Help me pick an evil black rifle

[SnowCamo]

I imagine any of these will handle just about anything you throw at them.

I have a Colt 6940, dropped a Geissele SSA trigger in it, and it's a pretty sweet shooter. Does some of the extra cost go towards the Colt name on the side of it, probably. But if you go to sell it will that name retain a little
more value, hopefully.

 

[DT Jeff]

Check out POF for piston driven and F1 Arms for gasser. Both have held up well for me.

 

[rawhide]

A few years ago I was in the same situation and did a lot of reading reviews and forum threads online. I'm very much into best bang for the buck. I ended up with a Bravo Company mid length upper on an LMT lower. Since then I've build a few myself and took an armorer's course. The Bravo is very well built but I haven't checked prices in a long time.

 

[lasher]

can't go wrong with BCM, i had a 20 inch rifle that would shoot a ragged hole from 28 rounds, hole was about the size of a quarter

 

[Jwryan84]

Noveske anything and SSA-E trigger

 

[ef9turbo]

My two are LaRue and Noveske. I've owned and shot many a rifles and those two are my favorite and all I own now.

I will say this, there are only a handful of companies that actually build a very high quality rifle. There are a gazillion that build basic 4-500 rifles. It all depends on what you want. I can't seem to get anything high quality, even built myself, under 1k.

 

[n423]

PSA, Rock River, or Colt are all good to start with if on a budget. Noveske if not.

My son helped me build one 8 yrs ago, I'm still learning...

 

[Pokinfun]

I do not think you can beat a Ruger AR-556 Black AR-15 .223 / 5.56 NATO 16.1-inch 30Rd for $479, with a cold hammer-forged barrel.

 

[soonerwings]

The Big question is............... What do you want it for???? Answering that question would help everyone give better advice.

That said.......
Unless you're preparing for the end of the world, you don't need a LWRC (unless you really want one)

The Saint is new and untested for quality (doesn't mean it sucks, just un-tested) The Colt is a combat rifle and is time tested (Also depends on if you like Springfields and Colts Politics)

Is the OP looking for a certain caliber to build/buy?

Excellent points. To answer the first question, I want to use it as a "multi purpose" rifle. I don't fancy myself a sniper or a dude that kicks in doors for a living. This rifle is going to kill a lot of paper and a few coyotes. I found a thread here where someone replaced the pistol grip on the Saint and ran across cheap threads. I've read elsewhere that the hand guard seems a bit flimsy. No I don't technically "need" an LWRC, but I'm not gonna lie... the BCG is a work of art and the rifle itself just looks phenomenal.

As to the second question (about caliber), I'm only considering something chambered in 5.56

 

[soonerwings]

Of the choices you listed, the Saint is the best bang for buck.
Once you get assimilated with the platform, you'll build a custom one to your liking.

I tend to agree that the best approach is to buy one already built and then build a custom when I'm more familiar with the platform. Gotta walk before I run and all that. The Saint definitely has some nice features. The melonited barrel and mid length system sound really nice in theory. In practice, I don't know if I'll EVER shoot out a barrel and the AR doesn't have much recoil in a carbine length system to begin with. I've never shot an AR with a mid length system so it's difficult for me to understand how much softer the recoil is.