my firs AR build

[eli polite]

this is my first post here although i have been reading here for a while. I have been a gun enthusiast from the age of 5 when i first shot a Thomson contender in the desert of Arizona. i have owned many guns and i am an avid shooter. all that being said i have never built or owned an AR i have used them on many occasions but my knowledge of this gun is not extensive YET!!!

i guess i should tell you what i am trying to achieve. i want a gun that is as close to an all around gun as passable.i want accuracy , reliability , durability i want to be able to use it for self defense or hunting with it.

so here is what i have started with

this is my barrel it is a 20" walther with polygonal rifling

standard lower i assembled this about a month ago it is an R GUNS lower i will be putting a timiny trigger in it before it is completely assembled.

what you see is what i have so far. my thoughts are i would like to save this lower for a different AR for my kids and go with a sun devil, or a vltor upper and lower i still need my hand guard and my bolt carrier i have the bolt. i was thinking a young or a JP guns bolt carrier i want all of these parts to be chrome plated because i want to avoid any corrosion issues.
this is a slow build as the economy has not been so good to me.and i have 3 kids to feed. any comments are much appreciated


this is my first AR so forgive any ignorance i may have on the subject. for the most part i have been a bolt kinda guy... my tikka T3

 

[nicholst55]

Re: my firs AR build

Welcome to the Hide; I recommend you fill out the rest of your profile before someone jumps on you about it.

Looks like you're off to a good start on the AR. While it may be your first, I doubt it will be your last! They are addictive! Every time I built or bought another upper, it grew into another rifle.

 

[rware91]

Re: my firs AR build

i started off my gun enthusiam in the ar platform and have built to many to count. Now ive moved to bolt guns for competition. i like the young bolts and i pay the extra cash for them becuase i like how they look. they function just the same and clean just the same as the black ones. your tikka is a nice stick and good luck on the ar.

 

[JelloStorm]

Re: my firs AR build

A standard Bushmaster A3 upper and Predator free float tube will get you where you want to be. If you want accuracy, get a match trigger. There's so many things you can do with AR's, they're like the Honda Civic rice burner of the gun world.

I'm a personal fan of M4's. I have a 20" A3 and it's fun with irons. I'm done with AR15's for now, was on an HK addiction and threw away a LOT of money on UMP's and MP5 builds so now I'm into bolt guns. If I scored an ACOG I would probably put it on the 20" and be done with it at that point.

Shit... dunno what's next for me... Muzzleloaders???

 

[JelloStorm]

Re: my firs AR build

You could always do this... LOL

 

[Tactical30]

Re: my firs AR build

At least it has a Ops muzzle brake!!!

 

[carbinero]

Re: my firs AR build

some exciting stuff going on in the AR world. not sure if there's a question in there? for optics mounts, check out larue. I'd swap that grip for a Magpul MOE. If you're not into buying AR specific tools, check out the Daniel Defense Omega freefloating handguard/rail. enjoy!

 

[BasraBoy]

Re: my firs AR build

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JelloStorm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You could always do this... LOL

</div></div>

Now I know that the AR thing is an illness!

 

[eli polite]

Re: my firs AR build

for the most part i have always been a bolt rifle guy but decided to do the AR thing. see how it works out i guess i was just wondering what you guys thought. and see if there were any suggestions or better yet any things that i should stay away from.

 

[81Z4ME]

Re: my firs AR build

I've been told there are only a few true manufacturers of upper and lower receivers. I've used DPMS, S&W, Spikes Tactical and Yankee Hill Machine lowers with no issues so far.

The uppers? I don't have a clue who made them. I've only had one issue with an upper and it may be a combination of that particular bolt and that particular upper receiver. Two 20" flat top ARs. One worked fine from the first pull of the trigger. The other would either not quite eject the empty or it would eject but not chamber the next one from the magazine. We fooled with it awhile and then finally swapped bolts from one rifle to the other. After the bolt swap both rifles ran fine. For some reason that one bolt was dragging in the original receiver (wore all the finish off a patch about 2" long on the left inside of the receiver in about 3 or 4 boxes of shells.

They can be addictive. There are so many parts available (plain and fancy parts, necessary and unneccesary parts, etc) different barrel lengths, different sight options, different stock options, etc., etc.

My first builds were pretty plain. My last ones have chromed bores/chambers. One has a chrome bolt, one an ion bond coated bolt (can't say either are better than a standard parkerized bolt but the chrome bolt sure cleans up quick and easy).

You can get by with building a plain rifle for $700 to $800, maybe cheaper. You can spend thousands buying the highest cost parts out there. You've got to decide whether you're building one to shoot or building one to brag about the brand names and how much the parts cost.

There's a forum called arf15.com that has some great pictorial threads on how to build lowers and uppers. http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=226782

 

[GlockandRoll]

Re: my firs AR build

welcome to your newest addiction... I've built a dozen or so, and now find myself selling one, just so I can have an excuse to build another!

So far, these three have been my favs.


Custom 16" white oak 7 twist recon, leupy 3.5-10, jp trigger, AAC SPR/M4 supressor.

.4MOA capable (shooting silver bear no less!) model1sales custom fluted rifle with Miculek comp, 16x SWFA super sniper, and RRA 2-stange NM trigger.

what I call my "Cave Fighter", this thing is stupid fast to shoot with the polarizing filter on the ACOG reflex sight.