building an AR 15

[tonyjr]

My nephew wants to build one .
I am in east bay and want a good place to buy parts
[ Lower receiver to start ] Would like names to stay away from .
I know next to nothing about the AR15 / M 16 except that they sucked
When I was in 'Nam - I prefered the M-14 .
Anyway I ordered
" Build Your Own AR-15 Rifle : In Less Than 3 Hours "
After I read it / book . I would prefer to walk in pay and wait to be cleared .
I am also looking for dies to reload with but it looks like Lee is only
one who uses more than 2 dies .
I use all 5 stations on my Lee for the pistols and my 270 , 30 carbine
and 30/30 , [ yes , that means at least 2 sets of dies ]
I am kind of [ pick your word ] I deprime , tumble , clean pockets , reprime
before I get to the press .
station 1 expand / size case
station 2 powder
station 3 seat bullet
station 4 OAL
station 5 crimp

[Divernhunter]

Is there a question in this post?
Not being a smart rear end. Just not sure the reason for the post.

[Tere_Hanges]

Get an Anderson lower and just about any parts kit is good. I would recommend buying a complete upper. Building a lower is stupid easy. Uppers are a little more work, still easy, but more tools required. You can build a lower with almost nothing more than a punch and hammer.

Not to be rude, but google is your friend. There are probably 1000s of threads and videos on this topic.

[kcheung2]

Alright, I'll give it a try...

My nephew wants to build one . Good.

I am in east bay and want a good place to buy parts Lots of places, one of which is Tracy Rifle & Pistol. Stay away from Guns Fishing & Other Stuff.

[ Lower receiver to start ] Would like names to stay away from . Go to TRAP or another reputable shop, pick the cheapest aluminum receiver they have, or if there's another one with a logo you like better, get that one.

I know next to nothing about the AR15 / M 16 except that they sucked
When I was in 'Nam - I prefered the M-14 . They've come a long way, baby.

Anyway I ordered
" Build Your Own AR-15 Rifle : In Less Than 3 Hours "
After I read it / book . I would prefer to walk in pay and wait to be cleared . yeah, that's how most of us do it. Pick one, pay the shop, fill out the forms, come back 10 days later. There's lots of links here & on ar15.com on how to assemble a lower. Lots of youtube videos too.

I am also looking for dies to reload with but it looks like Lee is only
one who uses more than 2 dies . Everybody makes dies for .223. I happen to use RCBS full length dies. It's a 2 die set.

I use all 5 stations on my Lee for the pistols and my 270 , 30 carbine
and 30/30 , [ yes , that means at least 2 sets of dies ] 223 die sets only require 2 dies, the decapper/resizer and the seater.

I am kind of [ pick your word ] I deprime , tumble , clean pockets , reprime
before I get to the press .
station 1 expand / size case
station 2 powder
station 3 seat bullet
station 4 OAL
station 5 crimp you can crimp rifle cases, but not necessary. The RCBS seater die has a built in crimper.

Oh, when you go to buy components the projectile size is .224. No, there are no 5.56 dies, they are all .223.

[davek8s]

My nephew wants to build one .

I am in east bay and want a good place to buy parts

[ Lower receiver to start ] Would like names to stay away from .

I know next to nothing about the AR15 / M 16 except that they sucked

When I was in 'Nam - I prefered the M-14 .

The M-16 that you and my dad used in the sixties is much different than the modern AR-15.

Here is the kit you should order, just get a stripped lower at your local shop and put it together.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-16-stainless-mid-length-1-7-freedom-rifle-kit.html

[pterrell]

The M16 has come a long way since the 60s. You won't be sad with them these days.

Just about any stripped lower for sale in a gun store will work just fine. A $40 lower will work just as well as the $140 lower. Only reason I'd ever spend more on it is if it were something fancy (google "the Jack AR-15") or if it were a matched set. The advantage to a matched set is that all the lines match perfectly.

[tonyjr]

Thanks -
I did not know there are no lowers to stay from .
I think he would be better off buying a complete one / rifle but he does not want to . My nephew is afraid of the next election and he won't be able to find / buy . I we are stocking up on primers , powder and FMJ bullets .

It takes me at least 45 minutes to get to a rifle range - I only went once last year and then only the 270 and 30 carbine rifles were shot [ by nephews ]
After 2 mags from 50 - was told not to shoot anymore - scaring the women and children . [ they went thru all the 380 , 9's and 45's we took . ]

Die wise , the 30 carbine is O K , but I have had the 270 cases get " stuck " in dies and not a fan of doing 3 things in one step . I will probably end up with the 4 die Lee set and maybe one 2 die set . I crimp / resize the pistol and rifle reloads weather they need or not . [ I use the / a 25 ACP powder thru die for 270 , 30 carbine and 30/30 reloads ]

[davek8s]

Thanks -
I did not know there are no lowers to stay from .
I think he would be better off buying a complete one / rifle but he does not want to . My nephew is afraid of the next election and he won't be able to find / buy . I we are stocking up on primers , powder and FMJ bullets .

Stocking up on reloading supplies is a good idea, if there's no panic you can use the supplies you have to keep shooting. If there is a panic you can wait for things to settle down.

In regards to buying a lower in case of a surge in buying, lowers won't be the only items that are hard to find. During the last 8 years every time there is a panic lower parts kits and bolt carrier groups become harder to find.

I agree with you that your nephew should just buy a complete rifle now, but if he's like my kid then he won't listen.

[cavemanlrrp]

Op, As others have said building is not hard.
For first time out the PSA kits look like a good way to go. Brownells have excellent straight forward videos (click Learn tab on their page) that show step by step. Give them a look.

I would suggest getting 2 or more striped lowers if you can. You will save on transfer fees.

Sometimes (always?) this bug will bite and one is not enough!

Good luck and have fun.

Best
caveman

[sghart]

I am like you. I was issued an M16 long ago in a past life. I was not impressed with it then and I am still not a fan.

Having said that, last year my sons built me a rifle on a lower purchased locally from Sacramento Black Rifle and a complete kit from Palmetto State Armory.

Maybe I have changed but that rifle is a blast to shoot and hitting the 12" gong at 200 yards is incredibly easy. 8 out of 10 easily. And I have never been that great a shot.

Build one, you won't regret it.

[popeye4]

Though this thread probably belongs in the "Gunsmithing" section, I'll throw my 2 cents in.

Reloading .223 is not difficult, but for a gas gun you need to pay closer attention to detail than with a bolt gun. Get a small base resizing die (it sizes all the way to the base, standard dies don't do that). I'd get a single stage press for bottleneck rifle. Yes, it can be done on a progressive, but you won't go much faster since you have a lot of case prep work to do, that a progressive press won't really speed up. They cost a lot more, too. You'll also need a way to trim cases as gas guns tend to stretch brass and the resizing process will make the case "grow". You won't get as many reloads on a case as you would with a bolt gun.

As far as lowers are concerned, as long as the metallurgy is correct (so it doesn't wear) and the machining done properly (so the pins line up), the lower is just a parts case for the trigger group, a place to insert and hold the mag, and an attachment point for the buttstock. There are no accuracy implications with a lower unless it is so poorly made that it flops around when attached to the upper. As others have said, get one you like but don't feel like you need to break the bank. I think the transfer fees are more than the receivers these days.

The stripped lower is the "gun" part that has to go through the dealer transfer; the rest you can get any way you want including mail order. There are MANY choices to make when you build one, I suggest you frequent the gunsmithing and semiauto rifle sections for more specific info.

I also prefer an M14, but if you want to win matches, the AR is the way to go.

[Eljay]

I would suggest getting 2 or more striped lowers if you can. You will save on transfer fees.

Sometimes (always?) this bug will bite and one is not enough!

This. They're cheap and available at the moment and if you buy multiples they can go on the same DROS. Then if he gets the urge to buy another it's already in the back of the safe, no FFL, no 10 day wait, just need to get the remaining parts and build it up.

I think my 2nd one was a dedicated .22lr upper - great for practice, it's something I start newbies out on and then when we switch to .223 they already know how to make the gun go and it's not scary or anything.

[dwalker]

I only use two dies to load 5.56/.223, the RCBS Competition die set. I have tried a Lee FCD, but it's a waste of time.

[tonyjr]

Thanks everyone -

cavemanlrrp I thought a lower was considered a " gun " and you can only get one every 2 weeks or so . [ I am in Calif . ]

popeye4 - I reload 270's , 30/30 's and The 30 carbine . The 270's , 30/30 's and sometimes the D E 44 streach the cases . The 30 carbine seem to be O K , but I check all cases for case length [ 25 ACP , 32 ACP , 380 ACP , 45 ACP ,357 , 38 , 40 and the 50 AA E ] I have found it easier to use the Lee hand loader for checking case and OAL .
For trimming cases , I use a LEE hand trimmer - if my nephew does buy and build a 223 , I have plenty of time to get trimmer parts .

Eljay - I did not know you could get it in 22 LR . I knew they came in 223 and 308 . As for him buying another - probably not - I have 6 nephews and 2 nieces and one of them probably will if they like his .

[tonyjr]

dwalker
looking at the pictures - it looks like there is not powder die . for my 270 , 30/30 's and The 30 carbine , I use the one for my 25 ACP .