I just found this yesterday, and thought I’d share.
Well, there’s a gentleman by the name of Marco (NRA Instructor) at Family Firearms in Brandon, FL who is hosting an AR build class using a variety of manufactuers including Spikes Tactical parts! This is the first class that he’ll be hosting on 18JUN2011. The class starts at 1000 and lasts 6 hours.
According to the site, you will learn how to completely assemble a Military Spec AR15 from a pile of parts. You will assemble everything from the barrel and gas tube to the entire trigger assembly on a stripped lower. They also have several items you can upgrade to outfit your rifle within the class.
I know there’s a lot of experianced builders out there (don’t beat on the new guys (me) too much, we got to start somewhere). But for the guys who were always interested in starting their first build and want to build it right the first time, I think this would be for you.
It’s $850 for the class, but at the end of the day, you’ll have a M4 Carbine, carrying case, all the tools you need (punches, light hammer, armorer’s blocks, etc.) to build another one. But the best part is that you’ll have the knowledge of how to build it the right way and things to avoid during the build.
I don’t know, I found this looking for parts, thought this was cool and wanted to share it with you guys.
Is this a new company? I live in Brandon, but I’ve not heard of them before… of course I’ve not been home for over a year, and maybe a month over the course of the past 2 and a half years >.<
This sounds like a pretty sweet deal, and I think you could only benefit from taking this course.
…Though I’d rather see something other than Spike’s parts… I went to a gun show down at the Sun n Fun airfield last year, I picked up a Spike’s rifle, and embarrassed them when i announced that the bolt catch wouldn’t work on one of their display guns… Idk what was wrong with it cause he promptly took the rifle from me, said something along the lines of “Oh shit” and hid it. :rolleyes:
Anyway, Have you been to this store? Do they have reasonable prices on ammo/accessories? I’ve been pretty disappointed with Patriot Arms on I think Lumsden? and Shoot Straight is okay, but some prices could be better… Just been looking for a new place to shop
I made plans to see Spikes store front on my break from school because the representative was nice enough to offer a tour of their facility. I was going to bring my camera, my son, and make a field trip day out of it…but I had to read a few books before the next quarter began(lame).
But if the lady was willing to give me a tour of their facility and armory at the drop of a hat, I’m sure it’s pretty organized and clean.
Shoot strait is kind of the neiman marcus of firearms stores as far as their prices are concerned. I don’t particularly like shopping there considering they don’t have LEO or Military pricing.
I’m going to check out Family Firearms this week to see the storefront. But I think they concentrate on training and education rather than a ‘shooters store’. I think their classes will be some place else considering the amount of space you need for a build.
Yeah, I think the class is a great deal! I think he might keep the class to a limited number since it is the first class he’s hosting.
Interesing idea… although it strikes me that there’s at least $250-$300 in tools needed to build an AR right… so $850 seems low even with the selected brand of AR.
Funny you mention that, cause I just called and told him that I have punches, ar wrench, and other tools already. I asked if the price could change and he said that he’d have to get back to me on that cause there’s others asking him the same thing about other parts.
Has anyone ever attended a class like this before? (That’s not an armorer)
From my reading of it, the lower could be Spikes or another “equivalent”. As for the other parts - I would have some questions given the overall cost. 1/9 HBAR with no mention of chrome lining would be a no-go for me. No mention of what kind of BCG, RE, etc makes me wonder as well…
I can certainly understand the appeal of this course to someone who is hesitant to build their first AR on their own. That said, the first time I built a complete AR several years back I did it pretty much by following instructions on (wait for it…) TOS (blargh, I know…). I am not one who would really be described as mechanically inclined, and I had no problems whatsoever throughout the process.
Given the costs and the questionable nature of some of the parts provided, I would be inclined to choose an alternate route in learning to build an AR. Even if uncomfortable following an online walk through, perhaps a local forum member with experience could guide you through the process using parts of your choosing (and known quality).
I think I’d want to see the instructor’s credentials. Mechanically the parts of an AR go together fairly easily. But it’s the little things that make the job right.
In my opinion, there’s too many bubbas wrenching on ARs as it is.
Yeah, but the growth could be good for the industry in America. Bring the view of target shooting back to a recreational family event, rather than a negative association of the worlds evil.
But to get back on target, I’m looking forward to the class because I like a formal breakdown and description of things when I learn. I can learn off youtube or the ATI video with Rob Dunlap, but I like to ask questions and get thorough answers back. The military really put that ‘attention to detail’ in me to the point I might have an obsessive compulsive disorder. :laugh:
But yeah, there’s a lot of people that learn better in a classroom setting versus someone’s cousin over a beer.
I think the point markm was trying to make is that the quality of the instruction is important. If the person giving the class is giving out bad info then it sort of defeats the point of taking the class.
The price of the class sounds too low to be using quality parts. As markm pointed out the proper tools are going to cost you a few hundred bucks and with the price of the lower that doesn’t leave a lot of money left over for true “mil spec” parts.
Personally I would ask for a complete list of parts and tools by type and manufacture.
I agree. I can understand how there’s a lot of hacks out there, especially the ones looking to make a quick $. But I’m willing to give someone (with a store front) the benefit of a doubt. Especially when they put themselves out there like that.
Meaning, Marco offers a class to the general public to learn to build an AR. I know that he’s an NRA instructor and there are a lot of them, but he must have built more than a few to be confident enough to teach proper installation to a classroom of people. And he has his store front shop associated with the class, so if someone is not satisfied with the service or rifle, they know exactly where to find him. And hosting an inadequate class like that would be suicide for your business.
An opportunity like this is rare…well the timing is great for me anyway. I’m a college student with an insane curriculum. But this AR class is the next day after my last final…perfect.
As far as the price goes, it is almost too good to be true. I saw the list of manufactuers and was partial to one of them. But this is pitched as an intro class for the general basis of assembly…and you walk with a functionable AR.
He could offer ‘better’ components, but we all know that would raise the class price by hundreds or thousands. It just makes the invite more appealing.
A part of me thinks the reason why the price is so low for this class, is that he’s willing to instruct for free, sell us the parts at cost for the class, and all this hard work, just for the exposure.
Think about it, Marco pulls this off and gives an awesome class, not only will it give him great exposure, his shop would do more than just thrive from the local shooter community.
Then if he hosts it again, I’m sure the price will rise.
SCatalyst,
Thank you for the posting. I live in Davenport which is about 45mins from Brandon.
I do have a couple of questions for you:
You mention that Marco is a NRA instructor but is he a firearms intructor or a Armorer instructor? What sort of Gunsmith or Armorer credentials does he have?
I have dealt with Shoot Straight in the past and the Apopka location is the Original and the Lakeland and Tampa are franchises operated by less than knowledgable people.
I am working with VA to clear me to go off to Pittsburg for a 16 month Master Gunsmith program so I may open my own shop but I would like to take a class like this one to build a carbine for my GF!
Thanks again for the heads up! Maybe I will see you there!
