AR build

[Halfey]

Ok....so I have decided to build my own AR 15. I want the rifle to be customized with the parts that I want and so I can learn the inner workings of the rifle?

Was wondering if you wise seasoned AR guys could point me in the right direction?

...and was wondering if you could give me an approx price Range breakdown by part.

1. Complete lower
2. Complete upper
3. Stripped lower
4. Lower parts kit
5. Stripped upper
6. Upper parts(bolt, carier,barrel,foregrips ect.

And any good advice would be great! Thanks!

[TJ3000]

The best place to start is at the Market Place Section of the forums... They have TONS of stuff for sale there at great prices too!

[d sauce]

If you want to learn the inner workings and see how the mechanics function; buying a complete upper and complete lower would not be the way to go.

[themailman]

Asking for a price range on those parts is like saying, "I want to build a car, please tell me how much this will cost." What is your price range?

[Shady]

unless you are milling out a 80% receiver you are not building anything
build = ak
assemble = ar

[d sauce]

True story Jeff

[rattlesnake_nm]

1. Complete lower $250ish
2. Complete upper Spikes $525ish
3. Stripped lower $150ish
4. Lower parts kit $50 up
5. Stripped upper^
6. Upper parts(bolt, carier,barrel,foregrips ect. comes with above mentioned.

[evidens83]

Why dont you go on one of the online gun shops like Rifle Gear and check it out.

[TJ3000]

unless you are milling out a 80% receiver you are not building anything
build = ak
assemble = ar

Ahh Good Point!

[cmace22]

If you want to learn, read, read and read some more. If you want to DIY start with a stripped lower and assemble it up from there. Buy a complete BCG and upper and you will have a good understanding of what you're working with.

[robgon]

You could probably get away building one for under 1k and go to 4-5k for some serious custom stuff. Seems like majority of the ar pics posted are close to 1500-2k.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

If you want to learn, read, read and read some more. If you want to DIY start with a stripped lower and assemble it up from there. Buy a complete BCG and upper and you will have a good understanding of what you're working with.

This is pretty much the best way to start out. Building (ok, assembling for the AK purists) a lower can be done with a rock, a chunk of rebar and a bit of practice. Assembling an upper actually requires a few specialized tools for most of us mere mortals. Pick a lower you like, get the buttstock set up that amuses you, and a LPK from whoever has them the cheapest. Watch the videos online on how to slap them together, and go for it. Then go buy an upper that you like. It may not be the best, but it will give you a functional rifle, and something that you can then use to discover which features you like and which you don't. After you have figured that out, either sell the upper to buy one more suited to your needs, or take it to any of the many, many people that put together ARs, and have them turn it into what you want. But be warned. ARs are like chips. You can't have just one. And once you have more than one, you will discover that they breed in your safe. Which would be fine, if they didn't sneak out and night and raid your wallet for nesting materials...

[Flintlock Tom]

...And once you have more than one, you will discover that they breed in your safe. Which would be fine, if they didn't sneak out and night and raid your wallet for nesting materials...

Funny stuff!

I'm on my third "build". The first two I shopped for the cheapest parts I could find and ended up right around $700 each. $65 lowers, GunBroker uppers, $50 LPKs, GunBroker stocks.
My current "build" I'm going a little higher quality: Stag Arms model 7, 6.8 SPC, upper, JD Machine lower, upgraded LPK with two-stage trigger, triple-A walnut stock set and Leupold scope. It's currently more than double the cost of my first "build".
Thankfully I got a nice tax return.