What I'm getting for my AR

[poopoozilla]

Hi all,

Thanks for your input. I don't have time now to respond to all the questions but I can make a few general comments.

My build being all over the place - new to the game. I appreciate your comments and I am learning a lot.

Red dot sight with 20 inch barrel - Would I be the only one to ever have this build? What i hear is RDS with 16, good. RDS with 20 bad. I mean, if some douchebag broke into my house or the zombies start attacking I am assuming that a RDS with a 20 will lay the same amount of hurt that a RDS with 16 would. If i'm hearing everybody correctly, though, is that I'd be using an optic generally reserved for close range on a typically long range type of rifle. Thanks for educating me on this and something for me to ponder.

I'll get back on later and continue to answer some of your questions. Thanks for the input!

Cheers!

[pacrimguru]

what you need to do is figure out what you want to do with this build. figure out what kind of range you want to be effective at and in what context you'd be using this rifle.

generally speaking, a 20" build lends itself to be a more accurate gun that would in turn demand a more accurate optic. a variable magnified scope would be more suited for it.

something like a 16" or less barreled carbine would be more maneuverable in the confines of a house for example. a 1x red dot works well for that use.

if this is your first build and you have no real set goal for this build, i suggest going with a flexible set up that you can change up. that would be a 16" build. you can easily mount a magnifier behind a red dot or even go with a magnified acog or variable magnification 1-4 sight with it. you can bench shoot and do tactical drills with it. it would work for home defense too.

that's not to say a 20" can't accomplish the same things. it's just that a 16" tends to be more flexible than a 20" in terms of maneuverability and weight and the ballistic trade off for the shorter barrel on an all around rifle isn't all that much. again, this advice is if you are not looking to build a precision AR.

i am aware the marines use a 20" barrel to do what the army does with a 14.5", but if you can build your own and aren't issued it, why not go with a set up more customized for your usage?

[IsaacGlass]

Hi all,

Thanks for your input. I don't have time now to respond to all the questions but I can make a few general comments.

My build being all over the place - new to the game. I appreciate your comments and I am learning a lot.

Red dot sight with 20 inch barrel - Would I be the only one to ever have this build? What i hear is RDS with 16, good. RDS with 20 bad. I mean, if some douchebag broke into my house or the zombies start attacking I am assuming that a RDS with a 20 will lay the same amount of hurt that a RDS with 16 would. If i'm hearing everybody correctly, though, is that I'd be using an optic generally reserved for close range on a typically long range type of rifle. Thanks for educating me on this and something for me to ponder.

I'll get back on later and continue to answer some of your questions. Thanks for the input!

Cheers!

I think you're trying to build one of these.......

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=368759

In any case, you have lots more reading and research to do.

[Poppy83]

As many others have stated, I think your main issue is to decide what the purpose of your rifle is. Everything after that tends to fall into place much smoother.

I was having the same issue with my 2nd build. My first AR is pretty generic (16" barrel and I'm running iron sights on it).

[poopoozilla]

Here It Is

Ok everybody. Thanks for your input. I ended up taking everything y'all said and married it with what everybody I personally know said, which was pretty much, WTF do you want to do with your weapon.

So, I changed the length from 20 to 16, got a Vortex SPARC RDS

SPIKES TACTICAL LOWER Punisher
PXT (Parallax Tactical) Complete Upper http://www.parallaxtactical.com/stor...arrel-904.html
RRA LPK
Timney Competition Match Drop In Trigger, 3lbs
VLTOR Basic EMOD Buttstock Milspec Black
Vortex SPARC red dot sight
Magpul ASAP ambidextrous sling mount
Prince 50 Bullet Button

Still need:
Sling
BUIS

Thanks for all the info. I really appreciate it. Now, just gotta get some ammo and shoot at P2K. I hear they are good people over there.

I still have some questions about the BUIS, co-witnessing (can anybody explain this to me in layman's terms?) with the RDS, zeroing the RDS and BUIS.

Lemme know what you think. I think I'm addicted.

Also, is it true that Aero Precision is the same company that makes Spikes Tactical lower's? If so, I'm going to jump on some Aero Precision lowers.

-Zilla

[Don29palms]

There is more than one company that makes Spikes lowers.

[Wicked K5]

Great looking rifle you built As far as cowitnessing your RDS, absolute cowitness is when your sights line up with the reticle of your optic. 1/3 cowitness is when your sights are in the bottom 1/3 of your optic's field of view. Lookin at your pics, with the riser you have, I think you'll be doing a 1/3 cowitness. All this of course pertains only to non-magnified optics. I'm sure someone else can give a more thorough explanation, but that's my knowledge of it.

As far as Aero goes, I really don't know if they make lowers for anyone else besides themselves, but my AR is built on a Aero lower. I went with it because it was inexpensive, has a nice matte finish, and has HK style roll marks. If my wife likes shooting my AR, I'll probably build her one using an Aero or build a .308 Aero lower for myself and give her mine

[gmcal]

IMO, if you're going to use flip up buis abolute cowitness, is the way to go since you won't need to change your cheek weld/position on the rifle.