As I'm sure most of you are aware, the auto industry that I have spent the last 30 years in, as a tool and die maker, is tough to make a living in these days. I have not worked in two and a half years.
Putting together an AR of decent quality with hardly any
money was going to be a challenge, but I managed to pull it off.
I discovered that if you have several friends that have AR rifles,
between them they collectively had about a bushel and a half of
like new discarded parts.
So by watching for bargains and raiding my friends parts
boxes, here’s what I was able to come up with.
Bushmaster 6.8 M4 style upper
DPMS lower
A2 skeleton stock
MOE carbine handguard
Detachable carry handle
Stark pistol grip
4 Barrett 30rd magazines
Nothing special , but it seems to be very accurate and has not missed a lick in 200 shots, (all the ammo I've been able to buy so far)
Total cost including the ammo was less than $750 but I don't
it would be too hard to put another $1000 in it. (Damn BRD)
A friend of mine had bought the BM upper and now he is out of work and needed some money, so he sold it to me for $250. But I think I am going to start reloading because of the ammo prices.
I think the 6.8 should be a good round for defensive use and hunting but maybe not casual plinking.
GeezerD :big_boss:
I picked up a stripped DPMS lower receiver that had one of the trigger guard tabs broken off and the stark pistol grip has an integral trigger guard and covers the broken tab.
GeezerD :big_boss::big_boss:
Sounds like a decent rifle! I’ve been putting together another rifle I was trying to make it higher up the food chain than my Bushmaster but I’ve come in to money issues too and am trying to avoid buying the real cheap parts available. All I lack is an upper minus the BCG and charging handle and I could call it quits but I hold out till something comes along like a deal you got! Nice catch! I wouldn’t sell off the 6.8 parts, especially for a 5.45x39 :stop: Handload the 6.8, it’ll be more rewarding.
I’ve been ‘parts shopping’ for my latest 6.8 upper. I watch the “Equipment Exchange” or “For Sale” listings and quite often you can find some good deals. Remember that a lot of the parts are not caliber specific so you can check various threads. 68forums has a listing for 6.8 parts as well as one for ‘others’
Prolly, the lowest cost addition to your 6.8SPC rifle is to acquire a 5.56 upper to practice with to conserve the 6.8SPC ammo. An upper can be acquired as a kit for very low money, the ammo is pretty cheap if you shop around.
I had a full lower sitting around for a long time and decided to drop a 6.8 upper on it instead of building another 5.56 M-4 clone.
Took about a year before I saw AR15Performance.com listing “something better” the price of a quality 6.8 SPC II upper, bolt/carrier and 16" SS barrel was best I found…and upon arrival I was delighted I waited for this product instead of a generic upper. Very nice quality and definately the most bang for my buck-$519.
For me, the AR is like the 1911 of rifles, a platform that I feel has a threshold of quality one must meet to really get the potential. When my friends ask me about doing a budget build I have learned to recommend a BCM and that they set their bar no lower. And 6.8 is like doing a budget 1911 in 10mm, nothing budget about it. You are going to get a lot more millage out of a 5.56/223 and afford higher quality components.