I was wanting to either build, or preferably buy a lightweight AR pistol (upper & lower).
This ultralight build is my inspiration.

Tactical Yellow Visor Ultralight SBR

I like the 10.5 & 11" barrels, don't really want to go shorter than that due to concerns over reliability and ballistics.
If it ends up being 26" overall length, I wont mind because that will allow me the option to use a vertical grip (I think)
but if I am unable to use a vertical or angular forward grip it wont bother me.

(I've never owned an AR before, and this will be my go-to weapon once I am comfortable with it's performance.)
The problem is, I'm kind of a cheap bastard, but I've never built an AR before, and I don't have any of the "build tools".

I'm worried about warranties (not really having a warranty if I build it) and expense (if I buy a complete upper and lower).
I know it will probably be cheaper if I build it, but I don't have experience on my side.
If I knew where to buy a complete upper that was very light and a complete lower that was very light, I would just buy that, but I'm in the dark on that at this point.

It is mandatory that the lower is registered as a pistol (this will be getting the SB15 arm brace).
But please don't suggest anything that involves me buying an SB15 arm brace over the net. Im leary of the "approved" status this device received.
I think it could end up being just another trap to try and capture customer information, so I will be looking for one to buy in a face-to-face transaction.

Oh, and one more thing, I want to be able to drop in a .22lr kit.
What should I do?

Halp! Pleeze!

PSA has a pistol build kit for sale right now, includes everything but your stripped lower for 480.00
http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/psa-10-5-5-56-hammer-forged-pistol-kit.html

I had some problems getting your link to load, but I managed to find what you were talking about
Thanks.
I've never done business with PSA though. Are they good to go?

Food for thought. If you go to a 11 1/2 barrel, you could pin on a long FH and make it a legal rifle if you don't like it as a pistol. The lower should be registered as 'Other' when you pick it up.



PSA is good, although they sometimes are a little slow in the shipping dept.



 

I dunno man.. your chasing ounces.

Voodoo ultra light barrel.
Midwest rail

I would think more about weight distribution than anything.

Voodoo Ultralight 11.5" barrel

WOW!
Well, then I feel kinda stupid for splurging on the PSA deal right off the bat.
I did some reading and figured out that they like to drag ass sometimes, so I figured it would be better to get it started sooner rather than later.
I know that pistol wont be the uberlight creation that first inspired this thread, but it will give me something to play with while I do my research, etc.
5lbs seems like a holy grail at this stage of the game.
And thanks for the headsup on this pic threads. I'm off to check them out now.

Why "Other" instead of "Pistol"?
Was that just a follow-on sentence to add to the part about being able to make it into a rifle if I decide I want to?

"other" is what a STRIPPED lower should be classified as when purchased. because its not a rifle nor a pistol, it is a receiver.

I'm just guessing if you go ball to the walls lightweight.  Reason being is if you check the lightweight pic thread there are a few full on carbine builds that are pushing the 5.1 to 5.2 lb mark.  So I'm guessing those few inches off the barrel would give you the ounces you need to put it under 5 lbs if you follow the builds in that thread.

 

I just finished literally tonight... my 7.5 voodoo Evo ultra light barrel build with a Fortis 9 inch rail and its retarded silly.
6lbs

Its light enough.... hellooo muzzle sweep!

I think I might pass on the alloy lowers for now. maybe I'll try one in the future.

In the meantime I'd love to hear any other suggestions your guys have for a stripped aluminum lower and where to get it from.

What is your preference on billet vs. forged for this sort of gun?

Forged lower all the way....
They tend to be lighter/stronger/cheaper.

As far as brand, if they are in specification, no major difference other then cost/ascetics.  (It's a hunk of aluminum, with five critical interfaces.  They just check them against a steel jig to make sure they are in spec at the decent brands, and with the bad ones they don't check them with a jig, so some are in and some are not.)

I do like it when I can get a lower partially assembled for the same price as a stripped lower, not that they are hard to do or anything, but it increases the chances that the junk was already recycled.

Yeah, that would be nice, but I haven't seen those yet.
Then again, I'm already going to end up with at least 1 pistol buffer tube that I wont need because I will be swapping it out for the KAK pistol tube that has the flange for an SB15 brace.
I ordered that PSA pistol kit so I will actually have everything except for the stripped lower.
...okay, so I need a forged, stripped lower, but still not sure which direction to go with that.
Do I try for something that might have a higher re-sale value? (Do used lowers even sell like that?)
Or do I do something really wild and goofy like this CARNIK CON Gun dragon lower?
I'm open to opinion at this point. I really am having a hard time deciding.
Does anybody sell a good forged lower with the Ace of Spades on it? All I could find was a goofy looking billet lower.
Probably a better question is: does anybody (who doesn't have problems with Customer service and prompt shipping) having a sale on forged stripped lowers?
I doubt I'll be able to do any better than the Spike's lower at Aim's.

There is no "resale value" on self assembled pistols essentially.   So don't get too excited about it.  Pick what you want/like.

Spikes makes nice product.   Aeroprecision makes some that might also make you happy.   Some do make those partially assembled lowers I am talking about too.  The sale prices on those often hit the same prices as the not on sale prices of the stripped lowers. (Core15, Delton, CMMG, Spikes for instance all did it at one point)

I think the "Ace of Spades" is a trademark of one of the manufacturers so that may be hard to come up with unless it's one of their lowers.

I can already tell I'm going to get addicted to these handy little guns, so I'll just get the Spikes and be set to build this one while I look for more information for the next one.

So about how long does it usually take for PSA to send a complete upper kit?
I waited several days and now my order status says "processing". I don't really wanna call or email to ask because I'm sure that will do nothing but slow them down.
I ordered some other stuff I needed for the build and I imagine that stuff will probably come in before the PSA upper, but by how much time will the difference be?

Expect 3 to 6 weeks...
Be very happy if it ships in 1 or 2.

So while I wait on my parts to arrive from PSA, I might as well start gathering my build tools and all of the special cleaning accoutrements that go with AR ownership.

I appreciate all the help I've received so far, and I'd love to hear any suggestions you may have for me on this side topic while we wait.

What I would like to do is order as many parts/tools (without splurging on the non-essentials) from one place as I can, so I can save on shipping.

Thanks in advance.

FWIW the pistol parts I ordered last Friday from PSA (yeah I couldn't not either) shipped last night and I have a tracking number for them.

I wouldn't get too hung up on 'F2F' purchase of the brace.  Just go to ebay and you can get them for $100-$110 shipped to your door.   If the BATF changes its mind about their legality it doesn't matter where you bought it, you'll still be a felon if you get caught with it on there.  

And you can also go to your local drugstore and pick up a VanillaVisa card, put $120 on it, go their web site and put a zip code on it so you can make online purchases and then order it from any vendor online.  You can use any name and address you like; obviously the address has to be one that will accept your package and give it to you and the zip code has to match the one you assigned to the card.   Have it shipped to a non-gun owner friend or relative, tell them you dont' want your wife/husband/girl/boyfriend to see it.  

After all the damn data theft going on, Target, Wideners etc, I only use VanillaVisa cards for online purchases.   Worst case if the vendor gets hacked they'll try to get data in the name of my dogs who apparently are building a stockpile against a zombie uprising or something.  Stupid dogs.  

That's some pretty funny shit right there.
Hopefully, I'll have the same good luck with this PSA order that you did.
And I got impatient and just ordered the damn pistol brace.
I wasn't so worried about being about to stay under the radar and keep the device on my gun if things go that way, I just didn't want to go through some kind of ordeal where they decide that they want all my personal information so they can....well god knows what with that information.
In other words, I just don't like to do anything that could get me singled out. Oh well, too late now. LOL.
I'll remember your suggestion about the pre-loaded gift cards though. I thought the gubmint made the credit card companies stop selling those.

reason for editing: I zigged when I should have zagged.

So that was friday April 11th?

So I was planning on using this Troy 9" rail but I am open to suggestions for something else if it were less weight (or better for some other reason).

Also, I was wondering if anybody could recommend a good .22lr kit for this build.

Half the weight and cheaper....https://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/detail&product_id=2964

Wow! Thanks!
Yeah, I'm glad I asked.


So about that .22lr kit...

I just saw this but I'll post my light-weight build for you.  I've been keeping track of weights but it's sort of gotten away from me, so until all the parts actually get delivered I'm guessing I'll be about 5 1/2lbs total.

Mag Tactical lower (now available for $80 from Brownells)
Thordsen Custom pistol stock
MI keymod 10" keymod rail
Green Mtn 11.5" stainless barrel that I'll turn the end down to lighten it up a bit more.  Could get a lighter barrel from BCM for more money, or the CHF barrel for even more money.  They would both be pretty nice too.
Aero Precision std upper, I'm waiting for Mag Tac to get on the ball with the upper sans FA and also be caught up on deliveries a bit, and maybe drop the price a bit too.  Thinking maybe next year on all that.
No buis yet, but I did get a Trijicon RMR and ADM mount
Bolt will either be a titanium or JP LMOS.  The JP is about $100 cheaper...
I ordered a blank gas block so I don't have to deal with an adjustable block but still can limit gas to the carrier.  I'll start with a 0.06" hole or so, USGOV testing in 1968 showed that 0.067" was the better size, but I'm using lightweight carrier so I might start a bit small.
Giessle (sp?) trigger


The Thordsen stock will be a bit heavier than it could be, but moving the weight to the back will really help balance it anyway.

I still need a muzzle device and I'd like one that would redirect sound forward, but all of those style are pretty heavy so I haven't made up my mind yet.

Thanks, SCW! I'm gonna go with that MI keymod unless somebody can point me to something even lighter (not carbon fiber).

I know this is kinda weird, but I may need to wait on a aftermarket handguard for now.

What I really need first and foremost is a good source for the Aimpoint T1 with a lightweight mount.
Anybody read any good sales lately?

So my stuff finally came in and I got it put together.
Everything looks good. I just hope it runs well. I used the PSA buffer and spring that came with the kit, but I swapped out the standard PSA pistol buffer tube for a KAK tube.
Do you think I should have used a different buffer/spring?

What would I have to do to get that MI Handguard onto my PSA pistol upper?

I finally ordered the rail from midwest and a sight to go on it.
I'll post pics when it comes in.