New AR Build

Well, kinda a build. I’m just putting together a complete lower and upper. Ordered the lower today. Just a throw it around gun.
16″ SS barrel M4 variety. 5.56 Flat top with front post and flip up rear sight. A fully functioning AR with metal sights $430. Seems awfully inexpensive.
I intend on installing a light-weight optic like an aimpoint except those optics are a couple hundred more than the gun so we’ll see about that.
PSA-Palmetto State Armory. I have heard good things about them.

Be careful. The “throw it around gun” is the gateway drug in AR Land. You’ll be a full on AR crackhead in 2 months.

But with that said, maybe not…

It’s pretty obvious that I love the shooting sports and I’m primarily a rifleman. I took the AR plunge three years ago and my reaction has been best summed up as…Meh.

The fun factor of blazing away with an AR cannot be denied. And some components are relatively cheap and easy to swap.

However… The AR is still WAAAAY behind in accuracy performance per dollar unit spent. Waaaaaay behind. With hardly any effort at all, I can easily buy and tweak a bolt action long range rifle that will outshoot any AR even one costing half again more or in some cases even double.

Give me $1000 and I’ll put together a bolt gun/optics package that will cleanly and neatly dispatch any/all AR pretenders even with $1500+ spent on the AR. And I’ll end up with a rifle that’s 4+ pounds lighter.

I’m hot against ARs by any means, but IMO there’s still a way to go before the performance meets the hype curve.

Grouse

This will be my second. I cant easily explain why I need another type of gun I will rarely shoot but accuracy sure isnt the reason. Maybe the thought of them being unavailable some day? I really wanted to build a deer AR but I dont regularly hunt deer anymore so I cannot justify it when I already have two old school deer slayers.

I second Grouse…I started with a “nice budget build AR”…now I have bins and boxes full of AR parts. I know for a fact that I could piece together at least 2 AR’s out of spare parts I’ve pulled off others and upgraded over the years. I would just need springs and detents …They wouldn’t be pretty or match, but they would be functional.

If you ever get in deeper and need tools, let me know. Just wait, you’ll spot a deal on a 12pk of stripped lowers and your addiction will kick in…my advise, don’t fight it. Give in to the addiction.

A 12pk of lowers?! That’s hilariou and Awesome!!!

Hi, I’m Isaak, and I’m addicted to AR’s……

I will repeat what the others have said in that once you get the first, it likely won’t be your last! Fortunately for my bank account (and my wife’s sanity), I’ve been able to supplement my desire to build more rifles by helping others get into the wonderful world of building them.

Even if the urge to build another full rifle doesn’t kick in right away, the temptation to tweak, modify, and update will be ever present. The thing that drew me to them initially was the modularity of the platform; there are literally millions of accessory/barrel/optic/furniture/etc. combinations that one could put together to create a truly unique rifle that fits your needs perfectly. All I can say is have fun with it, and don’t be afraid to expand the stable!

80% lowers are good SHTF barter goods.

I’ve had the lower for about a month. Just ordered the upper last week and a sling today. Its a cheapo rifle but I am excited. Been shopping red-dots the last week. That would be a whole nuther fun topic here!!! I am looking at mid-range units as I wont spent more than the rifle on the scope. Looks like Aimpoint and Vortex are my main choices.

Oh, red dots. Bring out the operators to tell you that you NEED an Aimpoint, Trijicon or EoTech to plink at the range…

At the end of the day, most red dots over $75 will be quality. At least quality enough to sit in a safe and go to the range once a month or so…Vortex, Lucid and Burris are my go-to sights. Taking warranties and real time experience into account, Vortex are the only sights I would continue to buy. I have multiple and they all work great.

I have a Vortex SPARC, the original model and love it on one of my rifles. Behind it is a 3X Primary Arms flip to side magnifier. Pretty great set up in my opinion and I doubt you can beat the cost vs quality.

Thanks guys. I think Vortex will be my choice. A few models to choose from but they all look nice. I’ll decide later. Come on barrel!!

Got the upper yesterday. Now a working rifle. Waiting on sling and red-dot is in the near future to complete the setup.

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Second pic

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Looks good. You’ll be happy you went with a mid-length gas system.

Nice, a stainless barrel
I built my first one before the Clinton AWB went into affect and have bought a couple since then, a Colt and a Bushmaster ORC in 308 that I use for hunting deer. A picture of the Colt with my favorite accessory

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I almost went with 300 Blackout. That or .308 would be my next one. Big game AR’s are sexy though I have not shot one yet.

PSA makes a great rifle! My M4-gery is a PSA. If you are looking for a red dot, go with the Aimpoint. I’ve had the Vortex Strikefire and Sparc, the Sparc is on my Benelli Vinci now for turkey and coyote hunting and I got an Aimpoint PRO on my PSA. I love how much battery life you get with the Aimpoint. I leave it on at all times and change the battery every other year. Here’s my PSA.

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If you’re a southern MN deer hunter, it’s tough to beat a .300BLK pistol build. I built one a few years ago, never got around to gun hunting deer with it, but it sure is fun to shoot!