Poverty Pony Build

[Tripplet918]

I havent built an AR in years. I do like to build them off Anderson receivers. Those are so affordable and have always been amazingly high quality units when I have them.

As a mental exercise, below is what I?d build out of an Anderson lower.

Anderson upper and lower receivers
CMMG upper and lower parts kits without FCG
Hiperfire Enhanced Duty Trigger
Armaspec Stealth Recoil Spring (H2 for mid-length)
Rosco barrel in profile of your choice (preferably mid length)
Toolcraft BCG (Ive heard some bad experiences, but those have been the exception)
UTG Pro handguard (hard to beat quality for price)
Magpul furniture and sights.
Bird cage flash hider (if mag locked, hard to beat the standard flash hider on a real fighting gun)

The Armaspec isnt a must have. But if youre buying fancy buffers and silicon springs, these are really nice to have. If budget is an issue, any H2 buffer plus a silicon spring from Springco will serve you well and not require much maintenance.

For optics, the Holosun solar powered red dots have been put through 10s of thousands of rounds. Theyll do. If you dont like Holos, Sig optics are reasonably priced but dont have as much history.

Ive built a couple that were almost exactly like this, cept for the barrel, and they all worked amazing. Even in competition they rocked.

[Chewbaca]

ditch the armaspec spring. they are held together with a allen screw at the rear. those screws back out with use and the unit implodes inside the receiver causing the action to jam. i had to unstake my castle nut and remove the buffer tube just to get the upper separated from the lower. if this would happen anywhere other then the range youd be dead. it gives no noticeable advantage over the stock tried and true buffer spring. dealing with their customer service was no help either, they leave you hanging high and dry.

[Tripplet918]

ditch the armaspec spring. they are held together with a allen screw at the rear. those screws back out with use and the unit implodes inside the receiver causing the action to jam. i had to unstake my castle nut and remove the buffer tube just to get the upper separated from the lower. if this would happen anywhere other then the range youd be dead. it gives no noticeable advantage over the stock tried and true buffer spring. dealing with their customer service was no help either, they leave you hanging high and dry.

Interesting. I havent experienced that, but will check and secure the fastener.

[RNE228]

I haven't either. I moved on to a Garand. Side by side the Garand is more fun to shoot. But, also went with a 1861 Springfield. Shooting that 40" barrel, 58 cal 510gr Minie is really cool.

I like AR's, but there are so many other fun rifles to play with

I havent built an AR in years. I do like to build them off Anderson receivers. Those are so affordable and have always been amazingly high quality units when I have them.

[Tripplet918]

I haven't either. I moved on to a Garand. Side by side the Garand is more fun to shoot. But, also went with a 1861 Springfield. Shooting that 40" barrel, 58 cal 510gr Minie is really cool.

I like AR's, but there are so many other fun rifles to play with

I stopped building AR's because it was like pouring money into a rice rocket. One will never get back the investment.

I switched to factory rifles and platforms other than AR's. During covid, even my SKS faired better in value than my franken ARs.

I'd love a Garand, but have a hard time shooting 30-06 due to cost.

[Paperchasin]

I have no experience with the Hiperfire trigger, but for close to the same price, I'd also look into the LaRue triggers. And if you want to save some money, I heard that ALG triggers aren't bad.

[bigbossman]

I haven't either. I moved on to a Garand. Side by side the Garand is more fun to shoot.

I like AR's, but there are so many other fun rifles to play with

I think maybe it's a generational thing? I started out on Garands, went to M1A's, and then just recently built an AR-15. It came out great and shoots well...... but honestly, I'm not all that smitten. The juice just isn't worth the squeeze to me, and I'll stick with the Garand and the M1A. Oh yeah, and lever guns..... lots and lots of lever guns.

I stopped building AR's because it was like pouring money into a rice rocket. One will never get back the investment.

That is my impression, as well. You can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting an AR for sale at $600 - $800. They're everywhere. I think people get all hot to build one, get bored, build another, etc., and then finally decide to move on. That's when they find out that they aren't getting their money back - not by a long shot.

[RNE228]

I like shooting all of those, as well as smoke sticks; Hawken's, Kentucky's and Springfield's(1861).

Surprises people at the range... Switching between an AR, a Garand(Springfield) and a 1861(Springfield). All three were key to the US military small arms.

I think maybe it's a generational thing? I started out on Garands, went to M1A's, and then just recently built an AR-15. It came out great and shoots well...... but honestly, I'm not all that smitten. The juice just isn't worth the squeeze to me, and I'll stick with the Garand and the M1A. Oh yeah, and lever guns..... lots and lots of lever guns.

[Tere_Hanges]

I think people get all hot to build one, get bored, build another, etc., and then finally decide to move on. That's when they find out that they aren't getting their money back - not by a long shot.

Selling "customized" ARs is like selling other things that are "customized", you arent necessarily going to get what you put into it. This is what I consider "common sense". So as long as you have common sense, then whats the problem? I swear people never tire of whining about nothing on this board.

I have Garands and M1As but with ammo being so expensive its a lot cheaper to shoot .223 than .3006 or .308 so thats one reason why I love the AR design. Its also just really a marvel of design. ARs are awesome and being super cheap is a GOOD thing, it sounds like people are whining about how cheap ARs are, I dont get it.

[bigbossman]

Selling "customized" ARs is like selling other things that are "customized", you arent necessarily going to get what you put into it. This is what I consider "common sense". So as long as you have common sense, then whats the problem? I swear people never tire of whining about nothing on this board.

I think you may have taken it wrong. I'm not "whining", but thanks for jumping right to insults....

Of course - anything custom, cars, AR's, etc, will likely not get the money out on resale that was put in. That's pretty frickin' obvious to anyone that's put money into a custom "anything".

My main point was (and was just my speculation) that the AR affection might be a generational thing. It was a possible discussion topic, not a "whine" as you so generously put it. That's cool - if you love building AR's, have at it - I applaud you and yours and think it's great. I built one, had fun doing it, but it's not a rifle I grab first. I did not fall in love with the platform.

[Jimi Jah]

I didn't build mine to sell them.

I typically use 75% power buffer springs, a 3 oz tungsten powder filled buffer, a lightweight bolt carrier with an adjustable gas key. That way they are a lighter, smoother firing rifle.

The triggers are RRA 2 stage match I paid $62 for. I used a good barrel like Criterion or White Oak. Linear compensators are used to lessen the noise. Sparrow grips are used because this is, well, California.

[DrewTheBrave]

Anderson lowers are a great place to start for any build. The UTG Pro rails are good for the money, and Toolcraft is an excellent BCG manufacturer. The barrel is where I tend to spend most of my budget (without going overboard) - Criterion, Wilson Combat, LaRue, Faxon, Bergara (PRI) and Alexander Arms (6.5 Grendel) have all been excellent performers for the money (~MOA when I do my part). I was less impressed with the precision of the Anderson barrel (2-3 MOA), but at $99 it was fine for a backup gun (now sold). I'm looking hard at Mos-Tek and WOA for my next projects.

Triggers are largely subjective - you've gotta find what you like best by trial and error. In my experience, the LaRue MBT-2S is the best trigger under $100, and TriggerTech makes the best triggers at any price. Lots of great options today, so try a few out and see what you prefer.

While I like the idea of the JP Silent Captured Spring, I don't think it's worth the cost. On the budget side, I don't have much confidence in the Armaspec's quality to trust it. The standard recoil system is 100% reliable, and I just use an H2 buffer in anything that's slightly over gassed to perfect early unlocking.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[sigstroker]

I saw Rosco barrels on sale a couple weeks ago, they're supposed to be good.

[Tripplet918]

I didn't build mine to sell them.

I typically use 75% power buffer springs, a 3 oz tungsten powder filled buffer, a lightweight bolt carrier with an adjustable gas key. That way they are a lighter, smoother firing rifle.

The triggers are RRA 2 stage match I paid $62 for. I used a good barrel like Criterion or White Oak. Linear compensators are used to lessen the noise. Sparrow grips are used because this is, well, California.

Neither do I. But through the years, what I like changes, I change, and have sold some guns just because I wasnt interested in them anymore. There were primarily guns for competition. Its just a fact of life that very few things are for life. Factory guns and historic firearms, Ive generally held.

[Tere_Hanges]

I think you may have taken it wrong. I'm not "whining", but thanks for jumping right to insults....

Of course - anything custom, cars, AR's, etc, will likely not get the money out on resale that was put in. That's pretty frickin' obvious to anyone that's put money into a custom "anything".

My main point was (and was just my speculation) that the AR affection might be a generational thing. It was a possible discussion topic, not a "whine" as you so generously put it. That's cool - if you love building AR's, have at it - I applaud you and yours and think it's great. I built one, had fun doing it, but it's not a rifle I grab first. I did not fall in love with the platform.

no worries, I wasn't referring to you.