Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

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The Annoyed Man
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#31

Post by The Annoyed Man »

dino9832 wrote:Okay, so a decent AR can be had for $500.
How much more "joy" could be had for $700 total? It's kind of like bicycles.
There's a point of diminishing returns at a certain cost point I'm sure.

Again, thanks for all the helpful advice! This has been a really good community.
For $700, you could get a nicer AR. But here’s the thing with ARs.... they are legos for adults. You can save your $200 for some kind of upgrade down the road after you’ve shot the thing for a while. For instance, that $200 would go most of the way way to getting you an inexpensive but decent optic for it.

For instance, the Primary Arms 1-6x24 ACSS optic runs $289: http://www.primaryarms.com/pa1-6x24sfp-acss-5-56
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#32

Post by allisji »

dino9832 wrote:Okay, so a decent AR can be had for $500.
How much more "joy" could be had for $700 total? It's kind of like bicycles.
There's a point of diminishing returns at a certain cost point I'm sure.

Again, thanks for all the helpful advice! This has been a really good community.
I agree with TAM, and would add that how you spend that $200 would depend on if you are going to be using for plinking, home defense, competition, etc.

If for home defense you can add a Streamlight TLR-2, if for plinking/hunting you can add a 1-6 rifle scope like the one above, if for competition you can upgrade the BCG/charging handle/trigger etc.
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#33

Post by dino9832 »

Excellent advice! Good Optics can go on just about any rifle. They shouldn't wear out, and will probably be with you long after the rifle has been traded or replaced.
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#34

Post by Liberty »

I have the Ruger AR556. It's behaved flawlessly and is accurate. Good fit to finish. Magpul furniture and magazine. One thing about Ruger their customer service is excellent, and if you have any problems, they will make it right.

Only nigs are, Although it comes with a bayonet lug it is unusable because it's set too far back from the muzzle. The takedown pins are a little tight at first although after a few disassemblies it loosened up.

To be honest, I never expected to like it as much as I do, but it turned out to be a fun gun to shoot.

Best of luck regardless of what choice you make
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#35

Post by The Annoyed Man »

dino9832 wrote:Excellent advice! Good Optics can go on just about any rifle. They shouldn't wear out, and will probably be with you long after the rifle has been traded or replaced.
What will probably happen is that, rather than selling/trading that carbine away, you’ll end up upgrading it component by component. A few years later, you will still have all the original parts, but they’ll be in different rifles, and you’ll find that you have six of them in your safe, not entirely sure how that happened. :lol: I started off by buying a Bushmaster 24” varminter sometime in late 2007, because it was on sale at a Sportsman’s Warehouse. I think I paid somewhere around $950 or $1000 for it. I decided my next one would be a home-built.

My first AR build went like this: I bought a DPMS stripped lower, a DPMS lpk, and a milspec 1:9 contract barreled upper consisting of an ER Shaw M4 profile barrel with an A2 front sight/gasblock and A2 birdcage flashhider, in a Cerro Forge upper receiver.....that didn’t even have the M4 cuts in it. I bought a DPMS BCG and milspec charging handle, and (one of the more expensive and better quality parts) a A.R.M.S. #40 LP flip up rear sight.

That thing was a real frankencarbine, a real mongrel dog. But to put things in perspective, I built that thing during the 2007/2008 presidential campaign, and it was looking like Obama was going to clean McCain’s clock; and AR15s and AR parts were shooting up in price, and getting more scarce, I think I spent about $700 on it. Today, you can have that fully equipped Ruger - a better rifle - for $500. So times have changed.

The first things to go on that mongrel carbine were the plastic handguards. I replaced them with a cheap UTG quad rail. Then I replaced the UTG quad rail with a Yankee Hill Machine free float rail. That meant that the front sight/gasblock had to go and I had to add a YHM flip up front sight. Then I replaced the entire receiver set with a billet set in FDE from SWAT Firearms (Campbell Texas) because I got a killer deal on the set. Of course, a billet receiver set in FDE demanded an upgraded buttstock in FDE, so I swapped out the cheap 6 pos basic stock for a VLTOR EMOD stock in FDE. Of course, that required a Magpul MIAD/MOE pistol grip in FDE to match. I topped of that round of changes by swapping out the M4 profile barrel for a 16” HBAR and a Smith Enterprises Vortex flash hider.

And I haven’t even mentioned the changes to optics on that one firearm......which, by the way, no longer looks as described above either. Now, it’s a 18” barreled DMR with a match grade 1:8 heavy profile stainless full floated barrel with rifle-length gas system, capped with a Griffin taper mount for a suppressor. The handguard is a lightweight Samson Evolution rifle length keymod item. The optic is a 1-6.5x24 Bushnell Elite Tactical SMRS scope with a first focal plane reticle.

Please note, at this point, there is literally NOTHING on this AR that was on the original, except for the lower parts kit, the buffer tube, and the buffer assembly. I mean, it doesn’t even have the same serial number. I kept all the parts, a few were eventually sold, and the rest were put to good use. What good use, you ask? I decided to build an M4 carbine for my wife one day. The old receiver set, barrel, A2 flashhider, A2 front sight, an old EOTec and 3X magnifier, a new Magpul MOE stock and handguard, and a new LPK, BCG and buffer assembly. She’s happy. I’m happy. Somehow, ARs disappear into my safe and make baby ARs.

Now, technically, the “firearm” is the lower receiver half, so this fancy DMR rifle is legally NOT the same rifle as the AR I started building back in 2007. That honor would belong to the carbine that I built a couple of years later for my wife out of the discarded forged receiver set. But if you think of an AR as legos, it IS the same firearm.......it just has all new parts, including the newer serial numbered billet lower receiver. :mrgreen:

THIS is the addiction you will be looking forward to. Have fun with it. If you ever get desperate and want out, someone here will buy you out. "rlol"

Oh, and the original Bushmaster? I sold it about 5 years ago. I wish I hadn’t. That thing had a sweet 2-stage competition trigger with a 1.5 lb letoff. I would have just rebarred it, restocked it, rescoped it, etc., etc., yada yada, and built another one out of the old parts. See how it works?
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#36

Post by SQLGeek »

S&W does sell an M&P15 Sport II with a front sight base and Magpul BUS rear sight. I compared the Ruger and M&P side by side and went with the M&P. I didn't care for some of the parts on the Ruger including their rear sight. But at that price, you really can't go wrong with either. I will eventually replace the grip, stock and handguards on mine but it's not an immediate necessity.

If you were to go a little higher, the Colt 6920 Trooper is a fantastic rifle. You would need to put sights or an optic on it but for the money, it's hard to beat.
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#37

Post by dino9832 »

The Annoyed Man wrote: What will probably happen is that, rather than selling/trading that carbine away, you’ll end up upgrading it component by component. A few years later, you will still have all the original parts, but they’ll be in different rifles, and you’ll find that you have six of them in your safe, not entirely sure how that happened. :lol: I started off by buying a Bushmaster 24” varminter sometime in late 2007, because it was on sale at a Sportsman’s Warehouse. I think I paid somewhere around $950 or $1000 for it. I decided my next one would be a home-built....
Oh great, what you're describing sounds like a full blown addiction. What's worse is had I read what you said this morning, I wouldn't have had a clue what you were talking about. And after less than 24hrs I actually understand quite a bit of what you're saying! :eek6
I think I've stepped into a dark side of the world of firearms. :lol: And what better of a time to discover it! :patriot: I've got at least 4 years to put together something nice. Or two somethings. Or....
SQLGeek wrote:S&W does sell an M&P15 Sport II with a front sight base and Magpul BUS rear sight. I compared the Ruger and M&P side by side and went with the M&P. I didn't care for some of the parts on the Ruger including their rear sight. But at that price, you really can't go wrong with either....
I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for a Ruger, S&W, or DPMS in the San Antonio area! :mrgreen:
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#38

Post by SQLGeek »

dino9832 wrote:
Oh great, what you're describing sounds like a full blown addiction.
It even has a name. Black Rifle Disease. :lol:
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#39

Post by cyphertext »

SQLGeek wrote:S&W does sell an M&P15 Sport II with a front sight base and Magpul BUS rear sight.
Yep, the one TAM posted is the Sport Optics Ready Carbine... They also have a Sport with Magpul furniture from the factory.

If I was buying a $500 AR, the Sport would be my choice. Good basic carbine for not much money.

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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#40

Post by dino9832 »

SQLGeek wrote: It even has a name. Black Rifle Disease. :lol:
If I buy a pink one, does that mean I'm not addicted?..lol.
cyphertext wrote:...Yep, the one TAM posted is the Sport Optics Ready Carbine... They also have a Sport with Magpul furniture from the factory....
Would it be more economical to get the Magpul furniture on the Sport from the factory? Seems like it would be. But, not necessarily.
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#41

Post by bblhd672 »

dino9832 wrote:
SQLGeek wrote: It even has a name. Black Rifle Disease. :lol:
If I buy a pink one, does that mean I'm not addicted?..lol.
cyphertext wrote:...Yep, the one TAM posted is the Sport Optics Ready Carbine... They also have a Sport with Magpul furniture from the factory....
Would it be more economical to get the Magpul furniture on the Sport from the factory? Seems like it would be. But, not necessarily.
The Sport II I have came with flip up rear Magpul and front A2 sight on barrel. The only thing I’ve done for upgrades is a new hand guard and better optic. The optic cost me more than the rifle! Add slings, quantities of magazines and thousands of rounds of ammo the rifle price fades to the background!
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#42

Post by jason812 »

SQLGeek wrote:
dino9832 wrote:
Oh great, what you're describing sounds like a full blown addiction.
It even has a name. Black Rifle Disease. :lol:
Unfortunately, my disease has spread. I'm gathering info and parts list to change the trigger mechanism on a pistol (not a 1911 and not a pistol people think about customizing, I will post a separate thread with the results when finished or failed).

I'm afraid my illness will go full blown and eventually end up in the realm of putting together a custom 1911. :fire

I do not believe there is a cure... but if there was, I think I would refuse treatment.
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#43

Post by dino9832 »

Something I hadn't thought about, but is certainly worth pondering is how firearms were confiscated during the Katrina disaster.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... nfiscation

I'm not saying that a high end AR isn't something you'd want to have around, but there may be situations where you don't want to take your best toys out! This could be as simple as having to leave your AR in the car for awhile. Let's face it, some places (like work) frown upon violin cases with NRA stickers..lol.

Putting money is a good scope is a safe bet. A scope can be removed and pocketed. Authorities would have a hard time questioning your choice of monocular. Any of the other parts would be harder to justify hanging on to.
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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#44

Post by The Annoyed Man »

dino9832 wrote:Something I hadn't thought about, but is certainly worth pondering is how firearms were confiscated during the Katrina disaster.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... nfiscation

I'm not saying that a high end AR isn't something you'd want to have around, but there may be situations where you don't want to take your best toys out! This could be as simple as having to leave your AR in the car for awhile. Let's face it, some places (like work) frown upon violin cases with NRA stickers..lol.

Putting money is a good scope is a safe bet. A scope can be removed and pocketed. Authorities would have a hard time questioning your choice of monocular. Any of the other parts would be harder to justify hanging on to.
This is why, unless I lived in a very rural area, I would not consider anything more expensive than a basic carbine of some kind with a not too expensive optic as a day to day truck gun. In fact, this is one reason why a basic lever action is a good choice. It’s a kind of “below the radar” item. I like having the cool things I have, but I keep the good stuff for range trips, and for when something arises, and it no longer matters. I would for SURE not leave something like a 2-stamp suppressed SBR untended in a vehicle.

OTH, like a folded up Keltec Sub-2000 and a suppressor, with 4 or 5 33-round Glock stick mags would fit nicely in a messenger bag, and it’s legal to carry past ‘06/‘07 signs. :evil2:

Not that I would ever do such a thing.....

But still.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

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Re: Does This AR Custom Build Look Okay?

#45

Post by dino9832 »

The Annoyed Man wrote:....OTH, like a folded up Keltec Sub-2000 and a suppressor, with 4 or 5 33-round Glock stick mags would fit nicely in a messenger bag, and it’s legal to carry past ‘06/‘07 signs. :evil2:
Not that I would ever do such a thing.....
But still.
A Keltec back brace, for medical reasons?..lol. Hey, people tend to not stare at medical hardware.

I found another deal for $750. The issue I'm having is, the ads been up for about a month and nobody's jumped on it. Buying used is a bit nerve wracking for the inexperienced buyer. At least the S/N was visible. I ran it through hotgunz.com and it didn't come back stolen.
Seems like it's too good to be true. But then again, the original build looked that way to me..lol.

Specs:
geissele 3 stage flat line trigger
nickel boron coated BCG
spikes tactical zombie hunter lower
vltor emod stock with upgraded buffer tube
a nice little scope with green laser attached
three 30 round magazines
100 rds of 223
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