Buying First Rifle, Need assistance from experienced gun owners.?

Holy run on batman...can I buy a period? The .223 will do 300yds fine and so will other AR calibers. For distance you should get a nice varmint AR setup with 24" stainless barrel in a flat top. The deal with FFL's is....they are your transfer person to handle the transaction legally and do the background ck.

If you are plinking and shooting small game the .223 is fine. If you want to hunt deer you may want a .243,308 in the AR platform.

You can order a gun of the net as long as you have a local FFL in advance who agrees to do the transfer for a fee. So ...set up your FFL with a phone call and let them know your name and phone number and what you are ordering. Once you buy it......the FFL will need to send the FFL copy to the seller....so get the sellers fax number and address.

Make sure its a legal gun for your State...or get one through your local FFL. Beware...many people will not sell to MASS.D

Time for a 'reality check' here.

Before you go spending $1,200 bucks on a rifle- What is it's intended use?

1. That 5.56, (or .223 - they are essentially the same cartridge and interchangeable

for all intents and purpose), is a pretty specialized cartridge, and

2. The 'AR' series is NOT the best sporting or target rifle, especially for a 'newbie'.

3. Even the military is becoming disenchanted with the 5.56. It's a fine varmint cartridge,

and good for target shooting to 300 Yd.s, - but that's about it.

4. The difference between a 16" and 20" barrel is too small for you to notice as far as ultimate range goes. The practical difference is in the stabilizing mass of the longer barrel, and you won't notice that until you've learned a bit about shooting.

5. 30 Rnd. clips and flash suppressors, and folding stock?

Sounds like you're more interested in playing 'Rambo" than learning to shoot.

Hitting targets at "3+ football fields away is not something you can buy.

It's a skill that you develope with lotsa coaching and long practice.

Best advice:

Start with a good .22 bolt gun, (just about any mid quality rifle with a good trigger

will do to learn the basics), and learn about hold and trigger control with the cheap

rim-fire ammo. Over the thousands of rounds you will need to just get competent

at the short range basicis, the difference in ammo costs will buy you a decent

high power rifle, and you'll have a better idea of what you need.

Wow, you've really your homework for this one. I'm gonna try to help you as much as I can although I prefer AK-type rifles instead.

AR15 rifles come as a whole or you can "build" your own with a upper and lower. You cna mix-match uppers and lowers to your preferences. Its is possible ot build/buy an AR15 for as little as $800, but your state, MA, like my state, CA probably bans receivers, manufacturers or other parts so that you'll be limited on what you can make/buy. I got my CA legal AK47 clone at this site called "lanworldinc" at http://www.lanworldinc.com/

they cater to California residents mostly, what's CA legal is probably MA-legal.

Looking elsewhere you can probably get a quality AR15 for $1000 to $1200.

barrel length: the military uses a shorter barrel, with the longest to be 16" I think. they shoot up to i think 500 meters or something like that, so accuracy isn't that big of a question. I'd suggest a 20" barrel if you can afford it (longer barrels cost more), which would make the gun a bit more accurate with maybe a 50-100 fps increase over a 16"bbl at muzzle.

caliber: if your rifle is chambered for 5.56nato or 5.56x45mm, specifically stated so on the barrel or receiver, you may also fire .223 Remington in it. However if it doesn't say that. DO NOT fire 5.56 nato/5.56x45mm in it! there is a small difference in pressure between civilian 223 and military 5.56. the military has a higher pressure and if fired in a civilian rifle that may cause the gun to explode. I think you'll be shooting 223 mostly because military 5.56 costs a lot more. but having that extra ability to shoot 5.56 safely never hurts.

you can get cheap 10rd magazines a gun show in your state or a neighboring one, the states on your side of the nation are pretty small and you could probably drive to another state within an hour or two.

cheap magazines from C-Products are also available. They're like $12.99 online.

make sure your state allows pre-ban mags, since California doesn't. if you get caught it'll probably be taken away, but at worst you may be charged with some kind of serious crime.

FFL- must buy from an FFl holder. if online, the gun must be shipped to an FFL holder.

I buiuld match AR-15's.

I am also a long time military long distance competition shooter, Alaskan hunter, trapper and certified hunter safety instructor.

300 yards is really easy for any 223/5.56mm firearm to handle.

It's when you decide to shoot NRA Highpower Rifle competition you need an AR-15 in 'As Issued' condition with an 18 or 20 barrel for the final leg that is 600 yard slow fire prone.

If you are not gonna shoot NRA Highpower Rifle - than take a look at the Ruger Hawkeye. I just bought one in 223 Rem for the trapline and snowmachine use on varmints - wolf, coyote and fox. It has the 1:9 twist to handle both 223 and 5.56 but with the 16.5" barrel it is a perfect fit for a rifle you want to take everywhere. Got it for around $500 - and it sure beats the hell out of lugging around a $1400 AR that could jam in the ice and snow. I had the barrel threaded and installed a TLG suppressor - it is a real tack driver!

Hope this helps.

For long range accuracy, you need a bolt action rifle. I recommend a Remington 700 or CZ 527. I hear the Savages are also nice. As to the caliber, a .223 is ok, but look into a .308. It is beter for long range accuracy. Plus, if you decide to get into hunting later on, these are much better deer calibers. Get a Remington or CZ bolt, and you will not regret it. Without an FFL, you have to get a gun dealer to order the rifle for you. He will then do a background check, and have you fill out the 'yellow sheet', and sell you the rifle, with transfer paperwork. Transfer fees vary, but are usually $25-50. IMPORTANT: if you plan on shooting very much, consider the price of ammunition when you choose your caliber.

Your basic 16" barrel will work on 300yrd targets but the 20" will help stabilize the projectile more out past 100yrds. So the 20" would probably produce more consistent groups over a 16" barrel. Since you mentioned you're not allowed to have flash hiders and prefer accuracy over "maneuverability", I would consider a bull barrel...fluted barrels work just as great but are slightly lighter. As for how far will a 20" shoot, an AR15 is able to shoot 400-600yrds but the .223/5.56 is a very light projectile. I'm able to shoot 500yrds with my 16" bull barrel but the slightest wind plays hell with it. In my opinion if you plan on shooting further than 300yrds I would consider a different caliber like the 6.8SPC or .308...the 68SPC works with the .223 lower but your will need a .308 lower if you plan on building a .308 rifle. Anyhow, most of your bull or fluted barreled uppers are flat tops with no front post sight which makes is good for mounting a scope. There is a lot of brands on the market but most of them use parts machines from the same company. Just look for something produced by a solid company like DPMS, RRA, Colt, Stag, Bushmaster, and LMT for example.

Just a side note, you may want to study up on twist rates. Your basic AR15 twist rate is 1-9 but I believe a 1-7 may help more for long range shooting.

One thing I would like to point out or suggest is doing a trigger job on your AR15. The factor triggers are rough and not all that great on a sharp shooter rifle. A single stage or two stage will be a great improvement. You can find these pretty easy, RRA sells one as well as Chip McCormick.

As for the .223/5.56 question. It's the chamber that makes the difference. You can shoot .223 in a 5.56 chamber okay but you want to avoid shooting 5.56 in a .223 chamber. It's really hard to tell which is which to be honest. I mean unless you buy a complete rifle from a dealer that states 5.56 on the lower it's hard to tell. Then you also have a lot of AR15 companies who will actually build a rifle using a 5.56 chamber but mark it a .223 rifle.

Now all registered firearms must be shipped using a FFL. In the terms of the AR15, this means the lower receiver must be shipped to your local FFL dealer. The upper receiver can legally be shipped to your front door. So if you order a complete rifle or lower receiver online it must be shipped to your FFL dealer and he will charge you a transfer fee, usually 20.00-30.00. I generally suggest buying the lower receiver locally if possible to save a few dollars but the transfer fee isn't a big issue to pay if you can't find one locally. Then as I stated earlier, you can order you upper online and have it shipped to your door. Just make sure when ordering an upper that it is complete. They sell uppers with or without Bolts, Bolt carriers, and charging handles. This stuff takes about 3 seconds to install but you generally save money buying it together due to shipping charges etc.

As for magazines, it would be unethical of me to suggest taking a road trip to a free state. So I would probably pick up a pre-ban magazine but try and look for some 20rds if you can. They fit really nice on the bench when target shooting compared to 30rders.

Just a suggestion-

Considered a Savage Arms Model 110?

They are really nice Bolt Action Rifles and very accurate. I own three of them in my collection.

You can pick one up from your local gun shop for under $700.00 with a scope.

My big popper, (7mm Remington Magnum), with a Straight Taper Varmint Barrel was just over $600.00 after taxes. I have taken wild boar out to 450+ yards with it easy.

For a caliber that you can use for hunting, I would suggest .308 Winchester or .243 Winchester for a starting caliber. I think .308 would serve a little better though.

Again these are merely suggestions at this point. But if you are set on getting an AR-15, that is a very good choice for .223.

Good Luck and Happy Shooting!

For consistent 300+ yard shooting, I'd recommend an Armalite AR-10 in .308. Get the longer barrel, and get a "heavy barrel".

Just my humble opinion, but I feel a conflict in purpose here. Ar-15 is a nice rifle for light work, but really not suited for game hunting at long range. Can it do it? Yea, but not well, and not as your first rifle. IMO, you need a .22 LR, work at 100 yards until you can reliably hit a lid from a 20 ounce drink. Then move to a long-range caliber like .308.

listen, if you want a real nice one that you will keep for years, get the ar 15. but be warned, its only accurate/powerfuk to an average of 400 yards (you wont be shooting more than half that if this is your first gun). it will only be good for coyotes or smaller. the gun is made around close-medium range and is ment for manuverability

if you want really want something that will stretch (1000 yards +) and want real versatility, raccoons-moose, get a 30-06. rounds are a bit more expensive, but youll get a beaut. you want a real nice rifle about $800 or so and than youll get a nice scope for about 200 more (or pay 400 and get something that will see 1000 yards). with the last 200 get a HARRIS bipod about $100 and than get some accessories such as a sling and ammo.