That's true. I like the look of them and the thought of not removing my red dot if I want iron sights. I Just don't know if after every removal of the red dot if I would need to sight it in again. That just sounds like a pain. On the other hand if I do have a bunch of extra parts just an excuse to start a full build lol.

haha ok ok.

Here is the only pic I have right now. I threw the optic on right before taking this.
http://ericw.info/images/erics-ar.jpg

I will say, having a box of parts is dangerous! I bought my first AR last month (bushmaster carbon 15)  it has all the novelty parts you could want on one, (I always wanted a "tac ta cool" AR so I built one)  but now I'm already halfway done putting together another AR, waiting on upper minus barrel or gas tube and lower now, after a week anything I bought for my original gun I'd just buy 2 so I'd have the part whenever I got my next. It's addictive!

Well I guess ill add my contribution to this thread. I m jason I found this site 5 or 6 years ago and love all the info and very knowledgeable people here. in the next few mo. I'll be starting my 1st build using an jmt 80% lower looking to build somthing fun for the range and when im up at my buddies in wi. Going to keep this cheap but not going to buy crap parts . I know I will find all the info I need here .looking forward  to posting my build , and pic, king some of your brains for parts I may not know where to find.

My name is Daniel Murray and I'm brand new to the site and to AR-15's. I just got mine a few weeks ago. only put 30 rounds through it. I have multiple questions about it. First, whats better, steel or brass ammo? I heard that steel is harder on the barrel and extractor and shortens the life of the rifle. Also, where can I get a good scope for it?

Don't forget this "The list"
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_169/560217_Acronyms_and_Abbreviations_in_common_use_on_AR15_com.html

New guy here.  New to the forum and new to the AR platform.  I plan on buying a Colt LE6920MP on Tuesday granted research and exploring other options goes right.  I'm reading around on the forum a little bit while I'm posting this so I might ask a few questions in this post that I answer for myself in the next ten minutes.  The AR I'm looking to purchase is a carbine style firearm.  I'll be using the firearm as a paper punch and a coyote killer, and a crime repellent if need be.  
One of my biggest questions is what needs to happen or is it possible for me to put a 20" barrel on this gun?  I can't believe how versatile the platform is that it's that hard if you can but maybe it is?  Can anyone answer that, in English?


Can I put in an ambi safety and mag release in the stock lower or does it require a special lower?


Is it a PITA to swap upper receivers and will it wear out the pin holes in lower from doing it a lot?  Shortly after my purchase I want to buy a .22LR upper and more than likely this is how I'll have to be able to switch out to a 20" barrel?


I guess that's all I can think of for now.  Thanks in advance for answering any questions or giving me good advice.  I tend to be a quick learner on stuff I'm into and I hope I comprehend all this information quickly.

You're probably right, but I will buy an upper to swap first then work on buying a lower to build.  Like I said, I am brand new to playing with ARs.  (Ok, so I shouldn't say playing, because you shouldn't play with a gun, but you get what I mean.)

Finally got around to taking a decent shot!

Oh wise and great VA-gunnut,

I will be moving BACK to VA this summer after a 10 year absence, and I decided to build my first non-issued AR before I make the move because I really want to annoy my soon to be new governer.

My question to you Sir, "Where should I post my topic for advice on my franken build" (AR variants Hometown Virginia Newbie pages DIY pages etc. etc.)

My build list so far plus some things I am considering:

Tactical Machining Multi Cal Blem Lower with special edition Frankenstien face engraving and special Frankenstein serial number: Bought

POF USA singal stage drop in trigger: Bought

Plank of Ash for custom home made thumbhole stock: Bought

Big Bore Caliber (thinking 450 Bushmaster unless I get a better suggestion)

Twin tube LaFrance Impingement gas tube

Carbine length Bull or Heavy Barrel

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me on this...

Thanks! I'll be sure to repost there today...

That sure is purty.

TXL

ty
magpul mied 1.1 grips, a proper single point harness adapter, and a few other goodies are on their way. It's hard to say no to upgrades when a majority of them are so cheap. lol

my signature backdrop for all my photos. lol

Although not new to the semi auto rifle world this is my first AR-15.

M&P15 Sport
Nikon P223 3x32


Keeping things simple and light at this point.  Going to add a MOE-K2 grip, MFT Minimialist Stock, and a MI SS Free Float.

Hi Ya all! (sorry I'm late on this)

Total AR15 newb ova here. I currently reside in Box Elder, SD. We moved back here last summer from Missouri. WOOT! We are soo happy to be back. Anyways, retired from the USAF after 23+ years. Working for a wood manufacturing company. I have been lurking off n on for a few years. I HAD an account, but made the mistake having it registered with my mil email since none of my other email accounts would work. Hence, having to make a NEW account and start over. NO biggie. My wife and I look like we might have some more financial equity to use for things like rifles, pistols, etc. I have started looking at all kinds of ARs and have decided I will go the easy route, for now, and get one that is already setup. After many hours last night reading posts on this website and others, I think I might build an AR hunting rifle in the next year or two after I get my wife's done. My wife and I are starting at basically ground zero since we only have my 357 GP100, SW99 .40, and Marlin 60 22 rifle. We WANT ( and I mean WAAAAAAANT) to go hunting this year, but we gotta get rifles. I need to figure out a 243 setup that is light!! and low recoil for her since she is so short (but that's another plan since I think she wants an actual hunting rifle and not an AR15-type). We plan to get her an MP15/22 MG for plinking. She fell in love with it and is all giddy waiting on it. Can't hunt deer with it, so I gotta get another rifle.

for my first AR...
already setup with no mods needed.
556/223
adjustable stock
NO FSB that looks like what I used back in 1990 in Basic. I HATE IT. I think it's called the A2 version?  if wrong, please correct. prefer a flat top gas block
DO NOT need top of the line since it's main purpose will be Home Defense and plinking. No hunting.
16" barrel?
I think my limit is currently $1000, but I won't scoff at spending less so i can buy more clips, sling, light, and ammo.  LOTS of ammo.
I don't want to spend too much on this one since I want to build an SPR later. I want plenty of moolah for it so I can pick n choose. It'll be one of my deer hunting rifles....  probably in 308 or 243?
Oh, it needs to be something I can buy locally so I can handle/feel the rifle before I buy. Once I get more knowledge, then I'll buy most everything online.

After I get done at the Job Fair today, I'm gonna hit a few stores and get some numbers. Maybe post em up and see what ya all say. I already know there are some rifles you guys would prefer that are at those stores, but when I looked at em, they didn't make the cut for various reasons (cost, caliber, barrel length, no sights or has that gawd-awful A2 FSB, etc)

Just to eliminate some posts, I don't need "just build it" posts since I don't want or need that hassle currently.

If you have a rifle picked out but doesn't quite meet, at least, the criteria i have selected, then give input on what i can do to meet said criteria, that will keep it at or under $1000.

Please let me know if you have any questions for me to get specific answers or insight. Since I'm a newb, I don't know all there is to know what I should or should not do.

Thank you for any and all input.

also, Should I have put this post somewhere else so people can post but not  overload this topic area?

Scot "Z"

Not knowing what your local shops carry makes it difficult to make any recommendations, but most will carry ARs made by Sig Sauer or Windham Weaponry in the $700-$800 range, either of which are good basic rifles...

which is why I'm going out this afternoon to get some info. all we've basically got is Cabela's, Scheel's, and a bunch of lil shops. so far, Scheel's has been the most helpful and their prices are beating up Cabela's.

We needed a thread like this for the 13ers, could've saved a lot of herp and some derp...


No pistols yet?  

My first ground up build:

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Name is Tyler, new to the site, been an occasional lurker, very active on opencarry.org and other forums, so if the username is familiar, that is why.

always been a kalash fan, have handled others AR's quite a bit but just picked up some of my own, a carbon 15 and ive also gotten a poly 80 lower to build up and an omni lower on order i can play with, if you cant tell, i am a fan of poly rifles, i know they arent battle tough but for plinking or HD they are fine in my opinion, ill keep the K's for shtf.

Mike here.  I have an old Bushy XM15-E2S and just starting to think about my first build.
Can someone point me to a list of calibers that will fit standard AR mags?  I'm running out of room in the safe and don't want to buy more mags.

Off the top of my head there is .223/5.56, 300 Blackout, and 458 SOCOM.

Recently bought a Sig 556 SWAT Patrol.
Absolutely love it, but not the Swiss stock.
How do I know if the Double Diamond adapter plate will work with my rifle.

Glad to be on such an amazing site, btw.
From NE Ohio.

Hi, I am ThetaXByTheSea.

I am an n00b (NEWB) to the site but have been around guns my whole life.  I do own an AR-15 (Bushy XM15, A2 head to toe) and have a mini collection of pistols, shotguns, and rifles.

I like the way the AR can be customized to make it your own and am working on (very slowly mind you) building my own.  I cant wait to learn a ton from this site.

TXBS

Hi there... infrequent lurker coming out of the shadows. Fairly new to all of this and looking forward to learning more.

Hi my baby is 16 days old today how fast they grow up.  Just found out about this site Friday, joined today u guys have some awesome rifles ....  She's a Windham HBC  
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Just noticed you're from SD, don't forget to check out Walmart. They sell these for around $1100. At least a bit east of you they do.

I am Winchester 70 on most forums.

As you can guess from the name I love my Winchester Model 70 in 7mm Rem Mag.

But I also love the AR Platform.

Here is one of my AR's which was donated to my son:



Rock River Entry Tac.
Vltor Butt Stock
Daniel Defense Two Piece Drop In Forend
Vortex Optics

I am currently building another AR for myself.

I don't post much here but I enjoy reading about builds and seeing the finished rifles.

Hello guys/gals,
I'm new to the forum although I've been rummaging through the threads for a couple of years now. I just recently  purchased my first AR here in the wonderful, gun loving state of California. I brought home a Daniel Defense DDM4v5 and will be deflowering her this weekend....can't wait!!!  I commend you all for the vast amounts of information provided in these threads and look forward to soaking it all in.

I'm Jeff, living in The People's Republik of California, Newport Beach to be precise.

I never really thought I would want a black rifle. Don't get me wrong, I have always liked them and enjoyed shooting my friends black rifles at the range. I used to have a C&R FFL and had a nice collection of curios and relics that I ended up selling years ago, to pay bills when my hound got sick. I have a fairly small selection of 'common' long guns and handguns.

Back when the Sandy Hook incident took place, I participated in the panic and went out and bought a stripped lower, just in case some sort of ban was pushed through. An FMK AR-1 Patriot, a polymer lower. Yea, I know, not the bees knees. And I paid out the nose for it, marked up to $159 during the panic. But I was content knowing I had an option, so I threw the lower in my closet and forgot about it.

Fast forward to last month and I'm starting to think California might actually become shall-issue. So I head to Turner's and put down a deposit on an LC9, as it was on sale for something like 20 bucks off. During my discussion with the sales guy, I mention my stripped lower and he mentions Del-Ton rifle kits. A spark glows in my brain. I do a minimum of research and come to the conclusion that Del-Ton is acceptable. I impulsively order the M4 kit. I do a little reading about my FMK lower and come to the conclusion that it is unacceptable, reports of failures and out of spec units. I notice on the FMK website that they don't even sell the AR-1 anymore, but a new version called the "Extreme" that is said to be beefed up. Called up FMK, and they more or less admit the AR-1 is uncool, they swapped out my old lower for the new model, which I had within a week. Sporting the same serial number even. Very good customer service, I was pleased. The Del-Ton kit arrives after some delay from those crazy storms recently.

I finally got around to assembling the rifle on March 10th. Putting a lower together for the first time was rather fun. Things went off without a hitch, no scratches or screw ups. Well almost, when I mated the completed lower with the upper, I forgot the buffer and spring lol... oops! I had left those two pieces in the kit box, out of sight, out of mind...

Anyways, below is a crappy photo I took when I finished the job. The fit is excellent. I love it, even though its probably what most would consider a cheapie. I ordered a Daniel Defense fixed rear site, and once it arrives, it will be time for a function test, which I expect to go well



So earlier this week, I'm at Turner's again, picking up my LC9. There is a wait, so I head over to the case of stripped lowers. Not much selection, 4 or 5 forged lowers and one Franklin Armory billet lower. All priced at $159 or better, with the billet unit priced at $230. I guess that is the market in my area? After completing my transaction, I ask the sales guy to show me the lowers. When I get to the billet lower, a clearance tag falls out from behind the original price tag, it is priced at $149. I liked the billet finish. Do a minimum amount of research on my phone real quick and I make another impulse buy. Seems like a decent deal. So I get home and think to myself "hmmm what about an upper?" I come to the conclusion that I want the Franklin Armory billet upper, what Franklin calls the M4-L assembly, a complete upper. So I won't be putting a barrel on or anything like that. Not yet at least. I have my feelers out for a better price than the Franklin online store and already have one lead. Will probably pull the trigger on that purchase tomorrow. An hour or so ago I bought a Magpul CTR stock kit, MOE+ grip and Armalite LPK with trigger from DSG. I'm looking at a Geissele SSA-E trigger and will probably make that move relatively soon, after a little more research.

I'd like to say that I'm not sure what I have gotten myself into here, but I'm pretty sure I do. I know I just need to exercise patience and take my time when planning out these purchases, but I wanted to get my first two ARs in the house, I like having things in pairs

So after all of this rambling, I have two questions:
Like an ill-informed and impulsive bonehead, I put my AR together dry, what should I do? Do I need to fully disassemble the lower to hit the lube points?

Also, my pivot pin and takedown pin are a very hard to pop out with finger pressure. Is this common? If not, is it because of my failure to lube?

Thanks! Looking forward to remedying my ignorance here at this awesome site.

Spray CLP is your friend for forgotten lube, and your pins will loosen up shortly...

Howdy, brand new to the site, don't even really know where everything is in here yet.  Got the itch for an AR and I'm gonna build my first.  Will be reading a lot in here.  Want to shoot predators and just have one around the house.

Josh

^^ This, and welcome...