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Newbie question/ar build

DAVID1989

Member
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 22, 2017
160
26
Calhan, Colorado
Looked around some and didn't really see anything that pertains to my question so I apologise in advance if it's been covered before. So while I'm pretty knowledgeable with bolt guns I don't know much about ars. I've been tossing around the idea if putting one together to play around with. Would like it to be precision oriented as id like to shoot 3-500 yards. Only thing is this build would take a back seat to my bolt gun so im trying to piece it together on a budget. $1000 max, less if I can get away with it. Would like to do it from a stripped lower so I can put it together myself and learn some in the process. So if it were you guys what components would y'all go with? Thanks in advance.

Edit- forgot to mention I want 5.56. Just to clarify.
 
I have built dozens of AR15s. As long as they are in spec receivers are all the same. fancy names and logos are all BS marketing. I have used STAG,PSA,ANDERSON,SPIKES and a host of others. They are all the same. Yes you may get a lemon from time to time but generally all good.

I woud get a PSA kit and lower (under $500 bucks total on sale). Shoot it... If it does what you want great if not do a barrel swap and a trigger upgrade.

I doubt you will get a match grade AR with scope and mount for $1,000 bucks but its a good start on one with a good barrel. there are a ton of great barrel makers out there. The market of AR15s is flooded and most manufacturers are making fantastic reliable and accurate shooters. You dont really need a big name anymore. I have built budget rifles that shoot MOA and some not even close. Its a roll of the dice.

Good luck and enjoy the BRD. You will need tools as well I suggest watching a few youtube tutorials. The AR15 is a friendly dynamic demon that will sap your wallet with the extra parts you end up with.

AL
 
I have built dozens of AR15s. As long as they are in spec receivers are all the same. fancy names and logos are all BS marketing. I have used STAG,PSA,ANDERSON,SPIKES and a host of others. They are all the same. Yes you may get a lemon from time to time but generally all good.

I woud get a PSA kit and lower (under $500 bucks total on sale). Shoot it... If it does what you want great if not do a barrel swap and a trigger upgrade.

I doubt you will get a match grade AR with scope and mount for $1,000 bucks but its a good start on one with a good barrel. there are a ton of great barrel makers out there. The market of AR15s is flooded and most manufacturers are making fantastic reliable and accurate shooters. You dont really need a big name anymore. I have built budget rifles that shoot MOA and some not even close. Its a roll of the dice.

Good luck and enjoy the BRD. You will need tools as well I suggest watching a few youtube tutorials. The AR15 is a friendly dynamic demon that will sap your wallet with the extra parts you end up with.

AL
Thanks for the advice. That's actually good news bc I'm only 20 min away from psa. Im having a change of heart as to whether I want an ar15 or ar10 platform. So many decisions lol.
 
The Stag 15 Varminter Kit provides everything besides the Stripped Lower. Part of this package is a very nice 2-stage trigger. The entire upper comes completely assembled and ready to run with its 24" Stainless 1:8" twist Varmint weight barrel, rumored to be sourced from McGowan. Mine shoots in the region of 1/2MOA with factory match ammunition, and would do so with more consistency if I had the body and eyes of someone less than 71 years old.

Beyond the basic rifle, for simplicity sake, I add the BAD lever for lock-'n-load, and the Caldwell rail mounted brass catcher. When shooting single feed (F T/R, for instance), I remove the brass catcher and replace the magazine with a Bob SLED.

Greg
 
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https://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-Upper-Receiver-assembly-M4-Flat-Top-p/bcm4-ur-m4.htm - Upper, BCM sells the best forged uppers, has more to do with QC then anything. $119

https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/spr-barrels-mid-rifle-gas-7-8-twist.html- $275 - Best barrel on the market for the money

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....tride+9310+MPI+Bolt+Carrier+Group&groupid=723 $ 90 quality BCG

https://geissele.com/super-modular-rail-mk14.html - $250 Rail + Gas Block , one of the top rails on the market and very solid lockup.

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=XAIMGTM&name=AIM+Mid-Length+AR+Gas+Tube&groupid=2596 - $12 Gas tube

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....e=BRAVO+COMPANY+MFR.+Enhanced+Lower+Parts+Kit - $120 Bravo LPK with PNT trigger. This is actually a really good trigger and the price is solid. You can always upgrade the trigger to a true match down the road when money permits.

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....Hardware+Mounting+Kit+(Mil-Spec)&groupid=2358 $58 Buffer kit.

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....nderson+AR15/M16+Charging+Handle&groupid=2595 $15 Charging Handle

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....+Systems+BRAVO+SOPMOD+Collapsible+Rifle+Stock $58 B5 Bravo Stock


There you go buddy. An absolute monster of a build for $998. You just add whatever lower you want ($40 cheapo or $300 billet, makes no difference) You may be able to find prices cheaper elsewhere but you can bundle up for shipping.

Use those components and build that rifle correctly, it will hang with some of the best shooters out there. Not only that, but all parts are of the highest quality and built for reliability and durability.
 
I have built dozens of AR15s. As long as they are in spec receivers are all the same. fancy names and logos are all BS marketing. I have used STAG,PSA,ANDERSON,SPIKES and a host of others. They are all the same. Yes you may get a lemon from time to time but generally all good.

I woud get a PSA kit and lower (under $500 bucks total on sale). Shoot it... If it does what you want great if not do a barrel swap and a trigger upgrade.

I doubt you will get a match grade AR with scope and mount for $1,000 bucks but its a good start on one with a good barrel. there are a ton of great barrel makers out there. The market of AR15s is flooded and most manufacturers are making fantastic reliable and accurate shooters. You dont really need a big name anymore. I have built budget rifles that shoot MOA and some not even close. Its a roll of the dice.

Good luck and enjoy the BRD. You will need tools as well I suggest watching a few youtube tutorials. The AR15 is a friendly dynamic demon that will sap your wallet with the extra parts you end up with.

AL

This is partially true. They may be the same in the fact that there are a handful of forgeries and machine shops that do the vast majority of uppers/lowers you see on the market. The reality is many are machine outside of tolerances and the price reflects this. For example. Paul Hoating the owner of BCM, stated years ago that they used to reject over half of the uppers than were shipped to them from the same manufactures that just about everyone else is using. The difference is, they actually QC the products and reject them instead of just building (which was an even bigger deal during the panics when any AR component was like gold and companies were selling every gun they made as it came off the line, Imagine the money lost due to rejecting parts). They ended up sourcing a very highly machine shop and now have to reject much less product because the people making them and the people QCing them are on the same page. What do you think happened to those parts rejected and sent back to the machine shop for being out of spec? Well no shit they just sent them somewhere else to a buyer who is ignorant or does not care.

Most of your builders and retailers don't give a shit will sell any product that comes into their store.

The importance of this is, When you are building a precision platform or one that people will stake their lives on, you need the components to be to spec. They need to pass NDT and QC in order to be relied upon.

Its common to have to true the face of the threads on an upper for an AR build. With a quality upper, you can skip some of the truing steps and have confidence it was built right in the first place. Much like a precision rifle, everything being true, square and concentric will result in a higher accuracy potential then not. I don't need to break out the Mic or dial indicator to make sure my BCM or Mega upper is already true.

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors in the industry and the majority of products are nothing but hype. There are some things you can cheapen out on and some things you need to get it right the first time. No one is going to die over a 6061 buffer tube but a bolt that breaks or LPK made of cheap pot metal lowest bidder with no QC could. You need to pick your battles and manage risk when selecting parts.

Do this long enough and break enough components over time, and it will start to get clear who is worth spending money with and who is not.
 
https://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-Upper-Receiver-assembly-M4-Flat-Top-p/bcm4-ur-m4.htm - Upper, BCM sells the best forged uppers, has more to do with QC then anything. $119

https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/spr-barrels-mid-rifle-gas-7-8-twist.html- $275 - Best barrel on the market for the money

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=XAIMBCGH4N3&name=AIM+AR/M16+H4+.223/5.56+Nitride+9310+MPI+Bolt+Carrier+Group&groupid=723 $ 90 quality BCG

https://geissele.com/super-modular-rail-mk14.html - $250 Rail + Gas Block , one of the top rails on the market and very solid lockup.

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=XAIMGTM&name=AIM+Mid-Length+AR+Gas+Tube&groupid=2596 - $12 Gas tube

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....e=BRAVO+COMPANY+MFR.+Enhanced+Lower+Parts+Kit - $120 Bravo LPK with PNT trigger. This is actually a really good trigger and the price is solid. You can always upgrade the trigger to a true match down the road when money permits.

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....Hardware+Mounting+Kit+(Mil-Spec)&groupid=2358 $58 Buffer kit.

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=XANCH&name=Anderson+AR15/M16+Charging+Handle&groupid=2595 $15 Charging Handle

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....+Systems+BRAVO+SOPMOD+Collapsible+Rifle+Stock $58 B5 Bravo Stock


There you go buddy. An absolute monster of a build for $998. You just add whatever lower you want ($40 cheapo or $300 billet, makes no difference) You may be able to find prices cheaper elsewhere but you can bundle up for shipping.

Use those components and build that rifle correctly, it will hang with some of the best shooters out there. Not only that, but all parts are of the highest quality and built for reliability and durability.
Wow, thats how you answer a question lol. Thank you! Literally picked everything out for me. I have an idea of what I want but like I said, I'm a bolt gun guy. Don't pretend to know much about ars. This is going to be a rifle for my wife to shoot too. She doesn't like my custom bolt gun and seems more interested in an AR platform. So hopefully this will satisfy her. If I can get it to shoot pretty well out to 4-600 yards I'll be happy.
 
This is partially true. They may be the same in the fact that there are a handful of forgeries and machine shops that do the vast majority of uppers/lowers you see on the market. The reality is many are machine outside of tolerances and the price reflects this. For example. Paul Hoating the owner of BCM, stated years ago that they used to reject over half of the uppers than were shipped to them from the same manufactures that just about everyone else is using. The difference is, they actually QC the products and reject them instead of just building (which was an even bigger deal during the panics when any AR component was like gold and companies were selling every gun they made as it came off the line, Imagine the money lost due to rejecting parts). They ended up sourcing a very highly machine shop and now have to reject much less product because the people making them and the people QCing them are on the same page. What do you think happened to those parts rejected and sent back to the machine shop for being out of spec? Well no shit they just sent them somewhere else to a buyer who is ignorant or does not care.

Most of your builders and retailers don't give a shit will sell any product that comes into their store.

The importance of this is, When you are building a precision platform or one that people will stake their lives on, you need the components to be to spec. They need to pass NDT and QC in order to be relied upon.

Its common to have to true the face of the threads on an upper for an AR build. With a quality upper, you can skip some of the truing steps and have confidence it was built right in the first place. Much like a precision rifle, everything being true, square and concentric will result in a higher accuracy potential then not. I don't need to break out the Mic or dial indicator to make sure my BCM or Mega upper is already true.

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors in the industry and the majority of products are nothing but hype. There are some things you can cheapen out on and some things you need to get it right the first time. No one is going to die over a 6061 buffer tube but a bolt that breaks or LPK made of cheap pot metal lowest bidder with no QC could. You need to pick your battles and manage risk when selecting parts.

Do this long enough and break enough components over time, and it will start to get clear who is worth spending money with and who is not.
So for a precision type ar what parts can you afford to skimp on? What would you consider the most important parts of it? Your one post made it seem as though the lower isn't that important compared to the upper receiver being true and a quality barrel. Is that pretty accurate?
 
Barrel is key just like with bolt guns. All of the parts are important as they form a system. The rest is dependent on what you want out of it. Accuracy over reliabity? For example you could skimp on gas block and buffer system, but you may have have cycling issues. If a soft shooting gun is what you seek then an adjustable gas block and enchanced a bolt group and tuned buffer system like the A5 or JP will shoot stupid soft but you may have cycling issues getting it dialed in, it probably will be ammo sensitive. Everything is a trade off and parts that both enchanced function while not sacrificing reliability tend to be expensive and requiring fittment a/adjustment. If pure accuracy is what you seek, focus on barrel, ff rail, trigger and ammo. Those 4 are the most important to maximize accuracy.

There lots more to it, but based on your posts those componets are what I would seek. I'm a picky shooter and I would have no issues running that build in a course or taking into harm's way ( assuming it's assembled correctly and tested). It also gives you room to grow with a solid foundation.

Cheers
 
Barrel is key just like with bolt guns. All of the parts are important as they form a system. The rest is dependent on what you want out of it. Accuracy over reliabity? For example you could skimp on gas block and buffer system, but you may have have cycling issues. If a soft shooting gun is what you seek then an adjustable gas block and enchanced a bolt group and tuned buffer system like the A5 or JP will shoot stupid soft but you may have cycling issues getting it dialed in, it probably will be ammo sensitive. Everything is a trade off and parts that both enchanced function while not sacrificing reliability tend to be expensive and requiring fittment a/adjustment. If pure accuracy is what you seek, focus on barrel, ff rail, trigger and ammo. Those 4 are the most important to maximize accuracy.

There lots more to it, but based on your posts those componets are what I would seek. I'm a picky shooter and I would have no issues running that build in a course or taking into harm's way ( assuming it's assembled correctly and tested). It also gives you room to grow with a solid foundation.

Cheers
Makes sense. Thanks for explaining it. I think I'm going to pretty much go with what you suggested. Now i have to start learning about putting them together and buying the parts to piece together.
 
$1000 budget + Precision = Rock River Varmint Rifle
Somehow didn't even see your post. I'll check them out as well. This is still a little ways out so I have some time to look at it all and make a decision. Still kind of undecided as to whether I'd be better off saving a little more and going with something a little higher up like a seekins. More of a buy once, cry once guy. I guess the main objective here is to have something I can shoot for reasonably cheap (ammo wise) and still run it out to 5-600 yards.
 
I just bought a .224 Valkyrie Match grade upper kit today from White Oak Armament, I paid $650 out the door and it included everything but the lower with parts. Get a cheaper lower, throw a geisselle in it and outfit it with some magpul or whatever else and your solid. Plus it could double as a backup to the bolt if you believe the hype.
 
https://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-Upper-Receiver-assembly-M4-Flat-Top-p/bcm4-ur-m4.htm - Upper, BCM sells the best forged uppers, has more to do with QC then anything. $119


Save yourself almost about $60 and get yourself these BCM MOD4 uppers;)
I have purchased probably 100 of these over the past few years. I have turned a few guys here on the Hide into this hidden little secret. They are NOT blems. They are what they call demos. Comes with forward assist and door. I think 1 out of the past 100 I've received had a light, barely noticeable scratch on the finish. Best upper deal for the money IMHO.

https://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM...-Flat-Top-demo-p/flat top -upper -m4 demo.htm
 
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I had the first few checked and they were perfect. Literally are demos. No QC issues. They are my go to non billet uppers.
 
Just follow Aero Precision and catch the sales and blemished parts. Put an aftermarket trigger in, maybe a JP captured buffer spring if you have enough left. I have a 16" complete Aero upper mid-gas bought prebuilt and it shoots very well.

Aero makes uppers and lowers for the other companies....
 
To be frank, the only parts that really make the gun accurate is barrel, ammo and shooter. The trigger is one item I would factor into that list as well, personally, but not necessary. Everything else is a luxury, in terms of aftermarket vs. stock parts.
 
Just follow Aero Precision and catch the sales and blemished parts. Put an aftermarket trigger in, maybe a JP captured buffer spring if you have enough left. I have a 16" complete Aero upper mid-gas bought prebuilt and it shoots very well.

Aero makes uppers and lowers for the other companies....

Aero makes receivers for some companies...


I used Aero for a while and they were great. They have since gone to shit. There were some threads on here of all the problems people have been having and their non existent customer service.

I've had 3 issues over the past 6 months with aero receivers and 1 Handguard. They mis milled M5 lower mag wouldn't lock in. Handguard layed on gas tube. Customer service took 3 months to replace. Nobody responding to emails. Get someone on the phone and told employee handling my case quit

I'm so done with Aero.
 
Aero makes receivers for some companies...


I used Aero for a while and they were great. They have since gone to shit. There were some threads on here of all the problems people have been having and their non existent customer service.

I've had 3 issues over the past 6 months with aero receivers and 1 Handguard. They mis milled M5 lower mag wouldn't lock in. Handguard layed on gas tube. Customer service took 3 months to replace. Nobody responding to emails. Get someone on the phone and told employee handling my case quit

I'm so done with Aero.
That is sad to hear. They used to have high quality stuff for good prices.
 
Aero makes receivers for some companies...


I used Aero for a while and they were great. They have since gone to shit. There were some threads on here of all the problems people have been having and their non existent customer service.

I've had 3 issues over the past 6 months with aero receivers and 1 Handguard. They mis milled M5 lower mag wouldn't lock in. Handguard layed on gas tube. Customer service took 3 months to replace. Nobody responding to emails. Get someone on the phone and told employee handling my case quit

I'm so done with Aero.

That's odd to me because I've built four rifles using mostly Aero parts and they've all gone together fine. And whenever I emailed a question I got a prompt response. Not discounting it happened to you. If it is true they've gone to Hell then IDK of any reasonably priced manufacturer left because I've already heard horror stories about the rest!
 
I've built close to 100 using Aero receivers. I always had 10 or more Aero receiver sets on the bench. After the issues over the past year I cleared out inventory and don't use them anymore.

BCM uppers with their undersized barrel extension area for super tight fitting barrels are my go to forge uppers now. I have 12 on the bench right now.
 
Yea people who have built one or 2 rifles and those who have built hundreds understand the differences. Its why I hate these kinds of threads where people who don't have enough experience to encounter a problem statistically, want to argue with people who understand the subtleies. Not hating on them, they just don't know what they don't know.
 
I've used 5 Yankee hill machine receivers, solid stuff, none of that pot metal junk.
BCM enhanced lower parts kits come with a nice upgraded trigger.
I did get 1 bad roll pin from them in my last kit, happens with any brand, check it before you try to install it, opps!
I dont get bargen basement bcg's or pay for fluff iether.
Spend more for a good barrel in the upper, and if it's stainless paint it right now.
Make sure your gas length and buffer/spring match.
The rest is just furniture but a magpull crt stock gets rid of wiggle with thier friction lock.
Dont forget to use anti-seize on the threads.
The little detent spring installation tool for the pivot pin is worth it.
 
I've used 5 Yankee hill machine receivers, solid stuff, none of that pot metal junk.
BCM enhanced lower parts kits come with a nice upgraded trigger.
I did get 1 bad roll pin from them in my last kit, happens with any brand, check it before you try to install it, opps!
I dont get bargen basement bcg's or pay for fluff iether.
Spend more for a good barrel in the upper, and if it's stainless paint it right now.
Make sure your gas length and buffer/spring match.
The rest is just furniture but a magpull crt stock gets rid of wiggle with thier friction lock.
Dont forget to use anti-seize on the threads.
The little detent spring installation tool for the pivot pin is worth it.


You're comparing apples to oranges here. YHM billet receivers, or any billet receivers are are made entirely different than forged receivers. Pot metal? Non billet receivers are 7075 T6 Forged aluminum. Metallurgists agree that a forged piece of aluminum is stronger than cast or billet. The reason being, when the material is shaped under pressure, its 'grain' follows the same shape as the part. Far from pot metal!

You do know there are probably 5-6 give or take forges in the USA that actually forge receivers for EVERYONE. Just to get our facts right here before we get word spreading that forge receivers are pot metal and you now HAVE to buy billet if you want quality. You know how false rumors spread on the interwebs.....

To list a few

Forging Companies

Alcoa Forge
1600 Harvard Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44105-3092
Telephone (216) 641-3600

Anchor-Harvey Components, LLC.
600 West Lamm Road
Freeport, IL 61032 USA
814-235-4400, 1-888-FORGING

Brass Aluminum Forging Enterprises
1351 Jarvis
Ferndale MI, 48220
Phone 248-542-9258

CAPCO
Creative Aluminum Products Company
Forest City, Iowa 50436
Phone: 641-585-6870

Cardinal Forge
1040 South Main Street
Rochelle, IL 61068
P: 815.561.8172

Cerro Fabricated Products
103 Chestnut Street
Brave PA 15316
724-451-8561

Mueller Forging Company
2199 Lapeer Avenue
Port Huron, MI 48060
810-987-7770

Smith & Wesson also does their own forgings.



Why should one paint a stainless steel barrel right away??? Those of us that actually shoot our rifles on a regular basis dont waste money on painting barrels because they are a consumable. They are shot out and replaced on a regular basis..... Safe queens and hunting guns that dont get shot often maybe, but you dont HAVE to paint a stainless barrel.


Please explain to me why our gas length and buffer/spring length need to match? Your saying those of us that have built 100's of AR's and the companies that sell them are doing it wrong? Please enlighten me.... We cant use Mid or Rifle length gas with a carbine buffer/tube/spring combo..????? News to me
 
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https://yhm.net/stripped-lower-receiver.html
YHM forged recievers 7075-T6 aircraft/mil spec aluminum, that is the good stuff.
I worked for over 34 years with every type of aluminum alloy ever made for machining and sheet metal fabrication on mil spec stuff.
The only other alloy I would recomend would be 2024-T8 but it's not used as often for machining lately.
I spent a lot of time with engenearing staff sorting out alloy choices for projects.
If spending a grand on an ar srtong durable recivers is a good start.

Take your stainless barrel out from under the shade, walk out 100yd, turn around, looks like a candelabra.
On a good day the favorite bench gun may want to go hunting, on a bad day it may end up on a 2 way range.
If you coat the barrel first you dont have to disassemble it once you get over the glitz factor.

I can't figure why you would start a new build with mixed gas / buffer parts on purpose?
My matching parts run fine suppressed or not. I admit some brass gets beat up by not custom tuning.

Primus has a good list of parts on his post.
 
Carbine gas sytems versus rifle length gas/buffer systems and all the rest, they are matched systems.
They are not set in concrete, they can be tuned, and mixed.
A first time builder don't need to get into that hassle right off the bat, imho
 
Your background in aluminum alloys has nothing to do with your gun building expertise or statements. You said "none of the pot metal junk receivers.." I only know of 7075 T6 forged receivers. What pot metal junk are you referring to???


You canr figure out why??? Your lack of gun building experience is evident. Stop spewing false info. Dude your buffer system has to do with your stock choice....you want a prs or a2 you need a rifle buffer tube setup...you want a ctr, etc you need a 6 position carbine tube....

Mine and most competitive shooters barrels don't "sit in the shade"...and time and money is rarely wasted on painting them...they look like SS... What are you getting at?
 
In all fairness I would never run a strait stainless barrel. It's a army thing and I have been known to throw on a can of Rust-Oleum or krylon on a Krieger or lija barrel. All my shit gets subdued. I agree that cerokote is for queer dudes who must match a barrel, which is a consumable and is just a wasted expense. Rather use the money on more ammo or towards another prefit.
 
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Got to admit used cerokote to get rid of stainless, was not wanting to risk having to redo if the krylon didnt stick.
If shit hits the fan i will use krylon or rustoleum to finnish the process including my face.
The ceracoat is way too shiney but better than stainless, was told it would dull?
At worst it is a durable primer. Lol

Got over the cool glitz shit on a hunt last year, covered the barrel with a pants leg.
My other leg got cold! Got my critter.
 
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Wow, thats how you answer a question lol. Thank you! Literally picked everything out for me. I have an idea of what I want but like I said, I'm a bolt gun guy. Don't pretend to know much about ars. This is going to be a rifle for my wife to shoot too. She doesn't like my custom bolt gun and seems more interested in an AR platform. So hopefully this will satisfy her. If I can get it to shoot pretty well out to 4-600 yards I'll be happy.
Where do I find one of those? Do you have a link? Can I get one online?
Not the "gun" stuff ... I'm talking about the "wife" that is "more interested in an AR".