Hey y'all, first off if these kinda threads are against the rules or taboo I apologize. Checked around and didn't see anything stating that they were and from what I've seen you guys are pretty easy on us rooks haha. I've been planing on doing a build for a while now but was slightly intimidated about the idea. I've been around guns my entire life and own several, just have very little experience with black rifles. At first I was just going to buy something along the lines of the M&P Sport but after doing some research and browsing this forum, I am much more comfortable with the idea.

Anyways, I wanted to make this thread to make sure that the components I am looking at will suit my needs, will actually work together and that I haven't left anything out. If I had to give myself a budget it would be $700-$800 for the build. I plan on ordering a few parts at a time so it'll be easier to convince my finace manager (fiancée) to approve the purchases. As for use I don't plan on getting into comps anytime soon, just wanting to finally enter the black rifle brotherhood.

Here's what I've put together so far:

Lower

PSA MOE Complete Mil-Spec Lower Build Kit - ODG

Anderson Stripped Lower Receiver

Upper

Brownells Complete Upper Receiver Black Keymod 5.56

Sights

Magpul MBUS Front and Rear Sight Set - ODG

$599.82 before any tax/shipping/FFL fees.

That's the beauty of the AR. Most manufacturers parts will work with most everyone else's.

I'm new to all this myself, but I have no doubt your firearm, when finished correctly, will do it's job.

Whether you'll be happy with things like trigger pull, fitment, looks, accuracy, etc. is a matter of your personal tastes.

And you won't know some of that til you're throwing projectiles down range.

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Aside from that, my only advice, after building my first lower, is to watch several lower build vids on YouTube.

Find a good trick that works for installing the forward take down pin. Or - build a small room with nothing in it and everything painted white.

Those detents are difficult to find when they go flying off at mach 3! And wear safety glasses!

Thanks man!

Yeah I've watched a couple build videos, that was the main thing that got me comfortable doing a build. I'm decently mechanically inclined so I wasn't too worried about the physical aspect of building one, just wasn't too sure about which brands to go with, which to stay away from, what all was needed, etc. Speaking of, what size punches are needed for a basic build? I'm pretty sure I already have what's needed but just wanted to make sure. Also, are barrel wrenches universal or do specific barrels require specific wrenches?

That upper will come already assembled, I do believe. So, you shouldn't need a wrench for that.

However, you will need one for your castle nut. An armorers wrench is needed for that.

Someone else will have to chime in on punch size. I didn't use one on my build.

I used channel lock pliers and pressed my pins in. No scratches or dings. And no hammer marks.

So an armorers wrench and a mag block to put in a vise and I should be good.

Also, anyone use handrail covers? I'm looking for a good ODG colored Keymod cover.