Want to build an AR - Help please

[Bigum1969]

I've got the black rifle bug. I have a SIG 556 and love shooting it and I'd love to try and build my own AR. This is where I need help.

Do I just need to buy and upper and a lower and put them together?

I read Shotgun News all the time and see uppers, lowers and stripped lowers for sale. Do i just need an upper and a lower? And, how hard is it to assemble? Would I need special tools? I'd really like to try and build one myself.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[melensdad]

Buy an upper that is already built. The quality of the upper will determine most of the accuracy of the gun. The other major factor for accuracy is going to be the trigger. If you go discount on the upper you will probably get a decent service grade gun, but you can go to any extreme with uppers and they are more than the sum of their parts, assembly and tolerances are critical if accuracy is of the utmost importance. You can pick from 100's of variants from service to long range target to everything in between.

The lower is something that you can assemble. Part kits are available from many sources, triggers run the gamut of from single stage, dual stage, to exotic target triggers. You can use standard parts like a spring buffer assembly or you can go to the pneumatic units, the lower is really something you can tailor to your whims and wishes.

 

[Bigum1969]

Thanks for the tips melensdad. Any tips on some good vendors or web sites to shop?

 

[Lars]

Thanks for the tips melensdad. Any tips on some good vendors or web sites to shop?

The first and last place for AR-15 parts
Rainier Arms, LLC™ | Taking the AR15 to new heights.


Ok, Not really, but a really good vendor none the less.

 

[melensdad]

Thanks for the tips melensdad. Any tips on some good vendors or web sites to shop?

Depends on what you want to build. If you want to build a mall ninja/tactical Teddy gun then there are countless places to get your uppers and parts. If you want something special, or some sort of odd caliber, then that narrows things down considerably.

For example, if you want an AR that is legal for deer hunting in Indiana then you should look at the 458 Socom uppers, only a few places to get those. Want a deer legal gun with a flatter trajectory and higher velocity then talk to Mike Milli at DTech and have him build you his wildcat 358 WSSM that pushes a 200 grain .358 diameter bullet at 2600 fps out of an AR15. Want a long range rifle that can go 1000 meters and hit a pie plate then consider an Alexander Arms upper chambered in the 6.5 Grendel round.

 

[Benny]

Del-ton isn't a bad place to start either...I have nothing but excellent things to say about their products and customer service.

 

[shooter521]

Do I just need to buy and upper and a lower and put them together?

You certainly can do it this way, although that's not really "building," and there's no real reason to go that route vs. buying a complete off-the-rack gun.

I read Shotgun News all the time and see uppers, lowers and stripped lowers for sale. Do i just need an upper and a lower?

Depends on what those ads mean by "upper" and "lower". Uppers can be bought stripped (need to add all the guts as well as the barrel assembly), assembled (upper receiver with barrel attached, but no bolt carrier group or charging handle), or complete (assembled, with bolt carrier group and charging handle). Similarly, lowers can be bought stripped, assembled minus buttstock, or complete.

And, how hard is it to assemble? Would I need special tools?

Not hard to assemble, especially after you've done the first one. Putting the guts into the lower is pretty elementary. No special tools (other than some basic hand tools) are required, but there are a few that sure make the job easier! Barreling an upper is another matter, and does require more in the way of specialized tools (a barrel wrench being chief among them) and know-how.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

A couple bits of advice - one needs to keep in mind that "parts is parts" doesn't apply when it comes to ARs. You can't expect to build a rifle from a $400 gun show parts kit and have it be equal in quality or performance to a factory Colt/LMT/S&W or other top-name rifle. That said, a home-built AR using quality components can get up and run with the best off-the-shelf factory rifle. I know, I've seen mine do it. You may not save any money building the gun that way, but 1) you can spread the process out over time, vs. dropping a huge chunk of change at once, 2) you have knowledge of and control over EVERY part that goes into the build, and 3) you can have a gun in a particular configuration that may not be available off the rack.

Also of relevance here is what you intend to do with the gun. If it's just for occasional recreational blasting, the $400 gun show special will probably serve your needs just fine, and there may not be tangible benefits to spending more money. If it's for defense, duty or high-intensity competition, however, you'll be glad you didn't take the cheap route.

My $.02.

 

[WHITE_WOLFE]

If you wanna build one from ground up you can come to my house and use all my tools!!

I have everything to do it.

 

[Paul]

If you wanna build one from ground up you can come to my house and use all my tools!!

I have everything to do it.

Yup, he helped me put together my upper

 

[Bigum1969]

White_Wolf:

Are you located in Indianapolis? I'm down in SW Indiana.

 

[NateIU10]

If he's too far and you're ever up in Bloomington, you can always use my wrench and punches, even though I don't have the know-how lol

 

[WHITE_WOLFE]

White_Wolf:

Are you located in Indianapolis? I'm down in SW Indiana.

I am in Greenfield, just east of Indy.

 

[muncie21]

Sounds interesting. Let us know how your build turns out.

 

[BoatBuilder]

And on a side note, how is the SIG 556 treating you? I priced one from KGB, and really want to get one one in a couple of weeks, but I would like to hear some feedback from an owner. I have owned several AR's, but I want something a bit different.
Some things I want to know:
Fit and finish?
Recoil impulse-smooth, abrupt?(My AR180B had a sharp slap that was uncomfortable)
Does it tear up brass?(I reload)
Ease of maintenance?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bigum1969]

BoatBuilder:

I really do like my SIG 556. The fit and finish is overall good, but the brass does take off some of the finish when it ejects. No big deal, but it shows. The recoil is very smooth. The rifle is very front heavy which makes follow up shots quick and easy. Shooting compared to a RockRiver AR15 was revealing. My SIG had more of a soft thump recoil, while the RR AR15 was more of a snap. The SIG was, for me, easier to shoot and more comfortable.

As far as brass goes, I don't have an answer for you. I don't reload, but I do know that the brass does hit the ejection port hard on the way out (thus scratching the finish -- a well documented 556 trait). The brass is also ejected 8+ feet on average. Much farther than the average AR I've shot or seen.

Overall, I love the SIG. I just want to have an AR in my collection.

Hope that helps. I'm really just moving past the novice stage when it comes to firearms.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Model one parts will always be an Arfcom'ers bottom choice, but Ive had a wonderful A2 plain jane upper built by them and it is superb!

 

[Don]

Model one parts will always be an Arfcom'ers bottom choice, but Ive had a wonderful A2 plain jane upper built by them and it is superb!

After the this 1500 MODEL1SALES WILL NOT get another ****ing dime from me. The only reason why I bought from them was because they had a 1/7 gov't profile 20" barrel. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



The people there acted like it was a privilege to have them at the 1500. Cocky ****ing attitudes till you whip out the cash, then its mr ****ing nice guy. As you can tell I'm a little bitter at the douchebags.

 

[bigcraig]

Don, everytime I tell people to avoid doing buisiness with M1S I get called an elitist prick, but it seems you now know that not only is their product built using sub-par components, you also understand that they are fooking idiots.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Don, everytime I tell people to avoid doing buisiness with M1S I get called an elitist prick, but it seems you now know that not only is their product built using sub-par components, you also understand that they are fooking idiots.

Maybe the parts are sub-par to people that are 100% LMT or Colt fans, but like I said, they arent Arfcom's favorite, therefore, everyone craps on them. Ive seen this on other boards. The parts they sold me arent LMT or tacticool, but they fire very well. The upper is excellant, great build quality and accuracy. Heck, their 1/9 barrel that I have will stabilize 75 gr. stuff (especially my Mk262 replica handloads). Depsite not being chrome lined, my upper has not had an issue. I am coming up on 800 rounds (all varieties) without cleaning. The upper has been exposed to sand (accidentally dropped it in some sand with the bolt open, shook out most of it and kept going). People will yell and scream BS, but I dont care. I have a great ticking AR that, while not up to armchair commandoes on other forum' s standards, it more than meets my standards so far for reliabilty, accuracy, and durability. The OP wanted a good parts source and I meerly stated that Model 1 has done me well.

I think the elitists arent anti-model 1, they are just anti-anything that isnt what they have/what the latest tacticool soldier has/Arfcom consensus says you should have. It seems to me that one bad experience sours anyone, then they go the i-net boards, scream there, then something gets a bad rep. Look at the Glocks in .40. People are frightened to handload for it b/c someone blew their gun up. Over the thousands of those guns sold each week, one bad gun will of course be statistically higher than others because of volume.

Don: Aside from their behavior (which can be bad, but asides that), how are the parts? Good? Bad? I judge companies on their product and ability to fullfill warrantee, not how they are at a gunshow. Day in, day out those folks are going all over the nation, selling at shows. So many people to put up with. They have so many lookie-lous and arm chair commandoes come up and give them trouble that anyone will be pondscum until they show cash. Heck, the guy at their booth the last time I bought from them thought I was retarded for wanting a non-chromed barrel. I informed him that I actually cleaned my weapons (not now, b/c I want to see how far that baby goes) and would not indulge in what I thought he wanted me to get. The other guy in the booth simply showed me what I wanted, said that there is a slight advantage to non-chroming (a tad more accuracy over hundreds of yards) and thanked me for my purchase after money changed hands. Bad experience? Not especially. Actually, very similar to ANY experience I get with the gun crowd. Alot of them seem to be old cranks or elitists that will think one is stupid for not engaging in similar ideas or mindsets. The gun industry thrives on two things now-a-days: Fear and stupidity. Many companies will provide items that are purely stupid or unusable in real action.

I guess I want to state that I believe that if it doesnt say LMT, Colt, LaRue, Trijicon, Tactical Solutions, etc... then people "believe" its garbage. I have a model 1 upper that has given me no problems, stock DPMS lower that has given me no problems, a Hakko Blue Ring 4x20 that has never lost it's true or dialed adjustment (though I dont use it often), a stack of Orlites (never given me issues, though I prefer my other stack of USGI mags) and handloaded ammunition that I meticulously load, check, recheck and fire flawlessly. Am I using poor components? I judge components like companies: How they work.

 

[Don]

My parts were sub standard as well. My buttstock looked like it came from the first one out of the mold and looked like hell. The parts kit was tight as **** going into the lower. There was NO park under the front sight post on the barrel. I will severely discourage anyone from buying from them.