this should be down to a science by now.

i was looking at the matched aero upper and lower,

however a billet upper and lower, how much better is it, and then even a monolithic set up,

what are the serious guys getting best results with, assuming a bartlein or kreiger 24" barrel, or maybe a cheaper 24" barrel

what sucks is to do a build, not have it perform, and then find out "oh, i should have done so and so"

i know a guy who spent 5k on his 308 precision ar10,

maybe this is a seperate thread but    as a do it yourself build,   can a guy really compete with the likes of jp, gap, seekins,  and such save money and build a better product.

i know it depends on the guy i suppose but not so much anymore, these ar's are like legos,   it seems like all you got to do is buy the right stuff,  do a few tweaks hopefully, and it should be 1/2 moa, right?

The barrel is without a doubt the MOST important physical inanimate component of any build.  After that on a personal level, it's free-floated handguard, trigger, quality bcg, and "the rest".  Ammo naturally counts too (for those who would accuse me of forgetting it).

There are, quite literally, thousands upon thousands upon thousands of ARs of all shapes and sizes out there that are capable of MOA or better.

Many don't shoot at that level though, due to the most important part of any build overall....the idiot squeezing the trigger.

Stick with quality, well-known components (Geissele trigger, any handguard that's truly free-floated, and your choice of the well-known barrels like Lilja, Krieger, Criterion, White Oak, hell even Ballistic Advantage makes some really nice stuff) and the RIFLE will be capable of plenty.  Practice is the only way to really get the most out of it.

Use the Aero M5 ENHANCED upper/lower. The most accurate AR10’s (seekins, Larue, GA precision, etc) use a semi monolithic rail setup in which the rail mounts to the upper not the barrel nut. That aspect and barrel quality are the two most important factors in precision AR’s.

Have you considered the Larue UU kit?

Why?

He's going to drop a high end barrel in it.  Don't know why he'd pay the additional cost for a larue barrel he doesn't want.

Eta:  to answer the OP's question...  You can build an equivalent or better rifle, but I don't know if you'll save money.  Building lets you spread the cost over time so it's a bit less painful.  I could've easily bought a JP for what I've got in my build, but I've got a better barrel and a trigger I prefer.

Properly-built AR10s have been setting 1,000-yard team iron-sight service rifle records for a while.

Not including scope, I’m in mine for about $1100.

Its all aero precision minus the barrel, gas block, and trigger. If you wait for their holiday sales or purchase through graniteridgeoutfitters.com or armorally.com you’ll save a bunch of money. Also, make sure you get a rifle length gas system if possible.

Because for $1,100 you could have a complete rifle or sell the barrel for $100 and you're in less than 1k for everything including a chrome BCG just waiting on a barrel?  Just seems like a pretty good deal to me and a "high end" barrel is going to be how much more accurate?  The LT barrels/builds seem to maintain fairly consistent presence in the MOA challenge.

If you like the aesthetics of the upper and never want to change handguards, then I agree you could buy the complete upper and sell the barrel.

With regards to Larue barrels, I don't know that I'd look to the MOA challenge as proof.  Several of the top scores are suspect, one who who's an outright liar, another a unscrupulous business owner, and another who would never back up his claims and left the site when called on it.  I don't mean to disparage all of the shooters in it, but I don't and wouldn't use the results as a barometer of barrel performance.

My stealth barrel was just "ok".  I never could get it to shoot sub-moa, at best hovering around 1"+.  Accuracy reports on other sites are similar, some stellar, many just average.  In other words, about the consistency of any other barrel in its price range (Odin, Faxxon, BA, etc.)

OTOH, I've got barrels from Criterion, Mike Rock, Kreiger, Shilen that are consistently under the 1" mark.  The Kreiger and Shilen will print just over a half MOA, which is about as well as I can shoot.  You'll find that although everybody lets one slip through, that is much less likely to happen with a premium barrel maker.  Whether the additional cost is worth the performance is up to the buyer.  The OP is obviously looking at premium barrels; I'd argue that LaRue barrels don't meet that criteria.

ETA: LaRue, IMO, does make one of the best QD scope mounts and his large frame AR magazines are absolutely second to none (they're all I use in my 6.5).

yes, i am defintely looking at quality barrels,    i mean, the whole point is precision here so i think the barrel is important.

I don't think you need to look beyond an Aero M5E1 builder set for a precision build. Put the bulk of your budget in the barrel, trigger and optic and you will have yourself a shooter.