I shot my first ar15 a few months ago and decided I wanted one.  I know very little about them other than the tons of information that I have read (i.e. no real world experience).  I'm thinking about  "building" my own to get just what I want, but I feel that I'm too new to this to buy a stripped receiver and start from scratch, so here's my plan:

get a complete Stag lower from eagle arms with no stock assembly
get an ACE ARFX stock from model 1 sales
get a RRA varmint 18 or 20 inch upper from adco
put pieces together.

Am I missing anything?  I'm pretty good with my hands and at following directions, so in your guys opinions is what I am planning safe?  I've noticed there are a few posters who are pretty against newbie builders, and I read one recent post about a new builder over on glocktalk who had a pretty serious malfunction, so I'm pretty hesitant to just jump right in.

I'm also considering having adco contour my barrel down a little bit.  I'm a fan of the bull barrel, but I held some RRA varmints at a recent gun show and I thought they were big even for a bull barrel.  Are there sizes that you guys would recommned for a slightly "less bull" bull barrel?

thanks in advance for any and all advice,
WH

Sounds great, I would go 18" barrel and forget having it re-profiled though. The upper comes with bolt/carrie/charging handle, correct?

Are you sure you don't want to save some ducks by assembling a stripped lower yourself? It's very easy...

Go ahead and get the lower from Eagle Firearms, then I would let ADCO put together a kit for you, using the stock that you want, that way ADCO will send you all the parts needed to complete the rifle.

Quoted: get an ACE ARFX stock from model 1 sales

Please do whatever you feel is best for you, but the only thing I would question would be the buttstock selection.  With all the other quality buttstock selections now available, most priced the same as or cheaper than the ARFX, I definitely would go with a higher quality fixed stock, like a Sully or go with any of the collapsable options, including the plain, old CAR collapsable.

Don't worry over building a lower, it's really easy. It's building an upper that if you're inexperienced should be avoided since that's the part of the gun subject to the high pressures and stress of a round firing. As for the stock, I must respectfully disagree with Mongo. I have an Ace SOCOM and it's a great stock. Solid, adjustable, and the foam sleave over the tube is pretty cool too. This thing I swear could take down a door and not bend. Granted, an ARFX isn't as tough, it's still a very good stock that you can pick up for under $100, buffer and spring included (I can't remember if you need a tube or not). On the other hand, you can pick up a good quality plastic stock for about half that, but if you have the $$, go with the Ace.

FYI, unless Adco has them in stock, don't expect anything special ordered to come in from RRA for the next long while.

thanks for all the advise guys. I'm not too worried about how long things will take to come in. . .I'll just keep shooting bolt guns till this build gets finished how,
I'll probably just get the stripped lower and put it together, I guess I'll learn more about the gun that way.

again, thanks for all your advice.

WH

Quoted: the foam piece on the ace stock seemed much more comfortable than the plastic on most other stocks, which was the main reason for choosing that

Go with whatever is most comfortable for you, you won't be disappointed.  Funny, the mushy feel of the foam was the reason I DIDN'T like the ARFX.

You may want to purchase a special wrench to tighten the receiver extension nut. RRA and Bushmaster sell them for $20 and $25. A bit expensive for one build, but it is a good alternative to a screwdriver and hammer. Plus, if you ever decide to change your buttstock assembly later on, it'll come in handy.