Guide to building an AR style rifle?

Price check everything against Brownells keeping in mind some stuff is ITAR, some might need an export permit, duty, exchange and taxes. Some used pricing in the EE cannot touch Brownell's new price - albeit you have to put forth a bit of effort and wait for the parts.

Take a pass on NEA stuff. Stick with known, quality manufacturers without necessarily going off the deep end of reason with some of the 'boutique' stuff.
 
Captaintaco said:
Ok. Are all the receivers annodized aluminum?
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mostly, its what gives the aluminium its strength and hardness... alot of companies then cerakote or apply a coating on top of that to keep all their guns the same colour, keeps qc up, easier then dealing with upper/lower colour diffrences and thrown out parts down.

the main question you should be asking is a forged or billet lower...... i am a pretty old school guy and will take forged over billet everytime.... that being said i do have one billet lower from atrs that is great.
 
Captaintaco said:
Ok. Are all the receivers annodized aluminum?
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There are many polymer receivers. I haven't heard of anyone having problems with them but I personally prefer the Aluminum ones - just don't like the feel of polymer.

If you must buy an upper and lower from different manufacturers, be aware that there may be fitment issues - even if they all say milspec. I had issues with a Diemaco upper and both a Blueline (rear lug obstruction) and an Aero lower (misaligned take-down pin holes). My recommendation would be to go with an upper and lower from one manufacturer just to avoid the possibility of an expensive search for a matching upper/lower.

Really unless you either have something really specific you are trying to build and are willing to spend, the shipping and parts costs will exceed that of buying a complete rifle that is close to what you want.
 
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Captaintaco said:
Ok, so you're useing used parts eh? And you haven't had any problems doing that? I diidnt really see much on the EE for ar parts. I'll have to look again. Thanks
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There is TONS of AR parts on the EE. Gotta look in the right place.

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...essories-for-Modern-Military-and-Black-Rifles

Also.... I see that NEA has been mentioned here once or twice. Unless you're going to buy ALL NEA, I wouldn't go anywhere near it. It is definitely on the low end of brands, and I've read, more than a few times, that even tho they call their stuff milspec, the GOOD milspec stuff often won't fit to it.
 
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X-Treme said:
There is TONS of AR parts on the EE. Gotta look in the right place.

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...essories-for-Modern-Military-and-Black-Rifles

Also.... I see that NEA has been mentioned here once or twice. Unless you're going to buy ALL NEA, I wouldn't go anywhere near it. It is definitely on the low end of brands, and I've read, more than a few times, that even tho they call their stuff milspec, the GOOD milspec stuff won't fit to it.
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I must chime in here and say I use NEA receiver pieces in both forged and billet offerings and have never had an issue.
 
Sqr said:
That can be said for many mid to low brand offerings. Only the top tier are 100% trouble free.
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That whole tier thing is largely nonsense created by people justifying the cost of their overpriced sh!t.
I've built or wrenched on dozens upon dozens of ARs and never dealt with the out of spec. Parts like NEA.

What is your definition of 'mid' to 'low' end brands? Not that it matters.
Something either meets a specification or it doesn't.
 
i agree with the people saying "buy a complete rifle"..... new or used (when i built my 7.62x39 i spent close to $2500 without optics)

what barrel length are you looking for ?

stick with name brand..... daniel defense is my favorite, if you can afford a kac you can never go wrong either

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...e-MK18-Brand-New-Never-Fired?highlight=daniel

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1510476-Colt-AR15A4

stupidly cheap --->> https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1498593-16-quot-colt-light-carbine

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1496405-DD-M4V5lw-16-quot-barrel

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...451-Daniel-Defense-MK18-Brand-New-Never-Fired

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1501286-KAC-SR15-Mod-1-URX-4
 
Ok thanks that's some more good information. So billet is machined? And forged is from a mold right? Doesn't matter to me too much I think which ever is cheaper. I beleive I'm going to go for aero lower and upper. As for the barrell length, not sure yet.
 
Best bang for your buck if you are building is to spend the money on quality where it counts: barrel, bolt and arguably the trigger too.
The receivers are nothing more than cases that hold the internal bits. An arguement could be made for a monolithic upper for a really heavy & long target barrel, but that is not typical.
 
beltfed said:
Best bang for your buck if you are building is to spend the money on quality where it counts: barrel, bolt and arguably the trigger too.
The receivers are nothing more than cases that hold the internal bits. An arguement could be made for a monolithic upper for a really heavy & long target barrel, but that is not typical.
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Having recently finished my AR build, I would agree that the most noticeable parts of the build, for me, were the trigger and the rail. Both of which were surprisingly expensive for what they appear to be! I am sure the bolt and barrel are pretty important, but to me, its where I connect with the rifle. I love the way my Triggertech trigger and Fortis Night Rail feel and look but at my level, I probably don't shoot much better because of them. In the end, it was very satisfying to research the products and install the parts myself (with the help of my Bro). I think its a great project... just don't let your wife find out how much it costs!
 
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Have had great ordering experience with SFRC, Saskatchewan Gun Works and True North Arms. TNA usually has sales on items and I find they are cheaper then other sites, still meeting Mil-Spec for parts
 
Tarrantula said:
Watch the videos, it isn't rocket science. But there can be some finicky bits...I often have a pain with the front takedown pin spring haha.

A browse of the Black Rifle forum should give you an idea of brands...Colt, Diemaco, Daniel Defense, LMT are top end. Aero, Dlask or NEA (both Canadian) are affordable. S&J Hardware is great dealer here and they usually have good stuff in terms of smaller parts.
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I feel your pain! The damn thing shot across the garage close to 8 times, and it's not exactly a tidy working environment right now f:P:
 
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