Build or Buy AR

1588 Views 13 Replies 0 Participants Last post by aubie515, Jun 12, 2007

Discussion Starter · Mar 23, 2007

I honestly know nothing about them except for what i have read on the internet, and the ~300 rounds ive put through my buddys. He has a RRA something. Problem is, i live right near a city, so most places you cant shoot .223. So what im thinking is getts a 9mm and later buy a .223 upper and remove the block from the magwell and such if i want to shoot .223. but for the options of places i have to shoot, 9mm is where i have to be. so, i guess my question is do i buy or do i build? I'm leaning towards building due to slow income of funds, and saving is difficult

. I am not sure what all goes into an AR, or even where the best places to shop around are. Any info, links, opinions would help so i can go from there. thanks!!

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Discussion Starter · #2 · Mar 23, 2007

as long as you take your time, and make sure you know what you are doing.. you'd be fine to build. There are plenty of instructions for building online. That is, if you are fairly handy with assembling things.

The only nice thing about buying new... is warranty. Most places if you buy a complete upper, then a complete lower.. they will warranty it for each piece.. if you put an upper or lower together yourself.. you won't get the warranty... usually..

What type of range do you have to shoot at? Indoor, outdoor? If it's an indoor, check and see if they accept rifle shooting. my indoor range allows you to shoot rifles that have muzzle velocity up to so many fps, and also ft lbs of energy. I shoot my AR there just fine.

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Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 23, 2007

have you cleaned your buddy's ar? taking one apart can be very enlightening...it also depends on your defenition of "build." like, i wouldn't want to assemble an upper...at least not without some supervision. but i can buy an upper and a lower and a bcg and put them together no problem...

another thing to consider is a real, .223/5.56 ar with a .22 conversion kit...unless you really want to shoot 9mm through it.

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Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 23, 2007

if you want a 9mm carbine look at the Hi Point ones they are ugly but someone is making a aftermarket stock for them and is makes them look and shoot way better and you can get one and buy the stock and have about 250.00 invested

Then save your money and build your own AR it is a satisfying experience and you will learn about it as you build.

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Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 23, 2007

amishclark said:
have you cleaned your buddy's ar? taking one apart can be very enlightening...it also depends on your defenition of "build." like, i wouldn't want to assemble an upper...at least not without some supervision. but i can buy an upper and a lower and a bcg and put them together no problem...

another thing to consider is a real, .223/5.56 ar with a .22 conversion kit...unless you really want to shoot 9mm through it.

As long as you have the block to secure the gun in the vise, the proper wrenches.. taking apart an upper on an AR is a piece of cake. Putting the butt stock on an AR is also a piece of cake. There is absolutely nothing to it when it comes to assembling the upper of an AR. assembling the bolt carrier group is simple. You do it anyways when you take it apart to clean it. Putting the barrel on is simple, gas block, simple.

I have yet to mess with taking my lower apart.. but I honestly don't think it'd be that hard. I haven't done it yet because I haven't had a reason to.

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Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 23, 2007

Frostyeyes said:
if you want a 9mm carbine look at the Hi Point ones they are ugly but someone is making a aftermarket stock for them and is makes them look and shoot way better and you can get one and buy the stock and have about 250.00 invested

Then save your money and build your own AR it is a satisfying experience and you will learn about it as you build.

that's actually a good idea.. I'd rather have a 9mm hi point carbine than a 9mm AR due to the price. It would be better to save for the .223/5.56 AR in the long run.

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Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 23, 2007

The build verses buy question which plagues mankind. IMO buy your first one and build your second.

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Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 23, 2007

jednp said:
As long as you have the block to secure the gun in the vise, the proper wrenches.. taking apart an upper on an AR is a piece of cake. Putting the butt stock on an AR is also a piece of cake. There is absolutely nothing to it when it comes to assembling the upper of an AR. assembling the bolt carrier group is simple. You do it anyways when you take it apart to clean it. Putting the barrel on is simple, gas block, simple.

I have yet to mess with taking my lower apart.. but I honestly don't think it'd be that hard. I haven't done it yet because I haven't had a reason to.

Its a piece of cake I built my franken gun's lower myself with a Bushmaster lower JP systems match grade 3.5 lb trigger KNS anti walk pins, RRA winter trigger gaurd and ergo grip A-2 stock without any special tools. I have not put together a upper yet as I can get anything I could possibly want made with quality parts assembled & headspaced from just about anywhere. I just went with a Armalite NM A4 upper with a free float tube. This rifle is as accurate as any bolt action varmiter on the market and will shoot rings around most.

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Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 23, 2007

Broadside said:
The build verses buy question which plagues mankind. IMO buy your first one and build your second.

Solid advice, this will give you experience in seeing how the parts work together and a guide on how a properly set up trigger system works. One thing I have found is that if you build your own only buy top quality parts the weapon will only be as good as its cheapest part. If you skimp you will be sorry.

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Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 23, 2007

when i say build, personaly at this point in my knowledge of guns, i mean buy an upper and a lower and slap um together ( figuratively speaking) any links or opinions on best for the price 9mm uppers and lowers?

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Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 23, 2007

Build your lower and buy your upper. Lower is really easy to put together as there are hardly any parts to it. Watchout for the small detents and springs. It can be assembled with simple had tools.

With the upper, you will need special tools to put it together.

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Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 11, 2007

what type of tools do you need to assemble an upper? an armorers tool and some kind of vise for the barrel right?

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Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 11, 2007

ts1313, if you're interested in a 9mm AR-15, Olympic Arms makes a 9mm upper that is designed to be used with any milspec lower - no special hammer or buffer needed. The Olympic 9mm system uses a Sten gun magazine with a block welded to it, allowing it to fit properly in the lower's mag well. There are a few manufacturers out there that make mag blocks so you can use a plain Sten magazine. Sten magazines can be found for $5-$10 a piece. The Olympic modded mags are a little pricey at $65 each.

Oly tends to get a bad rap from a lot of people, but these people never cite examples for their angst. I have not read a bad word about the Oly 9mm setups; eother withthe factory mags or aftermarket mag blocks. Everyone that has one seems to swear on their reliability with all types of ammo.

I thought about getting a 9mm upper for the same reasons you mentioned, mainly that it can be used at just about any indoor/outdoor range. The indoor range I visit every 1-2 weeks has an Olympic K9 complete 9mm carbine. They say it is one of their most-rented guns, and although they've had the gun for more than a year, they've only cleaned it 2-3 times. Depite the lack of decent maintenance, they claim the gun has never had a hiccup, and has been 100% reliable. I rented it once a few months ago, just out of curiosity. I now have an Olympic Arms 9mm upper on order.

FYI, so as not to make this post seem like a giant infomercial for Olympic Arms, I have read good things about RRA 9mm rifles, too. And Colt, if you can find and afford one. RRA seems to be a popular brand for the 9mm platform. Bushmaster also makes a 9mm. I haven't seen much on the Bushy, but I believe it is based on the Colt pattern, as is the RRA.

Good luck with your quest!

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Discussion Starter · #14 · Jun 12, 2007

I agree that some people's definition of a "build" means buying a complete upper and complete lower and pushing two pins together. While, others build from the ground up. If you want an AR15 with specific requirements, I would recommend building from the ground up. If you can buy a complete upper and a complete lower...go that route. In any case it's pretty simple.

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