Palmetto State AR-15

Caliber:.223 Rem / 5.56×45mm NATO (other rifle and pistol calibers are also out there)

Price: $300-1000+ (depends on manufacture and configuration)

The polar opposite of the AK47, the AR-15 is the iconic American rifle of the 20th and early 21st century. Utilitarian, and customizable to the extent of ricing out a Honda civic, the AR-15 is THE rifle to own if you are an American. No other weapon platform has caused so much butthurt in terms of discussing which intermediate rifle is superior on forums, to special forces wanna-be larpers shit talking other platforms, to deranged politicians who fear the modern rifle of the common man. The AR-15 is the standard for what can be considered an “All around” Rifle. You can use it for plinking, self defense, hunting, or competition. And you have the option to build or configure your rifle as you see fit. Wanna go with a classic look? Get some A1 or A2 furniture and larp like you are in the Vietnam war. Never lift any weights in your life? You can get a polymer lower as well as other lightweight furniture and have a rifle somewhere around 5 lbs so you can still enjoy your soy latte and shoot without hurting your stick like arms. The possibilities are limitless (in accordance to state laws and regulations of course).

I am by no means an AR-15 expert. Proof? I picked up a PSA part kits and build my rifle with budget in mind. Assuming you put all the parts together properly, and if there aren’t any defects with your build, your rifle should not let you down. I am in the camp of those that say that Palmetto State Armory AR15s are good enough. Sure you can spend hundreds to thousands on something like a Daniel Defense, an authentic Colt, or a BCM build, but if you are kind of new to the AR15 platform, I think PSA will be good enough for you. Even in the long run. Once you get the hang of the the AR15 platform, you can then overtime, look into upgrades to make your rifle more robust, more comfortable to shoot, lighter, heavier, more taticool, more fudd, it doesn’t fucking matter. You have so many options (at the time of writing this blog) and you can upgrade to better parts when you feel like you need to. Even then, some people are perfectly happy with their AR-15 builds from PSA. Especially if you aren’t planning on shooting daily or something crazy like that. If you want to spend the extra money on something that is a bit high quality, then by all means go for it but it’s going to pretty much do the same thing as a PSA AR-15. That’s just my opinion though. Feel free to ask the elitist on /k/ or the various taticool forums. At the end of the day, the AR-15 is a versatile platform and you’re free to do whatever you want with it (again, in accordance with state and local laws).