Need some help building an AR: It's alive!!

Come up a with a dollar amount of what you want to spend and buy a stock AR in that price range, obviously if you are willing to buy used items off EE, your dollar will go further. asking people what brand are the best on the Internet can and will quickly escalate the cost of your rifle and in the end you will end up with a pricey "Franken' AR" that nobody else will touch.
 
A gunshop I frequent has a couple of decent used US made Bushmasters in stock, @ $995 and $1195, different features. Can a better gun be assembled from parts for less?
 
grimreefer said:
So I'm gonna do this...but maybe a bit slowly. I took advantage of Sask GW's sale on the Aero lowers. I'm looking at barrels 14.5-16" for this build. Any suggestions for brands? Looking to spend no more than $400, preferably quite a bit less, but desire very good accuracy to 250M.
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Look into the Rainier Arms line of barrels. They should fit your budget. CTCS has some in stock and they do import from Rainier Arms.
 
grimreefer said:
Your points make sense. I want to learn about the rifle, but I don't need to build one to do that. So far I have torn down and cleaned/lubed/inspected each gun I own before I shoot them, mostly to learn how they work.

What do you think my best bets are for complete rifles that satisfy my reliability and cost prereqs?
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For my venture into AR's, I started with a Norc M4. finish is acceptable... function has been flawless (YMMV). I have sinced swapped various magpul stock parts, Match barrels, forends, gas blocks and sights to suit my tastes at this time.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...-sub-MOA-groups-all-day-long-challenge!/page2

The latest addn was a Mcgowen match barrel which I am very pleased with. I have kept pretty much all the original internals including BCG and trigger parts (tweaked), mag release, bolt stop but changed out parts which I felt would help with BCG control wrt to accuracy.

It seems to have worked.

Could I have started with just a bare lower? Sure but I think for the first project, having a working rifle to go from did help me alot. I have had zero issues with the Norc BCG and trigger group. The mag release can get a bit lazy but a good slap on the mag keeps things in place.

For what these costs, it leaves alot of money to customise and still keep costs reasonable.

Enjoy

Jerry
 
I was about to suggest the Colt OEM but you just bought a lower. The OEM strikes a nice balance between a stock rifle and assembling your own since you have to supply the furniture. You can buy dirt cheap take off furniture in the EE or buy whatever tacticool stuff you want. Seems to be a good value at $900 US (IRG) or $1270 Cdn (ArmsEast).
 
I used CTCsupplies, Wolverine, ARMTAC, Questar, Red Deer Shooting Center(i dont thing RDSC is a site sponsor tho) and GP tactical. I ordered bits and pieces at a time and the shipping cost killed me. Order as much as you can at once.

That being said, I just completed my first build. The parts i used were : Spikes lower, Vltor upper, Geiselle trigger, DD barrel, JP enterprises LPK, BCM handguard, BCM gas block, BCM charge handle, AAC BCG, Vltor comp for all the essentials. You cant go wrong with any of those companies.

I am just getting ready to start my next build, going DMR. Ive ordered a couple Aero Precision lowers to be the start of my next build.

grimreefer said:
I've decided to build an AR, but I could really use some advice on what parts to look for and where. My primary concerns are reliability, cost, and accuracy, in that order. I don't mind taking my time with this and scouting the EE, but I don't really know what brands/models to look for or to avoid other than DD=good, Norinco not so much. Also what are my best bets for online shops carrying receiver parts?
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I picked up a 14.5" DD gov't profile barrel for my build. 419 bucks at wolverine supplies. I was going to get a custom barrel made, or go Noveske but I had to draw the line somewhere. I was looking at the Rainier arms barrels but after some research I found a couple guys who had some bad QC on ones they had bought so that steered me away.

grimreefer said:
So I'm gonna do this...but maybe a bit slowly. I took advantage of Sask GW's sale on the Aero lowers. I'm looking at barrels 14.5-16" for this build. Any suggestions for brands? Looking to spend no more than $400, preferably quite a bit less, but desire very good accuracy to 250M.
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Just picked up a brand new DD 14.5" barrel from a fine fellow in the EE for a good price!

I think I've got the rest of my parts kinda figured out, but the next challenge will be finding a free float handguard that I like for a reasonable price.
 
I went with the BCM KMR 10, but its $$$. The KMR Alpha are a little cheaper and great too. Depends what kind of HG you want. M-LOK, KEYMOD, or your standard cheese grater. MLOK seems to be the new rage, I just go keymod so I can keep all my builds the same.

Midwest Industries makes a nice MLOK handguard.

MI, Fortis, Samson, BCM, Seekins precision all seem to be pretty good.

grimreefer said:
Just picked up a brand new DD 14.5" barrel from a fine fellow in the EE for a good price!

I think I've got the rest of my parts kinda figured out, but the next challenge will be finding a free float handguard that I like for a reasonable price.
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playinghooky said:
Look into the Rainier Arms line of barrels. They should fit your budget. CTCS has some in stock and they do import from Rainier Arms.
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Sask GW usually has Aero barrels as well...I snagged a 14.5" mid from them last month.

I know I saved virtually *zip* building myself...but it was the most fun I've had with firearms in a long time. The AR is quite a neat piece of engineering, and seeing how everything goes together is pretty neat.
 
I'm thinking about the Aero Quantum 13" handguard. Looks cool, not bulky with rails I will never use, and the price is right ($100 USD). Same brand as the receiver feels good too I think.

apra400104a_ar15_quantum_12in_mlok_handguard_black_1.jpg
 
So I'm looking for a DD BCG. There's one in the EE right now, but the seller won't accept my prefered payment method. Can I expect to be able to see another one or two in the EE in the next couple months?
 
grimreefer said:
So I'm looking for a DD BCG. There's one in the EE right now, but the seller won't accept my prefered payment method. Can I expect to be able to see another one or two in the EE in the next couple months?
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Check with CSC, a DD9300 bcg cost me $255 last fall.
 
The Aero Gen 2 lowers look sweet but if you are going to pair it with anything but an Aero upper you may have some fitment issues. My Gen 1 lower doesn't mate with my Colt Canada upper however a Spike's lower fits like a glove.
 
dirtybarry said:
Check with CSC, a DD9300 bcg cost me $255 last fall.
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That sounds not bad if it's all in? I will have a look, thanks.
Pr589 said:
The Aero Gen 2 lowers look sweet but if you are going to pair it with anything but an Aero upper you may have some fitment issues. My Gen 1 lower doesn't mate with my Colt Canada upper however a Spike's lower fits like a glove.
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Thanks. My plan was an aero upper. Just seems right. I also thought pairing the barrel and bcg was a good idea.
 
This is damn slow going. I've been religiously checking the EE and all I've grabbed is a barrel, scope, and a enhanced butt-pad for my magpul stock. Lower came today in the mail. Still need:

Aero upper
Aero 13" handguard
adjustable gas block
gas tube
BCG
lower parts kit
trigger
buff tube kit
Raptor charge handle
Magpul grip and trigger guard
5/20 Pmags
cantilever scope mount
 
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