New AR Build

D

djmay71

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So come the New Year, I'm going to invest in a Norinco CQA lower in 5.56/.223 Rem, along with a butt load of LAR15 mags.

So here comes the tricky part- the upper. Now I've looked at Questar, Arms East, and several other site sponsors for complete uppers. I seem to be having a few problems understanding I guess....

For an AR newb, would be easier for me to just buy a complete upper, or would it be more rewarding to build an upper by myself? Any special tools required?

Is it usual to see complete uppers priced around $800-$1000? Also, any dealers that you would reccommend? Sponsors preferrably.

As well, my ideal upper would have a 10.5" barrel, free floating quad-rail handguard for tacticool accessories, and the like. Now, granted I'm using a Norinco lower, but I don't want to cheap out on the upper- but would there be any fitting issues between a high end upper and the Norinco lower?
 
So what' the purpose of building off of a Norinco lower? By the time you get the lower and the upper you'll have spent as much as buying a complete rifle from Questar (like an LMT or Spikes). You're rifle would still be a Norc (registered that way). The Norc part will kill it's resale and you'll always wished you'd just bought a better one. The few dollars you might save aren't worth it in the end.
 
If you spent as much time researching this stuff as you do creating countless posts asking for people's direction and opinions, you'd probably have your mind made up already.
 
He's referring to the upper/lower fit (I believe). Going with a Norc lower and a quality upper might introduce some...
 
djmay71 said:
Excuse my still-sleeping, numb mind: But what are you guys referring to as "the whole package"? Like a complete say, Rock River AR, or NEA AR?
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You could build yourself an AR, using a good priced lower such as the ones that Questar carries. I'm not knocking the Norincos, but ARs move in quality tiers, and you could get yourself a nice North American made lower. NEA is Canadian, Dlask is Canadian, so supporting these guys while getting a good quality lower is of double benefit. Of course, it's all your choice, but that's my recommendation and when I say the whole package, it means to buy better quality. What the other guys are pointing out is that the Norincos work, but if you plan on reselling your AR, you can expect snobbery from potential buyers who might turn their noses up at the Norc build.

No need to flame, as I've been playing with and enjoying Norinco since the 1990s.
 
If anything, I'd build a decent lower - it's cheaper, requires no specialized tools and can be done by a monkey with a lobotomy in about 30 minutes. I've run a Norc upper on an Armalite lower and it fit quite tight and functioned flawlessly. The lower is where your shooter interface occurs (trigger, stock, grip, etc.) make it right the first time. Uppers come and go, your lower could be around for 5 or 6 uppers.
 
Thanks for the info. I priced out two very different AR builds- a high quality (I think) versus a medium (aka: Norinco) quality.
The high-quality comes in around $2,554.39, with approximate gross shipping calculated in, and including magazines (LAR15s), ammo, sights & the like. This high-quality rig would be running a Vulcan AV15 Lower (w/ RRA Internals & Questar M4-style stock) with an upper from Arms East living as a Stag Arms Mod 0RH 1/7 Twist Upper.

The Norinco quality would be running both Norinco CQA 233/5.56 upper and lower, and was also priced including an approximate gross shipping cost, and also with the same ammo & sights as was included in the above build, which would bring in a total of $1,763.02.

That being said, there's a difference of $791.37. Granted, thats a lot more than the Norinco build, but I could only assume that the high-quality build has just that running for it- quality. Along with quality, should be both dealer and factory warranties, no? When considering the Norinco build though, you are saving nearly $800. Now granted, you may be more or less stranded when it comes to factory or dealer warranties (depending on who you're dealing with), but seeing as the Norinco seems to have a cult-like following here at CGN, help, guidance, and general know-how wouldn't be too far away.
 
djmay71 said:
Thanks for the info. I priced out two very different AR builds- a high quality (I think) versus a medium (aka: Norinco) quality.
The high-quality comes in around $2,554.39, with approximate gross shipping calculated in, and including magazines (LAR15s), ammo, sights & the like. This high-quality rig would be running a Vulcan AV15 Lower (w/ RRA Internals & Questar M4-style stock) with an upper from Arms East living as a Stag Arms Mod 0RH 1/7 Twist Upper.

The Norinco quality would be running both Norinco CQA 233/5.56 upper and lower, and was also priced including an approximate gross shipping cost, and also with the same ammo & sights as was included in the above build, which would bring in a total of $1,763.02.

That being said, there's a difference of $791.37. Granted, thats a lot more than the Norinco build, but I could only assume that the high-quality build has just that running for it- quality. Along with quality, should be both dealer and factory warranties, no? When considering the Norinco build though, you are saving nearly $800. Now granted, you may be more or less stranded when it comes to factory or dealer warranties (depending on who you're dealing with), but seeing as the Norinco seems to have a cult-like following here at CGN, help, guidance, and general know-how wouldn't be too far away.
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That's waaay too much money for a low end build (It ain't high end)

There's an LMT MRP Upper w/ATRS lower for $2200 in the EE ;) all you need is some ammo...
 
Price out the same package with a complete NEA gun, not much more money than a Norc, but from what I've seen written by knowledgeable people who's opinion I would trust, a much better "value".
 
djmay71 said:
Thanks for the info. I priced out two very different AR builds- a high quality (I think) versus a medium (aka: Norinco) quality.
The high-quality comes in around $2,554.39, with approximate gross shipping calculated in, and including magazines (LAR15s), ammo, sights & the like. This high-quality rig would be running a Vulcan AV15 Lower (w/ RRA Internals & Questar M4-style stock) with an upper from Arms East living as a Stag Arms Mod 0RH 1/7 Twist Upper.

The Norinco quality would be running both Norinco CQA 233/5.56 upper and lower, and was also priced including an approximate gross shipping cost, and also with the same ammo & sights as was included in the above build, which would bring in a total of $1,763.02.

That being said, there's a difference of $791.37. Granted, thats a lot more than the Norinco build, but I could only assume that the high-quality build has just that running for it- quality. Along with quality, should be both dealer and factory warranties, no? When considering the Norinco build though, you are saving nearly $800. Now granted, you may be more or less stranded when it comes to factory or dealer warranties (depending on who you're dealing with), but seeing as the Norinco seems to have a cult-like following here at CGN, help, guidance, and general know-how wouldn't be too far away.
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Your "high quality build" is a fairly decent upper on a garbage lower with low end parts.

Not sure how much you're figuring for ammo, mags, and optics, but unless it's $1500 or more, that rifle is a waste of cash.

Don't build your own...that is for people who know what they are doing. Pick a quality manufacturer, and buy a decent gun. Otherwise, you have to know enough about all the parts to know what to buy, which, if you're thinking about putting Vulcan ANYTHING on a "quality" build, you don't.
 
50calshooter said:
That's waaay too much money for a low end build (It ain't high end)

There's an LMT MRP Upper w/ATRS lower for $2200 in the EE ;) all you need is some ammo...
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Granted, but the ammo takes about $250, mags at $150, my preferred array of sights and optics (which may change) at $470. Thats makes a total of $870. Minus that from my approximate final price for the low-end build, and that brings it down to $893.02.

From the start, I was leaning towards the cheaper build, but the more I think about it, I'd rather spend my cash on some quality products from the high-end build. What do you guys think of the build list I provided in my last post about the high-end build? My only gripes about the high-end build, is that the barrel on the Stag Arms Mod 0RH 1/7 is a 16" when I'd prefer a 10.5" and the fact that it comes with that goofy iron sight on the barrel. Hate them.
 
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