My first build: AR10 - help appreciated.

[sphen]

Ok, baptism by fire. I need to learn more so what better way than to build myself a hunting rifle that will also be fun out on the farm and the range right? This is my first build, I’m as green as it gets at this so all advice, no matter how simplistic, is very appreciated. I’ve tried to do my research instead of pulling crap out of nowhere, my proposed build is based off of:
- Other builds I’ve seen recommended here and endorsed by sponsors or other members.
- Affordable parts, not needlessly expensive but not bottom of the barrel ither.
- Money where it matters. This is a loose budget build, so focussing money where it will have the best impact (for example, I’ll give the stock trigger a go before trying a new one).
- Canadian bought if the quality and price are comparable to other options.

My only real concrete requirements are that it be .308 (I hope to do a 6.5 later), be as short a barrel as possible and still be NR. I’m not overly obsessed with weight, I don’t do a ton of walking when hunting so I don’t need to strip every ounce possible. So here is what I have on my shopping list so far:

Parts:
Stag Arms upper/lower
Midwest Industries 15” handguard
Maple ridge 18.6 nitride barrel
Maple ridge defiant
Maple ridge gas block .75
Maple ridge gas tube nitride
Radian Weapons AR10 Raptor
Brownells 308AR BCG
PWS Mod 2 Enhanced Buffer Tube with ratchet lock castle nut and end plate
Magpul CTR stock
Scope (already have a bunch of these)
XCR-M mags (already have 4 of these)

Tools
Barrel Torque Tool
Head space gauge

Primary Uses, highest to lowest priority:
1. Hunting rifle (Moose, bear, deer, caribou)
2. Fun at the farm shooting cans
3. Fun at the range shooting targets
4. Something fun to show the Fudd friends who only believe in hunting with wood

Questions:
1. Anything missing from the build list?
2. Anything in the build list you would recommend AGAINST?
3. Anything in the build you’d replace for something of better quality at a similar price?
4. Any other tools I’m missing?

So that's all I can think of right now, any advice/feedback would be great, thanks!

 

[yomomma]

Grease and a torque wrench.

I needed some barrel nut shims...wouldnt hurt to have a couple...only $3 or so

 

[SSG69]

Careful with the XCR mags, the round sit a little low, and can cause damage to your upper just below the feed ramps. I would look at getting some PMags.

 

[playinghooky]

Missing buffer/buffer spring

 

[Leonidas]

Reaction rod

 

[Runt]

Your build sounds like what my goal was. I did the math and calculated the wait time and I found it more cost affective to go with an Irunguns built Stag10 with the faxon pencil barrel and used parts from the CGN EE. Rifle was 7lbs 11 oz with out sights etc. With back up sights, sling, scope (Vortest Viper 2-10x32) etc it now weighs 10.4 lbs.

I bought all the parts off of the EE.

far as some parts / tools not mentioned:

Pin punches, small mallet, a lower parts kit (LPK), armourers wrench, armourers block for assembly is way more handy then an old magazine.


The optional stuff that may not even be required like back up sights, sling mounts, bi-pod

 

[sphen]

Grease and a torque wrench.

I needed some barrel nut shims...wouldnt hurt to have a couple...only $3 or so

Thanks, I do have a torque wrench for car work, I imagine that will do the job.

Careful with the XCR mags, the round sit a little low, and can cause damage to your upper just below the feed ramps. I would look at getting some PMags.

These are the ones I picked up, they are listed for Stag10 and don't say anything about this issue. Is there a way to double check them?

Missing buffer/buffer spring

Ha, good catch, now sure how I missed that one!

Reaction rod

Ouch, those are expensive! Not to mention hard to find.

Your build sounds like what my goal was. I did the math and calculated the wait time and I found it more cost affective to go with an Irunguns built Stag10 with the faxon pencil barrel and used parts from the CGN EE. Rifle was 7lbs 11 oz with out sights etc. With back up sights, sling, scope (Vortest Viper 2-10x32) etc it now weighs 9.4 lbs.

I bought all the parts off of the EE.

far as some parts / tools not mentioned:

Pin punches, small mallet, a lower parts kit (LPK), armourers wrench, armourers block for assembly is way more handy then an old magazine.


The optional stuff that may not even be required like back up sights, sling mounts, bi-pod

I'm starting to think perhaps I should do the same thing. The cost of these tools is significant for a single build. If it was for an AR15 then maybe as I have a bunch of receivers and builds to eventually do, but for just this one build I'm not sure if it's worth the extra cost. I'll have to watch a few more youtube builds and see if it's worth the extra cost. I'd like to do this, I feel like it would be a good learning experience, we'll see I guess.

Thanks guys.

 

[DMR Hunter]

The Midwest industries handguard comes with the barrel nut wrench. You don't need a reaction rod if you have a vise. A set of punches is like $3-10. You can borrow tools from others if needed. I found buying the IRG rifle and then adding parts to it would be more expensive than building on an Arms East receiver set. Keep in mind that the IRG gun is made of cheaper parts. The rail is an Aim Sports that I've seen on sale for $55 USD vs $180 USD for the MI. The IRG gun has the convenience factor going for it. If you care more about price than convenience, build it yourself. If price isn't important, buy the complete rifle from Arms East and enjoy the Stag unlimited shot barrel warranty.

 

[Pariegh]

I did my first build with no experience, watched a bunch of youtube videos, and found a good write up. Used no expensive specialty tools just a torque wrench, vice, hammer and punches, and other stuff everybody has, it was fun to do and it turned out pretty good. Shoots well and it's held up great this hunting season. If I can do it then pretty much anybody can!

Something I overlooked, was that the LPK without a trigger didn't come with trigger pins, and neither did the trigger, so I ended up short those and was waiting on $3 of parts. Also needed muzzle brake shims as the stackable ones didn't even get it close to timed correctly. So triple check your parts lists.

 

[SSG69]

I purchased mine from the complete build kit offered from IRG, everything was there in the package. Although I opted for a different handguard, it cam with its own wrench. I already had all of the tools for working on my other rifles. My upper and lower receivers came pre-build, less the barrel extension attached. All in all, it took me about 20 minutes to complete. The hardest part was getting that little spring pin in the gas block to fix the gas tube. It has always been a PIA for me. This kit has been great, and so far, the accuracy from the PSA barrel has been very good, even with surplus ammo.
My only issue has been the XCR mags, they work great in my ArmaLite, but have left marks from the rounds just below the feed ramps. This also happened in my BCL as you can see from the pictures from the link below.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1787991-7-62-308-XCR-mags-compatability-issues-in-AR-308-Stag-10-BCL-102-ect

 

[mileageman]

Looks like a decent build list. I’d add a quality trigger and a adjustable gas block. Best place I have found for tools is Brownells, there is no restriction on shipping tools on a order if that is all you have on the order. The Geissele AR10 reaction rod is awesome but $300, I believe TNA makes a clone for a much more reasonable price, which will be fine for one build.

 

[Brianma65]

TNA has Jam nuts, that work way better than the crush washer, for your brake.
Brownells has an AR308 reaction rod , for $49 US.

 

[sphen]

The Midwest industries handguard comes with the barrel nut wrench. You don't need a reaction rod if you have a vise. A set of punches is like $3-10. You can borrow tools from others if needed. I found buying the IRG rifle and then adding parts to it would be more expensive than building on an Arms East receiver set. Keep in mind that the IRG gun is made of cheaper parts. The rail is an Aim Sports that I've seen on sale for $55 USD vs $180 USD for the MI. The IRG gun has the convenience factor going for it. If you care more about price than convenience, build it yourself. If price isn't important, buy the complete rifle from Arms East and enjoy the Stag unlimited shot barrel warranty.

Thanks, I have a bench vise I can use so maybe I'll give that a go. I'm not looking for cheap and I'm not looking for pricey. I primarily want to build to learn, I see this as a useful skill and something I don't mind investing time into. I'm in no hurry, I'm hoping to get out on a moose hunt next year so that's my target date. All my hunting buddies are good guys, but they are all old school bolt action/wood stock type guys. This would freak them out and open the discussion on black rifles and the use of semi-autos to hunt with. Having built it myself would also buy me some street cred and give me talking points on these types of guns for hunting with. Although I never expect to "convert" them I have been chipping away at them for years to bring them around on semis and black guns for hunting.

I did my first build with no experience, watched a bunch of youtube videos, and found a good write up. Used no expensive specialty tools just a torque wrench, vice, hammer and punches, and other stuff everybody has, it was fun to do and it turned out pretty good. Shoots well and it's held up great this hunting season. If I can do it then pretty much anybody can!

Something I overlooked, was that the LPK without a trigger didn't come with trigger pins, and neither did the trigger, so I ended up short those and was waiting on $3 of parts. Also needed muzzle brake shims as the stackable ones didn't even get it close to timed correctly. So triple check your parts lists.

Great, my confidence is mounting every second! This one has a completed lower so no need to install a trigger. I figure I'll give the stock trigger a go before I upgrade it. I honestly think that at this point I'm the limiting factor on most guns I shoot. I really need to sling more lead down range to even recognize that I need to upgrade a trigger.

I purchased mine from the complete build kit offered from IRG, everything was there in the package. Although I opted for a different handguard, it cam with its own wrench. I already had all of the tools for working on my other rifles. My upper and lower receivers came pre-build, less the barrel extension attached. All in all, it took me about 20 minutes to complete. The hardest part was getting that little spring pin in the gas block to fix the gas tube. It has always been a PIA for me. This kit has been great, and so far, the accuracy from the PSA barrel has been very good, even with surplus ammo.
My only issue has been the XCR mags, they work great in my ArmaLite, but have left marks from the rounds just below the feed ramps. This also happened in my BCL as you can see from the pictures from the link below.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1787991-7-62-308-XCR-mags-compatability-issues-in-AR-308-Stag-10-BCL-102-ect

Thanks, that sucks. They are labeled as Stag 10 compatible, it's too bad they don't mention this issue at all.

https://truenortharms.com/ar15_defa...r-m-pistol-magazine-308-win-10-round-cap.html

Looks like a decent build list. I’d add a quality trigger and a adjustable gas block. Best place I have found for tools is Brownells, there is no restriction on shipping tools on a order if that is all you have on the order. The Geissele AR10 reaction rod is awesome but $300, I believe TNA makes a clone for a much more reasonable price, which will be fine for one build.

Thanks, I think I'll hold off the trigger upgrade for now and give the stock one a shot. Once I've given a good go I'll look at an upgrade.

TNA has Jam nuts, that work way better than the crush washer, for your brake.
Brownells has an AR308 reaction rod , for $49 US.

Fantastic, took me a while to find it! Thanks.