Budget AR for 3 gun project

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Thanks Gunny
I was thinking of one of the DPMS/Jerry Miculek muzzle brake. But I'm open to suggestions and/or donations ;-)

Have you compared that charging handle to the BCM? I know the BCM is a bit more but gets raving reviews. If this one is as nice or close the much lower price seems like it would make it a better deal.
 
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Give some thought to buying a complete upper. If you buy a barrel and install it yourself, the manufacturers might not help you if you have a headspace issue, an out of spec gas port, or some other vexing problem. Happened to a friend of mine when he built an AR-10. Most companies will stand behind an upper that they have assembled.

Palmetto State Armory occasionally has some good deals on 18" rifle length uppers with Wylde chambers and free float rails. If you can get a package that includes the BCG and charging handle, it can be a good buy.

If you build your upper, consider the UTG Pro rail. Good quality for the price. Uses a proprietary barrel nut but they provide a wrench. I put a 17" rail on my 18" barreled upper and it may be "a bridge too far". I'd buy the 15" if I had it to do over.
 
Crunchy Frog said:
Give some thought to buying a complete upper. If you buy a barrel and install it yourself, the manufacturers might not help you if you have a headspace issue, an out of spec gas port, or some other vexing problem. Happened to a friend of mine when he built an AR-10. Most companies will stand behind an upper that they have assembled.

Palmetto State Armory occasionally has some good deals on 18" rifle length uppers with Wylde chambers and free float rails. If you can get a package that includes the BCG and charging handle, it can be a good buy.

If you build your upper, consider the UTG Pro rail. Good quality for the price. Uses a proprietary barrel nut but they provide a wrench. I put a 17" rail on my 18" barreled upper and it may be "a bridge too far". I'd buy the 15" if I had it to do over.
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Thanks I've gone the PSA complete route before and watch the daily sales. The 18" Wilde looks nice but part of this project is to learn. So I'll probably put the upper together myself. That said if I have the $$ and that upper is at a killer price it'll be hard to beat. So it might be an excuse to build another lower.

&%!#%# I'm starting to see why Gunny has so many ARs ;-)
 
Monmouth reloading has Ballistic Advantage barrels in many lengths and configurations. MSRP is very reasonable, and Monmouth discounts the price. Plus, they have 25% off right now. They guarantee them to shoot 1/2 MOA. I have used several, and my latest build is with their 18 inch SPR barrel. Anderson upper and lower, ALG trigger (until I can get a better one) Nikon 4-12 X 40 scope. It is a tack driver if I do my part well.

Russellc
 
Agree with RussellC on Monmouth reloading on the barrels. The premium ones have the gas block pinned. For hanguards ALG are the best Value IMO. Primary Arms has sales on them frequently. Matrix and Guntec handguards also get good feedback if you are really on a budget
 
Thanks folks. I really appreciate the great options.
I'll be figuring out what the budget will allow for May. So hopefully will be able to order some of the upper parts come the second payday in the month!
 
Maybe I've missed it elsewhere - what pistol and scattergun are you going to run? Sounds like you have a plan worked out for your rifle, but - after all - it IS called 3 Gun for a reason.
 
Varminterror said:
Maybe I've missed it elsewhere - what pistol and scattergun are you going to run? Sounds like you have a plan worked out for your rifle, but - after all - it IS called 3 Gun for a reason.
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Um
You mean this isn't the only one?
I can't have three rifles?

Seriously, as fun as building this is. There should be a competition with three different ARs.
I'm loving this and just want to build ARs!!!!!!

All joking aside. For a pistol I'm going with the trusty M&P. Sorry Glock guys, nothing against Glocks but the M&P just works for me. BTW don't tell my ex as she was a Sig fanatic!

And if I ever find one I'm going with a Mossy 930 JM.

The M&P is what I have and the 930 looks really nice and I really want a semiauto shotgun.
On the 930 I'll do the riser upgrade by welding it up as I have a buddy who can do it cheap and as good as any one out here. He's done other welding doe me as does artistic quality work.

That said Im also currently spending as much time as I can on the range working on pistol skills. And I'm working on scheduling a class next month too.

I've also started getting the gear to reload shotgun, and to cast slugs so I can practice that more too.

Part of all of this is to work on my skills and be a better shooter.

Finally, I'm using all of this as motivation to get back into the gym and get some weight of and get back into good shape that I put on after a pretty serious situation.

Oh and I have plans for a pretty slick gun cart that I'm going to build.

This is all fun and part of the healing for me! In fact in some ways like learning to reload,e it's more fun to me than the actual competition. Of course that's an excuse to get out and do stuff too so it's all good. But this thread was focusing on the AR. If there's a place to put a thread on all of the other stuff I'd gladly start one there if anyone's interested.
 
I would get a BHW barrel through Ritch Precision. That's going to be the best value by far I would imagine. Be sure and go with a heavy profile as 3 gun will get that sucker cooking. For the handguard I would get the lightest carbon fiber job you can find. Any of the glue on ones would probably work well, and they're about a hundred. I would go with a 15'' handguard. If you want to go super cheap, the aluminum handguards from model 1 sales are still pretty light.

I would also suggest getting an adjustable gas block. BTE makes pretty cheap ones. That combined with a good muzzle brake will pretty much eliminate recoil and muzzle flip. That's probably the most important aspect of a 3 gun rifle is that it shoots flat so you can stay on target and get the quickest follow up shots possible. If your budget allows you might want to think about getting a low mass operating system.

Have you thought about optics? The optic is probably more important, and potentially more expensive, than the rifle itself. You'll be needing a 1-6x scope with a true 1x low setting. Vortex would probably give you the best bang for your buck.

The best muzzle brake in my opinion is the rolling thunder. But there are cheaper options that are probably 90% as effective.
 
grampajack said:
I would get a BHW barrel through Ritch Precision. That's going to be the best value by far I would imagine. Be sure and go with a heavy profile as 3 gun will get that sucker cooking. For the handguard I would get the lightest carbon fiber job you can find. Any of the glue on ones would probably work well, and they're about a hundred. I would go with a 15'' handguard. If you want to go super cheap, the aluminum handguards from model 1 sales are still pretty light.

I would also suggest getting an adjustable gas block. BTE makes pretty cheap ones. That combined with a good muzzle brake will pretty much eliminate recoil and muzzle flip. That's probably the most important aspect of a 3 gun rifle is that it shoots flat so you can stay on target and get the quickest follow up shots possible. If your budget allows you might want to think about getting a low mass operating system.

Have you thought about optics? The optic is probably more important, and potentially more expensive, than the rifle itself. You'll be needing a 1-6x scope with a true 1x low setting. Vortex would probably give you the best bang for your buck.

The best muzzle brake in my opinion is the rolling thunder. But there are cheaper options that are probably 90% as effective.
Click to expand...
Flat shooting is what I'm after.
Gunny's sending me a muzzle brake so that's covered. I was looking at the DPMS/Jerry Michulek but I won't pass up a gift!

I'm currently looking for deals on adjustable gas blocks and light weight BGCs. I think I found a few adjustable gas blocks that aren't outrageously expensive but I'll get the barrel first to make sure I get the right one.

As for Barrel I think I've decided on 18" rifle length 1:8 twist
I've found a few that aren't outrageously expensive. So we shall see. A few claim to be for 3 gun. Ideally as inexpensive as possible, but realistically I think about $200 seems to be realistic with sales and watching. So I'm going to budget that and if it's a little more then it is what it is and if I find a good one for less then it's a bonus.

I appreciate the info on hand guards. I've got several suggestions, so we shall see. First I want to get the upper, barrel, gas block and tube. Then I'll worry about it, the BCG and handle unless I find a deal I can't pass up!

I haven't decided on an optic yet. I know this is going to be an area that isn't going to be cheap. I have seen a few options that look decent at fair prices so we'll see. But the first goal is to get the gun built. Once that's done, I'll worry about the optics. If I don't it's just too much to worry about all at once.

Oh and love the profile pic!
 
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Hokie_PhD said:
Flat shooting is what I'm after.
Gunny's sending me a muzzle brake so that's covered. I was looking at the DPMS/Jerry Michulek but I won't pass up a gift!

I'm currently looking for deals on adjustable gas blocks and light weight BGCs. I think I found a few adjustable gas blocks that aren't outrageously expensive but I'll get the barrel first to make sure I get the right one.

As for Barrel I think I've decided on 18" rifle length 1:8 twist
I've found a few that aren't outrageously expensive. So we shall see. A few claim to be for 3 gun. Ideally as inexpensive as possible, but realistically I think about $200 seems to be realistic with sales and watching. So I'm going to budget that and if it's a little more then it is what it is and if I find a good one for less then it's a bonus.

I appreciate the info on hand guards. I've got several suggestions, so we shall see. First I want to get the upper, barrel, gas block and tube. Then I'll worry about it, the BCG and handle unless I find a deal I can't pass up!

I haven't decided on an optic yet. I know this is going to be an area that isn't going to be cheap. I have seen a few options that look decent at fair prices so we'll see. But the first goal is to get the gun built. Once that's done, I'll worry about the optics. If I don't it's just too much to worry about all at once.

Oh and love the profile pic!
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A BHW from Ritch Precision will put you around 250 I believe. I don't think you're going to get a decent 3 gun barrel for anywhere near that. Comparable options are White Oak and Krieger, and you're looking at 5-700. With BHW, you get to pick your chamber, twist rate, profile, muzzle crown, finish, fluting, gas system length, the whole nine yards. I would opt for a 16-18'' medium weight profile, 1:8 twist, 223 wylde, threaded muzzle, no flutes.

Definitely do the adjustable gas block if you're going to be playing around with low mass parts in conjunction with a rifle length 18'' barrel. It's bound to be finicky and you'll want to tune it to whatever ammo you're using. You'll probably also want to use different ammo to train than when you actually compete, so you'll want to be able to retune it easily before a match.

I wouldn't put more than about 20 bucks in the charging handle, as you won't be using it much. The most I would do is put an aftermarket latch on it for the eventuality that you have to clear a malfunction, but that's always something you can do later down the road.
 
grampajack said:
A BHW from Ritch Precision will put you around 250 I believe. I don't think you're going to get a decent 3 gun barrel for anywhere near that. .
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I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll have a sale ;-)
$250 isn't insanely expensive. I'm hoping to find one a little cheaper. Ideally as I posted above, under $200 would be nice. That said, when I'm ready, I'll figure it out. Right now, I can't do anything until after the second pay period in May. So I'm done until after the 15th.

After that, once I see how much free cash I have, I'll figure out what to buy or if I'll just put what I have away for another pay period or two to get the remainder of the parts.
 
Hokie_PhD said:
I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll have a sale ;-)
$250 isn't insanely expensive. I'm hoping to find one a little cheaper. Ideally as I posted above, under $200 would be nice. That said, when I'm ready, I'll figure it out. Right now, I can't do anything until after the second pay period in May. So I'm done until after the 15th.

After that, once I see how much free cash I have, I'll figure out what to buy or if I'll just put what I have away for another pay period or two to get the remainder of the parts.
Click to expand...

The wait time for those barrels can be quite lengthy, so I would make that the priority. By the time it's ready you'll probably have your remaining parts in hand or on their way and be ready to build.
 
The post office said that your package should arrive on Saturday. Oh! I put a crush washer in the package too. I thought you might need one.
Be very careful when building ARs. Things can get out of hand really fast. You start off wanting to build one or two and the next thing you know, you have 15 ARs, a few complete lowers, a few stripped lowers and a bunch of parts.
A friend stopped by yesterday to see if I had a barrel. What do you know, I had three extra barrels and two complete uppers. I guess I shouldn't have ordered that complete upper and lower from Palmetto last week. But I just couldn't pass up a complete AR ( after putting the upper and lower together) shipped for under $400.
Good thing I'm not married because, someone would be upset about the barrel I ordered today . I know that will make four extra barrels, built I can justify my actions. I have four stripped upper. That is if you don't count the two slick side uppers I have. Don't ask how I ended up with sinful slick side uppers.
What I'm trying to say is, don't............ Oh hell, I m having fun. Buy a bunch and have fun.
But don't let it get to far out of hand.
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