[ARCHIVED THREAD] - $300 AR thread for Spring! (Page 18 of 23)
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Outdoor Sports USA is offering their "Veritas" carbine kit for $256.49 after adding coupon code 2018 for 5% off.
prices ETA-no idea how good they are, it somehow just showed up in my email. Worst case, they're still better than Blackthorne. 
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https://outdoorsportsusa.com/AR-Kits?sort=p.price&order=ASC&limit=100
Not bad. 
Still less expensive than the Royal Tiger kit, even when the sale through the 4th ends. Everyone please note these kits are not assembled - you're gonna need a castle nut wrench to get the buffer tube to stay on, and a barrel nut wrench for the barrel nut to keep the bbl on. Both tools are built into an AR armorer's wrench. |
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Quoted:
https://outdoorsportsusa.com/AR-Kits?sort=p.price&order=ASC&limit=100 Not bad. https://outdoorsportsusa.com/image/cache/Flash%20Deal/1.2/AR-15-OUTDOORSPORTSUSA-0102--FLASH-SALE-7-800x800.jpg Still less expensive than the Royal Tiger kit, even when the sale through the 4th ends. Everyone please note these kits are not assembled - you're gonna need a castle nut wrench to get the buffer tube to stay on, and a barrel nut wrench for the barrel nut to keep the bbl on. Both tools are built into an AR armorer's wrench. |
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Quoted: PSA 16" M4 CARBINE LENGTH 5.56 NATO 1:7 NITRIDE FREEDOM RIFLE KIT - 507617
$299 free shipping Edit: copy pasta aids http://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-16-m4-carbine-length-5-56-nato-1-7-nitride-freedom-rifle-kit-516447301.html |
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This is the rough draft of an email I'm planning to send to my Sabre Defense 6 January 2018 You are receiving this email because at some point I gave you one of these: Attached File Some of you got the Sabre lowers without the factory takedown pins or buttplates. What you have is the lower receiver of an AR-15, which is the part you have to make, or purchase from a Federal Fireams Licensee, or FFL – a gun dealer. It is perfectly legal under federal law for someone to purchase a firearm from an FFL, and then give the firearm to an adult in the same state, who isn’t an alcoholic, drug addict, felon, or wife beater. What I’ve not given most of you are the parts that go into the lower receiver – the trigger, the hammer, the safety, the magazine, the buffer, and the buffer spring. Nor did I give you the upper receiver, which has the important bits like the barrel, the bolt, sights, and the bayonet. You’ll need to buy those or make very specific gift suggestions to your significant other. The least expensive kit that has almost everything you need is available here: https://www.ceratac.com/Carbine-Classic-Kit-80-p/kit-556-c-ck-u-blk.htm There will be some left-over parts, obviously, the stock, pistol grip, buffer tube, takedown pins, detents, and springs, but you’ll use those on your next build – building ARs is addictive, they’re like Lay’s potato chips. You’ll need a barrel wrench to snug the barrel nut onto the upper receiver – I can loan you the wrench, just holler. Or you can have Ceratac assemble the upper for you for $20 extra. Note the upper above doesn’t come w/ sights. You’ll need a red dot sight, a regular scope like on an ordinary hunting rifle, or “iron” sights – usually plastic these days. Ceratac offers plastic iron sights for a $10 upgrade. Cheap red dots are available @ gun shows starting around $35. Fancy MagPul plastic flip up sights will run run you nearly $100 for the set. For those of you who received a lower without takedown pins or buttplate, no, you can’t use them from the kit above. Buttplates are available here: http://www.cavmfg.com/Firearms-Accessories-and-Components_c11.htm?page=all Cavalry Manufacturing also has the takedown pins and buffer pin retaining rollpin. Cavalry Manufacturing uses some of the original molds Cav Arms used to build the original Cav Arms Mk 2 & your Sabre Defense lower. GWACS is the current manufactuer of the Cav Arms Mk 2, and carries the $35 lifetime warranty on your Sabre Defense lower. They sell all the pins you need, and an aluminum buttplate here: http://www.gwacsarmory.com/parts-accessories/ Numirch has an amazing number of gun parts, including a buttplate: https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/555720A Home Depot/Lowe’s also have 1/4” clevis pins of several varieties if you want to skip the $10 expense of dedicated special take down pins. I do recommend you not use screws, as those will engrave the holes in the upper receiver. Lyman also has the traditional Pachmayr slip-on recoil pad – a medium will fit. WalMart sells these or something similar: https://www.lymanproducts.com/brands/pachmayr/recoil-pads/traditional-slip-on-pads.html WalMart: https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&page=1&query=slip-on+recoil+pad&sort=price_low#searchProductResult The marvelous thing about Stoner’s (PBUH) design is that dadgum near anything can be dropped into place on top of a standard lower. As long as the magazine well is in the right place, the hammer hits the right spot, the buffer is in the right place, and the two takedown pins are in the right spot, any AR upper from 1961 to 2042 will fit and work on your lower. Let’s look @ the different type of uppers, and the different calibers they’re available in: Crossbow – yep, you can make a crossbow out of your AR. Muzzleloader - .50” blackpower, you can hunt deer in muzzleloading season: http://tridentarmory.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=9 .410” Shotgun – semi-auto, detachable magazine fed, up to 15 shots. .22” LR – semi-auto, up to 50 round drums – make rabbits or tin cans dance. Available in left-hand eject, which is what I built for the Sinister. .17” HMR – semi-auto, faster than .22” WMR, can hunt on some WMAs that are rimfire only. .17” WSM – semi-auto, up to 3000 fps out of a rimfire, gives you a fast rimfire on WMAs. .17” Remington & .204” Ruger – 4000 fps semi-auto for varmint death. 5.45x39mm – cheap ammo, good defense round, also compatible w/ AKs. .223” Remington/5.56x45mm – current US military round, available from 35 grn for varmints to 85 grn for distance, 1 to 5 to 10 to 60 round magazines, 90 round drums, 150 round twin drums, and two belt-fed uppers available, all semi-auto. Bbls from 2” to 24” available; 16” is the shortest for rifles, unless you pay the $200 SBR tax. Good on rabbits to Texas whitetail, hogs, & burglars; bit light for Texas mulies, bigger whitetails. 6.5mm Grendel/6.8mm SPC Remington – heavier bullets, better on medium game, better distance shooting. Uses special magazines, different from 7.62x39mm ones. .300” AAC Blackout/Whisper – good for medium game, good for suppression, easy to convert from .223”. 7.62x39mm – cheap ammo, compatible w/ AKs, similar ballistics to .300”, but requires special magazines. 9x19mm – cheap pistol ammo, Glock, STEN, or modified Uzi mags; 100 round drums available, belt fed upper available. .40” S&W – pistol ammo; Glock or Olympic mags. Drums available. 10x25mm Norma – pistol ammo; Olympic mags. .45” ACP – pistol ammo; modified Uzi, M3 Grease Gun mags, or proprietary mags. .375” SOCOM – the little brother to the .458”. .450” Bushmaster/.458” SOCOM/.50” Beowulf - .45”-70 ballistics in an AR-15, but semi-auto w/ a 12 round magazine. .50” BMG – Ma Deuce’s fodder in a bolt-action AR. Available w/ a magazine to turn your shoulder into hamburger. There are a LOT of calibers that have been chambered in the AR that I have not mentioned above; all of the above are readily available in complete uppers; some of the more esoteric calibers may not be currently available. If it will fit into the AR, someone has likely built an upper for it – that doesn’t mean you can go on the internet and order one today. If you want something other than .223”/5.56x45mm, call me, and I’ll point you in the right direction. I hope you’re enjoying your lower, and if you’ve not already assembled it, give me a ring and I’ll walk you through what you need. This is the thread on AR15.com that documents the sale by Trinity Ordnance in Lake Worth https://www.trinityordnance.com/ of your lower, and has a lot of additional information, options, and tricks: https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/-250-complete-kits-40-lowers-290-AR-thread-for-the-new-year-/5-2047298/ |
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I took both of mine out on Thursday and ran five mags through each to function test. The one I put the PSA upper on ran fine. The one with the Bear Creek upper had a few issues. I had a couple times where the hammer would drop, but no bang. When I looked at it, the BCG wasn't quite locked in place and a wrap on the forward assist would get it home, but would still have to run the charging handle back as the hammer had fallen. I took it apart and found two of the gas rings were lined up on the gaps, but could not see anything else right off the bat. It was colder than hell, so I did not spend much time trying to figure it out though. When I got home I cleaned it up, lubed it good and will give it another go on the next trip. One thing I will probably do to both of them is chop the stock a bit. Any tips on how to do that? How to do the butt plate once I cut the stock down? I like the looks of the one posted earlier in this thread and I want to do something similar, but being these are budget guns I don't want to send it off to have it done.
Thanks again for the heads up on this deal. It might come back to bight me though. My son saw the zombie green lowers on GWACS and got all excited, and then my daughter saw the pink lower and gave me a big smile. There might be a couple more builds in my future... |
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I believe the current GWACS buttplate is aluminum. You could buy one of those and trim it to fit the smaller area.
What sort of lube did you use on the Bear Creek? How cold was it? My step-daughter took hers to the range and had no issues, but it wasn't that cold when she went. |
30 degrees, with about a 15 mph wind 
I forgot to mention that besides the click no bang, I also had a few fail to extract. Bolt cycled, but left the spent case in the chamber. I cleaned the chamber and tore the bolt down to check things there, but did not see any burrs or anything that would lead to to think there was an issue. I have heard about cold weather causing issues with the rubber o-ring on the extractor spring. I just need to tinker with it a bit. The Bear Creek BC is a bit different than standard, at least the one I got. It is nor completely round like most of them, but the finish on it is nicer than most that I have seen, very smooth. I was using a mix of factory PMC, Federal, Lake City and some reloads, at least a mag of each. Ammo didn't seem to make a difference. |
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Tetra Gun Grease. According to Tetra it is rated down to -100. To be fair I did not do a real good job detail cleaning it before using it, and the stuff that was on it was a bit goopy, so it could have been a combination of that and the cold. Or it might just need to be broken in? I am not too worried about it though. I have had to trouble shoot other guns in the past and with the exception of a junk LCP that Ruger ended up replacing for my wife, I have been able to figure things out on my own. |
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I tore into it more last night and found what I think was the problem. Looking at the bolt, it took substantial prying to get the extractor to move at all. The pin that holds the extractor in place was rough and needed a pretty good rap with a punch / mallet to get it out and back in. The inside edges of the recess in the bolt where the extractor sits were also a bit rough, and the holes for the pin seemed out of spec. A little polishing of things and the extractor now moves freely with a gentile pry of a screwdriver and the pin can be pushed in or out with finger pressure. I won't have a chance to shoot it again for a while to know for sure, but with the extractor being stuck / stiff I can see it failing to fully seat, and if it did slam home hard enough to seat, leaving the extractor stuck "open", thus leaving the case in the chamber. Overall I am happy with the Bear Creek upper and realize little things like this can squeak by, wonder how often it happens with them? I got one of their Veterans Day barrels and it came in a cardboard tube. The muzzle end had managed to punch through during shipping and the edge was beat to hell. I will have to chase the threads when the time comes to build that out. |
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GWACS has cosmetic blems for $85:
http://www.gwacsarmory.com/cav-15-mkii-ar15-stripped-lower-blemmish-ar-15-black/ Unfortunately AR15com as a coupon code has expired. |
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Got my Ceratac kit and used it to finish out my last Sabre lower. Very pleased with everything that went into this sub-$400 build (including the blemished PA red dot). Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread and posted up the good deals over this past few months!
Lower: $48 after shipping for two and transferring both Ceratac carbine build-it-yourself kit with a few upgrades but minus a few obvious parts: $250 PA's new ARDS blemish: $72 after shipping. Total: $370 Just need a sling and a light to be a complete build for the safe. 
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@backbencher
Have you heard anything about lowers being out of spec with regard to the magazine catch location? Right now, mine will not seat a loaded g.i. mag, lancer, or pmag on a closed bolt without pressing it in pretty hard and giving it an extra push. Slamming it hard doesn't work. Mag release button is a bear too, when trying to get the mag out. Tried down loading to 20 or 22 rounds, same deal. Works ok, but not great with an empty mag. Also tried backing the mag catch out and in to see if the tension wasn't right. I'm thinking maybe the gap between the magazine catch and the top of the upper is too short and the magazines are running into the bolt before they engage the mag catch. Any ideas? This will be my favorite ar if I get this fixed
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Quoted: @backbencher
Have you heard anything about lowers being out of spec with regard to the magazine catch location? Right now, mine will not seat a loaded g.i. mag, lancer, or pmag on a closed bolt without pressing it in pretty hard and giving it an extra push. Slamming it hard doesn't work. Mag release button is a bear too, when trying to get the mag out. Tried down loading to 20 or 22 rounds, same deal. Works ok, but not great with an empty mag. Also tried backing the mag catch out and in to see if the tension wasn't right. I'm thinking maybe the gap between the magazine catch and the top of the upper is too short and the magazines are running into the bolt before they engage the mag catch. Any ideas? This will be my favorite ar if I get this fixed Worst comes to worst, GWACS will warranty it for $35 + shipping. Cold comfort I know, when you only have $5 or 20 in the lower. I have one that needs to go back b/c I opened up the safety hole too much. |
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Quoted:
@backbencher Have you heard anything about lowers being out of spec with regard to the magazine catch location? Right now, mine will not seat a loaded g.i. mag, lancer, or pmag on a closed bolt without pressing it in pretty hard and giving it an extra push. Slamming it hard doesn't work. Mag release button is a bear too, when trying to get the mag out. Tried down loading to 20 or 22 rounds, same deal. Works ok, but not great with an empty mag. Also tried backing the mag catch out and in to see if the tension wasn't right. I'm thinking maybe the gap between the magazine catch and the top of the upper is too short and the magazines are running into the bolt before they engage the mag catch. Any ideas? This will be my favorite ar if I get this fixed |
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Quoted: That sounds unusual. I noticed on my GWACS build that a Gen 2 PMag wouldn't activate the LRBHO, but a Gen 3 would. In Sinstral's video, he suggests running through the lower w/ an exacto knife to remove all the flashing left over from the molding process. Might pull out all the bits and run through it like he suggests. Video is on page 2, I think. Worst comes to worst, GWACS will warranty it for $35 + shipping. Cold comfort I know, when you only have $5 or 20 in the lower. I have one that needs to go back b/c I opened up the safety hole too much. My 20&30rd pmags don’t drop free easily and sometimes hold the bolt back |
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I've got 2 cavarms lowers and both have a stiff to move magazine release. I've thought about trying to make a bigger button that fits the hole in the lower better to see if that helps. I think everything is moving around and the release itself is at a different angle, causing the release to be stiff. |
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Quoted:
@backbencher Have you heard anything about lowers being out of spec with regard to the magazine catch location? Right now, mine will not seat a loaded g.i. mag, lancer, or pmag on a closed bolt without pressing it in pretty hard and giving it an extra push. Slamming it hard doesn't work. Mag release button is a bear too, when trying to get the mag out. Tried down loading to 20 or 22 rounds, same deal. Works ok, but not great with an empty mag. Also tried backing the mag catch out and in to see if the tension wasn't right. I'm thinking maybe the gap between the magazine catch and the top of the upper is too short and the magazines are running into the bolt before they engage the mag catch. Any ideas? This will be my favorite ar if I get this fixed |
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I had the same issue with a bear creek 7.62x39 bolt. It almost seemed like the extractor hole was drilled in the wrong place. Extractor would not even snap Over the cartridge on chambering.
It was really out of spec. They replaced it with a better one bcg that works fine. Still much harder than normal to move the extractor or remove the extractor pin. It’s not the o-ring that’s doing it either. Replying to onesureshots post |
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Quoted:
The CAV-15 MKII was designed several years before PMAGs existed. The followers on early gen PMAGs were shorter front to back and the mags themselves were thicker. Gen 3s are usually better without mods to the lower. Thanks for all your input. |
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Quoted:
The CAV-15 MKII was designed several years before PMAGs existed. The followers on early gen PMAGs were shorter front to back and the mags themselves were thicker. Gen 3s are usually better without mods to the lower. |
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Quoted: I know Karl w/ InRangeTV has mentioned there was a MkIII either in design or prototyping. Would you care to comment on what all changes were planned/proposed and if they will ever see the light of day? https://sinistralrifleman.com/2013/01/27/history-of-the-cav-15-polymer-receiver/ GWACS has a new design well past the MKIII that never was, using features I recommended and some others they came up with on their own. Making it happen is a matter of hundreds of thousands in tooling costs. Can't say more than that because I am under NDA. |
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While I think their blem Mk 2 is still a decent deal @ $85 in this market:
http://www.gwacsarmory.com/cav-15-mkii-ar15-stripped-lower-blemmish-ar-15-black/, I think it's a hard sell. You have to walk the dog for someone to add up the price of each item, and the weight of each item, to show the advantages of the Mk 2. The molds are paid for. Plastic is cheap. Primary Arms regularly runs sales of Andersons for $30/ea, 5 max, and when you can buy nearly 3 aluminum lowers for the price of a blem Mk 2, it just doesn't make sense to many people. If you have their ear, point out they could sell a LOT more Mk 2s if they would adjust the price to the current market. |
| $80 MKII pricing seems reasonable with lower, stock, grip and take down pins factored in if its the exact layout you want. The trade off is you loose the ability to modify those features, which are the easiest to modify on a complete gun. People will settle for not being able to change those features for a better price. So...a regular price of $60 through a vendor like Primary Arms and Brownells would probably do really well. |
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$80 MKII pricing seems reasonable with lower, stock, grip and take down pins factored in if its the exact layout you want. The trade off is you loose the ability to modify those features, which are the easiest to modify on a complete gun. People will settle for not being able to change those features for a better price. So...a regular price of $60 through a vendor like Primary Arms and Brownells would probably do really well. |
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FINALLY got one of my 20 put together!
Between work being crazy and having an 8 week old baby at home, finding time to get any gun stuff done has been difficult. Put this one together with a CMMG ambi safety (sometimes shoot lefty if I don't feel like wearing my contact), KE Arms SLT-1 trigger, and ArmaSpec SRS silent captured buffer/spring assembly. It's hosting my 6.5 Grendel upper with 18" BHW nitride barrel w/ 3-poly rifling, SLR bleed-off adjustable gas block, Radical 12" FGS handguard, Primary Arms 4-14 FFP scope, and my Form 1 titanium monocore can (Griffin Micro brake on the barrel). With scope and can, it balances nicely about 1" in front of the magwell. Only touchup necessary was slight hand sanding of the safety selector holes. This will be my primary deer hunting rifle next season. Only thing I need to add is an Impact Weapons Components QD Micro Flush sling mount drilled into the stock. Can't wait to get it out to the range! Attached File |
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Well I've had one of mine put together for a little while now. Took it out this past weekend to try to get a yote but didn't have any luck. Thought I would snap a quick pic to post, and give a rundown. Lower shipped free with purchase of 5. Was $32 after transfer. Had all lower parts other than safety selector spring, ss detent, buffer retainer detent and BR spring. $3 Bought the Bear Creek Upper from Classic for $150 after $20 off coupon killed the shipping. Stag NB BCG. $75 Already had a charging handle laying around. Grabbed the $50 MBUS sights from PSA. Had $310 in it to start with, complete rifle with sights. 
Couldn't stand the shitty Black Rain Ordinanace trigger, so sprung for a hiperfire hipertouch edt2 for $52. I lucked out and was able to snag one of the strike eagles from PSA on the second run for $270. Puts me at $632 as she sits in the pic. Threw an old sling i had laying around on it before we went out to make hoofing it around a little easier. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Thanks for posting the deal OP! 
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