I've been reading up on AR's lately, and LMT gets rave reviews on every site. Anyone think getting an LMT for casual plinking would be senseless? I mean, I figure I might as well buy top of the line while I can.
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I've been reading up on AR's lately, and LMT gets rave reviews on every site. Anyone think getting an LMT for casual plinking would be senseless? I mean, I figure I might as well buy top of the line while I can.
I am too poor to buy cheap stuff. I would rather buy quality and cry once. Ergo, I buy Colt and LMT.
Buy cheap, buy twice. You never know, your tastes may change and you may want to eventually do something besides plink.
im a casual shooter.
i dont feel my LMT is too much.
glad i didnt settle for less.
far from rich btw.;)
I am just a casual plinker, I wanted (and bought) a 20" A2 style rifle. I could have gone with pretty much any manufacturer, but I chose Sabre Defence based on quality. I worked my ass off for 14 12+ hour cold and windy days at a firework stand to pay for it all ("it all" being an Ergo grip, PRI gas-buster, 3 PMAGs, 3 NHMTG mags, and 1200 rounds of Prvi '07 M193).
If you can't afford to do it right the first time, can you afford to do it twice? For me? No.
As stated above, it isn't entirely reasonable to assume that your intentions for this carbine won't change as time passes, your interests shift, or future legislative changes conspire to limit your options.
In simpler terms, buying the best quality that you can possibly afford is always well-advised, if indeed the purchase is warranted at all. Personally, I'd much rather have a spare Colt or LMT sitting in my safe, unfired and forgotten, than to invest in a carbine of lesser quality so I can occasionally shoot at old oil cans.
It's been said before, but I'll say it again: only a very wealthy man can afford to buy second-rate equipment; the rest of us need to get our purchasing decisions right the first time. :)
Chief
Follow your own advice. You'll not regret it. LMT is not that much more than a lesser brand. Buy a complete lower ($330) and complete upper assembly ($615) separately, and your looking at approx $1050 or so depending on which BUIS you choose.
Don't shortchange yourself. As others have already said, poor quality always costs much more in the end.
Even if you are only plinking there may be a time that you will need to use your weapon in the self defense situation.
Spend a little more and get quality.
I like to buy the best that I can afford. LMT and Colt are my choices. I consider quality first then resale price. Think of your purchases as investments.
On the assumption that you will eventually trade in or sell outright your weapons, for whatever reasons, you will get a better return on your investment.
I'm a casual rifle shooter and I bought LMT. For half again as much as a cheap AR I got twice the peace of mind.
I've never heard of a gun being too high quality. The LMT is a good choice.
If you are like me you may as well buy the one you want or you will not be happy with anything else untill you have it. I can't count how many of times I've setteled for one gun only to sell it at a loss latter and buy the one I wanted.
You can also do better on the price if you hunt around and call all the dealers and ask for thier best price. I just got a complete LMT upper half with BCG for $570 new from reputable dealers. If you don't want to add optics then carry handles can be had cheaply. If you wait for them to come up for sale used you can ussually pick up a good one for less than $50 (you can even chop a carry handle if you want to add a red dot). You can save even more money if you don't care what name is on the lower and are willing to put a lower together yourself. Or you could buy a used lower.
With a little work and patience on your part you can get an LMT for under $900easily.
OK, sounds pretty unanimous, just wanted to hear from those "in the know" who have already been in my situation. Now one more question: Given that my choice of upper is LMT, how would a Stag complete lower compliment that? Would it be like throwing $2,000 rims on an old Ford Escort? I mean, I'm no AR expert, actually far from it, but it seems from what I've read that the upper is where it's at. I always read people saying "Just pick a brand name company, and you're good to go" as far as lowers. All the different specs I hear differentiating good and bad always seems to be in the upper.
I never said anything about "too high quality", but I know what you mean.
Go all LMT. Getting the Stag isn't as heinous as putting $2K rims on an Escort, but the small amount of money you may save up front (a quick search of both manufacturer's website suggests about a $40 difference between roughly comparable models) won't make up for the lingering thoughts of "what might have been."
Also, the LMT will come with better quality parts (trigger, etc.) and furniture (stock and grip) and give you the pleasure of saying, "Check out my cool LMT." That sounds much better than: "Check out my AR. It's an LMT upper on a Stag lower." (Just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?) :)
I don't think you'll regret choosing LMT. I sure haven't.
Derek
LMT really isn't the top of the line, but they are damn close.
The question I always have to ask the "casual plinker" is, would you use a gun to defend yourself? If the answer is yes, then the next question is, do you know which weapon you will have closest to you when you need it?
This is why EVERY weapon that you own needs to be the more reliable one made.
C4
C4
Which brand do you consider top of the line. I am going back and forth between a Colt, Noveske, or LMT.
A lot of guys here are focusing on the whole "you might want to use it for something serious later", but I think there are more important considerations.
Let's rephrase your question;
"This new $30,000 sports car is getting rave reviews. Would getting one for daily driving be senseless? Or should I spend $24,000 and get this imitation with shoddy tires, poor wiring, and a spotty engine that still requires the high octane gas and the higher insurance rates.
In other words, it's not a matter of "brands X, Y, Z are overkill, and F, G, H are just so-so,", it's "X, Y, Z, do it right and they work, and F, G, H, cut corners and fall short of basic competency."
There is certainly a little leeway in what even the pickier people here would consider to be a good quality AR, but in order to save a really appreciable amount you're going to have to sacrifice on quality. (to make it even worse, some poorer quality rifles won't even save you any money). An AR is one of those things you really shouldn't even bother getting if you can't swing the money to do it right.
Unless (or even if!) you're rolling in money, buying cheaply made/unreliable weapons, even as toys, doesn't make too much sense, unless you're talking about something in .22 or milsurp. Cheap AR's are still way more expensive than most other sorts of fun plinking guns, and they're expensive to shoot, too.
If only they made a lefty style
Witness here a good friend of mine: He wanted a basic carbine for plinking and busting jacks. The day comes for him to bite the bullet and throw down some cash. I had previous conversations with him about quality AR's and what not to buy.
Apparently none of those suggestions got through his thick skull as he showed up on a Saturday to show off his new toy and much to my concern uncased a brand new DPMS. My concern quickly turned to horror when he told me how much he spent- $1,300! Naturally, being a good friend I kept My mouth shut and told him how nice it was.
Now came the trouble. He purchased a VFG and promptly found out it didn't fit on the 4 rail hand guard that came with the rifle. He consulted me and I told him what the problem was (not even close to 1913)
Anther $250 for a mid-length from Midwest Ind. and half a day of wrestling with, then finally cutting-off of the YHM barrel and jam nut that were glued on with half a bottle of blue locktite! :mad: solved that. I did not charge him for my time. $1,550 is one spicy meatball! Imagine the sweetheart he could have picked up with that :D
Lesson learned for him (I hope). Buy it right the first time!!!
These guys do! :cool:
www.stagarms.com
Personally, no out of the box (cookie cutter) AR is considered top of the line (to me). The best AR is generally one that is built from a wide range of products (choosing only the best).
For out of the box top of the line, the three you have mentioned are the best available.
C4
A lot of good points were made, now I'm just waiting on my tax return check. I think I'm gonna end up buying my upper and lower a little farther apart than planned.
Well that really depends on the intended roll of the weapon. Here are some things that I generally like to use on my own personal builds:
1. LT Rails
2. DD Rails
3. VLTOR VIS
4. LT Stealth upper receiver (M4 cuts)
5. VLTOR MUR
6. Geissele Trigger (DMR)
7. Noveske SS barrel
8. Noveske N4 barrel
9. LMT barrel
10. BCM barrel
11. JP Ent. Tactical bolt carrier
12. LMT BCG
13. BCM BCG
14. Troy sights
15. Sun Devil Lower
16. Noveske Lower
17. Sabre Defence Lower
18. LMT SOPMOD
19. VLTOR EMOD
20. Magpul UBR
21. Magpul PRS
22. TD Battlegrip
23. Magpul MIAD
C4
Grant what is your opinon of RRA rifles?
Is there anything that would make the Colt worth the extra $250-$300 over the LMT?
I meant that building one up with after market rails, grips, buttstock ect. I can save about $300 bucks going the LMT route as opposed to getting the Colt set up the same way.
That is simply because you are avoiding the 11% FET (not because of any other reason). If Colt sold uppers and lowers (seperate) the prices would be about equal.
So again, the reson why there is a cost difference between a factory built Colt AR and a LMT put together from parts (by you) is the 11% FET.
C4
Thanks, That explains it. 11% adds up fast. I like the idea of not paying it.