brh757
11-03-08, 09:06
Hello everyone-
Figured it was about time to chime in and say thanks for all the helpful advice and effort that you folks have put into educating people on the AR platform! I've been poking around these forums for many weeks just doing research and learning. What a headache it would've been to try to (on my own, or with the "help" of misinformed gun-shop salespeople) make sense of all the options, brands, etc, etc... So I finally purchased my first AR a couple weeks ago and love it! I bought a S&W M&P15PC "Talo". I put a Bushnell Elite 6500 2.5-16x50 mil-dot scope on a DNZ Freedom Reaper mount.
Now, while at first it may seem I was paying no attention :rolleyes: to all of you b/c I went with something that there was literally NO information on- gun, scope OR mount!, I felt like I learned enough to make a good decision. Turns out I did, and the setup is exactly what I was looking for. The gun is a 20" stainless steel barrel, 1:8 twist, chromed bolt carrier(but surprisingly not staked at all though), 2-stage match trigger, Ace skeleton stock and grip. I was hoping Smith&Wesson would put a little "extra" into this gun being a "Performance Center" model(again, still limited info on what exactly that means), but I found a smokin' deal on a "weekly special" posted on Davidsons and had to take advantage of it. One thing I have noticed is that this seems to be the only AR15 I've seen that doesn't have a forward assist or brass deflector? I think the upper and lowers are both billet so maybe that's why, but it's making me wonder if anything else is different? Plus, why is a PC model not staked, but the regular M&P15 is? If anybody has info, please share... I've only put a couple hundred rounds through it so far, but it shoots flawlessly and is dead on accurate at 25-40yds. And it feels like a very solidly built rifle!
As for optics, the Leupolds seemed to be universally recommended, and I was going to go that route, but I read a lot of others comparing the Nikon Monarch and Bushnell 4200 Elite favorably at a lower price point. This led me to discover the Elite 6500 which has a HUGE range and seemed to be as bright as the 4200. But again, very limited info I found. I'm no scope expert here, and I don't have a lot of experience comparing them, however, I can say that I am quite pleased with the 6500 so far. On the mount, I really didn't want to spend the big bucks, so looked around a lot for a nice alternative. I "gambled" with a lesser known company that seemed to have a nice piece at a better price. Very high quality mount, fits beautifully, and looks good. And DNZ has some excellent customer service!
Well, guess I got a little long-winded, but I figured the least I could do is contribute and share my experiences, which may be of help to someone in the future. That's what these forums are here for, eh?
Thanks again guys! Glad to be part of a fine group!
Ben
Figured it was about time to chime in and say thanks for all the helpful advice and effort that you folks have put into educating people on the AR platform! I've been poking around these forums for many weeks just doing research and learning. What a headache it would've been to try to (on my own, or with the "help" of misinformed gun-shop salespeople) make sense of all the options, brands, etc, etc... So I finally purchased my first AR a couple weeks ago and love it! I bought a S&W M&P15PC "Talo". I put a Bushnell Elite 6500 2.5-16x50 mil-dot scope on a DNZ Freedom Reaper mount.
Now, while at first it may seem I was paying no attention :rolleyes: to all of you b/c I went with something that there was literally NO information on- gun, scope OR mount!, I felt like I learned enough to make a good decision. Turns out I did, and the setup is exactly what I was looking for. The gun is a 20" stainless steel barrel, 1:8 twist, chromed bolt carrier(but surprisingly not staked at all though), 2-stage match trigger, Ace skeleton stock and grip. I was hoping Smith&Wesson would put a little "extra" into this gun being a "Performance Center" model(again, still limited info on what exactly that means), but I found a smokin' deal on a "weekly special" posted on Davidsons and had to take advantage of it. One thing I have noticed is that this seems to be the only AR15 I've seen that doesn't have a forward assist or brass deflector? I think the upper and lowers are both billet so maybe that's why, but it's making me wonder if anything else is different? Plus, why is a PC model not staked, but the regular M&P15 is? If anybody has info, please share... I've only put a couple hundred rounds through it so far, but it shoots flawlessly and is dead on accurate at 25-40yds. And it feels like a very solidly built rifle!
As for optics, the Leupolds seemed to be universally recommended, and I was going to go that route, but I read a lot of others comparing the Nikon Monarch and Bushnell 4200 Elite favorably at a lower price point. This led me to discover the Elite 6500 which has a HUGE range and seemed to be as bright as the 4200. But again, very limited info I found. I'm no scope expert here, and I don't have a lot of experience comparing them, however, I can say that I am quite pleased with the 6500 so far. On the mount, I really didn't want to spend the big bucks, so looked around a lot for a nice alternative. I "gambled" with a lesser known company that seemed to have a nice piece at a better price. Very high quality mount, fits beautifully, and looks good. And DNZ has some excellent customer service!
Well, guess I got a little long-winded, but I figured the least I could do is contribute and share my experiences, which may be of help to someone in the future. That's what these forums are here for, eh?
Thanks again guys! Glad to be part of a fine group!
Ben