AR's building vs buying?

Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett

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I'm curious if there are substantial savings to be had by building an AR as opposed to buying off the shelf, comparing apples to apples?

I guess the one advantage is I can build exactly what I want as long as I can find the parts but what other advantages/disadvantages are there and is there any parts of the build I won't want to do myself?
 
Tough call...if you don't manage to get your parts economically you could end up paying more. My last build cost me around $2000 but there is no way I'd be able to buy an AR like it for that price. Sourcing the parts was a major pain in the buttocks but the end result is practically a work of art...it is my "never sell" gun. There really is no part of the build you can't do yourself...youtube is your friend if you really get stuck. The best part is the sense of satisfaction. Have at 'er and enjoy!
 
A build of "new" parts will likely cost you more. If you are pickey about parts that may be an acceptable thing. If you pick up used parts you can save some money.

Alternatively, you can buy a Stag for under $1,500.00 with a lifetime guarantee on all parts.

What do you want your AR-15 to do?

- Service rifle?
- Plinking?
- Long range shooting?

Once you answer that, I could point you in the right direction.
 
if you want to save money, look in the EE for upper and lower assemblies already set up to the way you want, than mate them together. it will be lot cheaper than building it up from scratch. Too many people build Frankenstein AR that ended up cost more than buying a complete rifle yet doesn't perform any better.
 
self built

There is no cost savings in building yourself,probably twice as much as I easilly spent $3500. on mine.But as stated before in previous posts Its a "a work of art and my NEVER sell gun". The great thing about AR's is:buy a decent off the shelf one shoot it,and make decisions from there as to what you want to do---not everything that looks cool is going to be practical to you, and you can do a piece at a time
 
A factory fresh 16" Stag carbine starts at $1360 and comes with a lifetime waranty.

And they work.

I have a couple of hundered dollars worth of tools to assemble ARs.
So savings disappear.
 
Nothing new to add. Just another way of thinking here:

a) Pay $1500 NOW for a complete rifle, or;
b) Buy parts as you can afford them, and pay about $1800 over six months.

If you go with plan b, I'll give you a hint: Buy the stripped reciever first, since you'll have to wait for a transfer, an ATT, etc.
 
Well I have the Stag already, I guess I'm looking for something a bit less vanilla. It's been a reliable rifle but it's far from a never sell item. I want to start keeping only pieces I really want.

I'm thinking another 16" rifle because I hope to shoot service rifle next year but I want stuff like a billet lower, midlength gas system, extended quad rail and low profile gas block.

I can't really buy something like that off the shelf, I know ATRS can build it for me, which I'll probably end up doing, but I like the idea of trying to do it myself too and if I saved some money on the way then better yet.
 
You have to factor in the cost of the tools and supplies needed to build one first. I have maybe alittle less than 1K in gun tools so it adds up. Then consider that because you have built it, it will now have a potentially lower sale value than a complete factory gun. I have built some and bought some. I did build one as I wanted to put it together myself. I used a mix of parts.
 
USP said:
You have to factor in the cost of the tools and supplies needed to build one first. I have maybe alittle less than 1K in gun tools so it adds up. Then consider that because you have built it, it will now have a potentially lower sale value than a complete factory gun. I have built some and bought some. I did build one as I wanted to put it together myself. I used a mix of parts.
Click to expand...

you should look at the mahge pahge on ee. some prices are way to much for what the firearm is worth. Glad to have a states address for parts dropoff.
 
Building is more expensive when you get new parts from many places due to shipping, etc. I would love somebody to bring in complete parts sets for builds. That would be cheaper.
 
I have heard good things about the STI AR,...comes with choice of comp and foregrip and stock I believe. the trigger is supposed to be exceptional, and looks like a champ. If I were to get another AR, I think I would go STI,...and then put my choice of optics on it.
 
Building from scratch can be less expensive if you are patient and wait for a good EE deal. That means you have to constantly monitor the EE for the sweet deals. I built one up from under a grand. I made my barrel wrench and tooling. I was happy with the
results and couldn't buy what I put together.
 
If you're patient and watch the EE for actual deals, you can realize substantial savings, but you need to know what you're looking for, the worth and have money in hand to buy the part when it becomes available. Most newbies aren't going to have that knowledge base.

For a standard M4 set-up or sporter, you're probably better off buying a factory rifle. Looking for a shorty set-up the way you want it, or a highly accurate benchrest type rig, a custom build will often be the way to go, as you can build it to your own specs and not end up buying a lot of parts that you won't be using anyway.
 
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