I just traded my 20" HBAR upper on a Bushmaster lower for a new Kimber. I've always loved the AR-15 but really wanted that new pistol.

Turns out my rifle configuration was not "in fashion" any more. The guy that I traded with said the hot configurations here in Texas were shorty uppers with collapsible stocks. I was going the opposite direction with my AR-15 because I was planning to put a target barrel upper on it. Anyway, just something to think about as you choose your kit for the new AR if you plan to resell it quickly.

I always heard if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.

BUT, I would recommend a FAL over an AR 15 or any .223. After using them in Iraq....I wouldn't piss on one to put a fire out on it.

.308/12guage/.45 Those are calibers to live....or swear by!

I have a 20" HBAR COLT A2 config and it's a heavy beast for training classes. Doing 8 hour classes with that thing in 110 plus degree weather made me appreciate the pencil barrel 16" carbine.

The only part of an AR15 that is a gun is the lower receiver. Everything but that can be ordered on the internet and sent to your house unless local or state law prohibits that. The lower receiver would have to be sent to an FFL if you order online or you would have to buy locally. When I say lower receiver I mean just that. The parts inside the receiver don't count as the gun just the receiver itself.

Local FFL's here in AZ charge about $25 for a transfer.

I'm not trying to argue with someone that’s been there because I haven't but I have read many articles from both sides of this argument and I'm not convinced. If it's something you don't mind talking about can you give any specific examples as to why .223/5.56 is ineffective?

GF, I well remember the controversy when the Army went from the M-14 to the mouse gun. The Ordnance Corps was against it. Defense Secretary MacNamara and his Ivy League whiz kids forced it on the military. Gen. Lemay liked the AR-15 for Air Force Security people to replace the aging m-1 carbines. Now the Army is looking at a 6.8 mm to replace the 5.56. The old .45, proven in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam is making a comeback, too. Personnaly, I like it fine for self defense. The FN FAL or the AK-47 are better man stoppers than the M-16. In the mean time, an AR-15 makes sense for a citizen seeking a self defense weapon. I hear that there are new higher caliber uppers in the works soon.

The main benefits of the AR platform in 5.56 are the ability to carry more rounds of ammo because it's lighter and the fact that the AR platform is inherently more accurate than M-14s/M1As, FN FALs and AK-47s and the AR platform is more modular than any of the others. Now the accuracy part can be debated and I won't deny that M-14s/M1As can definitely be brought up to a level of accuracy that matches or very easily beats an AR but dollar for dollar I think the AR is more accurate. FALs can be accurate and there are a few AKs that are accurate but generally speaking these weapons are not know for there accuracy.

I will have to agree that .308 is definitely a better "man stopper". I will also say that from my reading and first hand experience from other people I have talked with 5.56 is capable of doing what it was designed to do. Where 5.56 definitely starts to lose its value is when you start talking about targets much more than 300-400 meters away. 5.56 gets its killing power from tumbling and then fragmenting. If you don't get a 5.56/.223 to tumble and fragment all you are doing is blowing .22 sized holes in your target which has been proved to be less than effective. I can’t remember exactly but SS109 loses its ability to fragment at something like 2300fps. I will have to look that up.

Oh and yes there are already setups so you can change the upper on an AR and have a different caliber. I believe 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC can even use 5.56 magazines with a different follower/spring. Then there are magazine blocks that can be used on a 5.56 lower so you can switch to a 9mm upper and use 9mm mags in the same lower.

you have to change teh hammer also & buffer

PS The .223 with the right bullet and the right twist in the rifling can be devastating within about 300 meters. The old 55 gr FMJ in a 1/12 twist barrel was a better killer than the 62 gr steel core penetrators in a 1/7 twist. When the heavier bullets came out to increase the effective range of the M-16A2, some of the traumatic wounding of the 5.56 in the M-16A1 was reduced. It just punches a hole most of the time.
The old 55 gr in a 1/12 twist was barely stabilized. It tended to yaw on impact and create more lethal wounds. It was a tad faster, too. I like a 1/9 twist. It will stablize the heavy bullets but still fires the 55 gr accurately. I had a Colt Match Target in 1/7 that only was accurate with the heavier > 60 gr bullets. I don't remember all the stats, but that is the problem in a nutshell.
Expanding hunting type bullets may not be great for armor penetration, but they help make the .223 much more lethal against soft targets. A lot of people have been killed with the M-16. The mouse gun is still deadly, it is just not as deadly as a 7.62 bullet in many circumstances. I'll shut up now.

That about nails it. Many of the problems with the AR platform are caused by the wrong bullet with the wrong twist rate.

1/7 or 1/9 twist with a 75gr TAP for me please. To expensive to plink with but that will do the job.