Uncle Rudy's AR-Build Class

[Janos Dracwlya]

A friend of mine has asked me about whether this seems like a decent deal for the money:

http://unclerudys.com/product/ar-15-build-class/

You get the following:

• Space for two participants per rifle (husband/wife; father/son; friends; mother/daughter – you get the idea!)
• Instruction on how to assemble your AR-15
• Test firing and zeroing your new rifle (25 rounds of ammo)
• All instruction will be under the care of one of our amazing instructors.

The rifle will be a milspec AR-15, parts manufactured by Anderson Rifle out of Hebron, KY.

• Anderson AR-15 stripped lower and lower parts kit
• Anderson 16″ M-4 style 1-8 barrel with integrated front sight
• Flip up style rear sight
• 1 – 30 round magazine

What do people think?

 

[Varminterror]

I do this kind of "class" at least once a year. Instead of doing a generic carbine, I have guys get together their specific parts, then instead of paying me to assemble and tune them, they do it themselves during class sessions. I think it's incredibly valuable for firearms owners to really understand the mechanisms they are holding, and especially so if they are inclined to tinker, tune, or totally rebuild their AR's. It saves on their tool costs, and often, I just do the build sessions for free if guys pay for a Basic Rifle or "get to know your AR" class with me. I run a "break it, buy it" policy on my tools, but it's really rare anything gets damaged when I'm watching over assembly.

If you are interested in owning an Anderson basic carbine, and the price doesn't put you off, then it might be worth exploring more deeply. If they do an AR assembly in an afternoon, or it costs more than a couple hundred bucks over the price of the carbine parts, I'd pass. If you're tuning, it should take a day and a half of classes to really get it put together well. If it's just a half day or 8hr slap-job, you'd be better served by saving your money and watching YouTube.

ETA: looks like it's a $675-700 class. You'll end up with a rifle equivalent to something you can buy off of the shelf for $400 on sale almost any time of year. I haven't ran the sum total of the parts, but I'd venture parts cost is going to be somewhere in that ballpark. So as long as it's a sufficiently long enough course they can cover tuning instead of just basic assembly, then it may be worth looking into.

Again - this assumes you WANT a 16" bare bones, basic, budget model home built Anderson AR.

 

[LoonWulf]

Im inclined to say thats a really expensive way to get some range time and a entry level ar. Especially if your just building the lower. If your assembling the upper from parts as well the value goes up marginally, as sometimes those take some work.

Gotta remember ar builds pretty much go together like leggos, and the end product would provide cost you 350-400ish otd.

BUT if your either not horribly mechanically inclined and/or learn better from a real person than guides or videos, AND are looking at it as something to spend a day with someone else, kid, spouse, etc. It might be worth the extra couple hundred.

Honestly i think you need to look at whats offered and ask to your self "does this sound fun?"

 

[C-grunt]

I have a friend that travels around the country and puts on an AR-15 armorers class. Covers everything from the history of the gun, assembly, trouble shooting, and maintenance. His class is 2 days and usually costs around 450 bucks. He is a former US Coast Guard master gunners mate (not sure if thats the correct terminology, but he was a master armorer) and spent something like 7 years being an armorer for DOD and PMCs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His company is Semper Paratus Arms.

 

[redneck2]

Though I am very mechanically inclined, I was mystified by an AR build. Helped my S-I-L build a couple lowers. With two guys and/or the right tools, they pretty much just pop together in maybe 20-30 minutes taking your time.

I was really intimidated by the upper. I went to Vision Armory in Middlebury, IN. They build dozens of AR's every day. Took maybe 10 minutes to assemble it totally. Slide the barrel into the receiver. Tighten the nut. Install gas tube. Slide on the free float hand guard and tighten the screws to hold it. It literally takes me as long to type this on my iPad as it does for them to assemble an upper

Only you know what your time is worth, or rather when it's worth paying for someone else's knowledge. But yeah, it's pretty slick to say you've built your own from the ground up. And as noted, you understand what everything does. And when guys start throwing around terms you know what they mean

 

[Acera]

Near me a local shop does that everyday. They only sell parts, and have a better selection than any other place in Houston on display.

You take your lower in and they will help you select what you want and assist you in assembling it on their workbench for free, to whatever completion level you want to go to. They have all the tools set up and ready to go. Once you finish, take the empty packages and tags to the register and pay for it. If you just want to swap out a part or two, they will help with that also. No charge for their advice, using the workbench, tools, etc.

Now they don't have a range or give you 25 rounds to test fire, but you do get loyalty rewards which goes into an account you can draw from on your next visit.


.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

A friend that passed a few years ago liked to say "A lot of people pay a lot of money for an education they can get for free at the library".

 

[Janos Dracwlya]

My friend is not at all mechanically-inclined. I was thinking that the cost sounded high - for the AR components - but wondering about the added educational value.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

My friend is not at all mechanically-inclined. I was thinking that the cost sounded high - for the AR components - but wondering about the added educational value.

I'm sure it would be educational, just not worth the cost IMO. AR's are pretty easy.

 

[Speedo66]

If you figure the gun is worth around $400, which is about what I see them going for, then, to me, $300 is more than I would be willing to spend for something I did with the assistance of a couple of U-tube videos. I have no prior existing skills or experience.

Some people like a classroom environment or prefer to have a knowledgeable person around if they need assistance, some may want to share the experience with a friend or loved one. Go for it if it floats your boat.

 

[Janos Dracwlya]

Thanks again, everyone. My friend is going to take the class; as someone who is not really comfortable with working on mechanical things, he will likely benefit greatly from this. And he'll be supporting a local store and range.

For me, the interwebs was sufficient - I've built two A1-style AR's to date - but I've had a lot more experience in building and repairing things.

 

[hdwhit]

Janos Dracwlya wrote:
A friend of mine has asked me about whether this seems like a decent deal for the money:

If all you're concerned about is the fact the class costs more than the gun could be bought for, you might not consider it a good value. But, if you want an an opportunity to have a shared interest with a family member/friend and get some hands-on experience building a rifle with someone present who has done it before and can answer questions, it sounds like a really interesting way to spend a day.

I'd certainly consider it for a bonding experience with my older (mechanically inept) gun-loving son.

 

[hdwhit]

Janos Dracwlya wrote:
My friend is going to take the class; as someone who is not really comfortable with working on mechanical things, he will likely benefit greatly from this.

I'd also suggest it might be good for father/son teams of all levels of talent. Some people may have a child who is mechanically inclined, but doesn't want to listen to "the old man".

 

[hdwhit]

Varmintterror wrote:
I think it's incredibly valuable for firearms owners to really understand the mechanisms they are holding, and especially so if they are inclined to tinker, tune, or totally rebuild their AR's

Amen.

I have two engineering degrees and 35 years experience and while I'm confident I could figure out how to assemble an AR, there's a value to having someone who has done it before walk me through the process to avoid little pitfalls like installing the hammer spring backwards.

 

[LoonWulf]

Amen.

I have two engineering degrees and 35 years experience and while I'm confident I could figure out how to assemble an AR, there's a value to having someone who has done it before walk me through the process to avoid little pitfalls like installing the hammer spring backwards.

I watched my buddy do that twice, the second time arguing with me about it.....he shoulda took the class....

 

[hdwhit]

LoonWulf write:
I watched my buddy do that twice, the second time arguing with me about it.....he shoulda took the class....

Amen.

There's a difference between knowledge and experience and even if one has the knowledge, it may be useful to pay for experience.

 

[Varminterror]

I'll reiterate what I said in my first post - if this is simply an assembly class, $300 plus cost of the rifle is way, way too high.

If they spend time doing optimization tuning, bolt treatment, extractor tuning, gas regulation, etc, then $300 would be a steal.

As @redneck2 pointed out, an AR can be assembled in under an hour. If you're doing optimization tuning, it can take an easy 10hrs to complete. If this class is merely the former, it's a complete waste of money. If it's the latter, it's a great deal.

 

[captain awesome]

I built two lr308 uppers myself and had a lower built from parts from a local gun shop with a gunsmith. He built it for free since I was purchasing it all from their store. I asked if I could watch him put it all together and maybe learn something. He was fine with it and pulled up a second chair to his work bench and told me/showed me all about it as he went. I learned a ton and can now do it myself. Much cheaper than paying for a class. I also sat in while he was building an ar15 upper for a friend of mine.(how I learned how to build the uppers) by the time these were all done we were joking around and having a good time. Now I have a friend in a gun shop also.

Not everyone has the option but if you do I recommend that route.

 

[Jackal]

Much of this class can be alleviated by watching a single youtube video.

 

[Robert]

The OP's friend made their decision.