I made a thread last year asking for your advice on purchasing a pistol (I do appreciate it by the way). However, due to monetary issues, I wasn't able to purchase one. Now that I have some extra money, I've been looking at these three rifles. I was wondering what some of you gun enthusiasts thought about each of these. It will mostly be used for target practice with the possibility of home defense and highly doubtful, hunting (stressing the highly). My budget is around $800 for the weapon itself; I'd rather spend all of it if it means better quality. I know that 7.62mm ammo is a bit cheaper than .223 so that already pushes me towards the AK and the VZ 58. At this point, I'm really interested in this VZ 58. I'd appreciate your thoughts on all three or anything else you would recommend.. Thanks.

As much as i love my ak47 nothing beats my 308 AR10. If you could find a local shop who will build it for you its alot cheaper that way you probaly could get and AR10 rather than a 15. Just my 2 cents.

wrinvert

i do own both, i prefer the AR over the AK but thats just me. i use my AR's for more accurate shooting and the ak's for "spray and pray" style shooting. the AR will cost more and will be more refined. the AK will be cheaper and will work no matter what you throw at it.
i always say goto a local gun shop and hold both and see what works best for you! if you can find a shop or a friend that will rent both and try them both. 

Go out in the field for 30 days and the AR15 wont cut it as far as ruggedness..

Personally none of those weapons would be my choice!!!!!!!!!!

slickric

wrinvert

i do own both, i prefer the AR over the AK but thats just me. i use my AR's for more accurate shooting and the ak's for "spray and pray" style shooting. the AR will cost more and will be more refined. the AK will be cheaper and will work no matter what you throw at it.
i always say goto a local gun shop and hold both and see what works best for you! if you can find a shop or a friend that will rent both and try them both. 

Go out in the field for 30 days and the AR15 wont cut it as far as ruggedness..

the word rarely appears in his post many times. i don't see him running into this issue
 

If it's $800, I suggest saving up a bit more and getting a brand new Arsenal AK-47... After transfer fees and taxes it should be like $1000
 
Now, An AR-15, Can cost as much as $2,000 Depending on what it has... Cheapest might be around $800 but with not so good parts... So I think going with the AK47 would be much better =P

My vote is for the is for the M-16 or A-15  no matter what configuration it is in...mine is my avatar had it for many years never failed my no matter what I throw at it or drop or what ever...just my 2 cents also

stephen92,
 
I own an AR15. I'm also former military so that influenced my decision too. I personally cannot give you info regarding the AK47 as to its abilities, reliability or ease of maintenance other than what I have read and heard. I'm sure that if you did some research, you could find adequate info on this subject.
 
The AR15 is a very dependable weapon as well as versatile. But, like all semi or fully automatic weapons, they require more attention in the maintenance department then their non semi or automatic counterpart. Failure to keep them clean will eventually cause problems regardless of your choice of weapon or the environment it's used in. Another thing to keep in mind regarding the care and cleaning of the AR15 is a quality lubricating oil. There are many types on the market. Some very cheap while other types are expensive. Do your homework and ask questions as this is not a cheap toy you are playing with.
 
Ammunition for the AR15 comes in many different varieties. What I am using is the 55gr. 5.56mm round. Mine can also use the 223 round as noted on the barrel. Some say that you can interchange/mix the 5.56 and 223 rounds with no problems. That is debatable. But if it isn't stamped on the barrel as to what type of rounds to be used, then don't mix them and only use what is indicated by Mfg of the weapon.
 
Another thing to consider is the cost of ammunition. What you also need to decide would be the type of shooting that you are going to do. If for example you were going too strictly target shoot and you were going to go to the range often, than one might consider a bulk purchase of ammunition which would reduce the overall cost per round. Nothing wrong with saving money and having fun at the same time. But if you were going to do different activities which could require different bullet weights, then you need to think about the different costs associated with the various types of rounds being utilized. Then you have to factor in the sighting of weapon to each type of weighted round.
 
There are many Mfg. companies that produce the AR15. You will also note that there are many different prices being charged for said product also. Here is a situation where you can find a decent product for some decent money. All you have to do is research your specific choice(s) and then ask questions.
 
 
Have fun and good luck.

+1  .308 AR10 and build it yourself.  Here is one  http://www.cheaperthandir...43-55.html   You can find/build them cheaper but this is an example of one ready to go.
 

hutt8400

As much as i love my ak47 nothing beats my 308 AR10. If you could find a local shop who will build it for you its alot cheaper that way you probaly could get and AR10 rather than a 15. Just my 2 cents.

I suggest checking out an SKS.

stephen92

RainStryke

I suggest checking out an SKS.

I had a chance to handle quite a few of those at some gun shows; they were nice guns, but most of them looked as if they were beaten with a hammer repeatedly. Getting one still isn't out of the question though.

 
You can replace the entire stock and make it look like this for fairly cheap:
 

I guess no one would listen to me if I told you to get an M1 Garand?
 
You can get fairly decent quality ones for under $800 and I haven't ever met a single M1 owner who didn't love their M1.
 
I've met AR owners who say they're gun feels a little too much like plastic. I've met Kalashnikov owners who say they're gun isn't accurate enough. But everything loves their M1.

I got AR-15 that chambers a 7.62x39 round it's kick to shoot..
Jim

Well building an AR15 is easy.  The stripped lower is the only part that NEEDs to go through a dealer and can be bought online for as low as $99... i think Spikes has'[em for that price.  for a budget rifle you can build one for $800.  My suggestion is if you want a fine battle rifle just start collecting the parts for it over time and build it.
 
You can go back and forth about the AK and AR in ruggedness and reliability but when they DO fail... and fail catastrophically which is really easier to replace parts?  The AR 15.  I kid you not mine was literally built with a screwdriver, hammer, and a Gerber multi-tool... not that I recommend doing it that way.
 
Go for the AR15 and build it your self after some HEAVY research in the matter.  All the parts are pre-spec'ed and head-spaced, ect. So its really a modular design with little to no specialty work outside your basic assemblies.
 
************VZ-58s IMHO not to great because IRCC they don't take regular AK mags which is a real bummer...  cuz AK mags r sooooo cheap and plentiful.   Don't get me wrong Ilike some good AKs and I've owned many.  The AR is a more practical choice for the long run.
 
Here she izzzzz