I have finally decided to build my first Ar. I have always shot bolt guns, but it's time to make the transition. First off I i would like to keep the build around 1400 or so. Now that being said I have figured I'd get a complete lower from palmetto for around $250 including ffl fees. My questions for you guys that are experience in builds are if you plan to shoot 100-500 or so what uppers would you recommend as well as triggers stock and accessories as well as optics. I'm allowing 400 or so for optics and mounts. I really like the look of the full length rails on the upper but if your not going to add any other accessories is it purely cosmetic? The rifle will be used for target shooting as we'll as occasional coyote hunting. So it's free roam for you guys for suggestions. Any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated
- Thread starter Porter24
- Start date
Are you dead set on a $1400 max budget? If possible, you should try to swing a little more, but 1400 isn't out of the question by any means. I'd rather get everything I wanted right off the bat then be buying extra or duplicate things just to be swapping stuff around. Mine ended up costing me about $2400, but that was for all the bells and whistles I wanted.
This upper should be accurate, factory builds with SS bull barrels & free float handguard usually are. I have an extra one of these, and a 24" length complete upper if you want even more precision, instead of a carbine with 16" barrel.
20" TRR15A3 UPPER RECEIVERS - 5.56mm, Complete with Bolt and Charging Handle, Stainless Superbull Profile Barrel, 1"8 twist $465
20" TRR15A3 UPPER RECEIVERS - 5.56mm, Complete with Bolt and Charging Handle, Stainless Superbull Profile Barrel, 1"8 twist $465
With that budget, I'd get the most rifle I could find and shoot with iron sights until I could save up for a quality optic and mount. You'll quickly outgrow a $300ish optic on a $100ish mount; you're better off putting that money into the rifle.
That said, this is almost within your optic budget and comes with a mount:
Nikon M-308 Riflescope : Cabela's
That said, this is almost within your optic budget and comes with a mount:
Nikon M-308 Riflescope : Cabela's
My Daniel Defense M4 cost me around $1500 when I bought it. You're $100 away from that. I understand you want a good optic, but you get a good rifle, and the block on your checklist gets checked with a Sharpie.
Bolt guns are different from Semis. You'll have to practice more to get use to firing them, and it honestly sounds like a good thing. Fire with irons in your new AR, save your money at the same time, then when you get good, and comfortable with it. Buy a decent optic, from Vortex to Aimpoint, Trijicon, S&B, Leupold, etc.
It will help you get more familiarization with it, is what I'm saying.
Bolt guns are different from Semis. You'll have to practice more to get use to firing them, and it honestly sounds like a good thing. Fire with irons in your new AR, save your money at the same time, then when you get good, and comfortable with it. Buy a decent optic, from Vortex to Aimpoint, Trijicon, S&B, Leupold, etc.
It will help you get more familiarization with it, is what I'm saying.
Well if you want to keep it simple buy the lower of your choice. Next thing I would do is purchase a Rock River Arms Varmit Upper in the length you want. I would definitely invest in a Chip McCormick or other AR match trigger and also an Ergo or Falcon Industries grip. Now if you want to build it completely from scratch you can choose any options you want. A nice rail is not a must but try and get a rail that free floats. My advice is invest in a trigger to get added accuracy.
Build the whole upper yourself. Buy a White Oak MK12 barrel or if you can't swing that get a DPMS MK 12 barrel. For optics get a Burris Tac30, Mtac or buy a used XTR and a set of Burris PREP mounts. Use a Model 1 floated handguard or look for a used YHM light weight quad rail. You're not too far off of the price of an AR that will shoot great and function great. Putting a barrel on an AR and slapping the rest of it together is no trick either. My 3gun AR will shoot a little over an inch at 200 yards with a DPMS MK12 barrel and a Burris XTR 1-4 that I bought used for less than $500. Then if you want to get into 3gun you've got a great setup.
The great thing about ARs is the fact that a year or two down the road you can change anything on them rather easily and the parts you take off you can sell to help offset the cost of the new ones. Great platform.
The great thing about ARs is the fact that a year or two down the road you can change anything on them rather easily and the parts you take off you can sell to help offset the cost of the new ones. Great platform.
This trigger is worth Every penny
Huge difference
Geissele Hi Speed Match trigger ~$280
3 sets of springs that are adjustable for a large span of pull weights (depending on where you buy they are all included)
Adjustable for 1st and 2nd stage weights
Can be set with second stage as light as 6oz
Lock time cut in half 4.4ms from 10ms (standard hammer)
Adjustable sear engagement
Adjustable for over travel
Easy access to adjustments are fast and simple
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Huge difference
Geissele Hi Speed Match trigger ~$280
3 sets of springs that are adjustable for a large span of pull weights (depending on where you buy they are all included)
Adjustable for 1st and 2nd stage weights
Can be set with second stage as light as 6oz
Lock time cut in half 4.4ms from 10ms (standard hammer)
Adjustable sear engagement
Adjustable for over travel
Easy access to adjustments are fast and simple
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
I got a green mountain ss blank on clearance a couple years ago. I cut it to 24"' turned it and chambered it for .223 Wylde. The first group was shot in heavy rain and all 5 shots went into 0.37"! The cost was $42. Thinking it was a fluke, I tried several more. It was a fluke in a way because the other four averaged 0.8" 5 shot groups. But still not bad for under $50. if you've got a local machinist handy I could give you blueprints and he could probably get you into an acceptable budget barrel for pretty cheap. Also, I have a thread in the DIY forum on how to make free float carbon fiber hand guards for under $50. It's pretty simple.
Last edited:
Just buy my Stag flattop I've had sitting in my closet.
LaRue quad rail, KAC rear sight, LaRue VFG, MagPul CTR stock, Rock River national match trigger, Bravo CO bolt group. No frills, it works, accurate and you don't need to spend all the extra money on stupid upgrade shit.
LaRue quad rail, KAC rear sight, LaRue VFG, MagPul CTR stock, Rock River national match trigger, Bravo CO bolt group. No frills, it works, accurate and you don't need to spend all the extra money on stupid upgrade shit.
The only thing I could tell from your specification is that you want to shoot targets and maybe Coyotes. So you don't want a specialized target rifle which tends to have a heavy barrel and many use .223 rather than 5.56 chambers. My philosophy, and others on this site, is to obtain the best rifle components you can afford. If this means buying a scope later to fit within your budget you will be better off, trust us.
Go 5.56 or Wylde chamber or modified chamber that allows you to shoot 5.56 ammunition.
I'd build it from components.
1. Look at the Rainier Arms Select Medcon barrel in 16 or 18" - 1:8 twist stainless barrel with great profile. Have Rainier Arms install a pinned low profile gas block. Barrel $250, Block $50 plus pinning. This barrel makes up one of my best shooters and the price is amazing. They go in and out of stock because they are popular. Don't forget to buy a mid-length gas tube.
2. Get a Mega Arms or other QUALITY forged upper receiver. Noveske, Rainier Arms GenII, Daniel Defense and there are some other reasonably priced forged M4 uppers. Mega is about $135 with forward assist and dust door installed.
Go 5.56 or Wylde chamber or modified chamber that allows you to shoot 5.56 ammunition.
I'd build it from components.
1. Look at the Rainier Arms Select Medcon barrel in 16 or 18" - 1:8 twist stainless barrel with great profile. Have Rainier Arms install a pinned low profile gas block. Barrel $250, Block $50 plus pinning. This barrel makes up one of my best shooters and the price is amazing. They go in and out of stock because they are popular. Don't forget to buy a mid-length gas tube.
2. Get a Mega Arms or other QUALITY forged upper receiver. Noveske, Rainier Arms GenII, Daniel Defense and there are some other reasonably priced forged M4 uppers. Mega is about $135 with forward assist and dust door installed.
Well, the PSA complete is nice. But then you rip out the trigger for something much better. Get a nice stripped lower $79-100 shipped and go from there. Nice upper PSA SS15G2 SS CHF 20'' 5.56mm 1:7 Rifle Length Heavy Profile - Without BCG or Charging Handle
Cheap starter:
PSA 16'' HF M4A1 SS12G2 Strikefire Premium Carbine
Nice leg upper:
White Oak Armament | Complete Uppers | High Power Competition
AR's start cheap. You can build them cheap. The trigger and barrel are the soul, don't go cheap!
Cheap starter:
PSA 16'' HF M4A1 SS12G2 Strikefire Premium Carbine
Nice leg upper:
White Oak Armament | Complete Uppers | High Power Competition
AR's start cheap. You can build them cheap. The trigger and barrel are the soul, don't go cheap!
This is my first post here, but I have thousands on AR15.com and have built a couple AR15s. This man speaks the truth.
Places you can cut corners/costs:
- stock (the regular A2 stock is cheap and easy to find used. And it doesn't cost that much more to get a simple adjustable stock from one of the zillion people making them). No reason to drop $250 on a Magpul PRS right off the bat.
- grip. Go with a $5 A2 grip to start with. You can step up to a $30-$60 grip later. There are advantages to having a more modern grip angle or a higher grip on the gun, but for static shooting to start with, the grip isn't the most important piece.
- free float tube. The simple ones are simple and cheap. The quad rails can get very expensive. Granted, they look cool. But it doesn't sound like you have much use for one and, again, they can be added later.
- stripped lower receiver. This one is much debated. One argument is that they are all basically the same, and it basically just holds the trigger group and magazine (so as long as it is machined roughly to spec and can be assembled, it's fine). Other folks pay premium bucks for stripper lowers. I think most people will agree that a quality upper is more 'valuable' on a precision rifle (because that's where the bolt carrier group rides) than a quality lower.
Places where you have to pay to play
Again, agreeing with the guys above: don't cut corners with the barrel or the trigger.
If you've mostly shot tuned bolt actions, you will be in for a rude awakening shooting a 'stock' AR15 lower like a Palmetto Arms lower with the regular Lowers Parts Kit (PSA will sell you a LPK less the trigger, for this exact reason).
The standard AR trigger is a two-stage, military trigger, probably a 7-8 lbs pull. The most common aftermarket triggers are basically the same style, but with different springs. They are modeled after the National Match triggers, legal for DCM/CMP competitions, and are two-stage triggers that have pull weights of about 4.5 lbs. These are also popular with the guys doing 3-gun competitions who are 'running and gunning' with their ARs and shooting on the move. You can get one of these triggers in the $89-$120 range usually.
If you have been shooting a nice Savage or Rem 700 bolt gun, you will be disappointed with it. After the first range trip, you'll want something approaching a bolt gun feel (single stage, 2-4 lbs pull). BobD above is 100% right: the Geissele Hi-Speed Match is basically the most expensive AR15 trigger commonly available, but it's also the one that's going to have the characteristics that are best for precision shooting. There are a handful of other match or varmint type triggers; all of them over $200 and many with questionable reviews.
Regarding a scope; you know what scopes you have used in the past and how they have worked for you. Try to mount the scope so that it's 2.6" above the bore (which is not hard, as a great many AR15 mounts allow for this).
Rough Estimate
Palmetto State Armory (or similar) assembled lower: $200 (or you could buy a LPK, a stripped lower, and a stock and put them together but it would still cost about $200). You will have to buy this at a gun store and have an FFL transfer (unless it's a private party, face to face sale).
Match-type single stage trigger (Geissele, Chip McCormick, Jard, Jewel, etc): $200-280
So we're at basically $400-500 for the bottom half of the rifle.
Uppers are different. They can be mail ordered and shipped right to your door. No FFL on either end required.
Because of the nature of AR15s, there are a lot of very lightly used uppers for sale on the various forums. If you're patient, I'm sure you can find a lightly used bull barrel upper for $500. You'd be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't be) at the number of people that buy varmint or match barrels and then within 25-200 shots, realize it isn't for them, they don't have time, it's not as fun as blasting at dirt clods with Russian steel-case ammo, etc.
But before buying a barrel, figure out what grain bullets you want to use. Do you want to use the commonly-available hunting and varmint rounds? If so, a 1/9" twist barrel for the 50-60 grain rounds is probably where you want to be. The 1/7 and 1/8" twist barrels are better for the heavier, longer, 77 grain match ammo which is popular (arguably, required) at the 600 yard line in DCM/CMP competition.
White Oak Armory makes great competition rifles. They also build varmint uppers for $610-650 White Oak Armament | Complete Uppers | Varmint Uppers
The various big names (Bushmaster, Armalite, etc) all have a varmint model. You will see these uppers for sale, either new or used. A new Armalite upper would also be about $600.
