Armalite M153GN18

[lfine]

Anyone have experience/thoughts/opinions on the 18"? Think I'd prefer to the 13 because of the ability to actually add something to the barrel if I wanted to, unlike the 13". Was thinking of making it a Christmas present to myself as a good AR for general use that could also be used for 3gun if I ever wanted. Thanks for any thoughts!

[TonytheTiger]

It's a solid rifle. Probably the best bang for your buck in the factory gun category and has 80% of the things I'd want in a 3 gun rifle. The other 20% of things I'd swap out are the reason I'll never buy a complete rifle though.

[Matt in TN]

I have the 308 version of this and it's awesome.  I say "Merry Christmas!"

[Woodsk]

I have the 13.5, tuned the gas block and comp put on an optic, and it was great. The timmney trigger that comes in it is good. but I swapped it out or my favorite trigger the SD-E

[fbzero]

I shot the 18" for a season and my dad has shot the 13.5" for two seasons now.  To put it bluntly, I'm not sure that there is a better "bang for the buck" rifle to pick up off of the shelves and play the game with.  Now, *for me*, I decided that the 18" was a bit too heavy for our local matches because they consist mostly of bays 50-100y.  Other than that, I had no complaints.  Probably would have stuck with it if there were more long distance shots in our matches.

 

As for my dad's 13.5", it's a better configuration for our locals.  It's lighter and I think it balances better.  If I had bought it instead of the 18", I would probably still be running it.  I decided to build my own after selling the 18", but don't think I'd regret it if I had just bought the shorter model instead of building either.  Just a solid rifle for the money.

[lfine]

Thanks for the input, gentlemen. Was thinking 18 to keep it a bit more all-purpose but think I'll go 13 for the fun of it. Can always build an 18 later. Now to find one at a good price!