AR-15 Home Defense Build

[dtkw]

I trust you are very good at shooting an AR, otherwise just use a handgun for Home Defense. If you miss with the AR, it'd go through walls and hit something or worst someone else.

 

[lonehoosier]

I trust you are very good at shooting an AR, otherwise just use a handgun for Home Defense. If you miss with the AR, it'd go through walls and hit something or worst someone else.

I don't know what you're experience is with new shooters are but in mine experience new shooter do far better hitting a small target with a rifle then a handgun.

 

[seedubs1]

PSA receivers are 99.9% fine. Good quality budget receivers in general. You should be fine with one of their receivers.

I, personally, don't deal with PSA. I don't like their shipping times, customer service, and large range of part quality. Outside of their receivers, which a re decent forged parts, they sell everything from bargain bin junk to decent mil-spec parts. I prefer to do business with companies that only sell high quality parts and have great customer service, but you do pay a premium for that.

Are PSA stripped lowers decent? I am looking to build my own rather than just put a lower and an upper together and call it a day. I really want the challenge and experience of getting each component individually and putting it all together. While it's certainly not the same thing, I've built plenty of desktop PCs and worked on 100s of laptops where I've taken them down to the motherboard and put them back together. I don't mind "some assembly required" at all. In fact, I enjoy it!

 

[dudley0]

Are PSA stripped lowers decent? I am looking to build my own rather than just put a lower and an upper together and call it a day. I really want the challenge and experience of getting each component individually and putting it all together. While it's certainly not the same thing, I've built plenty of desktop PCs and worked on 100s of laptops where I've taken them down to the motherboard and put them back together. I don't mind "some assembly required" at all. In fact, I enjoy it!

I have two PSA lowers that I went ahead and spent the money on to SBR them. One was a pistol first so I could still play with the short upper. The other was a rifle that I waited for the stamp before putting a short upper on.

Buy a lower and a LPK (lower parts kit). They are easy enough to put together. I have not done a ton of them so I still use the walk thru at arfcom. But it is simple. I have also put uppers together, which have less small parts.

Although I have a few bare lowers sitting here I have found it is just as cheap and easier at times to find a deal on an assembled upper. PSA seems to run deals all the time. Daily emails.

Putting one together will help with learning the ways of the internals... so maybe find a stripped lower, drop in a parts kit, decide if you want to start it as a pistol and then work toward your upper.

 

[=Josh=]

Buy a lower and a LPK (lower parts kit). They are easy enough to put together.

I thought about that, but I would probably just wind up switching out the trigger and stock anyway. So, I'll probably just wind up buying all of the components separately. As was already noted, I'm probably going to start with the stripped lower so I can start the SBR paperwork. As much as I would love to just buy everything right away, my wife and I are focusing on paying off some debts this year. We did agree that I could still purchase my Glock 19 with our tax check, which will be my first firearm purchase.

 

[bwframe]

Subscribe to the newsletters and email sale adds. Watch the INGO classifieds. Accumulate parts as they are priced well:

When you accumulate the parts for your lower and or upper, give a shout out to borrow the tools to put it together. Act pitiful enough (as I do) and you might just get volunteers to come supervise/assist with their tools.

 

[Tomahawkman]

Nice sling Burl


Yes the best way is to buy the deals you find here and there on INGO and the common sights. If you don't put a time constraint on your build you'll spend less money I think.

If you do what I did and bought all the parts at once you'll find them all for sale a week later in the classifieds and you could have saved some money

 

[dudley0]

If you do what I did and bought all the parts at once you'll find them all for sale a week later in the classifieds and you could have saved some money

That's just saving toward the next build....

 

[seedubs1]

This. If you're not in a rush, you can build a VERY nice rifle for $8-900. My current Larue barreled rifle with a Geissele SD-E comes in under $900 without optics, and I'd stack it up against any of the $2k boutique rifles out there.

Subscribe to the newsletters and email sale adds. Watch the INGO classifieds. Accumulate parts as they are priced well:

 

[=Josh=]

Subscribe to the newsletters and email sale adds. Watch the INGO classifieds. Accumulate parts as they are priced well:

When you accumulate the parts for your lower and or upper, give a shout out to borrow the tools to put it together. Act pitiful enough (as I do) and you might just get volunteers to come supervise/assist with their tools.

I will certainly be looking for good deals as I go along, but I actually plan on buying the tools as well. I plan on this just being my first of several AR builds. My brother and I will likely be working on it together. Since he will be wanting to build his own ARs as well, it makes sense to have our own tools.

 

[mammynun]

This is a very helpful tool. https://geissele.com/reaction-rod.html I bought mine when they were only $50, but knowing how much easier it makes top end building I'd buy it again at $100. Brownells (and probably others) carry a similar tool, AR-15/M16 BARREL EXTENSION TORQUE TOOLS | Brownells (be sure to watch the short video in the link). I bought the Brownell version to build SR-25/308 AR's, and I prefer the Geissele version but both work.

 

[bwframe]

Nice sling Burl...

Thank you again Holdan. For both of our deals!

This is a very helpful tool. https://geissele.com/reaction-rod.html I bought mine when they were only $50, but knowing how much easier it makes top end building I'd buy it again at $100. Brownells (and probably others) carry a similar tool, AR-15/M16 BARREL EXTENSION TORQUE TOOLS | Brownells (be sure to watch the short video in the link). I bought the Brownell version to build SR-25/308 AR's, and I prefer the Geissele version but both work.

Man, now I have to have at least one of these. I can see where both might be handy.
Anyone use other/cheaper brands of these?

 

[seedubs1]

The magpul BEV block attaches in the barrel extension to allow for torqueing and functions like the Geissele reaction rod in that sense and acts as a lower magwell block as well. Basically, it's an upper and a lower vise block. It gains you a lot of functionality in a single tool. Although, it doesn't allow you to rotate your upper like the Geissele tool does.

And the Magpul BEV block is under $50.....

It's definitely not as nice as the Geissele reaction rod if you're building/fiddling with a lot of AR's, but if you're on a budget, it's a great alternative.

Man, now I have to have at least one of these. I can see where both might be handy.
Anyone use other/cheaper brands of these?