Mission Impossible.....or Just Difficult?

C

citizen

New member
This WILL result in a culmination of the collective knowledge of members here; requested to assist me in the endeavor to build/buy my first AR. I'm long overdue.
Consider that I have never built any firearm; and I am a SOUTHPAW.
Self-assembly seems cheaper; is this true?
What specific components or kits, and methods are needed. Hands-on personal experience with the expense and ordeal of obtaining/assembling these items are helpful.
This is NOT an exercise in theory; I will accommmplish this project with your assistance. Be specific. Who to speak to, order from, pay for, etc. Fire away. And in a week (month, two) I'll post again on progress, or accomplishment, or failure.
Buttstocks, barrel length and commposition, sights etc are all waiting to be decided.
Can ya help? :)

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NRA LIFE MEMBER
ILLEGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM ESSE
 
Wow - good timing. DPMS makes a left-handed upper. 4V50Gary and Chink are the ones who first clued me in on this. Unfortunately, I'm in CA and didn't act. Brownell's and Fulton Armory sell left-handed magazine releases, safeties and charging handles. Me, I don't mind having right-side eject, but the controls will definitely have to be reversed.
 
Most lefties shoot a conventional AR with right side ejection

True your trigger hand is the right hand but the system works.

The army does not issue right & left handed guns...

if you want a southpaw AR then you are into DPMS as your only supplier. http://www.shooterstore.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=90&Product_ID=5300&CATID=493

MRSP:ID #: RFA2-SP
Price: $874.95 Each

the same gun in standard ejection: MSRP: $799.00 Each

the gun as raw parts:
Rifle Kit Complete (includes F.E.T.)* http://www.shooterstore.com/acb/showprod.cfm?&DID=90&CATID=493&ObjectGroup_ID=1267 Kit is Unassembled Parts
ID #: RFA2-20LA
Price: $699.95 Each

Self assembly will be in this case a hundred bucks cheaper but there is no gun warranty

FET is a federal tax on a full kit to build a gun

you could buy a kit minus a bolt for 600 bucks

then order a bolt for 35 and have a kit for 635

Many AR-o-philes recommend buying a prebuilt Bushmaster then building up a lower for the next AR.

stay away from Sun Valley/ ASA http://www.gunkits.com/
they have a poor rep for fixing flawed product & refunding money

i saw an assembled DPMS lower with stock for $230 at a gunshow. An upper from M&A is 280
so a cheap AR could be had for $510 + shipping
http://www.m-aparts.com/kits.html

see also: http://WWW.JTSURPLUS.COM/ http://www.blackrifle.com/

HTH

dZ
 
Thanks, guys. I've contacted 4v50Gary on this already; DPMS seems to be the source for Lefties. Completely forgot about the warranty issue; may alter my decision. That in itself is info I wouldn't have considered without posting for suggestions. I've just come back from my local gun store, and they've told me "10% over". Leads me to have them order one built to my desire and wait the 5 or 6 weeks. Haven't decided yet. Anybody else care to speak up? :)
 
Don't forget to check the headspacing, especially if you get upper receiver and bolt from different sources.

JohnDog
 
I've never built one so I can be of no help there. (In fact I'm considering the project soon so I will enjoy learnig from this thread to. :))
But I do know that TFL member fal308 has a lefty AR. I don't know which lower he has but you may ask and price compare if it is a different manufacture.
 
Thanks, Gunny. I've seen some of Fal308's posts when doing a search. Won't bother him directly; he'll post if inspired. BTW my earlier response is currently how I feel about my first AR. Probably order one W/WARRANTY at "10% over" configured to my taste; from DPMS. Haven't heard any negative feedback, and I'll save my clumsiness for perhaps a second, once I'm more familiar with the rifle. Need to have that first one done right, ya know. :)

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NRA LIFE MEMBER
ILLEGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM ESSE
 
Assembling an AR is not particularly difficult, but it does involve a few specialized tools that will add to the overall cost.

At the bare minimum you will need barrel blocks and a barrel wrench for assembling the barrel and reciever, and you will need a heavy bench mounted vice as well. A set of pin punches and reciever blocks will make things go together a lot easier. There are other specialized tools that make the job easier still, but they probably wouldn't be worth the added cost on an individual project.

There are several videos on the market that show the entire process step by step, watching one of them might help you make up your mind. Somewhwere I saw that some company had the military manuals online, probably a search at AR15.com would turn those up for you.

Hope this helps.

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The M-16 is a damn fine weapon, but your best, your most lethal and effective weapon is between your ears. Ssgt Brown, Parris Island, 3rd Bn, H co. 1984.
 
BTW, I'd stay away from the Powers extended ambidextrious magazine release and stick with the Norgon. Norgon is small and unobtrusive yet easy to use. The Power is larger and the tradeoff may be in the form of unintentional discharge (of a different order). Mykl, one of our administrators here also uses Norgons on his ARs.

ARtech - hi Chris! Glad to see you're still around.
 
Regarding barrel blocks, they're cheap enough but if you're strapped for cash, you can always make one out of maple. Just measure the diameter of the barrel and then use the appropriate drill. Place the block on a table saw and voila! Instant poor man's barrel blocks. My uncle and I had to do this with one of those super heavy bull barrels (aka: axle shaft).
 
Thanks Gary! I'm doing more reading than posting these days, but yup, I'm still around.

Doesn't seem to be as much call for AR stuff on here recently, and Bushmaster has had to lay off some of their production staff. I hope this isn't a trend...
 
I have a non-cataloged DPMS AR. The catalog listed (at that time and presently still, I believe) only a 20" HBAR upper in lefthand. I have my LH upper in an 11.5"/5.5" configuration. I bought it as a complete upper and also a lower kit minus the buttstock kit. That saved my paying the exise tax! Mine is a pre-ban so I put a collapsible buttstock on mine. I've also put a Compact ACOG on it with a scout-style picatinny rail mount so that the optics are inline with the iron sights should the optics ever fail. I hope to order another LH upper in the future, only this will be a flattop with raised rail bull barrel upper. Haven't decided upon the caliber though.
Talk with the folks at DPMS, as they had no problems in building what I wanted even though it wasn't a catalog item. The only problem was the wait time. I think I ended up waiting a little over 5 months (due to extra machining and lack of parts supply).
You don't want to buy a kit without the bolt. A lefthand bolt is different from a righthand bolt. It uses the same bolt to start with but the hole is machined from the opposite of normal, so in looking at the bolt from the face end it would appear upsidedown. Also the upper on the LH DPMS does not have a dust cover and there is no provision for one. That wasn't overly important to me though.
I second the Norgon. I've had one on mine for a couple of years now plus an ambi safety, from Brownells IIRC. Norgon can be found at www.norgon.com for more information.
Shooting a LH AR is fun and always starts a conversation at any range. I find that I put many more rounds through it than any of my other ARs, including my .45ACP upper. Now I just need that .44 Mag upper that Tromix is coming out with :cool:
 
I built one last year. A friend of mine did so as well. First time for each of us. We both used Bushmaster stripped lowers. My kit came from Sherluk. His from JT. Both companies have good reputations and good prices. We each experienced some problems, but the companies stood behind their products. I received a few lower receiver parts that were "out of spec" - meaning they wouldn't fit. I spent a lot of time and frustration filing, squeezing, and pounding trying to get the trigger installed. When I finally got a replacement part, it went right in. I also had a detente plunger (?) that was oversized. I had to sand it down to fit (removing any rust-protective coating in the process). I also had to send the entire upper receiver back to have some parts replaced (bolt?). Anyway, it was an interesting experience, and the rifles work fine now, but it took some time and frustration.

If you just want a standard configuration AR, I think I'd just buy a Bushmaster. If you want the experience of building one, or want a stainless bull barrel, free-float handguard, etc. (which mine has), then you can probably save quite a bit. Another option would be to buy a complete Bushmaster lower, and then get the complete upper from someplace for less. My kit came with the upper fully assembled (no need for barrel wrench, action blocks, etc.). My first AR was a complete Bushmaster rifle. The second was the kit I described. I'm glad I bought a complete working rifle first. Good luck.

Doug
 
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