Panther AR-15?
 

Hey Guys, I was looking at AR-15's online, and saw the DMPS Panther rifles, and in the 7.62x39 chambering, they appear pretty cheap for the kind of rifle they are, are theserifles any good?Here's a link:

http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/?cat=1738

There's a freakin' huge amount of .223 AR's, here's one:

http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/products/?prod=1066&cat=1716


Here's the available barrel lengths for .223

http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/?cat=1715

(Above where it advertises the pump-rifle, there's the possible barrel lengths.)


Again,myquestion is, are any of these good? I might even want to get one within a 3-year period.They look cool, anyway.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

DPMS make good rifles, and not only because they are manufactured in minnesota. I do not own one, but got feedback on them, among others making AR's they always brought very good feedback. I was and still am interested in their .260 version.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

When budget constraints allow, I plan to get one of their .243's.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

The reason I meantioned the .223 and the 7.62x39 is because I want a gun that can shoot a cheap cartridge, and 7.62x39 is probably the cheapest there is, second to rimfire. From what I hear, .223 stocks are going down, and it's harder to find now, but I think a .223 wouldn't be bad either, but the 7.62x39 has more "ooomph", you know, and I personally have experiance shooting the cartridge with an SKS. Is the ammo accurate, or is the cartridge itself crappy for accurate, plinking, and cheap? Or should I concentrate my interests on .223?

The rest of the cartridge offerings are rather expensive, over $1,000 which is not very much for an AR, but still too high of a price for some, including me, just the price it already has, for the cheapest ones in .223 and 7.62x39, are going to require over a year of saving up, and I'm not sure I have that kind of time, since the dumb bill in the congress is threatening to cut the AR's off the market, but, then again, the VT shootings were a blessing in disguise for us gun owners and the gun lobby, since when ABC and CNN took polls if there should be stricter gun control laws, it showed to the world, that the American people, want to keep their guns, with the War on Terror going on and all, just as people bought moreguns during the Cold War, funny thing is, after VT, handgun sales went up 53% all across America, 'cause people saw that if there's a loophole for insane people to get guns, they want to have some themselves, to protect themselves from other people who can't be trusted with guns, who, may have or may be able to get guns.

Sorry about running off into politics-forum material, just got started. At some point in my life, an AR would be a piece of controversy I would be proud to have in my possesion, but I doubt it'll be anytime soon, as I am still paying off debt for my hunting rifle.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

I bought a DPMS Lo Pro in the Fall of 2002, when some knucklehead was shooting up DC with a Bushmaster. At the time, I figured I should buy one while I still could.

The gun had FTF and FTE issues, and I could never get off more than 4 rounds without some kind of problem. I put it in the closet & didn't do anything with it, since I wasn't really into shooting that much back then (still married.).

Last Summer, I figured I should either "produce a bowel movement" or get off the pot, so I got it back out, & had the same problems. I called DPMS, and they told me to send it in, even though it was well out of warranty. I got it back in 4 days, even over the 4th of July, & it fed beautifully. In fact, it's quite the shooter. Should I ever get going on learning to hunt coyotes, it'll be my go-to gun.

In short, I don't know about the other companies, like Rock River, Armalite, Bushmaster, et. al. I do know, however, that I'm extremely pleased with how the DPMS folks handled my problem. I was actually getting the itch for an AR in .308, and I'd have no problem going with DPMS once again.

Hope this helps,

FC

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

There is 'accurate' 7.62x39 ammo out there, but you aren't going to buy it for cheaper than .223. Wolf and a few surplus sources for 7.62x39 is (more like was) cheap a few years ago, but accuracy isn't very good- its cheaply made ammo. The 7.62x39 is capable of excellent accuracy, but to get that, you'll pay $15 a box for the ammo or will have to handload it yourself. On the other side of the equation is the 'cheap' .223 ammo. You can buy remanufactured balck hills ammo for around $20/50rd box, and for even cheaper, buy Ultramax (though I don't necessarily reccommend Ultramax) and you'll get decent to very good accuracy.

I don't think 7.62x39 ammo is going to be any more readily available than .223- it was very difficult to come by last year and was about 2x the normal price if you could find it.

I would highly reccomend an AR in .223, if you need more oomph, you can get an upper in anything from 6.8 SPC to .458 socom. I'd save the 7.62x39 for the plinkers and noisemakers like the AKM and SKS or for a bolt action if you really are interested in reloading it.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

To add: DPMS makes good rifles.
They've been in a highly competitive business for several years and wouldn't be around if they turned out junk at the AR-15 price point. They aren't in the same league as Colt (of course you would be paying ALOT for the prancing pony and a few extra features that other manufacturers generally don't put into their rifles- but most people don't these the features anyhow), but they are every bit as good as Bushmaster, Armalite, and Oly.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

Chee, thanks Briman, I didn't know that Black Hills ammo can cost as little as $10.00 per 25 cartridges, or $20.00 per 50, that's good, of course, it is remanufactured, but that sounds good.

I was in Sportsman's Warehouse two months ago, and boy is it a crappy place, but one thing that caught my eye was a500 round box of UMC .223 ammo, for $100-$150, I thought, "Hey, that's kinda' affordable, at that rate, but is UMC any good?"

Is UMC ammo any good? Would you consider that price to be good? I have no reason to buy that ammo, though, since I don't have a .223, and none of my family members do.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

If I ever got an AR-15, I would probably not get any fancy scopes, just would use the cool sights that AR's come with, but I would have to make sure I got the kind that comes with the standard M16/M4-style sights.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

If I'm not mistaken, UMC is a brand name owned by Remington. I've shot a lot of it in my pistols, but not in my AR.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

This is probably just personal prejudice, but... I think everyone's FIRST AR-15 ought to be a .223.

And, for what it's worth... I don't think the added "oomph" of the 7.62 is all that significant. The .223 is MUCH flatter shooting. It slings a 55gr bullet about 1000 feet per second faster than the 7.62's 125 gr, and the 7.62 only manages about 200 more ft lbs at the muzzle. For my money, I'd rather have the .223 than a 7.62.

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

To whoever just said that the Virginia Tech shootings were a blessing in disguise, that is out of line. There is nothing good about what happened there, absolutely nothing. I think you should rethink what you said. If i were anti gun, i would want that quote on CNN tonight.

Back to the topic. I think DPMS makes pretty good stuff, i just spent six months shopping and trying to decide, and i went with Rock River Arms. I bought the Tactical Entry Model. I heard person after person tell me that they are about the best AR being made at the moment, and so far, i'm completely happy. Love it!

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

DPMS makes great ARs. You would be fine with any of their rifles. Speaking of DPMS, check this vid out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJWLP81qCAE

RE: Panther AR-15?
 

AR10 and AR15! Isn't the break in designation at 223 verses 6.8 and larger? If you get a AR get one with removable carry handle or flattop.The AR is like a sportbike,there is all kind of modifacations you can do to them and parts that interchange.My next mod will be the trigger,I can live with the stocker but a 2 stage will be nice.Ammo is getting thin but Wally world near me has Remington green box for 6 sumthin a box,the UMC stuff is fine if you can get it priced right.Some AR makers will have a problem with warranty if you shoot Wolf or reload,reman.ammo.Checkout CMMGinc and you can spec a rifle out with price online,mine was 1200 with shipping,then I started with mods,a good flattop scope mount can cost you but can add options...I love my Larue qd mount.