Building First AR15 almost

Status
Not open for further replies.
P

printcraft

Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
63
Location
Indiana
Jumping in with both feet. I asked you guys about a good first heavy rifle and said I had a preference for the AR15 variety. Consensus was to go for it.
Talked to a guy I know at the gun show today. Again I did not know until recently you can build an AR from scratch saving mucho $ in the process.
He's an FFL going to get me a lower with collapsable stock. I think I'm going to buy 2 lowers (or more while I still can :uhoh: in this political world, sorry I need to turn off the news while posting) have him build me 1 to my specs .223, 16" carbine, flat top with removable handle. I would like to build my own when I get acquainted with the first maybe 20" with standard stock. Thanks everyone for the input.
 
I agree with building your own. I have only 1, built from a DPMS lower and Del-Ton 20" flat top kit. Doing the build, and lot's of reading (before and after), I learned a lot about the AR, but really didn't save any money. After buying the lower, the kit, 1 colt magazine, and a DPMS carry handle, I could have bought a complete rifle at a gun show. However, the rifle I have is exactly what I wanted (sights, handguards, bbl lenght, etc.) and I am now very familiar with what makes it work.
 
I've built many. Now that I've built up some experience, I can say for certain that there really isn't much of a savings involved. Unless you buy some kit parts gun made from pot-metal garbage. That to me is unacceptable and I don't even consider them AR's. Sorry if that offends, I have first hand knowledge on why they suck so badly.

The whole key is being able to put together an AR in the configuration of your choice and using the quality parts of your choice.

The biggest benefit is the learning process. Being able to gunsmith it yourself has many benefits. Saves money. Makes you independent in many ways. Saves time. Total understanding of the system makes you a better user of that system.
 
I very recently considered piecing my first AR. What drove me to a off the shelf RRA, was price. I spent $790, and all I need is a rear BUIS.

If I were to have pieced it, I would have spent more.

I'll cut my teeth on a cheapo, and then once I've had some time to learn on it, I may consider a more expensive option. LWRC, Noveske and such sell very nice uppers and lowers, even complete rifles, but it'll cost ya.

My observation: what do you want on your rifle?

Off the shelf guns are like new cars at the dealership; they're specifically built for the AVERAGE person in mind. If you don't like what options/colors etc are sitting there, then you order. Same with guns.

Mike
 
I built one years ago, sort of my yearly project when the weather got bad. I had most of the parts laying around anyways, so all I really needed was a lower and an internal parts kit. I found a dealer who carried Olympic Arms products, and I bought them off of him. I had a couple of books, including a great how-to article in a dedicated AR-15 magazine, and it was pretty much follow the steps and before you know it, you've got yourself a fully functional AR-15. I can't really comment too much on cost as I picked up a lot of the parts that I needed over a considerable period of time. Still, it was a decent build, and I learned a lot about the AR-15 in the process of completing it.
 
I have built 10 AR's, and I am about to help my son with another build. You can save money if you just use a basic kit and a stripped lower, and if you shop around. I built one complete for around $530. But, after adding a bunch of goodies to my liking, the investment cost exceeded $1500, which far exceeds what I could get for it (right now, at least). You can have one any way you want by building, and the fun part is swapping stuff around until you find the right combo to your liking. It is a good way to save on a nice rifle system.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top