How to build an AR15?

[ChuckMK23]

I was just at a gun show, and a vendor had a RRA lower for $150...now I'm wondering if I should have bought it, or if I can generally find a lower price ? It was the second day of the gun show, so most of the vendors that had stripped lowers were sold out.
There are always more gun shows, and I'm hoping that the next one will have more competitive prices.

Getting a good quality stripped lower is not a big deal. A simple FFL transfer at most. There are plenty on the market, new in box. DoubleStar ? JT Distributing is a great example of a solid stripped lower that retails for around $110.

Chuck

 

[RockyMtnNFO]

So I am just about ready to grab an RRA 15: Flattop, railed fore end, collapsable stock etc.

It's going to be right around a grand and I am wondering if it is that much better than something that I can build myself with a kit.

BTW, the one I am looking at has a 1:9 twist rate and I want to shoot the heavier ammo. Should I get the 1:10? What is the big difference?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Steve

 

[MasterBates]

@ Steve

You can build yourself for probably $750 with a good trigger and some other gucci stuff as well built in.

Can't speak to the Twist. I am not that well versed.

 

[A4sForever]

.... BTW, the one I am looking at has a 1:9 twist rate and I want to shoot the heavier ammo. Should I get the 1:10? What is the big difference?.....

What is the right twist rate for an AR15/M16 barrel? The below is something from Olympic Arms. It will give you a good idea of what you should look at.

• [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]
• 1x7
  Technically too tight of a twist for any .223 bullet widely available, including the 80 grain. Manufactured originally to stabilize SS109 and/or tracer ammo, but further military testing has shown other twists to be superior. Some of the very heavy custom stuff (87 grain?) may work well, but why?
• 1x8
  Great twist for 69-80 grain bullets. Sierra once informed me that the perfect twist for their 80gr was 1x8.2xxxxx (blah blah blah big long engineers explanation followed).
• 1x9
  Good all around twist ratio. Best suited for 52-69 grain, but either end of the envelope will be questionable.
• 1x10
  Practically the same as 1x9, but favors the lighter side a little more.
• 1x12
  Great for the 40-52 grain bullets. Most often found on bolt action rifles as their primary use is varminting. All right for the 55 grain, but not the best.
• 1x14
  If you want to under stabilize the .223 bullet, use this twist. Useless except for tumbling effect it causes upon bullet impact. IMHO, better to shoot straight with a good HP bullet as your chances to hit are better and damage will most likely be greater also.[/FONT]

 

[ChuckMK23]

Concur with both above - 1 x 9 is excellent. I built a full 20" rifle for under $550. An M4 profile with 16" 1 x 9 barrel could be easily put together for same price. J&T Distributing for the kit then add maybe a RRA stripped lower for $100. The build tutorial on ar15.com are bullet proof - and you'll gain some excellent knowledge on your new rifle!

 

[raptor10]

Has anybody had any experience with these Essential Arms Forged Lowers for $77.00?

When it sounds to good to be true...

 

[theblakeness]

1x9 also happens to be the most common twist found among ARs

 

[WishICouldFly]

Has anybody had any experience with these Essential Arms Forged Lowers for $77.00?

When it sounds to good to be true...

They're 86 now...a friend told me he heard good things about them...so that's like Hearsay x 2? I'm thinking about getting one, I'll let you know if I do.

 

[mb1k]

@ Steve

You can build yourself for probably $750 with a good trigger and some other gucci stuff as well built in.

Can't speak to the Twist. I am not that well versed.

MB and others currently incarcerated in south Texas, have you thought about coming by the Coastal Bend Shooters matches on Sundays? Great guys, good courses of fire, carbine, and revolvers also have their weekends too.

PM me and I'll fill you in.

 

[WishICouldFly]

Anyone try Wolf Military Classic ammo? Apparently it's the old lacquered stuff, which doesn't seem to be the culprit that causes the fouling and sticking in the chamber.
Anyways, 500 rounds of Wolf MC at ammunitiontogo.com for around 125 without shipping.
1000 for about 240.

On a separate note, I have a DPMS stripped lower coming in in a few days, and am probably going to put an order in for a rifle kit from Del-Ton tonight.
Total cost is looking at around 850.

 

[p1brule]

I put together a Del-Ton upper w/ a DPMS lower recently. I'll post some pics soon. Very impressed with the quality of the parts. I also went for a few extra toys on it.

 

[MasterBates]

And it took what? 45 minutes to do? Even with the field expedient bic-pen spring.

 

[FMRAM]

Okay,

So the summer is fast approaching, and I'm going to have loads of extra time this summer. As a result I'm looking to get a gun that I can take out for some target shooting. I'm thinking an ar15 is an ideal gun for this purpose. Now, I am curious what you guys suggest on parts and who to go through for everything. My budget is roughly $500. Is this reasonable or do I need to look into something else for plinking targets?

FC2(ENS)spyguy how did your build go?

 

[WishICouldFly]

I just got 500 rounds of Wolf MC...I don't even know what to do with them.
My lower is safe in my rifle bag...now I'm waiting on Del-Ton to ship me the rifle kit

Kind of a dumb question: Why can't an AR-15 be switched to SAFE after the hammer has been dropped (i.e. after a dry-fire)? Is it a safety measure or just mechanical/technical?

 

[MasterBates]

Its a technical thing. Look how the trigger/safety works together once you get it together.