Intro to AR's

[Pardueski]

Hi All,

So in light of recent events, I'm trying to learn up on ARs as quick as possible. I got back into shooting a few months ago after not having done it since I was a kid and I have no experience with ARs. Is there a good online tutorial/guide that would help me learn about the parts, care and features common to ARs? Does anybody know of a good training course for them in the Santa Cruz/Nor Cal area?

Thanks in advance

[MRbaker]

I used this site and AR15.com for info on parts, manufacturers, and maintenance. Look at the stickies on AR15.com under the AR15 section and it has tons of good write ups. I liked the one written by a member named JWise on there and officer.com. I believe he is a police armorer or something. He was very informative and it was a big help buying my first AR.

Edit: The write up by JWise is called "So you want to buy an AR, huh?". Do a Google search for that and it will come up.

[the86d]

Good luck finding even a lower receiver, right now...

If you talk to someone that might have been issued an AR's burst-selectable cousin (M16/M4), you might get a plethora of info...

[Pardueski]

I used this site and AR15.com for info on parts, manufacturers, and maintenance. Look at the stickies on AR15.com under the AR15 section and it has tons of good write ups. I liked the one written by a member named JWise on there and officer.com. I believe he is a police armorer or something. He was very informative and it was a big help buying my first AR.

Edit: The write up by JWise is called "So you want to buy an AR, huh?". Do a Google search for that and it will come up.

Wow... excellent advice! Thank you!

[MRbaker]

My pleasure. The only thing is like others have said the inventory is slim right now so you might just grab what you can. Lol. Best of luck to you and be prepared, ARs are really addicting!

[Agent Tikki]

here you go....i wrote this just for you.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=555451

[artoaster]

You know an excellent resource is looking up military manuals and Marine Corp and Field Manuals. They're easy to find and download off the web. The only difference, of course, is that the AR is semi only.

[whirlybird]

I read the "So, you want to buy an AR" article on AR15.com. LOTS OF INFO. Too much info the first time you read the article. I had to spend a few hours reading (and re-reading) it, but there's super important stuff in there.

It is my personal belief that as long as you can get your paws on a lower receiver relatively soon, you'll be able to build the rest of it at your leisure. That doesn't make me right, thats just my opinion. That's what I'm doing with my LR308 build now, I start the DROS on Saturday for the receiver set.

If building seems too big of a step for your first (and I wouldn't blame you) do your research and you can find a complete rifle in the CalGuns marketplace for a decent price. They aren't all priced fairly, but occasionally they pop up. If you know what to look for, you could grab a good one at a decent price with some patience. Also, realizing that the gun is modular, and cosmetic (i.e. handguard) and functional (like gas block) things can be changed to suit your needs later on will open up your search.

[artoaster]

Some of us call it assembling not building.