My First AR...Built It Myself

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - My First AR...Built It Myself

Posted: 3/14/2006 9:26:36 AM EDT

http://www.hunt101.com/img/385818.jpg

Del-Ton 16" CAR kit
Superior Arms lower
Phantom flash hider/compensator
YHM folding rear site
Walmart special tac-light

This is my first AR. It's nothing special but exactly what I wanted. Now I just need to find a way to get away from med school for one afternoon to see how it shoots.

Special thanks to Del-Ton, RB Precision, CMMG Inc, Ranier Arms, and DSG arms for excellent products and customer service and to all the members of this board for their expertise.

Posted: 3/14/2006 9:37:45 AM EDT

[#1]

Very nice !

Mike

Posted: 3/14/2006 9:48:22 AM EDT

[#2]

Stand-by for the fever.

Posted: 3/14/2006 9:49:10 AM EDT

[#3]

Nice rifle!!

Posted: 3/15/2006 2:58:33 AM EDT

[#4]

another black rifle was born. Job well done

Posted: 3/15/2006 7:59:05 AM EDT

[#5]

Thanks guys. Yes, I have the fever bad. It only took 4 weeks from the moment I found AR15.com to finish the rifle.

Posted: 3/15/2006 8:56:47 AM EDT

[#6]

congrats on a nice rifle build.

Decided on an optic yet ?

Mike

Posted: 3/15/2006 10:25:23 AM EDT

[#7]

looks great, nice KISS

Posted: 3/15/2006 10:26:57 AM EDT

[#8]

welcome to the sickness, nice start

oops I mean

Posted: 3/15/2006 12:51:03 PM EDT

[#9]

Looks great. Your first but most likley not your last.

CSP

Posted: 3/15/2006 1:21:10 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Thanks guys. Yes, I have the fever bad. It only took 4 weeks from the moment I found AR15.com to finish the rifle.

lol... i still have 3 weeks to go.

Posted: 3/16/2006 2:41:57 AM EDT

[#11]

I haven't decided on an optic yet. But I am leaning towards the S.P.O.T. red dot due to its affordability and excellent reviews.

Posted: 3/16/2006 3:37:20 AM EDT

[#12]

I like it!

Posted: 3/16/2006 4:18:53 AM EDT

[#13]

Very nice

Posted: 3/16/2006 9:22:56 AM EDT

[#14]

Very nice something about those AR's

Posted: 3/16/2006 11:24:48 AM EDT

[#15]

welcome to the disease

now go shoot that thing

Posted: 3/16/2006 11:33:15 AM EDT

[#16]

ok so ill use my first post to tell you how much i like that setup havethink I want.

I love that grip
the rear stock is the one I have picked out
whats the top of the lower about? some rail or something - is that part of the lower or a part you added? because I like that too.

any more pics?

I want all that with another upper

Posted: 3/16/2006 1:16:14 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
ok so ill use my first post to tell you how much i like that setup havethink I want.

I love that grip
the rear stock is the one I have picked out
whats the top of the lower about? some rail or something - is that part of the lower or a part you added? because I like that too.

any more pics?

I want all that with another upper

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. I didn't do anything special to the lower. It's a superior arms lower. If you're interested, I purchased it from RB Precision (great company with a great reputation). Here's a couple pics of the upper and lower before they were put together. Maybe these will give you a better idea.

http://www.hunt101.com/img/386528.jpg

http://www.hunt101.com/img/386523.jpg

Posted: 3/16/2006 2:20:20 PM EDT

[#18]

ah ok, the part i was looking at is part of the upper. (i didn’t know that untill the last pic you posted)

that’s the lower I want, Thanks for the pics.

Im definitely a newb that’s come to the right place. I have looked at alot diff pics of AR's and have not seen this lower with that kind of grip and stock (ok maybe with that stock but then would usually have an ugly grip)

Thanks for the info.

Posted: 3/16/2006 2:43:00 PM EDT

[#19]

i like it!

congrats...

Posted: 3/16/2006 3:42:56 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
ah ok, the part i was looking at is part of the upper. (i didn’t know that untill the last pic you posted)

that’s the lower I want, Thanks for the pics.

Im definitely a newb that’s come to the right place. I have looked at alot diff pics of AR's and have not seen this lower with that kind of grip and stock (ok maybe with that stock but then would usually have an ugly grip)

Thanks for the info.

Well, the grip wasn't the one that came with the del-ton kit. I bought it extra (but it's not expensive). It's an Ergo rubber overmolded grip. A lot of people have different preferences regarding which grip is most comfortable. You might want to search around the board a little more and maybe check out a few in person.

Posted: 3/16/2006 4:26:03 PM EDT

[#21]

what was the estimated cost of that with taking into consideration any tools needed to build it or accessories you have with it? (if you don’t mind me asking)

Posted: 3/16/2006 4:38:00 PM EDT

[#22]

If you buy a complete upper, and complete lower, you can build a new rifle for a bit less than buying one straight out. Plus, you don't need any special tools this way.

Check out the "Assembly" thread at the top of the board. It tells everything you need to do to assemble an upper and lower, if'n you are feeling really industrial.

Posted: 3/16/2006 5:09:42 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
If you buy a complete upper, and complete lower, you can build a new rifle for a bit less than buying one straight out. Plus, you don't need any special tools this way.

Check out the "Assembly" thread at the top of the board. It tells everything you need to do to assemble an upper and lower, if'n you are feeling really industrial.

that might be what I do is get the upper and lower already assembled and just put those 2 halves together for my first time. Once I become more familiar with the internals Ill build one from scratch

im looking around now for any websites that sell uppers, so far I have only looked at rbprecision.com

I would really like to get a bushmaster lower at least but im trying to keep the entire gun in the range of 1K to $1250 total with stock, grip,sights....

ill be honest, seeing jd2409's setup has inspired me to get going on this before i max out my CC with something else

Posted: 3/16/2006 5:26:04 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
what was the estimated cost of that with taking into consideration any tools needed to build it or accessories you have with it? (if you don’t mind me asking)

Del-Ton kit - $570
-includes upgrade for chromed bolt/carrier, chromed barrel, and phantom 5C2 flash hider
Superior Arms lower - $90
Ergo grip - $23
Brinkman Maxfire LX - $20 from Walmart
Viking tactics light mount - $25 (currently being sold for cheaper somewhere on EE)
vertical foregrip - $11.50
forearm rail - $20
YHM rear site - $74

Grand total for the rifle ~ $835

Truthfully, if using a kit to build you don't need any special tools except some roll pin punches (can pick up a set at Sears or equivalent for ~$15-$20). Other than that I did everything with the basic tools already in my toolbox. If you're trying to figure the TOTAL cost you might also want to consider the cost of a few mags, some ammo, cleaning/lubricating supplies (if you don't already have them), and some minimal shipping costs.

You could build one cheaper than I did, BUT I had the fever bad and didn't have the patience to hang around the EE for 2-3 months

Posted: 3/16/2006 5:35:33 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
Quoted:
If you buy a complete upper, and complete lower, you can build a new rifle for a bit less than buying one straight out. Plus, you don't need any special tools this way.

Check out the "Assembly" thread at the top of the board. It tells everything you need to do to assemble an upper and lower, if'n you are feeling really industrial.

that might be what I do is get the upper and lower already assembled and just put those 2 halves together for my first time. Once I become more familiar with the internals Ill build one from scratch

im looking around now for any websites that sell uppers, so far I have only looked at rbprecision.com

I would really like to get a bushmaster lower at least but im trying to keep the entire gun in the range of 1K to $1250 total with stock, grip,sights....

ill be honest, seeing jd2409's setup has inspired me to get going on this before i max out my CC with something else hr

The Del-Ton kit comes with the complete upper already put together (I'm not sure if other kits come this way as well). If you have basic skills you won't have any problem installing the lower parts kit in the lower. I followed the step by step instructions in the "assemble your own lower..." tacked thread. It wasn't difficult (keep in mind that this is my first experience with any AR). As far as the complete upper and lower, they are only held together by 2 pins. However you choose to proceed, good luck!!

Posted: 3/16/2006 5:44:49 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Superior Arms lower - $90

Where'd you find a complete lower for $90?

Was it used?

Looks good BTW.

Posted: 3/16/2006 5:48:13 PM EDT

[#27]

Thanks for all your info; you have helped me out probably more than you think.

Im pretty confident in my building skills although I have never even see an AR taken apart before. I build computers for a living and can follow directions pretty good so I don’t see a problem with that. I have already checked out the "how to assemble" articles which look to be very well documented so Im not to scared to give it a try

Next step is actually finding out where to order all the parts from and finding a checklist of parts needed to build the full AR (other than knowing I need an upper and lower I don’t know what other parts make up the upper and lower yet)

I assume that I don’t need to have the parts shipped to an FFL or would I need to have certain parts shipped to them?

BTW, I notice your in GA, anywhere near ATL? or marietta, acworth or hiram? I just moved here from up north and dont even know where I can shoot this thing yet

Posted: 3/16/2006 7:18:18 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

I assume that I don’t need to have the parts shipped to an FFL or would I need to have certain parts shipped to them?

Only thing that needs to be shipped to an FFL is the lower (stripped or otherwise). The rest can be shipped to where ever you like.

The only thing that sucks about building your own is waiting for the parts.

Posted: 3/17/2006 2:27:30 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
Quoted:

Superior Arms lower - $90

Where'd you find a complete lower for $90? hock.gif Was it used?

Looks good BTW. hug.gif

It wasn't a complete lower; it was stripped. Everything needed to complete the lower was included in the Del-Ton kit. $90 for a quality new lower is still a pretty good price though. If I could find a complete lower for that price I'd be tempted to start a new build!! Thanks for the complement.

Posted: 3/17/2006 2:37:42 AM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
Thanks for all your info; you have helped me out probably more than you think.

BTW, I notice your in GA, anywhere near ATL? or marietta, acworth or hiram? I just moved here from up north and dont even know where I can shoot this thing yet hr

No problem. I found out everything I know from browsing this board. I am new to the scene and am far from being an expert, but there are many experts on this board to answer any questions you may have.

I'm from Augusta and am not sure about any ranges near you. Check in the GA thread of the Hometown section. There is a sticky at the top of the GA thread that has some info on ranges. If you don't find what you need there just ask those guys. I'm sure there's a few people from your area.