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Soon to be 6.8 shooter (and needing help)

1184 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Tim_W, 
S
Hello everyone. My name is Robb and I'm a gun nut. Former Marine, so I know how to pull the trigger on a rifle and make it go boom (while hitting what I'm aiming at), however, I've been primarily a hand gun kind of guy for many years.

I've got the shotgun for home defense and a nice Mosin Nagant M44 for scaring the dead, but with the prospect of McHillBama taking office next year, I've decided to move up my purchase of an EBR. I'm not a .223 fan, so I've decided to go with the 6.8SPC.

However, I have no experience in purchasing an AR. Sure, I could field strip it and get them clean and shiny, but purchasing one is a little more tricky.

I've been sold on the Ko-Tonics upper. I'm just looking at the 16" Grunt model. Add a muzzle break, the bolt carrier group, and a magazine and that seems to be everything I can get from them right now (no lowers are available).

So, what else do I need? Again, I'm not familiar with some of the terms. I think I need a butt-stock (don't want nuthin' fancy), lower receiver, grip, aaaaaaaaand.... that's where I'm not sure what else to grab.

I'm trying to keep the total rifle cost under a grand because I'm also going to need to get optics and reloading gear. If anyone has any good places I should be looking at or any discounts they know I could get, I'd appreciate it.

-R
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SaaM said:
Hello everyone. My name is Robb and I'm a gun nut. Former Marine, so I know how to pull the trigger on a rifle and make it go boom (while hitting what I'm aiming at), however, I've been primarily a hand gun kind of guy for many years.

I've got the shotgun for home defense and a nice Mosin Nagant M44 for scaring the dead, but with the prospect of McHillBama taking office next year, I've decided to move up my purchase of an EBR. I'm not a .223 fan, so I've decided to go with the 6.8SPC.

However, I have no experience in purchasing an AR. Sure, I could field strip it and get them clean and shiny, but purchasing one is a little more tricky.

I've been sold on the Ko-Tonics upper. I'm just looking at the 16" Grunt model. Add a muzzle break, the bolt carrier group, and a magazine and that seems to be everything I can get from them right now (no lowers are available).

So, what else do I need? Again, I'm not familiar with some of the terms. I think I need a butt-stock (don't want nuthin' fancy), lower receiver, grip, aaaaaaaaand.... that's where I'm not sure what else to grab.

I'm trying to keep the total rifle cost under a grand because I'm also going to need to get optics and reloading gear. If anyone has any good places I should be looking at or any discounts they know I could get, I'd appreciate it.

-R
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Welcome Robb. As far as a lower, you can get any lower you want for it. Most lowers are good to go so shop around for a good deal. For the 16" barrel, I would get a collapsible stock with it. As far as the upper, Ko-Tonics is an excellent choice. I would get a 16" medium contour with a standard Front Sight Base and an A2 Flash Hider and standard handguards. Skip the Muzzle Brakes. You can always add change it up later on. Like this:
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owenslee
Welcome Robb,

I would suggest a complete lower from Global Arms in Kansas City. The owner Denny is a great guy who offers very reasonable prices and outstanding customer service.

I would agree with Paul to select a collapsible stock. A good solid choice is the CTR Carbine Stock from Magpul. I would also ask Denny to install a RRA two stage trigger. A big improvement over a standard trigger.

The reason I also recommend the Global Arms lower is because they are made by CMT industries. The same company that make a number of the forged mil-spec lowers for Stag Arms and others. Since Tim at KoTonics uses Stag flat top uppers, you are assured of a good fit between upper and lower. Something not always possible with mismatched sources for both items.

Secondly, the Global Tactical lower does not have the caliber marked on the lower. This avoids the confusion of having a 6.8 SPC upper mounted on a lower that is marked .223. It is true that other manufacturers such as Stag and RRA offer lowers stamped 6.8 SPC...but it is my belief than on an AR platform, the caliber should ALWAYS be on the upper. This allows any number of different caliber uppers to be used on the same lower without confusion.

This complete lower and your selection of KoTonics upper should get you an outstanding weapon for less than $1K.

Just my $.02....HTH

Kerry
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Saam Welcome. Glad you decided on a 6.8. You have certainly picked the best upper from the start. Lowers are actually a much easier decision as you can easily change out anything you don't like. I would suggest you buy from one of the following:
Denny's Guns / Global Tactical ask for Denny
G and R Tactical ask for Grant
Rainier Arms ask for John I think.

These are all places that will have great deals. They have excellent CS. They will help you get what you need and they back up everything they sell. I would suggest going ahead and getting a Stag lower as that is what your upper is. I would give Tim a call @ Ko-Tonics first just to confirm he doesn't have any lowers he can put one together for you. I think you will be much happier with a Rock River Arms stage match trigger then a regular GI. The stock is up to you but given that you are getting a carbine the Magpul CTR is a great fully adj stock that is rock solid (no rattle) then the few lower parts that come as a kit. Vltor also has good ones.

Tell any one of these places what you want. They will put it all together for you as well free of charge. Any of the Lower receivers these guys carry are fine so if there is something you prefer and they carry it or if they suggest a different one they are all basically the same quality.

More then the actual parts I wanted to give you the how to go about doing it. Do some research and decide what lower, stock, trigger you want. Call up one of these guys and have them put it all together for you. Find an FFL in your area that does transfers. If you are a handgun nut you probably already have shop you do business with.

These guys won't steer you wrong as just tell them what you are wanting out of it. Of all the components as long as you stick to major brand names it will be hard to go wrong. Vltor, Magpul, LMT etc.. Trigger is important. The tune RRA match by WOA that most carry is very good. Or go stock RRA match. There are others but these are the best bang for the buck.

Everyone here is very helpful and we will all try to help and answer any question you might have. By the way there are a few great deals on ammo going on right now. SSA has a deal for this site and Sportsmanguide.com has SSA pro hunters at very very good price.

Do you reload ? Are you planning on doing so for the 6.8?

Tim
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Tim, yup. I reload 10mm & .357Magnum right now so there's going to be a little switch to go over to rifle. I've never concerned myself with trimming a case, but I'm going to have to start.

I'm buying 100 rounds from SSA. This will give me a good feel as to what I should expect from my reloads and then I get to keep the brass. I'll be in the reloaders forum shortly.

As for the trigger, that's a future upgrade. I'm at my max right now so I decided to go the extra mile with the Ko-Tonics and worry about the other things later. This is primarily a self defense weapon (we have hurricanes here in Florida. Looting is common afterwards if the damage is bad) so .0025" accuracy at 700 yards isn't important. I want to simply make sure I can hit a paper plate at 100 offhand.

Glad to be on board!
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T
If thats the case then I would say get a LMT Defender complete lower or a complete stag. On the LMT you can save a bunch of money by getting the reg M4 stock not there terrific SOPMod stock. That should fill the bill for you.

Tim
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