Is it cheaper to................
- Thread starter JonnyBender
- Start date
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Cheapest way I have figured is to buy a used lower, and a used upper seperately. There is cheaper ways like buying all the individual components, but for a complete newb to tackle building an AR from the ground up is alot to ask and will take alot of time as well.
If you factor the headache and time I think the extra for buying complete uppers, and lowers is the best bet. lowers as cheap as $300 bucks for Norinco's, and Uppers in the $700 dollar range can be found.
If you factor the headache and time I think the extra for buying complete uppers, and lowers is the best bet. lowers as cheap as $300 bucks for Norinco's, and Uppers in the $700 dollar range can be found.
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Its always cheaper when you buy things at a bargain.
Building it yourself could be cheaper, but if you screw it up you won't save any money since you have a ####ty gun.
Buying it, well you should have a product that has passed QC and is good to go.
Building it yourself could be cheaper, but if you screw it up you won't save any money since you have a ####ty gun.
Buying it, well you should have a product that has passed QC and is good to go.
ee parts = overpriced
Building a rifle from used parts should be an economical venture. But you get the guys on the ee who buy a bare bones rifle for $1400, use it and then try to part it out for for a profit? Selling $1000+ upper assemblies that are worth maybe $700-800 and $500 for a lower that is worth $300-400 at best. These things never get sold....they just clog up the ee, bump, bump, bump, bump, viewed thousands of times and get bumped every week forever......
Wait it out for the guys who sell at reasonable prices. I've seen frankinrincos being advertised for $1,600!!! Here's another one...buy a rinco <$1000, shoot it up, sell the lower for $350 and the upper for $800 and profit yourself $100.....you have no shame! Many <$100 parts can be purchased new at Brownells for less than they are advertised on the ee as used.
Do your homework before you invest in the ee.
Building a rifle from used parts should be an economical venture. But you get the guys on the ee who buy a bare bones rifle for $1400, use it and then try to part it out for for a profit? Selling $1000+ upper assemblies that are worth maybe $700-800 and $500 for a lower that is worth $300-400 at best. These things never get sold....they just clog up the ee, bump, bump, bump, bump, viewed thousands of times and get bumped every week forever......
Wait it out for the guys who sell at reasonable prices. I've seen frankinrincos being advertised for $1,600!!! Here's another one...buy a rinco <$1000, shoot it up, sell the lower for $350 and the upper for $800 and profit yourself $100.....you have no shame! Many <$100 parts can be purchased new at Brownells for less than they are advertised on the ee as used.
Do your homework before you invest in the ee.
Buy new parts at retail, and it would be more expensive than buying a rifle.
Waiting for the right price, you might be able to put one together for less. But are you buying new or used parts? What quality?
If you buy a new or used brand name rifle, you will know what you are getting.
I have assembled a couple from parts, it can be done, and it can be cost effective. But I was given one barrel assembly, and turned the other barrel from a blank.
Don't assume you will save money or necessarily get a rifle as good or better than a factory one.
An rifle assembled from Brand X parts might not be a bargain, no matter how little it cost.
As mentionned, you can assembly the exact rifle you want.
Waiting for the right price, you might be able to put one together for less. But are you buying new or used parts? What quality?
If you buy a new or used brand name rifle, you will know what you are getting.
I have assembled a couple from parts, it can be done, and it can be cost effective. But I was given one barrel assembly, and turned the other barrel from a blank.
Don't assume you will save money or necessarily get a rifle as good or better than a factory one.
An rifle assembled from Brand X parts might not be a bargain, no matter how little it cost.
As mentionned, you can assembly the exact rifle you want.
Keep your eyes open and there are some great deals to be had on the EE. However, you really need to know the current retail price, almost off the top of your head, in order to take full advantage as the "real" deals rarely last more than a few hours and are often gone in minutes. You do not have time to wait or dicker. You need to send the PM with "I'll Take IT." and ask for instructions on how to send the funds.
My last build cost me around $1000.00 and if I had had to purchase a comparable factory rifle I'd have been looking at least $2000-$2200 It took me about 7-8 months to acquire all the parts, however. So if you're in a hurry, you're probably better off buying a good used Colt Sporter in the EE for $1100-$1200 and modding it later as you require.
My last build cost me around $1000.00 and if I had had to purchase a comparable factory rifle I'd have been looking at least $2000-$2200 It took me about 7-8 months to acquire all the parts, however. So if you're in a hurry, you're probably better off buying a good used Colt Sporter in the EE for $1100-$1200 and modding it later as you require.
My two cents...If you want to get a vanilla AR-15 with the least hassle, least time and fewest problems (i.e. you don't care about individual parts) then your best and probably cheapest bet is to buy one used or buy a Stag one from Arms East (look in the banner for their ad). You will pay once for the rifle and shipping and it will be done and working when you get it.
If you want some minor customization, consider getting Questar to put it together for you. Same thing - you pay for the parts and a token amount for the assembly. Once again, Questar can advise you so you get parts that work for your application and they will "make it work" before they ship it to you.
Of course you can do it all yourself, too. The price, part by part, is going to be higher than buying something that is already good to go. You are going to pay for shipping each part, and if something doesn't quite work out (like the pins not fitting between the upper and lower) then it is your problem. There are about a million places on the Internet that will show you step by step how to put things together and what works with what, but it is up to you to do the research.
The only thing I would encourage you to do would be to do the research on the price if you are going to buy something from a gun store. I have seen some fairly high markups, even on a used consignment AR. Shop around and enjoy!
If you want some minor customization, consider getting Questar to put it together for you. Same thing - you pay for the parts and a token amount for the assembly. Once again, Questar can advise you so you get parts that work for your application and they will "make it work" before they ship it to you.
Of course you can do it all yourself, too. The price, part by part, is going to be higher than buying something that is already good to go. You are going to pay for shipping each part, and if something doesn't quite work out (like the pins not fitting between the upper and lower) then it is your problem. There are about a million places on the Internet that will show you step by step how to put things together and what works with what, but it is up to you to do the research.
The only thing I would encourage you to do would be to do the research on the price if you are going to buy something from a gun store. I have seen some fairly high markups, even on a used consignment AR. Shop around and enjoy!
Unless your close to the border (and fill out all the paperwork) it is just cheaper to buy a stag arms from walter and then modify it after that....butt stock, pistol grip and quad rail would be the most common and frankly they are all cost plus items anyway, after that you can buy what you want off the "EE".
