal one day doesn't make much financial sense to me (if they're illegal, you won't be shooting yours anymore).  I think a fat donation to the NRA or the state-level org of your choice would be a better use of the money (not to mention training, ammo for guns you have, etc).

Don't get me wrong, I had one myself.  I built it as soon as the AWB ended because I could, because 223 was cheap, and because I wanted to try the platform out.  I had specific design goals in mind (had to be light and compact, no mall-ninja attachments).  Once ammo got expensive and once I realized I didn't really care for it all that much, I flipped it for a very nice profit at the height of the Obama-gun-ban-scare (nothing like selling a 4yo and well used gun for 2x what it cost to build).

As for mags, Jim is correct about Brownells.  Good mags and good prices for their house-brand ones.  Get a C&R, send it to them, and get further discounts (you could recoup your C&R fee in the savings on mags alone).

Chris

[zahc]

but to buy one just because libs hate them...

That's actually pretty good and very American reason, IMO. Any time some faction seeks to limit or ban something, all freedom-loving people should do their best to quash the movement, and that may include acquiring or popularizing the things to be banned, whether it be books, guns, encryption, light bulbs or whatever. It's a long and glorious tradition.

...or because they might be made illegal one day doesn't make much financial sense to me

The general trend of American gun control is to make things illegal but grandfather in existing examples. See pretty much any gun restriction at the federal level--'86, AWB, etc.. So when this happens, existing examples go up in value. Coupled with the general principle that our currency is inflating and so tangible and useful items will hold their value in the future, I think guns are a pretty good purchase right now, or any time.

[Phantom Warrior]

zahc:  The Russian steel cased Tula ammo isn't pretty but it shoots fine.  Gander Mountain in our area was selling cases of 500 rounds for .28/round.  And they don't sell ANYTHING for less than $10/box of 20 (.50/round).

mtnbkr:  One reason to buy now is the general increase in gun prices.  Example, Beretta Storm carbines when they first came out were priced right around $500.  A few years later you couldn't hardly find them for less than $800.  That's a 60% increase in a pretty short period of time.

[Lee]

Congrats. Everyone should have at least one.

[Scout26]

Robert has a S&W M&P15-22 with some Magpul goodies on it.

Fun, reliable gun.  Eats all the different bulk (Fed/Rem/Win) .22LR we feed it.

I had a Rock River AR.  I was looking at get a lighter barrel when I had to sell everything. 

Since I carried an M-16 in the Army, it's like old home week when I pick one up.   I miss mine. 

[AmbulanceDriver]

I'm anxiously awaiting my York Arms lower to arrive so that I can build mine. 

It's custom engraved so I have to wait a while - they do them in batches.

[Lee]

Another ammo source is Georgia Arms.
You might want to pick up some Magpul mags. Never tried one, but AR chatter is that the are better than sliced bread.

[Scout26]

Also LuckyGunner.com has some deals from time to time.

[mtnbkr]

That's actually pretty good and very American reason, IMO. Any time some faction seeks to limit or ban something, all freedom-loving people should do their best to quash the movement, and that may include acquiring or popularizing the things to be banned, whether it be books, guns, encryption, light bulbs or whatever. It's a long and glorious tradition.

Buying stuff doesn't quash anything. 

The general trend of American gun control is to make things illegal but grandfather in existing examples. See pretty much any gun restriction at the federal level--'86, AWB, etc..

I won't count on any grandfathering next time around.  I think they learned how well that worked with the AWB.

mtnbkr:  One reason to buy now is the general increase in gun prices.  Example, Beretta Storm carbines when they first came out were priced right around $500.  A few years later you couldn't hardly find them for less than $800.  That's a 60% increase in a pretty short period of time.

No doubt.  Just questioning the idea of buying one for reasons that don't include "I really like the gun and want to own one".

Chris

[Boomhauer]

Another ammo source is Georgia Arms.

personally, I wouldn't have anything to do with Georgia Arms. Their stuff has been known to have issues. Stay the hell away from el cheapo ammo like USA Ammo and such, too. PMC is what I shoot a lot of, steel case Wolf works OK too. Occasionally we still get surplus pop up.

Keep the bolt wet with oil.

You might want to pick up some Magpul mags. Never tried one, but AR chatter is that the are better than sliced bread.

This. PMAGs are the way to go for durable mags. Vast improvement on the aluminum mags. Don't waste money on C Products or steel magazines of the various makes. Don't waste money on Thermolds.

[AJ Dual]

So I bought an AR-15. As a city dweller I have no real use for it, but I figured I better buy one before the pre-election hysteria winds up any further, plus I'm having a kid and I figure I need to buy him one in case they are illegal by the time he turns 18.

I bought a S&W M&P pretty much without doing my research. Now I need to stock up on mags and at least 1k rounds of ammo. Where's a good place to get a case of ammo? Cabelas has sales every now and then but prices seem to be over .40 a round. Is this really how much .223 costs nowadays?

Other than 'yotes, or dispatching other nuisance animals that require rapid shots at fleeting targets, I'd think a "city dweller" has much higher odds of "needing" an AR or similar rifle... 

[zahc]

It's kind of funny, because at the time I bought the gun, I almost bought a case of ammo at the same time, but I wasn't sure about the price, so I bought a token box of ammo just so the gun wasn't totally useless until I could order some ammo. But that 20-round box disappeared into that 30-round mag awfully quick.

[Lee]

That was my thought also when I read "city dweller"...perfect for that. It's not you can plink with a .22 or 12 gauge in the city either.

When did Georgia Arms go south? We used to buy cases and cases from there. Other than a few dented bulk rounds it worked great.

[cosine]

It's kind of funny, because at the time I bought the gun, I almost bought a case of ammo at the same time, but I wasn't sure about the price, so I bought a token box of ammo just so the gun wasn't totally useless until I could order some ammo. But that 20-round box disappeared into that 30-round mag awfully quick.

Funny how that works.  

[freakazoid]

http://gun-deals.com/ammo

[MrsSmith]

Just questioning the idea of buying one for reasons that don't include "I really like the gun and want to own one".

Chris

I take that to be a given anytime one of us purchases a new gun and it goes without saying.
None of us had any real NEED for those flare guns we all rushed out to order. I don't really NEED that pink shotgun. Ben doesn't NEED 20 different 1911s. I have a whole bunch of things on my wishlist that I want but would have a hard time justifying if I had to give a reason for them.
I also think ARs are like little black dresses. Everybody ought to have at least one. They go with everything.

[brimic]

Everybody ought to have at least one.

or three.

I don't think AR-15s or 'assault weapons' bans are going to go anywhere. AR-15s have been one of the if not the top selling rifle type over the last 10 years.