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Posted: 3/18/2008 5:12:53 PM EDT
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Hi all, I can't believe how happy I am now that I found AR15.com Anyway, I have been looking over the build it yourself section and can not wait to get started. So I went down to my local shop were I have spent many an hour and money to see if I could get their help getting parts and started with my project. They have always been friendly and super helpful in simular situations. Imagine my surprize when he did everything to stop me from doing such a thing. Everything from you can not possibly troubleshoot all the problems to get it to fuction right, you have no idea about the amount of gun smithing involved, you'll have no warrianty when it blows up(and it will), the cost can be triple what you will pay if you just buy it from us, no upper and lower will just fit together and the that means you problems you can not even fix unless you have a machine shop. Some of these may be true, I have found that there is no money to be saved, but I love to tinker with new things. So my question is basically how much smoke is this guy blowing, or is he being a straight shooter. Thanks Magoo223 |
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having built 3 myself, let me tell you that you local shop is full of shit and just wants to make a higher sale to you. the ar15 is by far the easiest firearm to build. Do it yourself and you will have such a greater appreciation for your rifle as well as the knowledge for troubleshooting it should a problem arise. |
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as a total novice, if you have any mechanical aptitude at all, you'll be fine. except for strength and patience issues, my 9yr old son could easily do it. (he builds lego bionicles alot) i've built multiple rifles using the kits from M&A http://www.mapartsinc.com/productsDetail.asp?id=1349 get a stripped lower at a show, or find an FFl that will transfer one for you the only tools i would suggest are a brass hammer & punch kit -like from cheaperthandirt, and get a CAR wrench from M&A with the instructions here, and some patience, in less than an hour, you'll have a fully functional rifle for a few hundred (TAXES) less than spending <$1000 for the same thing just because it says bushmaster. from what i've gathered, most manufacturers will admit that most AR components are of about the same quality. |
| That guy is full of crap. Not only will you have fun and little or no trouble building it yourself, but you'll end up with a better rifle than anything he has in the shop because you get to choose exactly what features you want. All name brand suppliers make parts to the same standard, so mixing Bushmaster, RRA, Stag, etc. is a no brainer. The only exception I've heard of is the Colt issue with the large pins. |
| he is just trying to scare you into buying the rifles in his case. he doesn't make as much on a rifle you put together. given good quality parts and taking the time to build it right and not halfassing the build it will last. take everything you here in a gun store with a grain of salt and do your research! know what your talking about before you go in for a buy/trade. |
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I heard the same line of BS you did... from a gunsmith/FFL who sold finished rifles... go figure... I have built 5 rifles and they ALL functioned perfectly and were extremely accurate. I would never waste my money on a factory-built rifle again. You can build a completely evil M4gery with 4 rail free float and probably a match trigger group for what you would pay for factory-built basic carbine... Why make the freakin ATF rich??? The ONLY thing that reasonably could require gunsmithing is if you were to want to assemble your own barrel to the barrel extension, because that would require specialized headspacing skills. BUT... most kits not only have the barrel extension already attached to the barrel, but the entire upper is usually fully assembled. Even stand-alone AR barrels come wiht the barrel extension installed and headspaced unless they tell you specifically otherwise... Leave those to the gunsmiths... |
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Thanks everyone for the replies. I will be looking into some basic tools tomarrow. There is nothing like having a good reason (or no reason) to buy more tools. I found the thread by xenohobe on who machines lowers and thier differances, great info. I figure that I will be going with a mega lower w/stag parts kit, vltor upper and gas block. Don't know about a barrel yet. Maybe DPMS, or WOA w/ matching bolt. I'll check the threads for more info. Does any of these have a problems matching? Is there a parts check list somewhere posted on the board that anyone knows of? Thanks for all your help Magoo |
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Take it from a guy who has never owned an AR15 before. I have shot my brothers AR15 but have never field stripped one. I started talking to a friend at work and he sent me here. I read up on what goes into assembling my own AR15 and the more I read and the more questions I asked, the more I wanted to build one. I started in October with my first Stripped Lower and Upper from MEGA and last month I finished it. What tools did I have? Vise Grips Duct Tape Claw Hammer Framing Nail (I sanded the point blunt.) Allen Wrench Slot Screw Driver Needle Nose Pliers I was really careful and didn't scratch her. I found someone near me that had a Receiver Vise Block and a Barrel Wrench. One thing you think of is the money you will save. I noticed that as I was buying parts over the past few months I was buying the parts I wanted rather than going cheap. If you buy the parts over time you tend to do this, which is unless you really want a cheap rifle.  Don't listen to them. Take you time and ask 1000 questions. Scot |
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