Choosing a Rifle

Over the years I have seen many people buy rifles based off reviews from other people and charts that show "the best." Many times, this technique works but it isn't the best way. The sheer numbers of rifles available since the sunset of the 1994 Ban make choosing a rifle a daunting task for the average person. Here are my thoughts on getting past average and finding the "best" for you.

Mission

First thing you need to do is apply a mission or purpose to the rifle. This is more than simply saying home defense. It needs to be specific to your circumstances. Is your home in the city? is it close to neighbors? Is it small with tight hallways or do you live in a great hall with plenty of space?

You need to make it as specific as possible down to estimated rounds fired per year in practice, training and competition(AUTHORS NOTE: You should be doing all those things) This includes planning for all applicable laws and regulations. By doing this you can narrow the field slightly and start to develop a vision for the rifle. You can then build a list of requirements that you can lay out into must haves and wants. This is what every large organization like the DOD do to choose their systems.

Budget

The next thing is budget. You need to work out how much you can spend at once and a plan for finishing the rifle. Depending on the mission, the add on's may possibly cost more than the rifle. More people fall into this trap than they like to admit and have a fancy rifle with a low dollar optic that fails when they need it most.

There is not one SME that can tell you what your budget is unless they are close to you so this is something you must do alone.

Brand

Here is where much of the delay comes when choosing a rifle. People are just as passionate about rifles as they are cars. If you haven't been witness to a Ford vs Chevy argument then Youtube can fill you in.

Anything I say at this point it will look like a plug. I will say this though, look for a Made in the USA brand with national recognition that is around the average price across a few big companies. You will find rifles that are above average and more that are below. Here is the caveat, there is only one way for most companies that do not have their own factory: sacrifice quality. If the average across several known companies is $150 dollars for some thing and a company offers the same part for $30, that's what my LE friends call a clue.

Assemble or buy complete rifle

My recommendation for a rifle with a purpose that includes a life, is to buy a factory built rifle unless you are school trained. A factory rifle, including Knight's Armament, employ vetted and trained people to insure proper assembly of the rifle. This will get you the most reliability and accuracy. It is built correctly 99.9% of the time and if it isn't, you have options. If you assemble, you don't have that option.

For another car analogy, a high performance crate motor built by professionals will out run most garage build in power and reliability. Most people would attempt to build an engine for the first time on their daily driver yet will build a rifle and bet their life on it.

Closing

This essay should get you started on choosing a rifle. If you do these things, you will be on the path to getting a great rifle. Obviously, I work in sales for Knight's Armament. I know, better than most that KAC is on the high end of the budget scale. Notice I did not say buy KAC. If you go through this list and end up with KAC on your list, we have something for you. If not, you will still have a rifle that will be the Best for YOU. My needs are different than yours.

Get shooting and do work

Ash Hess

For the complete product line visit https://www.knightarmco.com/