AR15 Build

[blh0007]

if you want the best for sure go with a lewis machine. they offer different cal. and you can have your whole gun built by them to your preference. for affordability you can use just about any brand lower but you should for sure go with their upper. http://www.lewismachine.net/. you are going to pay for it though... my bro has one and it is sexy... i have a rock river ar, which is a little bit more wallet friendly. I will go on and tell you if you are target shooting or varmint hunting an ar is pretty good, (i've got a eotech, bayonet, and a light for mine and i use it to hunt pigs at night) but if you are going to use it for larger game hunting then you may soon find that it isn't the real deal. 308 is a good all around gun for most hunting. 300 win mag or 300 rem ultra mag is best for long range like 1000 yards plus long range. don't let any of these dudes sway your opinion too much on here b/c they claim to know about guns. go with what feels comfortable to you (price and performance) most of these guys are your weekend warriors and they don't really know what they think they know. just roll with what you feel comfortable with. hope this info helps

[finn611]

I have 2 AR'S , I bought both guns complete from a manufacturer. I feel more comfortable owning/ shooting a gun that is built with one company's parts. Maybe that's just me. I have taken both of them and put my own twist on them but they are still the stock internal components.
Here's my first AR15, its an armalite. 556 then I installed a yhm freefloated quad rail, foregrip, and an eotec.

And here's my second, its a smith and wesson M&P15ps with the new piston system. Got the gunI the put magpul flip sights front and rear. A mueller red dot I had laying around, and I just ordered a yhm quadrail for it. The armalite is my competition gun right now but we will see what the M&P runs like after im done with it

[Nate W.]

I've always loved the look of AR-15's. There is a lot of different customizations you can do to them. You can go all out, having a 20 pound full-on tactical beast, or a feahterweight, (Not sure how much they weigh stock But probably around 5-10 pounds?) With just a red-dot and a sling. Still gonna be quite a bit of cash though. Sure would be fun to build. Even more fun to shoot.

Oh, and on the .308 vs 5.56/.223 debate thing; The .308 would be slightly cheaper per box, but it would kick a hell of a lot more, be a lot louder, maybe a wee bit heavier, but it would destroy basicly anything you point it at. The .223 is just a little lighter to carry, has quite a bit less kick, but can't kill most things bigger than a coyote. To get it chambered in .308 can be a bit more expensive to buy also, unless you get one of those conversion kits. (Correct me if I'm wrong anywhere here please.) =)

Have fun with it though. I'll be looking forward to seeing it.

[The Jester Race]

Originally Posted by Nate W.

I've always loved the look of AR-15's. There is a lot of different customizations you can do to them. You can go all out, having a 20 pound full-on tactical beast, or a feahterweight, (Not sure how much they weigh stock But probably around 5-10 pounds?) With just a red-dot and a sling. Still gonna be quite a bit of cash though. Sure would be fun to build. Even more fun to shoot.

Oh, and on the .308 vs 5.56/.223 debate thing; The .308 would be slightly cheaper per box, but it would kick a hell of a lot more, be a lot louder, maybe a wee bit heavier, but it would destroy basicly anything you point it at. The .223 is just a little lighter to carry, has quite a bit less kick, but can't kill most things bigger than a coyote. To get it chambered in .308 can be a bit more expensive to buy also, unless you get one of those conversion kits. (Correct me if I'm wrong anywhere here please.) =)

Have fun with it though. I'll be looking forward to seeing it.

.308 cheaper then .223? Where?

There are no .308 "conversions". .308 has a greater OAL and require different(slightly longer) lower and upper receivers to accommodate the longer rounds. .308 AR rifles are affectionately known as the AR-10, or Remington's R-25 (.308, .243, 7mm-08).

-Jester

[blh0007]

i recommended lewis machine earlier...here is the link to one of their .308 ar's
http://www.lmtstore.com/complete-wea...ck-barrel.html

this is one of their top end ar's, but they do have others that are more affordable. oh and i didn't mention earlier, but it is definitely better to have a gas piston system rather than direct impingement.. basically when you shoot, direct impingement allows gases back into the chamber causing quicker wear on internal parts long term... the gas piston is designed to not allow the gases back into your chamber... also recoil and velocity can be slightly different b/t the two.

[4.0B2]

bump...

looking more into building my own. come on guys... give me suggestions.
would like to start w/ a lower.

i want 5.56. 16" barrel. simple build.

[The Jester Race]

Originally Posted by 4.0B2

bump...

looking more into building my own. come on guys... give me suggestions.
would like to start w/ a lower.

i want 5.56. 16" barrel. simple build.

Suggestion? Buy mine.

You want to start with a lower? A lower is a lower is a lower. Find one with a roll mark that you like and buy it.

For an upper look at http://www.jsesurplus.com/ They usually have pretty good prices.

When looking at uppers/barrels think about what chamber you want.
For .223 there are 3 common chamberings.

5.56 NATO Chamber:
5.56 load is hotter than .223 Remington loads. A 5.56mm chamber is not as tight as a .223 Remington and will take the brass expansion and higher power load of a 5.56mm round. They are generally less accurate than a .223 chambered gun.

.223 Remington Chamber:
The chamber and throat are very tight and usually are more accurate. DO NOT USE 5.56mm Ammo in a .223 chambered gun.

.223 Wylde:
A hybrid of the .223 and 5.56 chamber. It has a slightly larger chamber and throat than .223 but not quite as open as a 5.56 one. .223 Wylde (IIRC) was made to shoot hotter loads in match grade guns. You can use either .223 or 5.56mm ammo in a .223 Wylde. A .223 Wydle is generally as accurate as a .223 chambered gun and more accurate than a 5.56 chambered weapon.

Then of coarse you have specialized chambers such as .223 Ackley Improved and wildcats based on the .223 such as 35-223, and 300 Whisper.


I run a .223 Wylde chamber.


-Jester

[88_Eddie]

there's lots of good lowers out there.. check out midwayusa.com......they have a ton of different lowers and most have reviews.

i'm starting on my AR build when i get my tax return. i've decided on this upper:
http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/519...uard-handguard

i'm gonna start with this lower (i think):
http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/351...uttstock-matte

later on i'll switch out the trigger for a timney and probably get a new rail for the upper. i just want a basic rifle to start

[hoosier1104]

There is a gun show here in Indy March 15, 16, 17. I might pick up an AR then. I am going with the 5.56 just bc that is what I was trained with and qualified on.

[tgallmey]

I just sent in 2 Form 1s Fingerprint reference cards and a 5330.20 form along with a sizable check so now just going to be awaiting ATF approval to put a BCM 11.5 inch upper on my AR

[4.0B2]

i get my Patriot Defense Arms stripped lower on March 3rd.
did a group buy w/ some local folks...

trying to figure out where to go from here... do i wanna buy a complete kit minus lower and just put it together? or do i want to buy it piece by piece. I think at my knowledge level i will get a kit...idk.

[85_Ranger4x4]

Make 'em yourself, I see people do it all the time on the tv

To me, the point of building something is to combine parts you can't get in an off the shelf package.

Knowing nothing about it I would rather peice it out with more optimal stuff if I was going to take the time to "build" it myself.

Maybe if you can get what you want in a kit for a decent price it would be worth it. I do know when it comes to things like say engine swap kits you get a bunch of medeocre stuff that accomplishes the task but you can do much better on your own for a lot less $$.

Research is key so you know what you want, what you can afford and what will work with what... and that is the funnest part of a "build" for me.