Upgrading your AR, piece by piece... advice on where to start?

H

HaliGunian

Regular
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Location
Nova Scotia
I'm the lucky owner of a nice and solid looking AR thanks to a friendly poster who had something for sale on EE who I was able to work things out with.

And while it hasn't even arrived at my door yet, I've been thinking about the future. And how over the next several years (after I've learned the basics of the platform, and some of the mechanics) I'd just like to upgrade it a bit at a time until I get to the point where I can practically rebuild the original rifle from all the 'leftover' parts.

It's NEA for the receiver, so I figured I could replace that last, being good quality. So would a good place to start be the barrel (and if necessarily, the gas system, I suppose)? Or do I have it backwards and would actually want to replace the receiver first?

My eventual plan to is upgrade most of the components to Colt Canada/Diemaco parts where it would make an appreciable difference (the safe/fire selector switch hardly needs to come from Colt). Resulting in a somewhat more personalized clone of a C8A3.
 
My two cents, maybe with a pinch of sense on the side:

  • If it were me starting all over again, I'd start with a 1-lower Many-uppers philosophy. Get your lower to a place that works for you, then build and try several different uppers.

  • A good place to start is to shoot what you've got, and identify weaknesses. You may find an enhanced trigger would help. Or maybe you get an overgassed upper and probably want a heavier buffer (or, see point 1, a new upper)

  • Take it slow. ARs are like lego, which is great, but also means if you start jumping at every good deal, you'll end up with something that may not actually fit you. That's what landed me in a Magpul MOE 16" heavy-barrel A-frame front-sight weirdo rifle that really wasn't fun for me at all at the time. There's nothing wrong with taking your time and trying options.

  • If you really want Colt Canada, you might be better off running that as a separate and distinct project: collecting parts as they come up. But there are lots of really good AR part makers out there in the world. You will pay extra for the maple-leaf on the side, which is okay for some folk (myself included).
 
You seem to have a good idea of where you want to go with this. Upgrading any firearm is a lot of fun and AR's are virtually limitless when it comes to options. As I just wanted better accuracy and not spend a small fortune - I added some Magpul furniture, a Triggertech trigger, a Troy rear battle sight, and a Blitzkrieg Components chevron front sight post. I like shooting iron sights and did not go down the scope or red dot path. The trigger and sight replacement took me from 4MOA to 2MOA (with decent ammo) overnight. Happy with where it is right now.

Good luck.
 
Why "upgrade" anything, what's wrong with it now?

If you can answer that question, the answer of what to change should be obvious. If you can't, then there is no reason to change anything until you know better what you want out of the rifle, and whether or not it satisfies you in the current state.

The only exception to that might be the lower. I don't know where you get the idea that NEA was quality, but they had a terrible reputation, and are now gone from the market.
 
As everyone has said, shoot your AR. Do drills with it. Then figure out what bugs you. Trigger? Charging handle? Pistol grip angle? Sights? LOP? Then fix those issues as you need.

You say it’s a NEA receiver (lower?) There is not much love for NEAs as a rule. Any thing and parts you add to your rifle may be cost that you will never recoup back. You can easily turn a NEA into a $2000+ rifle but when it comes time to sell, you will never get close to getting your money back as a complete rifle.

Since you want a C8 clone and you basically want enough parts to build a spare rifle when it’s all done. Why not just wait, save your money and source a Colt Diemarco when you’re ready? Shoot the NEA in the meantime and learn on it.
 
Still alive said:
As everyone has said, shoot your AR. Do drills with it. Then figure out what bugs you. Trigger? Charging handle? Pistol grip angle? Sights? LOP? Then fix those issues as you need.

You say it’s a NEA receiver (lower?) There is not much love for NEAs as a rule. Any thing and parts you add to your rifle may be cost that you will never recoup back. You can easily turn a NEA into a $2000+ rifle but when it comes time to sell, you will never get close to getting your money back as a complete rifle.

Since you want a C8 clone and you basically want enough parts to build a spare rifle when it’s all done. Why not just wait, save your money and source a Colt Diemarco when you’re ready? Shoot the NEA in the meantime and learn on it.
Click to expand...

This 1000%

I’ve a big hate on for NEA, but if it’s what you have, just shoot it as is as cheap rifles aren’t worth upgrading because it’ll always just be a cheap rifle. Since it is an NEA, shoot the cheapest, dirtiest amp you can find (the goal is cost savings) so you can shoot the NEA all the while saving for the C8 you really want. Slowly turning an NEA into a C8 is just going to leave you with a mismatched frankenbuild, save your coin, and eventually buy a C8 complete upper receiver, and then sell the NEA upper to fund your Colt Canada lower.
 
With the AR you can upgrade everything down to the individual pins and springs only thing you have to keep is the lower stripped receiver if you change that your starting a new gun. I bought a colt 6920 FBI came loaded out of the box got it on sale good price because they messed up my original order but still swapped out a couple things right off the bat even tho technically it was perfectly fine as is and was issued to the FBI so who am I to talk lol. Handguard totally didn't like it was short and very rough and uncomfortable and not m-lok so that went. Charging handle was gone as well if you ever used a Geissele super charging handle you will never want to pull back a stock handle ever again :) made other changes just for aesthetic reasons but its all personal preference. Your AR will be perfectly functionable when you get it ( Well its NEA tho so maybe not hahahaha ) not the best reputation with those guys around here. I did a full build on a new 300blk upper myself it was fun I really like the AR just cause you can change out everything to your liking.
 
First upgrade, as far as I’m concerned, is the trigger. I went for years with a mil-spec trigger that came with the gun. Then I tried a Geissele, and I don’t know if I could go back. A nice trigger can make a big difference.

As you shoot it and do drills with it you’ll find out what you want changed. As has been stated above, be careful of the “newest, latest, greatest” phenomenon. I picked up a Norton ambi-Mag release. Figured that’s what I needed to change mags faster. In reality I didn’t use it, as my trigger finger worked the mag release faster, so now I’ve gone to a Mag-Pul paddle on the mag release. I didn’t really like the sound/feel of the buffer/spring, so I picked up an Armaspec. I like it so far.

Of course there’s always the stocks and handguards that seem kind of standard to change. It’s always personal choice, and what works for you. That’s the great thing about the AR platform. You can customize it to fit you.
 
ONE LOWER. Make it the way you like and stick with it. Trigger and grip you like. This will make everything more consistent.

Now the upper... Well get many. Barrel is key. Get a good barrel first if you change anything.

Cheers.
 
NEA Haters, please...

I don't have much to add but this, there's nothing wrong with an NEA Rifle. NEA has had some QC issues, perhaps a bit more than many, but as far as I can tell it's the ABNEA Club making it look far worse than it is.

That said, if it was new I might have some concerns if I bought it unseen, but if the original owner has put a 1,000 or so rounds through it I think it's safe to say any QC problem is in the rear view mirror.

Really guys, we know you hate them, many of you since shill gate, and a bunch have jumped on the bandwagon since, we get it, a simple be aware of possible QC issues should do. Yes NEA/BLC has a reputation for QC problems, so does, Savage, Remington, Mossberg, Stag, etc., etc.

OP most of this is solid advice, just don't let the Anti-Fanboys make you feel bad about your purchase, if everything fit, and it fits on an upper from another brand you are fine, and so is your Rifle.
 
It makes more sense to use the money to buy good optics and ammo, shoot the hell out of the NEA until it breaks and then buy a complete new rifle.
 
Put a least half a case down range get an idea what you like and don't like before you start replacing things, replacing things based on other people' opinions online is a good way to end up with bunch of aftermarket parts and wasting a lot of money.
 
Well I definitely have a lot of reading and thinking to do now, thanks to all of you who replied.


Originally the 'replace piece by piece' concept came from figuring it would let me test out the new stuff, but what some of you have mentioned makes me realize I need to adjust my thinking about the process because while the "Adult Lego" analogy is apt, it's not entirely accurate since you mentioned there could be trouble with getting things to fit just right, and so on. It kinda reminds me of building a computer, which I have experience with. Most parts are compatible, but just because they fit together doesn't mean they're going to work to their optimum efficiency unless everything is configured right and is of similar quality.

I think what I'll end up doing in the end, is keeping my new acquisition pretty much pristine when it comes to modifications. I'll still learn plenty from using and cleaning it, and eventually stripping it down completely, that I'll be getting valuable insight into what I want to build, and how to build it (though it's not like I'm not going to crack open some books before I start building one).

And that "One Lower, Many Uppers"' method is one I'll definitely remember when it comes to building a new AR.



I definitely have a lot to learn, that's for sure, since I never used to be interested in the AR platform at all until rather recently. When I was young and stupid I decided I liked the AK's aesthetics more, but last year when everybody was buying one I started looking, hearing about all kinds people and stores selling them for cheap. And while I never did buy anything then, I suppose I caught the 'bug' at that moment. When it comes to AR's lot has changed over the years too, as most of you likely know, with the amount of options available for people who want to buy or build an AR, it's gone far beyond the 'classic' M16 look and design with the carry handle and fixed full stock. These days an AR can be personalized in almost any way the owner desires, and from what I've been noticing there's a lot more 'fun' options now. From the simple dust cover with writing or a picture on it, and Lowers that have alternate labels for the selector settings, to those that are molded in the shape of helmets and other interesting (heh, or cringeworthy) shapes.
 
greentips said:
It makes more sense to use the money to buy good optics and ammo, shoot the hell out of the NEA until it breaks and then buy a complete new rifle.
Click to expand...

The first upgrade on an AR15 should almost be a great trigger.
It can always be reinstalled in/move to another rifle later on.
For most shooters, triggers and only then sighting systems are the most important upgrades.

There are always exceptions such as those who learned to shoot with iron sights!
Alex
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom