Greetings all. As you can see I am a newbie, not for long. I hope to learn as much as I can. From the other posts I have read it seems to be a knowledgeable board. I am a firearms enthusiast; the only current lacks to the limitations of my enthusiasm are money and knowledge. I am in the process of upgrading both. I am currently in school studying to become a hydrologist/hydrogeologist. I am also 23 years old.  I currently possess a S&W .44 mag, Sig .45, Moss. 12 GA., and a Ruger Mini-30 rifle. I was immediately hooked to the site concerning the information of a "build-it-yourself" AR-15. I would someday also like to become more knowledgeable concerning gunsmithing/machining in general. I think building an AR-15 will become my next endeavor into firearms. I haven't had much rifle experience other than with the Mini-30. I have had some experience with handguns. Not much, but more so than rifles. I am definitely a fan of the large calibers. For some reason I haven't bought a S&W .500, but I will. It is so expensive to shoot. I would also like to get into reloading so that I can shoot the .44 and .45 that I currently have a on much regular basis.  

Some basic questions I have besides general gun knowledge are the manufacturers of AR-15 parts. I am sure it preference, but what's best, or more importantly the worst?

Than same question goes for reloading as well.

Thanks in advance for any replies; any knowledge provided will be of use to me.

no quick ways to become an AR guru, but do yourself a favor and read ALL the tacked threads at the top of every forum you visit.  there is a wealth of great information in them.  i've found that the majority of average questions are answered or directed accordingly by reading them.  

become familiard with the "search" tab - it is your friend!

good luck and welcome!

septic tank

Welcome to the site, you'll learn alot here, enjoy

Welcome aboard!  

Quoted: no quick ways to become an AR guru, but do yourself a favor and read ALL the tacked threads at the top of every forum you visit.  there is a wealth of great information in them.  i've found that the majority of average questions are answered or directed accordingly by reading them.   become familiard with the "search" tab - it is your friend! good luck and welcome! septic tank

 

Hello and welcome to the family. I too am new and asked alot of questions that I later found answers to in the tacked threads. Not that folks won't help answer your questions, but you will see that the "new guys" (me included) always ask the same questions over and over, so it can get monotnous (spell check is turned off), but don't worry, lots of very helpful folks here.  

I bought my first AR a year ago, and that led me here. Since then, I've built a AR pistol and now I'm working on another rifle. These things are great and so easy to build. You'll soon want to sell your other rifles to be able to fund your new AR projects! It's called "BRD" (black rifle disease) and is very contaigous.

Good luck and don't forget to post pics.


Gene

Quoted: There is a book on building AR-15s that you can buy from Fulton Armory. It is not a necessity, but it is well written and illustrated. Read the forums to get an idea of which parts are good or not.

I think Kuleck's book, "The AR-15 complete assembly guide" is great, combine it ( the book ) with the build it yourself section of this web site and you will be in good shape for a build.

Aimless' recommendation on that book is a great place to start. The reading isn't dry at all and will further give you the "itch".

There are so many great manufacturers of complete rifles and recievers that you can spend some time looking into "ALL" of them (if THAT is even possible)

As far as some brands off the top of my head that are excellent are: (IMHO)

Bushmaster (But costly, however, great product)
Armalite      (Same as above)
DPMS         (great quality, slightly less in price)
Rock River  (Top quality, BETTER price)
Lauer       (Excellent quality, great price)
Stag         (Ditto)
Ameetec   (Ditto)
ASA         (Stripped lowers are great, Uppers have been reported to be problematic. Price good                 however, the company is now out of business. Some ASA lowers still available in different places, you'll need to call around. (Made my LMT -IRC)
Olympic   (I am not a big fan of them, but others are. Decent pricing)

The above is but a SHORT list of what is available and again, off the top of my head. Take a look at the AR15 discussion sub-forum and look at the photo threads and you will see so many variants, it won't be hard to imagine your dream build first AR.

Oh, and just a heads up, get ready to part with some serious cash over a long time as there are always "bigger and better" parts, you'll end up re-configging many times as there is always new stuff for the AR all the time and we even make it easy on ya! Enter the EQUIPMENT EXCHANGE, all the resource you need to go BANKRUPT!

Welcome to the addiction that unlike drug addiction, cant be treated or cured.