First AR Build

[Butros17]

Have been wanting to pick up an AR, but cannot seem to convince the better half that it's a sound investment in the heat of her Christmas shopping onslaught.

I'm mechanically inclined enough that I've decided to start making some smaller purchases and build my own. Was looking for a thread, site, or any other means of information concerning AR building. Any direction/information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jmiller676]

I was in your boat. I am mechanically inclined enough and decided to build mine. (actually building it up tonight.) I bought a $100 grizzly lower from my LGS and ordered a Stag 2H rifle kit (upper, LPK, stock) so for around $700 I am building my own. I can buy one cheaper but it wouldn't be what I really wanted.

 

[dlbrown75]

Whats your budget? This place has all the information you need and then some. But the people there are snobbish and rude, in my experience. M4Carbine.net Forums - Powered by vBulletin

 

[Butros17]

Whats your budget? This place has all the information you need and then some. But the people there are snobbish and rude, in my experience. M4Carbine.net Forums - Powered by vBulletin

Don't really have an established budget, since I'm taking the route of putting together something myself I'm buying as I go. If I were to pick a number arbitrarily I'd like to keep it under $2k collectively.

I don't want to pretend that I'm more insightful than I actually am and I'm just wanting to make sure I'm making sound informed decisions on the components that I'm buying as I go.

 

[kbailey]

Watch these videos:
How to Build An AR-15 Video | World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools - BROWNELLS

Then go buy parts here:
BravoCompanyUSA.com

They have an awesome reputation and I've never had a problem with any of their parts. I would seriously consider one of their bolt carrier groups, blemished stripped but complete upper receivers (mine didn't have a single mark on it), barrel, and gunfighter charging handle.

 

[74J10]

For 2k you can build almost anything you want. A basic ar build can easily be done for $800 or less. The biggest thing is determine why you want an ar (besides the cool factor of just owning one, what do you plan to do with it.). You don't have to know this before building even because you can change it up after built. I was looking for an all around shooter, no one specific purpose. Basically I just wanted one and didn't really know what I was going to do with it. I went to the Indy 1500 and looked through all the uppers and found one I liked the look and bought a lower parts kit and OE furniture group. I had shot others ar's enough to know I wanted a different trigger so I got the rra two stage trigger. I figured since I wanted something I could shoot out to midrange distances that wasn't too long to use in some 3 gun matches that an 18in barrel with a floating hand guard would work well and it looked good. Got a lower receiver and was walking home with a rifle in a box for $800. It could have been done for $600 if I got a cheaper upper and did without the rra trigger, and you can find receivers cheaper inline sometimes. It works well at everything but doesn't excel at anything. A good starting point to learn how they function, likes/dislikes, etc. Already changed all the furniture and added some optics and love it. And it helped me figure out what to build next.
The worst part is the addiction it triggers, once you build one you want to build them all.

 

[Butros17]

Watch these videos:

For 2k you can build almost anything you want. A basic ar build can easily be done for $800 or less.

The worst part is the addiction it triggers, once you build one you want to build them all.

Thank you both, I appreciate it. Not looking for anything specific, just taking it as a learning experience to build something solid and get acclimated. Then as you stated I'm sure I'll catch the bug and start changing things out to tailor it to more specific wants/needs.

 

[bowtie]

Whats your budget? This place has all the information you need and then some. But the people there are snobbish and rude, in my experience. M4Carbine.net Forums - Powered by vBulletin

You got that right boy did you hit the nail on the head with that one.

Honestly the people here have great knowledge to help you with a build and which parts to get and what not

 

[g00n24]

Like someone said for 2K you could pretty much build anything you wanted. My first AR I made entirely Mil-spec and it came in at $950. I guess the Magpul furniture isn't actually mil-spec so if you went completely basic furniture you can probably do it for 800-850 if you find some good deals.
The one I just finished for my fiance was just about $700, I used a PSA upper on that one which according to their specs is mil-spec and it has been good so far.
If you go by the majority of the guys on m4Carbine.net you won't go wrong, but like others have said they can be D-bags at times.
I didn't own any ARs and decided to build my first one, it's a lot of fun and quite addicting...Have fun!!

 

[Butros17]

Puchased several components for the lower receiver and started daydreaming of getting my hands on them.....next thing I knew there were more parts ordered AND express shipping.

...the original plan of "going slow" and building over time is quite possibly out the window now.

 

[Hookeye]

Get a good upper receiver block for your solid bench vise and a good barrel wrench.
If you have those, putting an AR together is easy.

So easy...... that you might be in for a let-down when done.

Oh, the front sight bench block is kinda handy.

 

[74J10]

Yep. That's standard operating procedure for an AR build. I initially thought I would just buy a few parts over a couple months to spread the expense out over several paychecks. Before buying my first part I realized my self control isn't good enough to do that so I just bought it all at once.

PS I bought my upper complete. Building the lower is stupid easy. It will be a while till I build an upper. Buying a completed upper is cheap and easy and ensures it's built right. It also allows you to put the whole thing together without specialized tools.

 

[Butros17]

I'm going to be using a friends "work shop" for the actual assembly as he has all of the tools and can serve as a reference guide as I build. Figured for my first one instead of investing in all of the overhead of tools I'd just buy a case a beer to pay to rent out his garage.

 

[jonny4523]

Buy this and read it first. He not only covers the build, but the tools he uses, "tricks of the trade", and awesome pictures to accompany it all. The only issue I had with the book is that he had the equation for barrel torque wrong. But if you like math, it's easy to spot the error.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-AR15-Builders-Guide-Components/dp/B004NB1BSC/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354728700&sr=1-10&keywords=ar-15]The Competitive AR15 Builders Guide: How to Choose and Assemble All the Components to Construct Your Ultimate AR-15 by Zediker, Gled D.: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]



Then check these places for used parts. Items like sights, optics, free-floating rails, flash hiders, and butt stocks are great to pick up used. I prefer to buy the receivers and barrels new.

AR15 Parts - Used - Lower Receiver - AR15.COM
AR15 Parts - Used - Upper Receiver - AR15.COM
Equipment Exchange - M4Carbine.net Forums

I agree with the above recommendation for bravocompanyusa.com (BCM). Top notch stuff. I just about use their bolt and carrier groups (BCGs) exclusively. I have a BCM charging handle on every AR. My next build will include one of their SS410 midlength barrels. But I actually buy a majority of my stuff at dsgarms.com. They have a top notch customer service team and extremely fast shipping. They don't have everything, but what they do have is top quality. (I just wish they would carry BCM).

Also, as you get into your research, you'll quickly find the brands to stay away from (UTG, NC Star, etc). Just keep in mine, you generally get what you pay for. A $50 optic won't match a $500 optic.

 

[Butros17]

Buy this and read it first. He not only covers the build, but the tools he uses, "tricks of the trade", and awesome pictures to accompany it all. The only issue I had with the book is that he had the equation for barrel torque wrong. But if you like math, it's easy to spot the error.

The Competitive AR15 Builders Guide: How to Choose and Assemble All the Components to Construct Your Ultimate AR-15 by Zediker, Gled D.: Amazon.com: Books



Then check these places for used parts. Items like sights, optics, free-floating rails, flash hiders, and butt stocks are great to pick up used. I prefer to buy the receivers and barrels new.

AR15 Parts - Used - Lower Receiver - AR15.COM
AR15 Parts - Used - Upper Receiver - AR15.COM
Equipment Exchange - M4Carbine.net Forums

I agree with the above recommendation for bravocompanyusa.com (BCM). Top notch stuff. I just about use their bolt and carrier groups (BCGs) exclusively. I have a BCM charging handle on every AR. My next build will include one of their SS410 midlength barrels. But I actually buy a majority of my stuff at dsgarms.com. They have a top notch customer service team and extremely fast shipping. They don't have everything, but what they do have is top quality. (I just wish they would carry BCM).

Also, as you get into your research, you'll quickly find the brands to stay away from (UTG, NC Star, etc). Just keep in mine, you generally get what you pay for. A $50 optic won't match a $500 optic.

Incredibly helpful. Thats awesome thank you.

 

[g00n24]

Puchased several components for the lower receiver and started daydreaming of getting my hands on them.....next thing I knew there were more parts ordered AND express shipping.

...the original plan of "going slow" and building over time is quite possibly out the window now.

LOL!! I did the same thing. I told the lady in my life I would be spreading out the build for a couple of months to keep within my monthly budget...I put the lower together and couldn't hold off any longer, ordered the rest of the parts w/n a week and had it together as fast as I could...She was only made for a few days so it was cool

 

[Txlur]

Light weight profile barrel, .625". That is all.

 

[9MillSBR]

Built my first AR, and before I even have owned a 5.56 version I built a 9mm version which was a quite a bit more work and research on my end but worked well.

I finished mine with a few nice goodies for around $1200 and it runs like a top.

It was fun building thats for sure, just invest in a nice punch set and a dual sided gun hammer (brass/poly) and that will allow you to build one aside from a AR15 armorers wrench for your delta and buffer tube nut.