Hey all, i really don’t know anything about ar’s but have shot them a couple times and really enjoyed it and would love to learn about them. I have read plenty of posts about individuals building their own but don’t really understand any of it. My questions would be what would I need overall, how tough is it as a complete rookie and would it be wired if I were build the lower and buy a completed upper or vice versa. I would also like to have it 100% american. Anything will help, thank you for your time
I’ll say the same thing here as I did to the last guy I saw ask this question. I would not recommend building an AR if it is your first. Its not impossible, but IMO, you’d be much better off waiting to build one until you’ve had a lot of experience with yours and, therefore, a much wider knowledge-base.
being new to this forum I don’t want to step on toes, but I agree 100% with wake27. I built my first AR, but I did months of research and watching videos to know what I was getting into and what I wanted. After that, I still did my first build with an armorer looking over my shoulder to make sure I didn’t screw anything up. Even after all my research, my knowledge in this area is novice at best. Unless you are willing to do tons of research and reading, don’t bother trying to build your first. Buy one off the shelf, learn about it as you break it down to clean and field strip it, then consider building one.
Hi and welcome. Being new to the AR platform opens a lot of ideas in a very short amount of time. The best advice I could give you is to buy a complete rifle like a Colt 6920. This is a great rifle and you could shoot it, clean it, and understand how the rifle works before you build one. G&R Tactical has a great deal on the 6920’s. There are many options to choose from if you get the 6920. Shoot the shit out of it, then decide what path you want to take as far as optics and gadgets go.
Having done an assembly as my first AR, I’d say it depends on your mechanical abilities. If you know (not think) you can properly repair your vehicle beyond a simple oil change or replacing a sensor, or repair a home appliance, then you can do this.
I too did lots of research on this forum, and watched a ton of YouTube vids on doing it. If it were not for the fact that I could buy an assembled upper $150 cheaper than I could have built it (I was already waaaaay over budget) I would have done that too.
Putting together a stripped lower is not all that bad. Just make sure you use quality parts.
Reading on the internet is not “research”.
If you want to learn about how to assemble an AR, what all the latest and greatest wizz-bang parts are, get symied with trying to have all the best only to have the new best come out while you’re waiting, etc. then “build” your gun.
If you want to learn how to operate an AR, buy a Colt, 10 magazines, 1k rounds, and go take a class. Instead of wasting all that time online “researching” the latest wizz-bang parts spend that time “researching” where you can get a class. Instead of spending money on rails, lights, stocks, etc. spend that money on getting to, and taking, a class.
The Colt 6920 is your friend. Very high quality and affordable (got to G&R Tactical). In my mind there are only two reasons to build and AR yourself rather than just buying a complete rifle (and only one practical reason); the features you want are not available from a quality manufacturer (VERY rare these days) or you’re a tinkerer and just like to build them.
If this is your first AR you’re talking about building (and I’m not trying to insult you), you honestly don’t have enough experience to determine what features you “need”. Like rob_s said you can gain a ton of experience and knowledge through a “bare bones” Colt and a good training class. Really learn the weapon, then you’ll be in an educated frame of mind of “will this really help me x, y, or z better?” when talking about weapons upgrades.
My honest recommendation (and I WISH someone had told me this when I purchased my first AR back in 1998) go with a Colt 6920 or a BCM M4 Carbine Mod 1. IF you really must add something to it right away you can add a quality light of your choice and I recommend you try the Aimpoint Micro H-1 (or T-1 if you feel the need to spend more money) in either a Larue or Daniel Defense tall mount. Add magazines, a lot of ammo, and two or three mag holders to put on a belt and you’re off to a great start.
We are here to help and guide you down a path that will allow you to make educated decisions in the future without wasting your money and leading to frustration, please take our advice. We see many who don’t.
You’ll probably get more out of buying a Colt 6920 than building your own. The Colt is a good basic quality rifle, nothing fancy, and you’ll learn a lot by “studying” it (reading about it on the internet, ha). For less than $1000, you can’t beat it.
What is the intended purpose for the gun?
I recently “built” my first AR… and by built, I mean I bought a stripped lower and an LPK because I enjoy tinkering and understanding how things fit together and what does what. I bought a pre-assembled upper because well, I didn’t want to buy the vise blocks for the upper and a complete upper is usually cheaper than parting one out.
Keep in mind, though, that I’ve worked on a bunch of my own guns before, tuning my 10-22’s and Ruger MKI, & MKIII as well as performing some basic trigger pull modifications on my M&P9 and polishing the action on my Marlin 336. This was my first dance with an AR but not my first time putting small things in the right place in the right order.
That being said, if I were doing it again I’d still assemble the lower because I enjoyed it. But I’d just buy either a 6920 lower or if you can find one, a stripped BCM lower (or just buy a complete blemished lower from G&R, his prices are great) then add a basic 16" BCM or the like upper to it.
If you just want an AR to shoot I’d have to agree with everyone above, pick a quality AR buy it and shoot it. Its impossible to buy all the parts and tools required for your first build and come out ahead.
That being said, I did assemble my very first AR, used quality parts, not all the new wizbang stuff as rob_s put it 
just quality parts(BCM is your friend).
I learned a lot in assembling and enjoyed doing it, and am now in the process of doing an SBR. I did it more for the experience of doing it that to just get an AR.
My suggestion would be get a book on assembling the AR, I used The AR-15 Complete Assembly Guide. There are plenty of other books too, I’m sure others here can suggest better ones. A good book on AR assembly will give you a detailed understanding of how the rifle is put together, and pitfalls/trouble shooting while assembling your rifle.
Oh, and listen to the knowledgeable people on this forum. If you read enough you’ll soon find out who they are.
The only reason I bought a stripped lower and built it out with a complete upper assembly is because I live in CA and in 2006, you could not find a dealer to sell you a quality AR to CA specs (dumb laws I will not get into.) Even though I learned a great deal from building my own lower, now that I can purchase a quailty complete rifle in CA I would go this route. Like others have mentioned, buy a Colt, BCM or a Daniel Defense and shoot the crap out of it. Take a class, you will learn even more about you AR.
sigh
Once again, good advice has been given - I just hope it hasn’t fallen on deaf ears…
Being that you are new to the AR family of weapons, do yourself a favor and buy a BCM or a Colt for your first rifle.
Assembling your own AR is not for the beginner.
If you’d like to go as cheap as possible, and are on a budget, a build is a great idea. However, if this is your first, I’m gonna go with the crowd and recommend buying a complete rifle, or even a complete upper and complete lower.
If you’re on a budget, you can get away with some cheaper stuff in the lower (mainly just the stripped lower, generic milspec parts kit… etc, etc) Something like Spikes Tactical will work just fine and probably save you a bit of money.
Just be sure you do it right in the upper. Complete uppers can be had from BCM for a very reasonable price, and you’ll get top of the line stuff. That’s where it’s most important that you do it right.
Oh, wise one, pray tell from the fountain of your wisdom…
Come on, really. If you can’t “afford” a Colt LE6920 from Grant, how are you going to “afford” to shoot the thing?
Pony up the cash, or get out of the game.
Hey, a lot of guys can’t afford to take a huge splash right out of the gate. Maybe not to you, but a thousand dollars can be a lot of money for some people to shell out all at once (me included.)
He won’t necessarily be hurt if he goes with a little bit cheaper offering in the lower, and it can always be changed later. You could reasonably have something for around 850 dollars, maybe 800 if you’re really careful and try to find the best deal. Nobody is any less “deserving” of getting into the AR game because they make less money or whatever.
edit: Just found this in another thread: http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=6920MPU Efffing good deal, and should work great for a starter build type gun.
This is true. My very first AR was a Bushmaster, and I was working at a gunshop during the ban, and I ordered the upper, then the lower, then the BCG (as I recall). If people are tight on funds I think that’s a good way to go, but you have to resist the urge to “get exactly what I want based on my internet research” because there is no way for you to know exactly what you want yet.
In that case, I’d suggest doing a complete BCM lower, complete lightweight mid-length upper, and a complete BCG. The Gunfighter charging handle is good enough that I’d recommend it, and MOE furniture is so ubiquitous (and inexpensive) that you might as well start with it. If you can find a complete lower locally from a company that doesn’t suck, that’s another way to go. But caveat emptor as you’re likely to wind up with walking trigger/hammer pins, even in 2012.
Buy once cry once, a Colt is worth saving for. Get a jar, hide it from the wife, and stash some cash.
But if you can’t dish out $1k all at once at least get something of high quality and don’t cheap out on it. BCM is a good alternative. Get a prebuilt lower, prebuilt upper, BCG and charging handle, and you could have it for around $900.
And remember, DeltaSierra is right in saying that ammo costs are important to think about - the more you shoot, the more you spend!
Ar’s are the easiest gun to build. They are very modular with a variety of manufacturers making parts that are all interchangeable. All you need is a few tools and a few instructions. Anyone can build them. The best part of building them is complete understanding of the ar’s functionality and the ability to service and troubleshoot issues. That said, a barrel nut wrench, castle nut wrench, vice block and a variety of punches is all you need. Do it.
If you want a quality affordable complete kit minus lower you don’t have to spend more than 600 dollars. There are companies out there that sell for much less than the companies advertised in the banner above and are equal quality. But, if you don’t want to come here and get laughed at buy BCM or Colt.
Yes, genius.
Of course, you don’t have to be smarter than a rock to assemble an AR, but it would be nice if your little mantle piece decoration worked, wouldn’t it?
This isn’t the right site for you… You might have better luck over at Barfcom…