The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - A little guidance

tirod · June 2, 2014, 07:38 AM

I built my AR. First, it's usually not cheaper, you buy the parts at retail and wind up paying shipping on all the separate orders. A built gun always offers most of the net savings from the makers buying in bulk and passing it along.

Since there is labor, add about an hour of your time to assess the cost of that, and buying the parts means no tax a whole gun is required to pay.

Building your own does mean picking your parts with an eye for what you want them to do. The functional reality is that we should pick the cartridge first - that's all the gun does, support igniting the cartridge and launching the bullet. We shoot at specific targets to a maximum range - specify them. If it paper out to 500m, as oppose to live targets out to 150m, the cartridge chosen could be tailored for the job.

That helps determine barrel length, which selects the proper gas port location. From there, it gets mounted into an upper, flattops are more useful because of the optical mounts being easy to use with a large variety available. The lower gets attached, about the best thing to do is get a trigger with a set screw slack adjustment. Weak springs in the AR to reduce trigger pull also reduce hammer strike, and expensive drop in triggers might be nice, but 80% of what they do is because of an adjustable slack screw. A $200 trigger can not and will not make a gun with poor barrel a great shooter. Better to put the money in the barrel first, then upgrade the trigger later.

Stocks and grips to suit, same story - all they do is hold the gun up to your shoulder, there is no MOA improvement in accuracy that anyone can document on the range or test lab. But you can get what you want.

Most uppers and lowers are a commodity item, there are actually a limited number of forges, a lot of machine shops, and plenty who recommend Brands based more on the style of the rollmark than any special reason. Focus the build on the cartridge, barrel, and optic, and the gun will turn out well.

June 2, 2014, 07:38 AM	#3
tirod Junior member Join Date: January 21, 2009 Posts: 1,672	I built my AR. First, it's usually not cheaper, you buy the parts at retail and wind up paying shipping on all the separate orders. A built gun always offers most of the net savings from the makers buying in bulk and passing it along. Since there is labor, add about an hour of your time to assess the cost of that, and buying the parts means no tax a whole gun is required to pay. Building your own does mean picking your parts with an eye for what you want them to do. The functional reality is that we should pick the cartridge first - that's all the gun does, support igniting the cartridge and launching the bullet. We shoot at specific targets to a maximum range - specify them. If it paper out to 500m, as oppose to live targets out to 150m, the cartridge chosen could be tailored for the job. That helps determine barrel length, which selects the proper gas port location. From there, it gets mounted into an upper, flattops are more useful because of the optical mounts being easy to use with a large variety available. The lower gets attached, about the best thing to do is get a trigger with a set screw slack adjustment. Weak springs in the AR to reduce trigger pull also reduce hammer strike, and expensive drop in triggers might be nice, but 80% of what they do is because of an adjustable slack screw. A $200 trigger can not and will not make a gun with poor barrel a great shooter. Better to put the money in the barrel first, then upgrade the trigger later. Stocks and grips to suit, same story - all they do is hold the gun up to your shoulder, there is no MOA improvement in accuracy that anyone can document on the range or test lab. But you can get what you want. Most uppers and lowers are a commodity item, there are actually a limited number of forges, a lot of machine shops, and plenty who recommend Brands based more on the style of the rollmark than any special reason. Focus the build on the cartridge, barrel, and optic, and the gun will turn out well.