Best Complete AR-15 kits on the net?

No such thing.

Best= hand picking every single part yourself.

Bravo Company will have everything you need. You don't need to pick every part yourself, you could order a complete upper from Spikes or BCM and feel confident that the parts are all up to snuff.

I'm not a gambler so I avoid outfits like model1 sales.

I agree with everyone. I would rather buy a Del-Ton for $750ish or a hand picked cmmg bargain bin $599.95 non-chromed version or $650ish for the chrome lined. You can always take them apart and still have a life time warranty. Some guys maybe can buy parts and stuff and beat those prices but when I started I could not do better than these two guns. The money I saved I used to trick out my guns for the wife and me.

No such thing?

Click to expand...

Zereoedeffect meant you would be better off picking your components yourself than relying on a kit.

Go to http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/
Pick out an upper, get the complete BCM bolt and carrier, charging handle, get any mil-spec lower, get any of the 3 lower parts kits on the site (Stag, RRA, DPMS) , pick out what buttstock you want, get an extension tube, buffer and spring, just add sights and you are ready to rock.

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com has some quality brands

How To Build (Lower Receiver)

everthing you'll need to know:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=226782
AGI also has a good AR building DVD.

I like using prebuilt BCM uppers.

If you're willing to take on the build, more power to you, but if you have to ask where to get parts, I'd suggest that you not build your first. Yes, they are easy to put together, if all goes as it should, but it can be a real PITA when things go wrong or don't go as smoothly as you would like.

For example, what will you do if the alignment pin isn't quite lined up with the gas port, or one notch on the barrel nut is too loose and you can't get to the next one without severely over torquing the nut.

I would suggest that if you want to start out building something, build a lower first. They are super easy and there isn't much that you can screw up that can't be undone. Then I'd buy a complete upper and slap that sucker on the lower you built and go shoot it.

Whatever the case, I'd get parts from a reputable company. You can tilt the odds of getting good parts in your favor by doing this. What I've found with "cheaper" kits is that you run an increased risk of getting sub standard small parts that can have you tearing your hair out. Like underpowered extractor springs or extractors that aren't up to snuff. Out of spec gas rings can make you crazy or a gas block that doesn't seal up as well as it should. Or a barrel that has too big or too small of a gas port drilled in it. Gas tubes that are just a hair too small in diameter. I've run across all of this.

I get most of my parts from Bravo Company. They springs and stuff are top notch and their bolts and carriers are MP and HP tested to help insure long life. There are other firms like Spike's and Denny's. I've ordered quite a bit of stuff from PK Firearms too.

Yes, you can build a cheap AR, but that may not be the best thing to do. Buy quality parts and build something that will run right.

That post with info from Yahoo answers is true and it isn't. If QC was that tight, I don't think that a bad rifle would ever get through and they do. Head spacing is also not really an issue, although I do check head space on new builds and well worn rifles with a no go gauge.

You also don't need to worry about the trigger. No jigs involved in installing a fire control group. Just buy a good lower parts kit.

It isn't about saving money. Well, it can be, but not a good premise to base a build on. Building is more about using the parts that you want and not wasting money on parts you're gonna wind up not needing or using.

Check two things out. Go to aimsurplus.com and check out the Spike's uppers. Go to Bravo Company and check out their uppers. Both are running sales right now.

Another question:
"Building an AR is not smart. If you already own several, have the $400 in special tools, and have been to Colt or a service school - then sure. But if you do not know the difference between a crisp trigger and how a match trigger should feel, or, how to attach a barrel and head space it - this is not something you want to do on your kitchen table.

Factory AR's are assembled by a guy (or gal) with 7 years experienced and then tested, checked, fired, and quality assured by at least 3-4 master gunsmiths with 15+ years of building AR's as thier job. Each one has a 'standard' AR next to them to test against.

When a novice like you builds one - it comes out sloppy. Lots of dings, dents and scratches from not using the right tools. You don't have the $150 Brownell's trigger jig to properly align and match the sear, hammer and trigger - so the trigger feels like two coke cans crushed together. Worse - by not having the experience and training to headspace the barrel - it can blow up in your face.

Bottom line. Go buy a nice new factory made AR that comes in the original box with a warranty card."
-from yahoo answers

Is this true?

Click to expand...

Posted by a dude that had no patience or ability to learn.
You may need to buy $150 in tools if you totally build it from scratch, yes. Do you need to be a master gunsmith? No. As long as you are a fairly competant and literate adult you should have no problems putting it together. I had a tougher time putting a dresser together I bought from IKEA, but I did finish it, and it didn't require a master carpenter.

Assuming that you already have a basic work space equipped with basic tools and a good vise, another $200 investment will get you everything you need to do a professional job of putting together an AR. If you have the itch to do it, have at it. I really enjoy the fact that I can change up one of my rifles just because I got tired of the way it was.

Just today, I stripped the upper on my KISS rifle, yanked the piston system, went back to direct impingement, added a low profile gas block and went with a rifle length free float tube. Looks and feels totally different and I feel like I have a new toy. Total cost was around $60 and an hour of my time.

It's a lot of fun. It just helps to have a resource to help you out when things go wrong, like some of the stuff that I talked about above. The main problem with being new to building is that if the new build won't run right, you'll have little idea why and trying to trouble shoot on the net is difficult.

sxechainsaw said:

Another question:
"Building an AR is not smart. If you already own several, have the $400 in special tools, and have been to Colt or a service school - then sure. But if you do not know the difference between a crisp trigger and how a match trigger should feel, or, how to attach a barrel and head space it - this is not something you want to do on your kitchen table.

Factory AR's are assembled by a guy (or gal) with 7 years experienced and then tested, checked, fired, and quality assured by at least 3-4 master gunsmiths with 15+ years of building AR's as thier job. Each one has a 'standard' AR next to them to test against.

When a novice like you builds one - it comes out sloppy. Lots of dings, dents and scratches from not using the right tools. You don't have the $150 Brownell's trigger jig to properly align and match the sear, hammer and trigger - so the trigger feels like two coke cans crushed together. Worse - by not having the experience and training to headspace the barrel - it can blow up in your face.

Bottom line. Go buy a nice new factory made AR that comes in the original box with a warranty card."
-from yahoo answers

Is this true?

Click to expand...

No not true. Just some google fool making stuff up. Probaly a libby troll scared that folks can build these and he can't.


There is no majic trigger jig. *** is that all about. You just pop them in, tap the pin in and presto.

There is no head space to check on an AR15! That's set on your barrel/barrel extension before that barrel leaves the factory. And all good bolts are so nearly identical in dimensions it really deosn't matter. You can check it with a gauge. it's a simple as closing the bolt on a metal bullet shaped gauge thing. 5.56 really deosn't have the power to stretc out your headspacing the way 7.62 or 30.06 M1's do. Headspace is no big deal on Ar's assuming quality components.

The dings and stuff is just silly. Last comp I landed on my AR dropping to urban prone with my secondary while that Colt 6920 was slung. Rough use training is going to kill an Ar finish in no time.

You only need a few basic tools for building an AR, nothing crazy, especially if your upper is prebuilt anyway. Check out that build link i posted above, it's all in there.

Fact: Most of those master gunsmith AR builders he's referring to haven't a clue what a fighting rifle needs to be. Experience 15 years ago means nothing. The weapon system has evolved alot since then. Look how much obsolete aftermarket junk still floats around the net.

And each part you build with still as a warranty, assuming quality parts. Usually 30 days, but the better companies will still work with you long after wArranty expires if its a legit complaint. The good co.s want you to have a quality rifle you can defend yourself with. they have morals and care about your well being. The bad ones don't, and you'll spot those quickly the more research you do.

That's the kind of chump that gets excited about a LesBaer overpriced AR that deosn't even have a basic ambi safety!

Very few companies are really in tune to what works.
Good ones:
Magpul, Larue, KAC, BCM, LMT.

Well if you want quality on a fully assembled rifle look at BCM, Daniel Defense, and LMT. Colt, Sabre, and S&W M&P are good but not as good as the ones I mentioned earlier.

For quality and price BCM first and then S&W.

Don't get fooled into thinking RRA or Bushmaster is good for the money I drank the Kool Aid on both those brands and regretted it. I traded the RRA and upgraded the Bushmaster with BCM parts.

Maybe if you must have an AR now just get a rifle with mil-spec upper and lower receivers and a chrome lined 1/7 barrel. Then upgrade the "guts" as you see fit.

I've had great luck with del-ton kits. Some say the staking on the key is not adequate, but I suspect for most shooters- the job they do is fine. The nice thing about most 'kits' is the upper comes assembled and headspaced. It removes the need for special tools for assembly. Don't be intimidated. there are plenty of walk throughs online with good pictures and solid explanations.

Welcome to the world of black rifles!

Don't buy crap. Feel free to build but don't get something like Model 1 sales or other junk. Get quality components like BCM.