Buying vs building

Remmy700

Remmy700

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So I'm planning on getting my first black rifle in the near future and have a few questions for the experienced.

Buying vs building, which route is going to give me a better quality rifle for my dollar? I know the building would be the more enjoyable route to take, but if its going to be more expensive to build vs buy for the same quality rifle I will take the later option. I'm not looking to spent huge money but I'm willing to spend up to $1000 on the rifle excluding rails, sights etc etc.

I just finished reading martinjozwa review on the NEA, and like him I'm looking for function over looks. If building is the better option could you suggest brands. All info is appreciated.

Thx
ET
 
There are lots of great sub $1k AR's now. Building is no longer cheaper unless you are demanding specific options such as a specific rail or trigger group etc. Even then, it may be cheaper to buy new and replace parts. Do your research. Remember, shipping on individual parts orders for a build really adds up.
 
For your first AR I suggest you buy a built rifle. Don't buy a Norinco though, not because there is anything wrong with them but because for only a couple hundred more you can get a much better US or Canadian built rifle. There are many nice AR's for around $1000 now.
Run whatever you buy for a while and decide what works for you and what doesn't, then you will have a better idea of exactly what you want and you will be familiar enough with the platform to be able to build one.
Once you own an AR you will probably want another soon enough and building one exactly the way you want it will be much easier.
Building an AR isn't complicated but you will need a couple special tools which will add to the cost unless you can borrow them, and it requires some basic mechanical skills and understanding. There are plenty of youtube videos out there that can walk you through the process.
If you do decide to build one then have a gunsmith or at least find someone who is experienced with AR's look it over for you before you take it out for the first time just to make sure everything is good to go.

Good luck
 
One thing to ask yourself is are you going to take your store bought AR and start stripping it down and replacing stuff. If you can get your AR in the configuration you want then buy one complete. If you are going to customize it anyway then do a build.
 
I would disagree that the $1000 NA built AR's are any better than a Norinco. In fact, I would get a Norinco over an NEA or other budget AR any day. Other than that, if you can get in to a Stag, DD or LMT then go for it.

As for customizing it, get a vanilla AR to start, throw on optics if you wish, then run it for 1000 or so rounds. This will let you figure out what you're going to do with it and if you want to put more money in to it, or leave it as is.
 
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