trying to educate myself on building a custom AR, and I was wondering how critical the lower and upper receiver were in the overall realm of a build. I have an M&P sport 2 right now and I'm debating on putting the parts into that gun or finding a stripped lower and building from the ground up. my goal with the gun would be to build a rifle for solely 3-gun/multigun competition, so ultralight BCG, freefloat handguard, trigger, heavy barrel, mid or rifle length gas system (not sure how long of a barrel I want, I'm a smaller sized person as is so a 16" barrel might be easier for me than a 20") anyways getting away from the original question, would the M&P be a suitable donor for the accuracy I would be looking to achieve or would something along the lines of a matched billet lower/upper be a better starting point.
race gun build starting point
- Thread starter welder179
- Start date
Your call, but an Aero Precision stripped lower is $99.95 at Saskatoon Gun Works, or you can get a stripped upper/lower combo for $199.95. For that price, I would not bother stripping the M&P.
If you buy the Aero parts, you can keep shooting the M&P while you build up the new rig, too.
If you buy the Aero parts, you can keep shooting the M&P while you build up the new rig, too.
^^^^^ This. there are a couple of good ones in the EE now that are priced right. I'd be all over them myself if I was in the market.
Upper and lower receivers are nothing more than cases to hold the guts together. Get whatever in-spec parts that you fancy.
Adjustable gas blocks, ultra light bolt carriers and some of the other stuff people strap onto their ARs are better at pulling money from your wallet than they are at giving the shooter any perceived advantage -imho.
Get a bare bones AR in whatever length you are looking to use, although I’d recommend either rifle or mid-length gas, Float the barrel, get a decent brake or compensator and a decent trigger and sights. There, you’re done. Now take the cash you would have flushed down the toilet with the rest of the doohickeys and buy training ammo or reloading gear.
Adjustable gas blocks, ultra light bolt carriers and some of the other stuff people strap onto their ARs are better at pulling money from your wallet than they are at giving the shooter any perceived advantage -imho.
Get a bare bones AR in whatever length you are looking to use, although I’d recommend either rifle or mid-length gas, Float the barrel, get a decent brake or compensator and a decent trigger and sights. There, you’re done. Now take the cash you would have flushed down the toilet with the rest of the doohickeys and buy training ammo or reloading gear.
YESS!!!!
FIRST thing... What specific round are you going to shoot? Handloads? Weight? Type?
-Then choose the BARREL and barrel extension accordingly.
-A good trigger that suits YOUR style of shooting. Fast CQB or Long range service rifle shots?
-Free float.
The rest is up to you. Most of the time only some sort of marketing gimmick.
Optic is important too.
Can't hold that high point zone if the optic is not reliable.
Cheer.
BTW got in 4-5 ( tied by .02 ) in Canadian championship Service rifle this year. ( 2017 )
My lower was... A norinco... But... Barrel, trigger and optic was top notch.
FIRST thing... What specific round are you going to shoot? Handloads? Weight? Type?
-Then choose the BARREL and barrel extension accordingly.
-A good trigger that suits YOUR style of shooting. Fast CQB or Long range service rifle shots?
-Free float.
The rest is up to you. Most of the time only some sort of marketing gimmick.
Optic is important too.
Can't hold that high point zone if the optic is not reliable.
Cheer.
BTW got in 4-5 ( tied by .02 ) in Canadian championship Service rifle this year. ( 2017 )
My lower was... A norinco... But... Barrel, trigger and optic was top notch.
Don’t waste your money on a matched billet receiver set, any receivers will do. This is what I would spend my research and money on:
LIghtweight BCG
Adj gas block
Brake
Trigger
1-4/6/8 optic that has a very bright/visible dot.
Gut your buffer and grab a 80% buffer spring from Wolff for the best bang for buck with a flat shooting rifle.
LIghtweight BCG
Adj gas block
Brake
Trigger
1-4/6/8 optic that has a very bright/visible dot.
Gut your buffer and grab a 80% buffer spring from Wolff for the best bang for buck with a flat shooting rifle.
I'd agree, most upper and lower are pretty good. I'd recommend the following:
Good trigger
Lightweight handguard, SLR makes sweet handguard and ships to Canada
Match grade barrel, carbon fiber is expensive but keeps it lightweight
Good muzzle break, the dpms miculek is cheap and good
Stock choice is preference
Upgraded bcg is optional
Adjustable gas brake is good, but if you change your load or your hairstyle you could be up shots creek
And that's about it. Only drawback to the match barrel is that you can shoot it out with practice. So keep your m&p as Is and use it to practice. That's how I use my m&p gen 1.
Other option is to get on the pre-order for a maccabee defense upper and lower, and as long as your bbl is 18.5 inches, it's non-restricted
Good trigger
Lightweight handguard, SLR makes sweet handguard and ships to Canada
Match grade barrel, carbon fiber is expensive but keeps it lightweight
Good muzzle break, the dpms miculek is cheap and good
Stock choice is preference
Upgraded bcg is optional
Adjustable gas brake is good, but if you change your load or your hairstyle you could be up shots creek
And that's about it. Only drawback to the match barrel is that you can shoot it out with practice. So keep your m&p as Is and use it to practice. That's how I use my m&p gen 1.
Other option is to get on the pre-order for a maccabee defense upper and lower, and as long as your bbl is 18.5 inches, it's non-restricted
Before anyone starts saying "buy this buy that" the most important question needs to be answered.
What is your skill level when running an AR?
If you're a seasoned shooter who is comfortable with the basics of shooting, then proceed with spending the coin to squeeze every drop of ability out of you and your rifle.
IF you are a newer AR shooter who is just getting into this and are hoping that dropping a bunch of cash into a rifle will make you a good, qualified shooter. Stop right here, go buy a few cases of ammo, learn the gun and better YOUR abilities first.
A Gucci rifle with all the tricked out parts won't help you. If anything it'll hinder you because you spent all your money on parts when you should have bought ammo.
What is your skill level when running an AR?
If you're a seasoned shooter who is comfortable with the basics of shooting, then proceed with spending the coin to squeeze every drop of ability out of you and your rifle.
IF you are a newer AR shooter who is just getting into this and are hoping that dropping a bunch of cash into a rifle will make you a good, qualified shooter. Stop right here, go buy a few cases of ammo, learn the gun and better YOUR abilities first.
A Gucci rifle with all the tricked out parts won't help you. If anything it'll hinder you because you spent all your money on parts when you should have bought ammo.
True enough. Money on ammo goes a lot further. Then again, he did say he wants a race gun.
If you are a freak, like me, and can't stand wobble in your gun, take a look at the maccabee defense rig. Because the upper and lower are slotted, they are the tightest fit that I have seen. And with the right barrel, it's non-restricted. Worth it if you ask me.
Some people say that the upper and lower tightness doesn't mean anything to accruacy. But my bolt actions are tight and have no wobble whatsoever and they shoot rather well. But then again, my stag 3g has wobble and it shoots under moa with handloads.
Good luck!
If you are a freak, like me, and can't stand wobble in your gun, take a look at the maccabee defense rig. Because the upper and lower are slotted, they are the tightest fit that I have seen. And with the right barrel, it's non-restricted. Worth it if you ask me.
Some people say that the upper and lower tightness doesn't mean anything to accruacy. But my bolt actions are tight and have no wobble whatsoever and they shoot rather well. But then again, my stag 3g has wobble and it shoots under moa with handloads.
Good luck!
It doesn’t matter what skill level you are with an AR. Ammo and training will always trump add-ons and go faster gear as shooting is a perishable skill.
Marksmanship principles apply whether you are laying in the grass on a prepared firing point or running around with your dyck hanging out.
Marksmanship principles apply whether you are laying in the grass on a prepared firing point or running around with your dyck hanging out.
Thank you gentleman. Im just trying to expand my knowledge base. I put alot of rounds down range, several thousand a year, but there are some upgrades id want to do to my M&P to make it more comfortable (handguard being my biggest issue) so just been deciding on weither or not it would be worth it on that gun or if id be better off with a new build and go fròm there with all nice refined parts. Still a debate, currently money flow goes to ammo but if some extra funds make their way to my wallet then i might have a decision to make then. I know all aboit industry gimics ive shot archery since i was 5yrs old and i dont think theres more gimics in any other industry, some of which i cant believe even make money. But most of my knowledge with guns comes with pistols and long range bolt guns. AR's im still leaning about. Most reports and people seem to fell as you did that theres no decernible difference with a basic reciever to a high end one, however there has been some independant/3rd party test that gives the high end equip some merit. As to if it would play a factor in the run-n-gun game doubtful, long range precision shooting perhaps. But this is where education comes in, i love knowing everything there is to know about things once my mind gets curious about it.... should of been an engineer instead of a welder lol.
You have bolt action AR’s?
Welder, ar's are like savages, barrel nut, floating bolt head, etc. There are 'better' actions, but, a savage rifle can still hang with some full custom rifles.
From what i understand, it's the bolt and barrel combo that adds the most to accuracy. So, put some cash into a jp bolt and matched barrel, throw in a free float handguard, mix in handloads, and you're good to go.
I haven't shot a matched bolt and barrel combo, but when I shoot through my ballistic advantage barrel in my 102, it'll be a jp barrel and bolt combo that replaces it.
From what i understand, it's the bolt and barrel combo that adds the most to accuracy. So, put some cash into a jp bolt and matched barrel, throw in a free float handguard, mix in handloads, and you're good to go.
I haven't shot a matched bolt and barrel combo, but when I shoot through my ballistic advantage barrel in my 102, it'll be a jp barrel and bolt combo that replaces it.
That's exactly it, it can be VERY marginal gains which is why my recommendation to most is not to bother with it until your skill set is at it's peak. It's not like a matching bolt is going to take your rifle from 1/2 MOA to 1/4 moa. Likely it wouldn't even be noticeable.
Most semi's are not 1/2 moa to start. So it won't shave it to 1/4 moa. As with anything, there are more details that all add to a finished product. The Las Baer, or the JP rifle would be my choice of rifle from the get-go, but there no way I can justify to myself a $4,000 dollar rifle that I can only take to the range.
So, you are right. It's not only the bolt and barrel combo, but it helps! There are 9 other things a guy can do to get the 1/2 moa semi-auto
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/05/what-makes-an-ar-accurate-whitley-offers-answers/
So, you are right. It's not only the bolt and barrel combo, but it helps! There are 9 other things a guy can do to get the 1/2 moa semi-auto
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/05/what-makes-an-ar-accurate-whitley-offers-answers/
