First AR: Build to suit, or buy complete and upgrade?

Bucktown

Bucktown

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Hello all,

So I'm finally ready to take the plunge, And Ive done enough research to be between a rock and a hard place. Ive also done enough research to completely confuse the hell out of myself, this black rifle-land is a crazy world for a newbie, a modular system where literally everything can be changed out and its full of acronyms and versions and compatibilities lol.

Basically, Im trying to decide whether to pick and chose my parts, or just buy a complete.

I know that lead times on parts for a build is going to be frustrating, I may run into compatibility issues due to my inexperience, I will get exactly what I want in the end, and through some trial and error Im sure I will save some money in the long run. Obviously I will learn more this way as well.

On the other hand, making mistakes will be costly, ordering a complete certainly has its advantages. I'm only waiting for one thing, I know it will work when it gets here and can be used while upgrades are on their way. Definitely the more expensive way to go though, and wasteful since I know Im going to have a shoebox full of brand new pull off parts sitting there doing nothing.

What would you guys recommend for a first time AR buyer? Dive right in and hope I can swim? Or save the build for my second AR?
 
I'd like to hear your thoughts on this as well seeing as I seem to be in the same boat. However, I reckon that a custom build will cost more rather than buying something that is similar to what I want and upgrading/selling spare parts. Any thoughts on this?
 
Save the build for later. Simple fact is without shooting one a bunch under the conditions you'll subject it to, how do you know what you'll like?

Being a newbie myself, I decided to buy a Stag for my first AR to see what I like. I went with Stag for a variety of reasons: quality, excellent support if required from Arms East, super easy resale if I had to (no controversy with Stag compared to some other brands), etc. Other brands also meet this criteria like DD, etc.

I'm going to use this Stag rifle as a platform to expand with too. Very soon I'll be getting my DD 10.3" upper from One Shot Tactical and will swap that onto my Stag lower. Once Umbrella Corp sends lowers to One Shot Tactical, I'll move the DD upper onto that and continue with that fun build. I'll probably move the Stag trigger to the Umbrella lower and buy an aftermarket trigger for my Stag and on it goes....
 
That sounds like good advice to me, I like the idea of a continually evolving project based on a complete the first time around as well as trying a "stock" model to see what I like and what I would like to change.

As far as brands go, Ive been looking at the SIG from questar https://shopquestar.com/shopping65/shopexd.asp?id=2126&bc=no the stag, like yourself from arms east http://www.armseast.com/righthandrifles.html although I have my heart set on a 5.56, and the bushmaster from wolverine http://www.wolverinesupplies.com/details/6476/Bushmaster-XM-15-M4-556-Nato-16-with-Red-Dot-Sight.aspx

I would like to keep it Under $1500 for my first rifle, and other recommendations I should consider before I pull the trigger? edit: no pun intended lol
 
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One reason I bought the Stag 2T-R was because of the free float quad rail. This way I can bolt on whatever junk I want to play with. Part of the "seeing what I like" thing. With the Bushmaster, are you going to be able to do that easily/reliably? If you need to change the front grip, add that to your $$$ total if this interests you.

The Sig seems to have areas where you can bolt rail sections to if you wanted to play, so I'd gravitate more to the Sig or a variant of the Stag that has, or easily allows you to add rails.

After now owning a quad rail, I think I'd prefer a rail setup that was fairly smooth with easily added rail sections. In the meantime, I'll add on some of those rounded rail covers and see what I think. Some folks have said it makes the grip too fat, but my hands aren't small.

All part of the process.... :)
 
Start with a basic build and add from there. No better way to get to know how your gun works that to build it yourself. The AR platform is very well suited to this and relatively easy even for a beginner with basic tools and an AR combo tool.
 
In the middle of a build and have already doubled up on some parts due to changing my mind part way through. :)

I have a feeling these won't be the only changes made.
 
Get something basic and affordable. Save money for lots of ammo and good training courses. Training courses are really good for learning to work with the rifle and to discover what is "needed" to optimize your skill, not what looks cool or works for others.
 
I've been working on a build since November when I got a good deal on a stripped lower. This is my first AR. I can say I've gotten most of what I wanted, but in other ways, I ordered things and then realized later that I would have preferred something different because I hadn't had a chance to try things out or see how they looked when assembled.

The other issue is that I've spent almost as much on shipping as I have on parts. With the current shortage issues, I was forced to order small parts one at a time in many cases as they became available. This meant I might get a $10 part and pay $12 shipping for it.

My suggestion given the current climate would be to purchase a complete rifle that has most of what you want, then you can change out parts later as you like....or build a whole second rifle when the climate is more condusive to that.
 
Buy the complete rifle first and then do a build. I would start with a 14.5 or 16 inch and can go longer or shorter for the next one. You will probably add two more ar's pretty quickly once you realize how awesome they are!
 
I'm in exactly the same situation. I have placed individual orders for a handguard cap, a buffer tube, a gas block, etc. I'm going to just ignore what I have spent on shipping costs in the last few months.

The good news to those building, I will have some extra parts on the EE in a few weeks :D
 
I've just completed my first build. This was after I used a Norc CQA 14.5" for the better part of a year. I decided I also wanted a shorter PDW version so two months ago began ordering parts.

I really only started hopping on the build after Sandy Hook and as you can imagine it has been hard to get parts in. Sometimes I would get parts in and they turned out to be not what I wanted. Other times they came and they were missing a pin or the makers assumed you already had plenty of some sort of screw. It seems no dealer has everything, especially as you start getting specific in what you want.

Another thing you have to factor in is tools. Unless you already have a workshop you might need to get other things. I had to order a torque wrench, armorer's wrench and receiver vise (and had to borrow another person's receiver vise because the one I had was incompatible with my receiver!). I already had ball peen hammer, full set of alan keys, screwdriver, mallet, needle nose pliers, table vise, and punch.

My PDW build is about $500 more expensive than a decent stock carbine not factoring in tax and shipping either. It may, however, be cheaper than getting a PDW custom built. But I see it as a learning experience. Oh, and I'm still not quite finished as I am still waiting for a transfer for the lower receiver!
 
I'd say go with buying a complete rifle for no other reason than parts availability right now.

I built my first AR and it was fun. I didn't save any money, but I take pride in doing things myself.
 
jjr said:
I'd say go with buying a complete rifle for no other reason than parts availability right now.

I built my first AR and it was fun. I didn't save any money, but I take pride in doing things myself.
Click to expand...

I haven't had too much trouble finding most parts, just had to go to a different place for almost every single one of them :)

But yes, there is some pride that goes with building your own. My next one will probably be a complete rifle.
 
You have to be on the ball to get certain things. Quality BCG's and LPK's come to mind. I managed to snag a DD LPK from Wolverine Supplies when I happened upon a post from someone saying they were in. Must have started a feeding frenzy because they were sold out later that day.

I'm also trying to find a 14.5" barrel with mid-length gas system, pretty damn hard to find. E-mailed a few sponsors but they understandably can't give me an ETA on when they'll be in.
 
Tons of good advice in here, thanks to everyone for their replies. I'm fairly proficient with gun stripping and rebuild, and I too take pride in building something myself. That being said, I'm really leaning towards buying a complete for my first one. There are systems on these guns that I'm not familiar with, and so many parts and variations and manufacturers that I cant even keep up with the acronyms at this point. That combined with the apparent shortage on desirable parts is enough to sway me away from that direction, for now anyways.

What would you guys consider "must haves", now that most of you have some experience on this platform, if you were to order a complete? caliber? length? gas vs piston? Even brand or store?

thanks again!
 
Not understanding how all the parts work together is quickly remedied once you are knee deep in a build. :)

A few youtube videos and some studying an AR schematic will make things clear enough to start putting parts together. Don't let that discourage you from doing a build. The parts however, can be a bit tricky right now.
 
Buy a good factory rifle (<$1500) put a decent optic on it and seek some training.
You will look back and the rifle will look cheap after you run $10 000 worth of ammo through it.
 
Building is a lot of fun, but if you think you are going to save money your wrong.
Right now I would buy the complete rifle, it is hard to find parts right now.
 
twig_40 said:
Building is a lot of fun, but if you think you are going to save money your wrong.
Right now I would buy the complete rifle, it is hard to find parts right now.
Click to expand...

Nope, definitely not a way to save money! The only reason to do it is for the enjoyment.
 
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