Yesterday, I went to the range with a friend to play with my new Sig 226.  He brought along his AR-15 and let me try it out.

WHAT A RUSH!!!  From the third pull on that trigger, all I can think is "I got to have one!"

I stopped at a gun shop on the way home and bought the best lower receiver they had, which was a Mag Tactical Systems magnesium unit for $180.
I want to take my time with this build and use high quality components top to bottom.  I found this web site last night and have been reading through it and I have a couple of questions.

First, have I screwed up already?  I have seen no mention of Mag Tactical Systems anywhere on this site, although I haven't even read a tenth of what is here.  Did I buy a piece of junk that is going to doom my build from the start?

Second, If you were in my shoes and wanted to build a top end AR-15, what components would you use?

Thanks in advance for any input.  I am looking forward to being an active member of this forum as I explore my new hobby.

First, welcome to the site.  Second, IMO a lower is a lower unless it is polymer.  Some will disagree with me on that, but to each their own.

As for advise, take it easy, there are plenty of youtube videos and build instructions out there.  Main thing is to get the right tools for the job, get armorer's wrench, a vice, receiver blocks, etc.

As for high end, yes you can spend several thousand.  But you can shoot just as well with an $800 AR.  Get a good one to learn on with a good optic and go from there once you know what you like.  No reason to spend $2-3k to not like it.

Slow down and take your time.

Read lots of posts here on ar15.com

You may think you need something and thousands of dollars later you realize that was stupid.

I noticed Mag Tac says their receiver has extra wall thickness at the hammer and trigger pin holes, and requires / ships with (proprietary?) extra long trigger pins. Definitely wanna use those and never be put in a position to have to use standard (shorter) pins. They need to fit flush on both sides of the receiver so you can tell immediately if they ever start walking out. Standard pins used in that receiver could walk to the point of your fire control components coming loose and flopping around before you even notice they're a bit loose. If you lose or break (do they ever break??) a trigger/hammer pin on a standard lower, you can get a new one from 10,000 different places. You might wanna find out about sourcing those extended pins and consider having extra on hand if they are in fact single source.

EDIT: To be clear just in case I wasn't: I'm not implying that a new pin solves an actual case of pin-walking. That's a separate issue for other more experienced gun tweaks to address if it ever arose. Here I am only asserting that proper length (flush-fitting) pins, aside from being just plain necessary to constitute a soundly constructed firearm, provide a screaming obvious indicator should they start to become loose, regardless the ultimate cause or fix. This is just heads-up trivia for your brain bag so you know what you have. The up side seems to me is that, worst case scenario (SHTF plus sudden-onset pinwalking) those extra long pins could walk an awful lot before disabling the gun. Shove 'em back in during reloads and GTG.

Welcome and happy BRD diagnosis day!

If you need any help with building one, I and many others here will be willing to help. I have many videos showing how to build/assemble your AR and all of them can be found on my YouTube channel, youtube.com/nsz85 - I have enough videos to allow you to build from start to finish. My videos have helped a tremendous amount of people who are getting started. Let me know if there is anything I can offer advice on!

Happy building,
- Nate

He speaks the truth. Even low end AR's are a lot of fun to shoot at the range. I tend to think basic is better, but a lot of people here disagree. You don't have to spend more than 800 to get into the game with a NICE rifle right now.

Welcome aboard. There is nothing wrong with your choice of lower, Just not my taste. Take your time and READ READ READ! Start shopping around for the more expensive parts and try to judge what is the best price to buy. Remember black friday is coming up. Ask BEFORE you buy, not after. State what your goal for the gun is and price wise etc when posting ?s, it makes it easier for us to give you more accurate advice And then read some more.

Welcome, my story is similar.  Although, I went store bought for my first rifle...  I knew right away that I wanted to build as well.  I had a 16" typical flat top carbine style rifle so I wanted something different so I built an SPR.  It's an 18" H Barrel, billet upper and lower, etc.  I stayed with parts that I felt were in the "better" range, cost was right at $1100 not including optics.  Now I'm working on a 14.5 CQC build.  I've started picking up parts and on paper it's about $1000.

I like my store bought rifle just fine and it shoots great, but I love shooting my build.  So much so that the DPMS rarely comes out now.  There just more enjoyment for me shooting "my" rifle.

The MAG is fine, it's a lightweight design but very common.  As above, order an extra set of trigger pins since they are proprietary.  If it helps, I am leaning towards a MAG lower for my CQC build.

As you browse ARFCOM, try to figure out what you want your rifle to be.  A clone, an indoor CQC, an outdoor long range shooter, etc.  That's what you need to know to buy the right parts...  ASK QUESTIONS  

Thanks for all of the responses.

I have taken everyone's advice and stepped away long enough for a chill pill to kick in.

I have ordered an armorer's tool and roll pin punches.  Has anyone ever used a "Flipper" from Panther Arms?  Supposedly, it works as a vice block
for both the upper and lower receivers.

Nate, I have found your videos.  You have done a great job!  They are going to be a big help.  Thank you.

Great info on the extended pins for the lower receiver.  I was wondering why they were included.

I am just going to take some time to continue my research until I feel confident moving forward.

This really is a great site!

Thanks, again.
Troy

The flipper would be a waste of money in my eyes, it will work fine for lower receiver work but never use that thing for anything other than dusting off your upper, is not made to assemble/dismantle an upper and you will end up with busted upper at the least performing some operations. For assembling or other major upper work your going to want either a clam shell type, 2 piece top and bottom type (that slides onto the top rail of the upper and pins into the takedown lugs) or a reaction rod type tool. You'll also need v- blocks or some other sort of barrel vice blocks mainly for muzzle device work but also for other random tasks that they come in handy for.


As far as what I'd do in your position right now, whatever's lower parts kit without trigger is cheapest and of decent lineage, geissle ssa-e, damage industries ecs stock, bcm buffer tube kit, bcm elw 16" with kmr13 (and I think they're still coming with free bcg and comp), magpul pro front and rear sights, aimpoint pro and a Rainier raptor charging handle. Swap grip to whatever you like (magpul moe+ in my case).

I'd personally also put a v7 ambi short throw selector, end plate/castle nut, seekins bolt catch and mag release button, bcm keymod qd sling attachment, blue force gear vcas sling with s/s damage industries qds, wolffe XP buffer spring and h2 buffer from wherever had best deal.

And I think that just about does it. Good luck on your adventure into brd, it brings much joy  and many smiles. Follow nates videos (very detailed and excellent information contained in every one I've seen posted along with very nice camera work not seen all to often in these kind of videos), read and research parts before you buy them, ask as many questions as you need to here and you'll come out the other side unscathed and the owner of a brand new self gratifying bad ass home built stick that you'll be proud as shit of. Then shoot it till you need to ask how to rebarrel it.

Oh yeah, buy every magazine (good alum. Or pmag, lancer) that you can afford too.