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OT: Ar 15 building vs buying

  • 5for3 said...

    I built one and personally the process of picking what I wanted and putting it together was about as much fun as shooting it. You can do a lot more customization for your money if you do it yourself.

    If you decide to go that route let me know and I'd be more than happy to help if you need it.

    I decided I would like to build my own! Now I would like to know what I NEED in order to build my own. I know I will need a roll pin punch set, a mallet, a stock wrench and that's about all I know I will have to have. ( I plan on getting a complete upper minus the handguard so I don't think I will need a barrel wrench or flash-hider wrench. If those are in fact tools lol)

    coolkeeper

  • You are gonna have a blast, no pun intended, when this thing comes together... So much fun. Not as fun as watching UT roll over NCState, but close!

    BigOrangeBeer

  • If you are buying a complete upper I don't think you will need anything more than what you said. Good luck on your build you will enjoy it when you are done.

    Allvol1983

  • That sounds like it to me! I got my upper from Bravo Company USA. Great products, good price, and the customer service is good too. I got the full auto bolt carrier group, just in case. Its the same price too, I think. I got my rails from cheaper than dirt, I got the cheap one for like 60 bucks. It's not floating but it works great. Also got an EOTech. Best purchase I made.

    5for3

  • 5for3 said...

    That sounds like it to me! I got my upper from Bravo Company USA. Great products, good price, and the customer service is good too. I got the full auto bolt carrier group, just in case. Its the same price too, I think. I got my rails from cheaper than dirt, I got the cheap one for like 60 bucks. It's not floating but it works great. Also got an EOTech. Best purchase I made.

    Thank you very much! Where do you suggest I start looking for complete uppers and stripped lower receivers?

    coolkeeper

  • Gun shows are a good place.

    Allvol1983

  • Allvol1983 said...

    Gun shows are a good place.

    I have been told the gun shows have outrageous prices in my area for building an AR (Birmingham)

    coolkeeper

  • Well, I got my upper from Bravo Company USA. It works just fine, and it wasn't too expensive. You'll have to decide what barrel length you want. The shortest you can legally get is 16" I think. They sell a 14.5" with a permanent flash supressor, and that is legal.

    I tried to buy one from Rock River Arms first, but they had a wait of about 3 months. I'm not that patient.

    The lower is what you'll have to get registered, i'd recommend buying it and the parts kit for that at a local gun shop. I got lucky and bought one already assembled.

    5for3

  • The best things about the ar 15 is they shoot great and rounds are really cheap compared to heavier calber rounds.The sad thing is i had been trying to sell an ar 15 with a burris signature select scope that cost 850 just for the scope for 1200 dollars so i could fix my truck.But i was gone to the doctor and someone broke into my house and stole my ar15 .glock 36 45 cal.9mm s&w,AND 2 9mm ruger a p89 and a p90,and also stole several other cheaper pistol,s and five shotguns.they got every gun that was in my cheap safe about 11,000 dollar loss.but under the bed was a ruger mini 14 and mini 30,two mossberg shotguns and a 9mm carbine rifle and a winchester pump 22.i have 500 rounds of 45 cal and no 45 to shoot them with.they also stole a rifle that i had that i had only bought one box of shells for it in ten years.it was 497 used a 50 cal shell a box of 20 cost 475 dollars 4 years ago.

    p valley 88

  • coolkeeper said...

    Thank you very much! Where do you suggest I start looking for complete uppers and stripped lower receivers?

    Brownells

    If you have a C&R, they give great discounts on parts.

    silver fox

  • silver fox said...

    Brownells

    If you have a C&R, they give great discounts on parts.

    What is a C&R?

    This post has been edited 2 times, most recently by coolkeeper on 8/15/2012 at 1:16 PM

    coolkeeper

  • Curio & Relics Federal Firearms Liscense. It allows you to have older weapons (Mosin Nagants, M1 Garands, P38 Lugers, etc.) shipped directly to your house as opposed to going through a dealer, which saves you quite a bit of money. It only costs about $50 for a 3 year liscense, but it pays for itself quickly.

    Where this comes in handy as far as an AR-15 is concerned is that websites like Midway, Brownells, Southern Ohio Gun, etc. offer discounts on parts, substantial ones in some cases, to people who have a C&R.

    For instance, an Armalite A4 style receiver with dust cover and forward assist already installed is $158 with a C&R, but $195 without from Brownells.

    silver fox

  • silver fox said...

    Curio & Relics Federal Firearms Liscense. It allows you to have older weapons (Mosin Nagants, M1 Garands, P38 Lugers, etc.) shipped directly to your house as opposed to going through a dealer, which saves you quite a bit of money. It only costs about $50 for a 3 year liscense, but it pays for itself quickly.

    Where this comes in handy as far as an AR-15 is concerned is that websites like Midway, Brownells, Southern Ohio Gun, etc. offer discounts on parts, substantial ones in some cases, to people who have a C&R.

    For instance, an Armalite A4 style receiver with dust cover and forward assist already installed is $158 with a C&R, but $195 without from Brownells.

    Wow that is very good information indeed!! +1 to you!

    coolkeeper

  • I have a setup in mind let me know what you all think about it, here it goes

    An aero precision stripped lower, a magpul moe lower parts kit including the stock and buffer tube. A surplus ammo 16" chrome lined 1:7 twist upper including CH and BCG and one pmag

    Grand total (including shipping and FFL transfer fee): $764.95

    coolkeeper

  • The one thing I would consider is getting a barrel with a slower twist than 1:7 unless you plan on shooting it as a target gun with the heavier bullets (69-90gr). 1:9 or 1:10 are good for the common bullet weights from 45-69 grains, which is what most of the stuff you get at Wal-Mart or surplus on the internet will be.

    A barrel with a twist of 1:7 can be a bit too fast for lighter bullets.

    silver fox

  • silver fox said...

    The one thing I would consider is getting a barrel with a slower twist than 1:7 unless you plan on shooting it as a target gun with the heavier bullets (69-90gr). 1:9 or 1:10 are good for the common bullet weights from 45-69 grains, which is what most of the stuff you get at Wal-Mart or surplus on the internet will be.

    A barrel with a twist of 1:7 can be a bit too fast for lighter bullets.

    That is good to know, thank you! Do any of you all know of a good front sight to put on a flat Piccatinny gas block?

    This post has been edited 3 times, most recently by coolkeeper on 8/16/2012 at 5:23 PM

    coolkeeper