I've been lurking a while trying to find the answers to my questions.

This site is responsible for me wanting an AR15.  I was happy with my little Savage .223 coyote rifle until I arrived here.

What I want now is an AR15 for hunting coyotes and deer and some fun plinking.  I've bought a double star lower from my local shop for $119 (the wife needed some extra to give me for Christmas, I didn't complain).  I'm now taking my time to research what I need to buy as far as kits, tools, manuals to build my own.

Here's some of my questions so far:

1.  I'm wanting a decently accurate .223 to hunt with.  To my understanding, the standard barrels in the kits are 5.56 right?  So this won't be as accurate with .223 ammo?  Do I need to specifically get a kit with a .223 barrel?  Is this a big deal?

2.  Eventually I think I might want a .308 upper to hunt deer.  I've seen complete AR-15s in 308 but not just the upper.  Is this something hard to get or do you just have to call and ask for it?

3.  Do you save a lot by buying kits?  I'd like to be able to just buy my lower finishing kit, then the upper assembly, stock, etc.  Makes it look better to the wife that way if I space it out.  But its not worth it if there is a big difference in price.  I can figure this out myself I know but I figure lots of you have already done the math.

Thanks for any answers.

chris

Buy any kind of Stainless bull barrel preferably 18 or over. 308 needs a different lower all together so you cant just buy an upper. 5.56 chambers are not a big deal with accuracy, if you want a good barrel get one from RRA with the wylde chamber then your good to go. I hunt coyotes with all my ARs from my M4 to my 20 inch bull barrel.

like he said about .308 need a different lower, but the 6.8 spc uppers will work with a standard lower. 6.8 is fine for deer.


on the pricing subject. it all depends on what you want. if someone offers an upper with exactly the stuff you want, it may be about break even.  but if you buy a complete upper, then start switching out parts. you are spending money you didn't need too.


i am currently in the process of building a coyote gun. i have everything but the barrel. the barrel is on order from krieger and should be here sometime in january. i started this particular build in January of this year.

so 1 year assembly date, but the sticker shock didn't heit me all at once because i spread it out over the entire year. total on my rifle will be approx 2300. now i could've saved some money by buying a varmint upper from bushmaster or what not. but i got exactly the parts i wanted.

so first figure out what you want, then start pricing it all. assembly is not hard

I began building my first ar the way you are talking. I bought the lower locally, and took my time online and found deals and am putting it together piece by piece. Lpks and trigger guard one week. Stock and magazines another week. Makes it easier, cheaper, helps keep the wife happy. Just watch shipping, lots of places have a flat rate shipping price. And when you pick your parts, you get exactly what you want not just what rra threw together on a complete lower. Hope this helps.

oh yeah, you will most likely want some tools.

pin punch set brass,

barrel wrench

action blocks.


those are the basic needed ones. there are some others that are helpful, but those are the most important. the total on those parts is about 75-100 dollars