Where to find parts?! First ar15/modern sporter build

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Low budget redneck

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Hi everybody first post here so I’m fully expecting to get flamed flagged and banned haha.
I’m just gearing up to start my atrs modern sporter build and I’m finding every online store I look at is out of stock on most everything I’m looking for, has anyone had any luck ordering parts from the states?
 
You can find enough product from the various sponsors on this site but stock is limited and spread between them. Sourcing one of this from here and one of that from there and so on drives the cost of the build up significantly due to multiple shipping charges that are unreasonably high. There will be NO one stop shopping at a Canadian retailer if you expect to get the products that you actually want.


You can get everything you need from Brownells except for the barrel and muzzle device. And save yourself a pile of money while you're at it. Yes Brownells has a $500 USD limit per order so two orders may be required but the shipping from Brownells is cheap compared to what Canadian shipping rates are.

As much as I like supporting our Canadian guys I simply can't unless there is an exceptional sale price.

I've done 10 NR receiver set builds and 90% of the parts, not including barrels and muzzle devices, were sourced primarily from Brownells and secondarily from IRG. Buying stateside saved me enough money (compared to Canadian retail pricing) that the savings completley paid for 2 builds.

Good luck in your search
 
Just having a look at brownells and it says you need to provide and import certificate for firearm components, is that your reason for not buying barrel and muzzle devices from there?
 
Low budget redneck said:
Just having a look at brownells and it says you need to provide and import certificate for firearm components, is that your reason for not buying barrel and muzzle devices from there?
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Barrels, muzzle devices and serialized receivers are not approved items on Brownells export permit. An additional export permit can be paid for on these items at a cost to you of $200 USD.

In other words, barrels are obtainable through Brownells but it's not economically feasible to do so. That's why you get your barrel and muzzle device from our Canadian guys instead.


For all other items there is NO charge for export. Ordering is as simple as ordering from any Canadian online retailer. Orders under $100 USD ship automatically. Orders from $100 - $500 USD will require you to fill out an end user statement. Sandy will email the form to you and you simply fill it out and send it back. All you have to fill out is your contact information, description of items purchased, cost of items purchased and the use of the items purchased. I always write "target shooting and/or hunting - personal use only".

It takes about 5 minutes to fill the form out and send it back. Once you've done it once you'll realize how simple it is.
 
I sourced all my parts for both of my receivers from a bunch of dealers.
Barrel and handguard came from Maple Ridge Armory, other barrel was bought from the EE on this fourm.
Gas block, muzzle from Red Deer Shooting Center
Grip, stock, buffer tube, trigger from Wolverine supplies, my other trigger was bought directly from TriggerTech
everything else was from Brownells, including brownells branded bolt (which I run in all my rifles).

Calgary shooting supplies is another good source, I'll be buying a new scope and mount from them.
 
Just got a rifle length gas tube from Maple Ridge Armory a week ago. When I was checking out the rest of their site, they had a bunch of AR goodies. True North Arms has a bunch of stuff too. I got a 20" pencil barrel from TNA.
 
SosaSantos said:
For those of you who used Brownells, did you get hit with any unexpected types of extra taxes/fees for crossing the border?
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I have had orders slip through without getting dinged for anything. Also had some orders where I had to pay. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which orders get a free pass and which ones don't.

Either way all you get dinged is a $10 CBSA inspection fee plus applicable Canadian sales tax on the Canadian dollar value of the order. If you ordered through a Canadian source you would have to pay the sales tax no matter what so this really is a non issue. All your taking a chance on is if you get charged the $10 CBSA fee or not.

Just make sure at check out that you choose a shipping method that doesn't pass the parcel off to a courier on the Canadian side of the border like UPS or DHL. If you do the courier company will also charge you a ridiculous brokerage fee.

I always choose "priority mail international" at check out. It gets shipped via USPS and then passed off to Canada Post at the border. The shipping rates for this method are very reasonable, often less than what Canada Post shipping rates are if you were to order from a Canadian source.

Also you should expect your parcel will sit with CBSA before being released whether they really inspect it or not. Wait time varies but I would say a good average is 10 business days. I have had some that been in and out the same day and others that have taken up to 3 weeks although the longer waits are not the norm.
 
jiffx2781 said:
I have had orders slip through without getting dinged for anything. Also had some orders where I had to pay. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which orders get a free pass and which ones don't.

Either way all you get dinged is a $10 CBSA inspection fee plus applicable Canadian sales tax on the Canadian dollar value of the order. If you ordered through a Canadian source you would have to pay the sales tax no matter what so this really is a non issue. All your taking a chance on is if you get charged the $10 CBSA fee or not.

Just make sure at check out that you choose a shipping method that doesn't pass the parcel off to a courier on the Canadian side of the border like UPS or DHL. If you do the courier company will also charge you a ridiculous brokerage fee.

I always choose "priority mail international" at check out. It gets shipped via USPS and then passed off to Canada Post at the border. The shipping rates for this method are very reasonable, often less than what Canada Post shipping rates are if you were to order from a Canadian source.

Also you should expect your parcel will sit with CBSA before being released whether they really inspect it or not. Wait time varies but I would say a good average is 10 business days. I have had some that been in and out the same day and others that have taken up to 3 weeks although the longer waits are not the norm.
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In the run up to Christmas the waits typically get longer too, worth bearing in mind.
 
out of the states brownells is good for inexpensive stuff but everything you need is here in canada, stock is limited because a few months back there was a huge gun buying spree in the community for fear of a gun ban, now i imagine people will do the same with recent news, but you should be able to find what you need. the equipment exchange is also a good source for parts, especially the bigger stuff, barrels, handguards, stocks, optics, sights, grips, triggers, bolt carrier groups, slings, lights, mounts, muzzle devices, whatever you want it will be on there, if not right now, eventualy
 
Does anyone have a parts list of exactly all the parts i need to build a modern sporter. I have a action ordered and plan on buying a Maple ridge barrel/forend/muzzle brake. Id like to purchase the rest of the parts from brownells.

While i have ample gunsmithing experience i have never messed around with AR style rifles before.

No means to hijack this thread but i think it would be helpful to a lot of newbies like me.
 
FWIW my latest Brownells order arrived today. Exactly 11 days from time of ordering.

Most of what was in the order could have been bought in Canada BUT wasn't in stock anywhere. I would have been waiting weeks or months if it wasn't for Brownells.
 
Alberta Woodsman said:
Does anyone have a parts list of exactly all the parts i need to build a modern sporter. I have a action ordered and plan on buying a Maple ridge barrel/forend/muzzle brake. Id like to purchase the rest of the parts from brownells.

While i have ample gunsmithing experience i have never messed around with AR style rifles before.

No means to hijack this thread but i think it would be helpful to a lot of newbies like me.
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With the items you are getting from MRA, you'll want a reaction rod, armorers wrench, and torque wrench. You'll also want a roll pin punch set for the receiver
You'll need the following parts
Trigger (brownells has a giessele BGRF trigger on sale, it's worth spending the money on a quality trigger, this one is the best bang for the buck. There are better triggers, but they are much more $. Geissele is pretty much the gold standard, and their best trigger is arguably the SSA-E. I just got one and love it, but it's over $100 more than the BGRF which is still amazing)
Charging handle (any AR15 one will do, they range from $25 to $150)
gas tube and gas block (if you are going rifle length gas, there is no need for a adjustable gas block. Mid length or shorter I would suggest getting an adjustable one)
Bolt carrier group (Brownells has a sale on their branded BCG's. They are top notch quality items and very well priced. There is no need wasting money on name branded BCG's, brownells makes one just as good or better. If you choose one of their lightweight BCG's, I'd get an adjustable gas block regardless of gas length of your barrel)
Buffer, buffer tube and buffer spring (you can get different weights of buffers, and different length tubes. Carbine is the tube that uses adjustable stock, A5 is the longer one)
Castle nut and end plate (these sometimes come with a buffer tube, but you can buy high end ones separately)
Stock (lots of options on this one, make sure you get the one that fits you buffer tube (carbine or A5). Also best to go with Mil Spec on both stock and buffer tube)
grip (you can buy grips to match your stock)
Lower parts kit (these kits include all the springs, roll pins, detents and controls such as the bolt catch, mag release, safety selector, and take down pins. (these can all be bought seperately too))

Besides all of this you need sights and/or a scope. If you are getting a .223 I would recommend a low powered optic like a 1-4x or 1-6x with a quality one piece mount. If you are only going with irons sights, get some quality metal ones like daniel defence, or magpul MBUS PRO.

Oh, and magazines. Can't have too many magazines. You can buy the LAR15 10rd pistol mags for about $35 each. Magpuls are good but 5rd limit $25

I suggest watching the AR15 assembly video on YouTube by MidwayUSA, presented by Larry Potterfield about a dozen times before starting.
 
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