So I finally did it

[armoredman]

After 33 years I finally shot an AR pattern rifle again. The last time was in 1984, an M-16A1, and the SPROINNNNGGGG in my ear drove me cuts, so bad I swore off ARs ever since. Well, a shooting buddy on Monday had me try his carbine, a light handy little thing with collapsing stock, to show off the new red dot. I wish I could remember the brand names of either, but the thing I did note was 1), I hate the stock AR grip with that finger ledge, 2) that thing was easy and fun to shoot, 3), I didn't hear a single spring vibration in my ear, and 4), I wish he had told me it had a release trigger.
So now I am considering starting into an AR. Being a lowly paid state slave, my first thought are the bargain basement PSA blem lowers with the MagPul MOE furniture that they still have on their website for $150. Then I could save up for an upper of some kind.
AR gurus, your thoughts? Note, I am too fat and old to go play Red Dawn in the desert, so this would be a range plinker, coyote hunter and hopefully a never-used home defense carbine...maybe. I am not going to do a paradrop onto Skull Island.

 

[Mn Fats]

You'll get guys saying this brand is better than that brand. And "if you don't own a Colt or above then its trash." But you said "plinker, coyote hunter" so Del-ton, dpms, busmaster will serve you just fine. Rugers and S&W seem to be a great bargain with an excellent reputation for warranty and CS.

 

[readyeddy]

PSA has their freedom midlength upper on sale for $159.

 

[MistWolf]

You'll also get guys that will point out that the PSA will need to be upgraded with an H or H2 buffer and a Colt extractor spring.

Armoredman, compare the price of buying the lower and upper separately with buying a complete rifle kit from PSA. When calculating cost, don't forget to include shipping.

Look around to see who is selling Colt 6920r Troopers and for how much. They come with a Centurion free float handguard and are a terrific value. A Trooper will suit your needs perfectly. It comes with the A2 grip which has the finger bump, but you can either sand it down our get an aftermarket grip that you like.

Compare prices to see what will give you the best value for your money

 

[Hokie_PhD]

Congrats on having a good time and wanting to join us in the AR cult, I mean adult Letgo, I mean AR owners group.

Seriously ARs a little like a bit of each. There are so many things you can do and so many options that you'll get all sorts of opinions.

Personally, I've done a few different options including the PSA one you're considering and can tell you that It's a great choice. I've yet to figure out what PSA means by blemish and if you search the web you'll find most folks can't find any. Or they're so minor that it doesn't matter. So for the price you'll be hard to find a better deal.

When I got mine a few years ago they didn't have the Magpul option, so I'm a little jealous as mine was a little cheaper but the handle and stock are ok but not the greatest. So one day I may swap them out to something nicer, but they're functional and I have another build going on so I'm in no hurry. Anyway, the Lego comment above is so true that unless you are totally a person who shouldn't be near a firearm, you can swap out a stock or grip. So if you don't like what you get you can always change it.

So get what you can afford, use it and change it as your budget and desires allow.

That said, unless you're in a total hurry, I'd say get your lower as planned, then as you save for the upper watch the sales and look at the different ones they have so many great bargains in the deal of the day. The bare bones lowest cost ones aren't bad, but if you save a few more $$, there are all sorts of configurations that PSA offers. And if you watch, you'll pick one up at a good price with free shipping.

Oh and keep in mind that some of the PSA uppers have the charging handle and BCG and some don't. So watch carefully as it would suck to think you're getting a killer deal then get the upper and realize you can't play with it until you place another order and only got a good deal.

You might also want to consider taking your AR money and putting it in an envelope and saving it until you find what you want. There are some great deals right now and even companies like S&W are making ARs for not a lot of money. In fact if I was buying instead of putting one together I'd consider the S&W offerings. So just something to think about.

Either way, I don't think there's a bad option, and if you're not careful you'll be changing it anyway, and before you know it getting more. And worse case you'll be like me and buying parts and tools for a build. Oh wait, that's not worse case, that would be a good friend here who has quite the collection and every time I look seems to be building another AR. But we won't mention any names or mention the 12 step group.

So, welcome to the club. And hope you find the folks here friendly and helpful. I know I've made a few friends and have learned a lot and keep learning from them.

 

[armoredman]

Thank you for the advice - I knew by merely mentioning it I was opening a Pandora's Box of replies, but it's worth it. The reason I am considering the lower only is due to funds - if the wife finds me saving money too long, there are suddenly things she absolutely has to have...Then I can get the upper later. I did look at the site and realized there were some screaming deals...that had no BCG or charging handle, which, like you said, changes things a wee bit. I don't have a stash or AR parts laying about to play with, and my gunsmith buddy who is a wizard in older guns, really doesn't do anything with ARs, so I would have to buy the tools for a build, and that would mean even more out of pocket.
As of this exact moment this is academic as I need to get the money first - hopefully those blem lowers hang around for a bit!

 

[readyeddy]

With the lower and upper you just need the bolt carrier group and charging handle, about $100. After that choose an optic. No need for special tools.

If you go with iron sights you can get by with a little over $400 total. Don't forget to have fun !

 

[armoredman]

That sir is my full intention. I also reload .223 for my BREN 805. Even have experimented with cast bullets with success.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

Del-Ton, Ruger, S&W, DPMS, Palmetto - they're all good. All the cheap stuff these days runs.

If I were you, I'd think about a Ruger AR-556. They're only $450 on Bud's right now, and they're also the only entry-level gun I know of that doesn't have the finger shelf pistol grip.

 

[BigBore44]

There's two real advantages to building. 1). Cost. You can build a high quality AR for < or= to your standard AR. 2). Your built AR doesn't have to be customized after to make it how you want. One point of note: If you really want your AR experience to be enhanced, add a quality drop in trigger. It will add $120-$200 to the cost. But it's worth it.

I'm still not an AR fanboy like others. But only a fool wouldn't recognize it's abilities.

 

[cdb1]

I like Windham and then Ruger.

 

[entropy]

Good for you, armoredman! I will probably buy or build soon, when finances permit. I built one after I got out of the Army in '89, but the $$$ I got for it right before the Klinton Ban went into effect was too good to pass up. I recommend the Ruger first, but my son's DPMS Sportical is not bad. He got four deer with it a couple years ago.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

As others said, snapping an upper to a lower requires no tools.
When you take the next step and do a lower, all you need is a hammer, a set of punches, and an armorers wrench. Well that and some tape to keep from scratching the lower.

You probably have a hammer. A set of punches can be had for less than $20 at Harbor Freight. They're not they best but they'll work. A cheap wrench can be had for less than $20

A BEV block is nice but you can get by without one for the lower. They run under $50.

Other than that I can't think of any other tools needed. Well, a torque wrench when you do an upper. so figure another $30 to $100 depending on how anal you are but give the broad torque range for the upper, I'd say a decent inexpensive one should be fine.

In other words the tools aren't too expensive and most you probably have. And the few special ones can be had cheap to really expensive.

 

[Jimster]

I've gone all three routes. My first was a Bushmaster Patrolman carbine. Loved it. Next one was using a stripped Anderson lower (cheap) and installing the lower parts kit and snapping a complete upper to it. That felt good and I was proud of it. My current carbine was built from the ground up. I used another Anderson lower and bought the rest of the parts separately. This required specialty tools but this became my favorite carbine. I can build any configuration of another upper and use it on my lower if I want. I already have the tools to do it. Hmmmm.

 

[v35]

I'm no AR guru, but considering that ARs are routinely available for about $400 (for example) I doubt you can save anything building your own.

If I were you I'd buy one of those cheap ones, find out what you like / don't like about it, and then build your own. It will probably cost a lot more than $400 but it will be yours.

If you don't like the finger ledge, that's a nothingburger. Just replace the grip. You can find grips in materials or colors limited only by the imagination. These days I'm partial to wood.

 

[boom boom]

Also check out Primary Arms. PSA can get some good deals but you will find quite a few posters on the THR and other forums complaining about shipping times. Also add CDNN sports to your list as they also have really good deals on uppers on occasion and parts for builds. Sig uppers for $59 for example and cheap blaster grade barrels. Good prices on firearms as well with very fast shipping. They had S&W Sport II's AR-15's for $499 the other day. Brownells has also got into the game with some good deals.

 

[v35]

Brownells has also got into the game with some good deals.

Speaking of which, Brownells also has excellent videos on assembling ARs.

 

[Armored farmer]

I'm still not an AR fanboy like others. But only a fool wouldn't recognize it's abilities.

Man, you said it there.
The advantages of easily customized ARs are undeniable.

 

[Skylerbone]

If you hate the grip, buy an ERGO SureGrip. Love mine and so has everyone who's shot it.

Another vote for S&W as an exceptional value.

 

[dekibg]

i knew that it had to be one of those " if you could only save extra $100, you could buy X,Y, Z gun ..." replies

 

[Hokie_PhD]

i knew that it had to be one of those " if you could only save extra $100, you could buy X,Y, Z gun ..." replies

Awww come on
OP wants to get a PSA blem lower
For another hundred they could get a better trigger in that lower
Add $100 more and a Giessle trigger.
Add $100 they can add a much better stock
Better add another $100 more to get a cool billet lower
So that's only $400 more on the lower
Since that lower is now in the $550 range
With such a killer lower better repeat for the upper

We can laugh but this is done all the time. People spend insane money and get "interesting" results. Some good, some crazy expensive.

Personally, I like OPs original plan and have been there/done that. It's a great way to get into ARs as budget allows. Then he can modify as he chooses or can build another AR a little as a time (I'm doing this now)

 

[armoredman]

I'd love to spend and extra $100 here and there, but first you have to HAVE the extra $100 here and there, and as a state slave that extra money often isn't there, plus I figured once I have the lower receiver setup, I can always figure out how to replace items in/on it, same as the upper. That's what I do like about the PSA blem setup - it already has a grip I like. Yes, I understand that ARs are the Barbie doll of modern men, and I look forward to dropping some coin here and there in the future.
I believe I am looking forward to this.

 

[armoredman]

ipac, thank you for the link. Don't know the company but I've heard of them before. Killer price. Would still need an optic/rear sight.

 

[armoredman]

Looked again and the set up I like from PSA is $479. The Delton is $399 but without a rear sight. Hmm, hope CDNN can hold that sale for a while - I am willing to bet at least one person out there somewhere has an extra rear iron sight they aren't using. But still academic until next, next payday.

 

[v35]

ipac, thank you for the link. Don't know the company but I've heard of them before. Killer price. Would still need an optic/rear sight.

CDNN? They're completely reputable. CDNN's usual prices are low, and they often have sale prices that are even lower.

Really, there is nothing special at all about $399 for that Del-Ton AR. At the moment RK Guns has a very similar model for even less: https://www.rkguns.com/del-ton-echo-316h-5-56mm-nato-semi-automatic-ar-15-rifle-orfth16-lt.html.

A rear sight is cheap and just screws on, but if you get a scope you don't need one. With a proper mount, an A2 front sight won't interfere with the scope. Or, get a red dot. Or... essentially limitless other options. See what I mean?

What about a previously owned AR? I don't want to sell my M&P15, but since every man, woman and child in the US seems to already have an AR or two I wouldn't expect to get anything for it. A quick search of Gunbroker completed listings shows quite a few that didn't meet their reserve price, and remain unsold having received a top bid in the mid-$200s.

Remember what I wrote a while ago?

I don't think there has ever been a better time to purchase an AR.

Still true.