How reliable are home built ARs?

[CSACANNONEER]

Commercially produced rifles come with a warranty

I bet you're one of those who gets suckered into buying extended warranties on everything. Hey, if you want to pay +10% more for everything and use the warranty on 3% of the products you buy, that's great for you. However, remember that warranty work isn't free. You will be investing your time and, sometimes shipping charges, to get work done. On an AR, that typically means less time in labor than the shipping charges and possibly a small part or two. Personally, I'd rather just take care of the problem myself instead of having to wait for weeks or months for someone else to get around to doing the few minutes worth of work.

[Paperchasin]

Define "built".....

[rromeo]

Full Definition of*build

built*play\ˈbilt\*building

transitive verb

1:* to form by ordering and uniting materials by gradual means into a composite whole*:**construct

2:* to cause to be constructed

3:* to develop according to a systematic plan, by a definite process, or on a particular base

[stevie]

I have put together 7 uppers including 2 Mega Matens. All have. functioned fine

[nate76239]

I've put together a couple where initially there was a problem with a yhm lo pro gas block and a DSA gas tube on another. After replacing the part they run fine. My latest is a midlength mforgery that is as good as or better than factory:
DD 16 inch barrel
DD gas tube
BCM f marked fsb
Dpms A2 flash hider
LMT semi auto bcg
DD mid ez car drop in rail
DPMS barrel nut, d-ring &cap
Rainier Arms upper
Gas block drilled for pins by Randall at AR15 barrels

[K_Labs]

Build it. Test it. Pass or fail. Then fix and retest if it failed.

[ScottsBad]

It depends on whether or not you use quality parts for your build and quality ammo.

(I have yet to have any level of luck with Winchester white box (in either .223 or .22LR, to the point that it's making me question the quality of the company as a whole, but PMC X-tac has been pretty reliable in my build, once I got the adjustable gas block properly sorted.)

Winchester white box is bottom of the barrel practice/plinking ammo. That said, it should run fine in any decent rifle. Adjustable gas blocks are unnecessary for 99%+ of shooters and frequently cause more problems then they solve.

[larkja]

I assemble my lowers but purchase my uppers. Not trying to push a certain brand, but I have always had good luck with PSA (YMMV). I am not an expert shooter nor do I compete so I don't need "top tier" uppers. I have had White Oak, Noveske, Daniel Defense, and PSA. For me they have all been within margin of error for the ammo I was using.

I have only assembled/owned/sold maybe 10 ARs, so nowhere near what many here have done. But, never had a problem with any of my builds not working properly.

[ScottsBad]

I've read that a lot of problems with reliability come from home built AR's. I see a lot of home built AR's for sale in the marketplace with low round counts (many with just enough rounds to sight in) which makes me wonder why these "Bubba builds" are so common in the market place while used factory built AR's seem to be rare for resale.

If it is the only rifle you own I think it should be a high quality, properly assembled rifle/or upper with a warranty. Once you have a good reliable rifle then build your own.

A rifle is only as good as the parts and assembly. One way to start building is to buy a complete upper with BCG, and assemble your own lower. Later you can start buying tools and parts to assemble an upper.

Personally, I would not buy a used Franken rifle.

[Dhena81]

There is no skill assembling an AR there are a few simple procedures though.

The skill comes with manufacturing the components again there are procedures that increase the likely hood of proper function.

I've built a few AR's by selecting each individual component every part was selected not for price but form or function and from a company that has a history of selling high quality parts.

[Press Check]

Compared to yester-year, most components are plug and play today, so there's really no reason why a home assembly cannot be as reliable as a factory rifle, but that's assuming that the most critical components are quality parts (LPK, BCG, Barrel, Gas Block, and Buffer Assembly).

Not too many years ago, those "bubba-builds" were fetching $1.5K to $2K and factory rifles were fetching twice that amount during the scare. I remember seeing Colt's commanding a minimum of $5K on Gunbroker.

[SMarquez]

No issues at all that aren't my fault in my handloads.
I have 2 that have functioned perfectly with all factory loads.
They have been assembled by my hands with my tools in my garage. The only thing I don't assemble is BCG's. I have no doubt I could do it properly but am happy with the 3 I have and likely won't be building anymore.

[edgerly779]

Mine work fine. Bubba built huh. must be inbred.

[Epaphroditus]

Build is one thing (like from 80%), assembles is another (LPK, etc) and "Bubba" is completely different.

Like any thing with moving parts proper care must be taken at all times. Heck, they even run mostly with springs in backwards!

[Jimi Jah]

Mine, better than production

Same here, assembled by experts with the best parts = better gun. I didn't build them to sell them.