I want a decent <$2,500 "SPR" type rifle.

[rcoodyar15]

Thanks for all of the replies guys.

A few things I've noticed:

1) If I don't buy a Noveske barrel, I will go with a complete BCM upper for a few reasons. They are good people, I trust their product, and they are priced right. If I get a Noveske barrel, I will get a MUR Upper. Nothing against Rainier.

2) I originally wanted (still want, actually) a complete factory lower. this is why I was looking at a BCM from G&R. Again, good people and I trust their product. However, I really want this to have an A5 or a PRS after thinking about it and I'd rather not pay full price for a BCM lower just to remove the RE and install an A5 leaving leftover $$ wasted. I'm not sure what brand of lower to go with, however.

3) I'll be suppressing it, so most likely I'll go with 18" but since I am buying this mainly to shoot at 600 yards plus, I want as much barrel length as possible. I've played the 12.5" barrel long distance game and while it works it certainly is optimal to go as long as practical.

Rainier has the noveske barrel. They have the mur upper. They will even assemble it for you.

Why not buy the Vltor lower. It already has the A5 on it.

[TehLlama]

Thanks for all of the replies guys.

A few things I've noticed:

1) If I don't buy a Noveske barrel, I will go with a complete BCM upper for a few reasons. They are good people, I trust their product, and they are priced right. If I get a Noveske barrel, I will get a MUR Upper. Nothing against Rainier.
2) I originally wanted (still want, actually) a complete factory lower. this is why I was looking at a BCM from G&R. Again, good people and I trust their product. However, I really want this to have an A5 or a PRS after thinking about it and I'd rather not pay full price for a BCM lower just to remove the RE and install an A5 leaving leftover $$ wasted. I'm not sure what brand of lower to go with, however.
3) I'll be suppressing it, so most likely I'll go with 18" but since I am buying this mainly to shoot at 600 yards plus, I want as much barrel length as possible. I've played the 12.5" barrel long distance game and while it works it certainly is optimal to go as long as practical.

Get a BCM Blemished lower (patience required, but worth it. Even better if you can get an A5 swapped in). Otherwise Sionics is still really tempting for complete +A5 +GSSA-E/G2S-E complete lowers.
Get the BCM KMR SS-18" match. Way cheaper, by about as much as a tax stamp. Good complement to a 12.5" unit - that said with a long can the difference between a 16" with can and 18" isn't that great... then again I haven' taken the time to actually run chrono on my nearly identical 16/18" barrels with the same pair (and lack of) of cans, I should really get on that.

That said, Rainier builds are always going to be really cost effective, only reason I haven't wound up with way more complete Rainier sourced builds is that having 100% of what I wanted in stock at once was a bit rare.

[pointblank4445]

I've built and shot dozens of SPR type guns and here are a few things I've noticed on my guns.

My favorite is a Centurion barreled gun assembled by High Caliber Sales. No expense was spared, SSA-E, MUR upper, A5 stock, the whole 9 yards. It's consistently about .75-.85 MOA by far my best shooter to date.

That said, I just whipped up a 16" SPR (I think some call it recce) from nearly new Colt parts and a V7 barrel. It shoots extremely well and is giving me about 1 MOA from day 1. The only "fancy" parts are the barrel and Geissele SSA.

I am currently issued a DD MK12 as my patrol rifle and for swat call-outs. It's OK, but I'm of the mind that it isn't worth their price. This experience has put me off of buying any ready-made SPR.

My spotter/teammate uses an SPR he built himself with a Criterion 20" hbar. It shoots very, very well given it's not the standard match stainless barrel. I've only shot his gun a few times, but his gun will print tighter than the DDMk12.

(seeking shelter for the following opinion)
While my guns with Noveske barrels have shot well, I don't think they are worth the extra money given some of the performance I've seen from other, less-expensive options. In a case such as this where there are budget constraints, I would say go for something like a Criterion or White Oak in a milspec receiver and put the money back into the optic.

...but that's just me adding to the white noise.

[wigbones]

Shop around on forums for the parts you want. you can buy top quality parts at amazing prices that way. Just finished doing that myself and saved hundreds over online pricing for a fantastic setup. Just be willing to be patient and wait for the deals.

[TehLlama]

In a case such as this where there are budget constraints, I would say go for something like a Criterion or White Oak in a milspec receiver and put the money back into the optic.

I think this actually might be totally sound, best advice if that budget has to include ammunition. I'm completely sure a WOA or similar barrel being fed good match loads with good glass is going to outperform any barrel where those other two factors are in any way lacking.

That said, it's time for me to take my HCS rifle out and see if I can get close to PB's results - mine is a 16" version of exactly what he described - I'm getting 1.5-1.75MOA groups out of it, but I'm feeding it PPU 75gr HPBT stuff that I'm quite sure is beneath the capabilities of the rifle, and using a Mk6 that tops out at 6x zoom.

[johnson]

Yeah, it's definitely PPU "match" getting you those horrible groups. It never shot that well for me but I can't complain since it was only a couple bucks more than bulk ammo.

This was a group on 6x with the Vortex with someone else's reloads with my home built AR using Monte's 16" Recce barrel and TBAC 30P-1. The only thing I remember is that the powder used was 8208 XBR.


Pic of the rifle. It hasn't worn a scope since I shot the group above but I just ordered a Burris XTR II 3-15x for it.
http://i.imgur.com/mKnCTER.jpg

[Averageman]

White Oak has a pretty good reputation in some circles and if everything goes right I will be buying one of their barreled uppers here very soon.
They have a wide variety of barrels with a variety of twist rates and chambers.
https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/xca...cat=261&page=1

[Iraqgunz]

Eurodriver- PM sent.

[gt40]

Why do you want to spend so much money???? I spent less than $1700 complete and have an AR15 that shoots under 1/2" at 100 yds. consistently. Look here to see it and a list of components & prices. Scroll down to Post # 19.

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?...ight=woa+upper

[ShooterM4]

FWIW, I converted a $950 BCM basic AR into a SPR by purchasing a precision barrel, rail system, and Magpul SPR stock. I bought a quality scope (there's where I sunk the real money). Did it all for right at $2,800. Oh, yes, and a Geissele precision trigger group too.

First time out with it after getting it zeroed well, I was hitting torsos sized steel at 750 yards like nobody's business, one after the other shot: ding-ding-ding-ding.....the guys shooting next to me with their $5,000 bolt guns were pretty amazed and they all took turns shooting it and were blown away.

It's doable.


The most important parts of the build were, in my opinion, the precision barrel and the trigger group. I opted to put more money into the scope than I really had to, but it is what I wanted.