Swamphunter Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 I am purchasing my AR-15 right after New Years and have got a lot of people asking me if I was building it or buying it. It got me to wondering about building one. I would have to order complete assemblies as I do not have any special tools.. yet. Here is my question.... how hard and is there any savings? I understand that yes you can get "just what you want", the first time, but are the guns cheaper bought piece by piece and assembled? How hard is it?? I have been to Brownells website and they have a ton of good videos, step by step, making it look easy, but nothing is never that easy... Tell me anything and everything you know... Pros?? Cons?? I still think I am buying my first one.. but thought how cool it would be to build one with my son when he gets old enough. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterbobb Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 I have. The only hard part is if you buy the barrel and the upper as seperate components. If you buy the barrel already attached to the upper, the rest is like assembling a model airplane kit. It is also much easier if you get the trigger group installed in the lower. It can be kind of tricky getting all the small parts of the tigger to fit if you build that from scratch. :gun2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierbuck Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Like I told you on the phone that time, I farm out the assembly part to my friendly local SWAT armorer. I just give him a stripped lower and some money, less than buying one OTC, and he hands me an AR to my spec. Works for me! Good luck! HB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 Ken it is not as hard as it may seem. I have changed parts in my lowers and uppers, but have not built one from scratch. It is a modular gun which is the part that makes it so attractive for upgrades and caliber changes. You would need a pin punch set, a nylon/soft face hammer, the AR combo tool for stock installation and barrel installation. I know you would like to make it a project, but IMO buy a complete lower and tinker with that. Upgrade to a 2 stage trigger if you want. You will have a already assembled lower, so when you take it apart you have a better idea, not just a diagram of how it goes back together. Youtube has some good vids on this topic. If you buy yours and down the road, after becoming familiar with it. Then you can build one with Blade. BUT...I would buy the lowers ASAP. One complete and one stripped(for the future) to ensure against any future laws that may be enacted on posession of the EVIL black rifle. My cousin a few months ago purchased a complete Armalite lower for $425 out in Long Island. Pretty good price on a good lower. Check out the RockRiver and Stag Arms AR's also. Can you befriend the SWAT or tactical response officers in your Dept/Sheriff/troopers before you retire? My 1st AR was built by a SWAT team member in my county. He showed me lots of stuff . Hope some of this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csualumni21000 Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 Get a complete upper otherwise headspace will be an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Ken...Take a look at this link. Might give ya a better idea of what you may be getting into. http://www.midwayusa.com/Static/ar-15VarmintRifleInstructions.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 And another good one on building an AR. http://www.mapartsinc.com/anything.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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