Possible AR Build - Help Please!

M

madmo44mag

New member
My question is this:

Is it more cost effective to build an AR from pieces / parts or just buy one outright?

The evil black rifle is calling my name again.
I owned a Colt back in the early 80’s and enjoyed it but was never really into the evil black gun.
In the past couple of years I hear it calling my name and getting louder each time.
 
I was pricing some parts, thinking about building one. The cost was quickly stacking up to more than I expected. I ended up picking up a S&W MP15 for just under a grand. Not the cheapest, but a solid rifle. Now I'm buying some replacement parts (sights, railed guard, foregrip) so I'm spending even more... Had I built one, I could have saved some money by not having parts to take off of the rifle, but I'm sure standard handgards and grips are cheap enough its not that much wasted money. And with looking to build, I was gravitating to parts which were probably beyond what I needed.

If you really look around, and aren't in a hurry, you can get some great deals on parts and build it over time. Unfortunately, as this is my first AR, I wanted it NOW! :D For me, I'm happy I just bought one. Took a few weeks on lay-away at the LGS, but I'm happy with it, and didn't go nuts with perfomance parts with potential I won't tap into with my shooting.
 
Unless you have a lot of mechanical, metalurgical and gun smithing skills/experience, I wouldn't build one.

It takes the right tools and the right parts to do the job right.
 
Let me add that I've been involved in guns for over 35 years and I am a machinist by trade. Seldom in all my years have I needed a gun smith unless it require tools I did not own or could not justify buying.
As for time I have plenty of that.
One of the reasons I am thinking of this build is to STOP my monthly mil-surp buying.
The past 6 -7 months I bought a new (one or more) mil-surp or handgun and need to SLOW down.
I have run out of space for any more guns right now so a slow build project might just be the ticket.
I have guns still in boxes with the cosmo still on them.
That comes when you have a 03 C&R
I may not win the prize of who died and had the most guns but I'm working on the top 100:D:D
 
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I can't speak from experience, but after research, I'd be inclinded to disagree with Thesheepdog. I suppose under the caveat that you have a basic understanding of mechanics and firearms, but I don't think any advanced skill set is needed. Brownells has a complete online video series of how to assemble an AR, and the gun itself is quite mechanically simple.

Tools, on the otherhand, are required and could drive the price well beyond a purchased model. Of course, for every gun you build beyond that, you recoup a bit of the savings. I was going to spring for them, but would probably end up helping my brother, father, and a few friend build one once I had the parts and a handy rifle to show for it.



madmo44mag, I can understand the want for a distraction. I'm an C&R holder, but strangely I don't really buy much with it. Instead I keep finding guns of all sorts to buy, causing a pile up of stuff I don't really use anymore. My AR project was started for the same reason, but atleast buying the "doo-dads" for it fills my need to tinker. Only after redoing my Saiga 12, some handguns, and recently ordering some replacement sights for my leverguns.....
 
Do you mean building the upper? That requires some special tools and mechanical aptitude.

Or building (assembling) the lower? Which requires no special tools and little mechanical aptitude?

Sadly, if you're talking about building a lower, and buying a pre-made upper, which is the usual course of action, I haven't found any savings vs. buying a complete rifle.

That said, I'm very glad I built a lower for an upper I already had. Its a great learning experience. Here's the numbers I had.

Lower kit: $250 for receiver and parts.
Stock: $60 for the one I wanted. There are cheaper ones down to $50 or so.
Upper: $495 for the one I already had.

So total for the rifle was $805. About the same price as a new rifle for the same configuration.
 
Building allows you to spread the cost out as you get the funds to purchase another part instead of dumping 1k all at once on a finished rifle------the final cost will be close to the same.

It also allows you to customize without buying unwanted parts----you'll also learn a lot about what makes the rifle tick and how to troubleshoot it.

Building the upper yourself is not a big deal---don't let the comments above scare you off---I've built around 10 uppers myself.
 
I'm pretty positive thesheepdog is being sarcastic...

Anyway it's simple to build one. I mean like child simple almost. Only thing is depending on what kind and level parts you want it could end up being the same price as just buying an upper. For instance i planned a MK12 Mod 1 build and if i would've built it i would've only saved around 50$. So i ordered the upper. Others can be built for less. Just depends on your preference.

Very Simple:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVwqhYQInvY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHYSgiYN6Q4&feature=related
 
I prefer to build the lower and shop around for the upper. Rarely can you get exactly what you want when buying a complete AR unless you have a custom builder, but when you take over and choose parts you can get pretty much what you want.

By building the lower you can choose the exact rollmark you want on your build, the exact LPK, trigger, receiver extension, buffer weight/spring and buttstock. Then you can shop around for the upper, BCG, charging handle and handguards/rails. And again get exactly the specs you want. This can be done in one or many purchases to spread out the cost. Then you can get the accessories as needed.

Finally, if you buy a stripped lower you only pay Federal Excise Tax on an $80-120 part, not the entire rifle. For a rifle that comes in around $800-1000 this can save around $100.

Of course you can get in trouble if you don't do good research and make good decisions but that's true of buying a factory AR too.
 
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