FrankNess14
Well-Known Member
I switch zero from 100 to 25yds when using the .22 kit, but need to try leaving it there for 5.56 too.
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AR kits. What's a good one?
- Thread starter MattMan81
- Start date
I switch zero from 100 to 25yds when using the .22 kit, but need to try leaving it there for 5.56 too.
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CP3
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2021
- Messages
- 579
Yeah, we don’t do flat bill here in AR!
CP3
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2021
- Messages
- 579
I’ve built one before. To me the point of building was to customize every step of the process, not necessarily to save money. There are some quality budget ARs. If it’s a budget thing, just shop around for a great deal and be done with it. Just my opinion.
My build was a stagg lower with a drop in trigger and a precision stock. I found my self spending more money shopping foreach individual part.
My build was a stagg lower with a drop in trigger and a precision stock. I found my self spending more money shopping foreach individual part.
Iron_llama
Well-Known Member
Man this is such a huge topic. You might check out Arfcom (AR15.com). It's pretty clique-ish and there are a lot of brand fanbois but there's good info as well.
My thoughts:
Accuracy lives in the barrel.
Reliability lives in the BCG.
You'll never regret the nicest trigger you can afford. Corollary: triggers are an easy upgrade, so you can start with a GI trigger and get a nicer one later
There's no reason not to include a free-float forend or adjustable gas block on your build.
You will learn more by assembling your upper from parts than buying a completed upper.
Buy an "oops kit" with extra pins, detents, and springs. Detents and springs come from outer space, and will launch themselves into orbit if you give them half a chance. Once they're gone, they're gone.
Billet and "bling" lowers, and clever engraving, look nice on Instagram - but you can't see the decorations when you're shooting it, and $$ spent on cosmetics is $$ that didn't get spent on a nicer barrel or trigger, or ammo.
Stake everything that needs to be staked.
Longer gas systems are more pleasant to shoot. An 18" mid-length or 20" rifle-length system is a very smooth shooter.
You can save money on your lower, handguard, muzzle brake, gas system, pins & springs kit, buttstock, and furniture. If you cheap out on a no-name or store-brand barrel or BCG you risk being disappointed until you replace them with what you should have bought the first time around.
You don't have to spend too much on an upper, but you might want to pass on it if you don't know who made the cheapest upper on the shelf.
Think deliberately on what you want to do with this rifle. Just a range toy? Get an entry-level 16" or 18" barrel and a blister-pac parts kit from your LGS and spend your money on ammo. Contemplating some serious predator calling? Consider a medium-heavy 20"-ish barrel, nicest you can afford, carbon-fiber free-float handguard.
Then there's the question of calibers. Thinking of hunting something bigger than coyotes, from a saddle? Check out the 350 Legend, 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 6x45, etc. Do you reload, and is there part of you that just has to be different? Check out the AR Wildcats at Mad Dog Weapon Systems (https://maddogweapons.com/) (I don't work for them, but I've bought from them in the past).
Palmetto is good. So are CMMG, BCM, DPMS, CMC, Geissle, Noveske, Faxon, Aero Precision, Alex Pro, Matrtix, Strike Industries, MI, and others. Brownell's doesn't sell anything that's not worth having, but they might not have the lowest prices on the 'net. Midway's store brand, AR-Stoner, is good'nuff, but you can get a nicer barrel for a little more money.
Avoid disreputable or no-name vendors, at least until you're savvy enough to recognize brands you trust and brands you don't. If a vendor advertises on Arfcom, you can probably trust them to not sell you crap, but they'll probably mark up their prices to cover their marketing budget.
Considering the current politics and supply chain issues, prices and availability might be frustrating.
Good luck, and post pictures!
My thoughts:
Accuracy lives in the barrel.
Reliability lives in the BCG.
You'll never regret the nicest trigger you can afford. Corollary: triggers are an easy upgrade, so you can start with a GI trigger and get a nicer one later
There's no reason not to include a free-float forend or adjustable gas block on your build.
You will learn more by assembling your upper from parts than buying a completed upper.
Buy an "oops kit" with extra pins, detents, and springs. Detents and springs come from outer space, and will launch themselves into orbit if you give them half a chance. Once they're gone, they're gone.
Billet and "bling" lowers, and clever engraving, look nice on Instagram - but you can't see the decorations when you're shooting it, and $$ spent on cosmetics is $$ that didn't get spent on a nicer barrel or trigger, or ammo.
Stake everything that needs to be staked.
Longer gas systems are more pleasant to shoot. An 18" mid-length or 20" rifle-length system is a very smooth shooter.
You can save money on your lower, handguard, muzzle brake, gas system, pins & springs kit, buttstock, and furniture. If you cheap out on a no-name or store-brand barrel or BCG you risk being disappointed until you replace them with what you should have bought the first time around.
You don't have to spend too much on an upper, but you might want to pass on it if you don't know who made the cheapest upper on the shelf.
Think deliberately on what you want to do with this rifle. Just a range toy? Get an entry-level 16" or 18" barrel and a blister-pac parts kit from your LGS and spend your money on ammo. Contemplating some serious predator calling? Consider a medium-heavy 20"-ish barrel, nicest you can afford, carbon-fiber free-float handguard.
Then there's the question of calibers. Thinking of hunting something bigger than coyotes, from a saddle? Check out the 350 Legend, 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 6x45, etc. Do you reload, and is there part of you that just has to be different? Check out the AR Wildcats at Mad Dog Weapon Systems (https://maddogweapons.com/) (I don't work for them, but I've bought from them in the past).
Palmetto is good. So are CMMG, BCM, DPMS, CMC, Geissle, Noveske, Faxon, Aero Precision, Alex Pro, Matrtix, Strike Industries, MI, and others. Brownell's doesn't sell anything that's not worth having, but they might not have the lowest prices on the 'net. Midway's store brand, AR-Stoner, is good'nuff, but you can get a nicer barrel for a little more money.
Avoid disreputable or no-name vendors, at least until you're savvy enough to recognize brands you trust and brands you don't. If a vendor advertises on Arfcom, you can probably trust them to not sell you crap, but they'll probably mark up their prices to cover their marketing budget.
Considering the current politics and supply chain issues, prices and availability might be frustrating.
Good luck, and post pictures!
Aero Precision has the best mid-level lower part kits, especially the trigger. Whatever you do, if you plan to start building your own.
It IS the grown man Legos!
Have A LOT of spare little pieces because you will lose them or damage them along your journey. No shame, it usually take me 3-4 lower part kits to built 2 completed lowers....
Built or assemble INSIDE a large ziploc bag, or some enclosed space so when springs or pin goes flying everywhere, you're not going spend half the time crawling on the floor looking for it. Especially on carpet....
Understand your state laws, I'm no lawyer so everything I say is my opinion. But be very careful on what you built, there is a lot of regs especially when you start tinkering with AR PISTOL built.
It IS the grown man Legos!
Have A LOT of spare little pieces because you will lose them or damage them along your journey. No shame, it usually take me 3-4 lower part kits to built 2 completed lowers....
Built or assemble INSIDE a large ziploc bag, or some enclosed space so when springs or pin goes flying everywhere, you're not going spend half the time crawling on the floor looking for it. Especially on carpet....
Understand your state laws, I'm no lawyer so everything I say is my opinion. But be very careful on what you built, there is a lot of regs especially when you start tinkering with AR PISTOL built.
So keep thinking about this more. If I build a 350 legend. I could use it for hunting. Would probably get more use than a 5.56. might cost me a little more. But it would get more use.
JBDaddy
Well-Known Member
Would work in the zone 3 shotgun area in MI (as does 450, etc). Barrel wouldn't accept the CMMG 22LR conversion though for switching calibers for cheap plinking, and 350 ammo is relatively expensive. Now you're starting to slide into "why don't I have multiple uppers for my lower, then?" territory, which is how bankruptcy starts
Optics is where the repo man get an alert on you. I thought guys were BSing me when they said the hardcore shooters spend 3:1 ratio of cost of optics to actual rifle. But its freaking true man....
Would work in the zone 3 shotgun area in MI (as does 450, etc). Barrel wouldn't accept the CMMG 22LR conversion though for switching calibers for cheap plinking, and 350 ammo is relatively expensive. Now you're starting to slide into "why don't I have multiple uppers for my lower, then?" territory, which is how bankruptcy starts
JBDaddy
Well-Known Member
At longer range, yeah.
For 100yds and in, a $100 Sig Romeo5 does me fine.
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JAYBO
Well-Known Member
"Nuke things" that's a Navy saying. But yes totally agree.
I run a flat cap, with ears tucked at times. I’m also a “yankee” or so a guy told me in Tennessee one time. I think the hat keeps the south from rising again! Oh, and I have an area precision upper. I like the Aero upper and find it to be more accurate than either of my previous uppers. Both of those were PSA uppers.
Is this some kinda AR guy lingo or are u talking about a flat bill hat?...if u talking flat bill it's not a north vs south thing....it's a normal vs retarded kinda thing
It was a joke, go get yourself some Folgers in your cup or a snickers haha.
Hahahaha
Anyway, back to the regular scheduled program. AR15’s
My boss has built 10-15 and he recommended the bear creek stuff....he's got the fixtures so we can buy the unmachined stuff and save same money. I'm torn between 7.62x39 and 350 legend...I think it will just boils down to what they have in stock when I'm ready to blow the money
I agreed with everything you said up until this point.
While 5.56 is great other calibers can do the same thing and some better. Personally I shoot 300 Blk out of my suppressed SBR. Having the option of shooting supers or subs out of the same platform is a huge advantage. With subs in 300 the round is still effective vs a 5.56 sub. I have the capability of using 300 to hunt and don’t feel underpowered in doing so.
Concerning LPK I’ve used Palmetto in the past but recommend switching out the trigger to a LaRue MBT, Geissele, or Timney.
Aero, BCM, Rosco, Sons of Liberty, and a crap load of others make solid parts kit. Personally I don’t go down to Bear Creek and Anderson level but plenty do and don’t have issues.
Lots of good suggestions here. Buying a complete upper will save you from needing a torque wrench and associated tools to torque the barrel to spec. But if'n you're ok with that knock yourself out. Also the arfcom equipment exchange is a great place to shop parts, uppers, lowers, optics, or complete rifles. Been shopping there over 20 years, just make sure to check seller feedback before you commit.