How much did you spend building your AR?

[johnson_n]

I need a few more things for my lower build and it's gonna be close to $400. A LMT upper is gonna be close to $650 and im wondering if I should have just gone out and spent close to the same amount of money for a prebuilt one.

Noveske stripped lower
RRA lower parts kit
Magpul MIAD grip
Magpul CTR

 

[ckay]

Looking at your list of parts, you would've spent more money on a complete rifle...having to change out the stock for a CTR and A2 grip for a MIAD. You should get the 2 stage RRA trigger. Very crisp for the money.

 

[Soybomb]

To me you don't build your own ar to save money but to get the exact parts and configuration you want. There is even less markup on lowers than uppers. If you want to save some bucks buy a $100 lower instead of the noveske and your price will about the same as a preassembled one with all the gear you want.

 

[TIMC]

My AR in .50 Beowulf project is going to be a little over 2K by the time I am done. Nobody makes a complete rifle in the configuration I want so I am putting it together myself. Right now it is up and running using a lower from one of my other AR's while I am working on getting the rest of the parts. There is something to be said about building your own rifle, Fun!

What I have so far...
Alexander Arms 16" entry upper
Laser engraved dust cover with (.50 Beowulf)
Yankee Hill Mfg quad rail hand guard
Brownells 1" riser
Weaver see through rings
Burris 1.75-5x32mm Safari Signature LRS scope with fast plex
Hogue monogrip
Bi-pod

What I still need...
Alexander Arms lower
Magpul PRS stock
Rail covers
front sling adapter
Charging handle with extended release.
Maybe one or two things I hadn't thought of yet!

With any luck the rifle will be completed within the next 6-8 weeks.

 

[ArmedBear]

$765

Shoots as well as I can, with standard iron sights. I want a nicer trigger, because it'd be a lot more comfortable to shoot. I can get good accuracy from a junk trigger, with a few fliers, but MAN, it's fatiguing.

What I'm sayin', though, is to be careful not to go overboard. The Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns can smack you, and with a vengeance.

 

[TIMC]

What I'm sayin', though, is to be careful not to go overboard. The Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns can smack you, and with a vengeance.

I have an AK like that. I could never get my investment back out of it but then again I have no intention of ever selling it. I don't think it matters how much you put into a custom rifle if you are building it to be just for you. As lon as you are not taking food of the table of your family then have fun with your project. Who cares how much it cost.

 

[halfacop]

If all your interested in is "having" an AR - then yes, it would have been cheaper to just have bought one.

However - building one up yourself gives you much more than just "having" and AR.

You aquire the inner most details on how the gun works. You have built a gun with the parts that you want - not need.

Its much more satifying to build your own then to just purchase one in my book.

Now on to what I spent:

$700.00 on a RRA Entry Tactical
$110.00 on a MI quad rail and vert grip
$60.00 on a GG&G BUIS with locking detent (yeah a steal)
$160.00 on a Aimpoint comp 2 (yeah I got another steal)
$75.00 on a 6 position stock. (reclaimed $50.00 of that from reselling my A2
$30.00 on vltor light mount
$30.00 on a Surefire G2
$70.00 on mags then upgraded them with Magpul Guts for another $30.00

prolly a bit more over all but its just the way I like it!

 

[AR-15 Rep]

If anyone would like to customize a rifle..let me know what parts you are interested in and send me an e-mail with the parts list. I will let you know how much and how long it will take to build it that way.

 

[ArmedBear]

Not saying there's anything wrong with spending money on the parts you want.

However, one can throw a lot of money at a rifle and end up with something he doesn't want, too. If, before dropping a lot of cash, you ask yourself whether you REALLY want some accessory, you will have more money left over for others.

 

[taliv]

i've spent around $2000-2500 on each of my builds before optics

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Just with the barrel, suppressor and optic I have over $2k in my favorite rifle without considering any of the other parts. That is one of the fun/scary things about ARs. You can spend $550 or you can really spend some cash.

 

[H2O MAN]

I purchased a complete rifle and then invested a little extra money into it to set it up exactly the way I want.

I am not opposed to "pre-owned" accessories and have less than $1800.00 in my Colt LE 6920 as pictured below.

I could sell it for a profit.

 

[johnson_n]

I looked at the RRA two stage trigger but wasnt sure if it is worth it. Ive never shot an AR before and the only reason for this build was because I dont have a rifle besides a .22lr and it seems like the "in" thing right now. Next rifle will most likely be an AK-74.

What should I be spending for the two stage trigger?

 

[MMcfpd]

Recent builds:

$300 Bushmaster 14.5" M4 barrel assembly
$105 Lauer LMT lower
$ 87 WOA triggerless LPK with Ergo grip and Magpul trigger guard
$148 LMT two stage trigger
$180 LMT bolt/carrier and Badger tac latch charging handle
$ 10 Tac bolt catch
$ 32 KNS pins
$200 Colt A2 upper receiver
$469 Aimpoint H-1 Micro red dot
$ 68 Arms #2 mount
$ 51 CAR stock w/buttpad

$1650:



$347 CMMG 20" pencil barrel w/triangular handguards and three prong FH
$ 44 WOA triggerless LPK
$ 36 A1 stock
$ 9 A1 grip
$180 NoDak Spud XM16E1 lower
$ 53 A1 Bolt catch and selector
$ 10 Flat delta ring
$ 10 Small rectangle port door
$130 Slick side A1 upper
$148 LMT two stage trigger
$117 XM Grey anodizing
$140 Bravo Company bolt/carrier

$1224:


I hadn't actually added them up before this. I'm not even going to tally up the Colt pencil barrel flattop I put together a couple of months ago.

ETA - I'll echo the chorus' refrain that building an AR is, for me anyway, all about building the rifle I'm after, and not at all about saving money.

 

[3pairs12]

Heres my Lauer custom weaponry lower $120 model 1 20" 6.8 spc upper $650.

 

[Buzzbox]

I bought a Knights SR-15 M4 for $1400. Done.

 

[Dionysusigma]

Stripped lower: $125-ish (traded for it)
Del-Ton parts kit and upper, 6-position telestock: About $485
Leapers fixed rear sight: About $30

I went this route because I had a little more flexibility than I would've otherwise, but mostly because I could buy it a little bit at a time before plunking down the majority for the LPK and upper.

What I want to do next: (if possible)
16" pencil profile, mid-length gas system
Picatinny gas block
Phantom FS
A3 flat top
Railed hanguards
AceLtd. skeleton stock
Magpul triggerguard
TAPCO M249 SAW grip
Folding front and rear BUIS
LMT bolt and carrier
Haze-gray furniture/ rail covers

Extra goodies:
EOTech in forward position (think "scout" rifle)
IOR Buccuresti scope w/ QD
Vertical foregrip (MP5K style)

After That: (AR10 style)
24" heavy barrel, standard gas system, target crown
KNS Precision duplex front sight
Free-float tube with bipod
Magpul PRS stock
Panther grip
MeOpta MeOStar 4-16x44AO with mil-dot reticle
Folding rear BUIS
Haze-gray furniture

Extra Goodies:
Docter holosight mounted coaxially with the scope, offset 45 degrees

 

[Janos Dracwlya]

I spent just a hair over $460 for mine:

$150 Surplus M16A1 upper receiver
$95 DPMS bolt group
$50 DPMS lower parts kit
$132 Lauer Custom Weaponry lower receiver
$12 Replacement (surplus) A1 handguard
$15 Surplus A1 stock and buffer group

 

[strat81]

190 Stag Lower with LPK installed
449 Stag 3H Upper
9 Extractor Upgrade
80 Brownell's BUIS set
78 Magpul CTR Stock
51 Buffer Assembly
25 Phantom 5C2
881 Total

895 Stag Model 3 from Cold War Shooters

Saved: $14. I suppose you can eat the $14 with the cost of a magazine. But, I got the rifle I wanted with the options I wanted without the hassle of selling take-off parts. I also got to spread the expense over the course of several months.

 

[Detritus]

Let's see,

for the one i built for my wife,

$99 for Stag lower
$50 for DMPS LPK
$25 for complete A1 furniture set from Northridge
$400 (or so) for Olympic plinker Plus 20" upper
and i can't remember what i paid for the buffer, tube and spring
so around $600 and it could wind up with almost as much sunk in it for the two needed upgrades, ie a RRA 2-stage trigger, and a lighter barrel (which if i get a new barrel is looking to be a $300-380 item)

but even if i get up over the $1k mark that'll be cheaper than it would have been to have someone else build it, the cost will have been spread out further, and i have the pride of having done it my own dang self.

 

[ny32182]

My last two builds have cost almost exactly the same, estimated 2600 to 2700 into each.

 

[Full Clip]

For my 16": $870 before optics
For my 20": $950 before optics
Those bits and pieces add up...

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

My friend just spent about 4500 building up his precision AR.

 

[akolleth]

I am one serious cheap a$$, got all my parts from forums and Ebay

**nice SP1 upper with triangle handguards (No BCG) $165
**Essential Arms lower $80
**Lower parts kit, $35
**A1 stock/PG/buffer tube, $20 (Ebay)
**Buffer and spring $10
**Colt Bolt $27
**Sling- $5
**A1 FH, $8
**Charging handle, $15

$365, and all I need to finish her off is a decent used carrier and a firing pin (another $60 or so)

 

[rklessdriver]

Mine was pretty cheap. About $550.00

A Bushmsaster stripped lower $125.00
Model 1 Sales A2 16" CAR kit $425.00 (this was some time ago I think they are about $460.00 now).

Every penny was well spent IMO. So far it has digested thousands of rounds without a problem and will still shoot one ragged hole groups at 100yrds off a bench.
Will