Was looking on PSA at some of their sales (some I thought were pretty good) and I just got curious... what's the cheapest build you've ever done? I don't mean from spare parts laying around, etc. I mean, if you had to put a price tag on every part/kit you used for the build, what would it come to?

PSA kit $259
Anderson lower $30
UTG rear site $30

$320

I've done it 4 times :)

I’m just asking....why would I or anybody want to do a cheapest build?

I mean, I build rifles for short range defense, for longer range, but not for just as cheap as possible...maybe I just don’t get the reason for building as cheap as possible, the upgrading....

No transfer fee?

$500 + or -

I have high end fancy pants guns already. Some of us may just want to add bulk pack ARs for the heck/fun of it.

I haven't actually built the cheapest rifle but seeing sale prices a few times I have spent a few minutes figuring out what I could put a budget build together for. Easily, chasing the right sales, under $300 for a rifle and with a pretty good red dot right around $400.

If you have a budget that is restrictive, I expect it might be good to know.

I expect if I was going to go down that road, I would go the closeout route. Find unreasonably low priced parts due to model changes or colors, etc that, in the past, were significantly higher in price.

One of my FFL only charges me $ 25 for multiple. So i get the Anderson’s in bulk.

My first AR was assembled from a PSA slick side upper.  $149 with free shipping
I mounted it on a Anderson lower that was on sale through Primary arms.  $29, (I ordered three).
The PSA lower build kit was also on sale.   $89

About $270

Eventually I replaced the stock, grip and forearm with OD Magpul stuff.  It now wears a BCA 16" Heavy stainless fluted barrel.  It has UTG sights, front and rear, the front is mounted on a low profile UTG gas block.  I upgraded the fire control group with a Stoner nickle boron set with 3.5lb JP springs.  Not sure what that stuff cost?

It came home economy, and dressed up with class.

I think that was about as inexpensive as I found.  My next builds were/are more expensive as I figured out what I liked best, but it's not hard to get a well made AR up and running for $500.  From there the sky is the limit.

I've built several sub $500 guns and regret every one of them.  My builds now run me about $800 - $1000 with flip up sights and I don't look to cheap out on any parts, all USA made, proven reputable manufacturers

I don't necessarily plan on doing it, but I've seen a lot of people "bragging" (maybe too harsh of a word) about how cheap their build was. So I was just curious.

Frugal would be a better term.  I keep an eye out for sales and jump when the price is right.  My latest SPR build was triggered by a BA barrel that was on sale for half price.  I won't buy bottom barrel parts just to build a cheap gun.  If one wants to that route they would be money ahead just buying an assembled upper from PSA or others.  But, that wouldn't be much fun now would it

What sights/red dot?   Has to be added into cost imo to get actual build cost.  Its not full assembled if you can't hit anything with it.

Frugal would've probably been better to use!

$300 or so. But had the jig for the 80% lower. Shopped on the EE for most of the parts.

my favorite is my most expensive for what it should cost vs what it did cost:
Lancer lower ($200 but paid that)
Timney trigger ($250 paid $100)
JP barrel and comp ($900 but paid $125 or so)
Magpul UBR ($200 but came free on a lower I got)
Trijicon 1-4 with mount ($1050 paid $350)
Samson Free float tube ($150 but won it in a match)
Full custom race paint ($350 but a buddy did it free)

so it's not the cheapest rifle out there by any means, but I'm into it WAYYYYYYY less than I should be. My budget builds ($400 PSA and similar) are nice but have been donated to family since they didn't have any rifles.

$290 including when I splurged on a $45 surplus Colt carry handle

Breakdown was something like this:
16" AR Stoner 1:9 complete upper from Midway USA on sale, plus birthday discount - $134 - This was the impetus for the build. Had no intention of building another AR but when I saw the upper complete with BCG and CH for $134, I had to do it.
Lower with Transfer $60
Anderson LPK $25
Tiger Rock Stock Kit $30
Colt carry handle - $45

For what its worth, I will never buy Anderson parts again, exception being their lowers. I will also never buy Tiger Rock stock kits either. 6061 - Absolute crap.

It all worked well until I started swapping things around and eventually the buffer tube channel that the retaining plate indexes on wallowed out and allowed the stock to rotate about 20 degrees in either direction. This was after 5+ install/uninstalls so It did work more than adequately at first. Also the buttstock eventually began stick when switching positions. It wouldn't lock in. Once you got it where you wanted and got it to lock, it was fine.

All in all I ended up ditching that entire stock kit 2 years later. Now running a quality 7075 tube, tubbz flatwire spring and PSA stock. These three come out to about $65 total (some purchased used) so didn't increase overall cost of build much

One of these threads again?  You can build a doodoo garbage blaster for a few hundred bucks.  But it certainly wouldn't be anything worth bragging about.

Cheapest one I ever put together, no including any freebie parts or shit from the spare parts drawer, was $246.  Add $7 for a magazine, $10 for a shit sight off amazon, and $7 for a box of tulammo and you're ready to hit the range budget style.
Bought one of the PSA SBA3, 10.5 nitride barrel, magpul furniture, EPT trigger kits for $329.  Then 3D printed a lower receiver which cost me $7 in plastic.  Then sold the SBA3 brace on the EE and got $90 back.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-10-5-5-56-nato-1-7-phosphate-moe-sba3-pistol-kit-flat-dark-earth-51654491741.html

do you even walking dead bro?

I'm with you.  My builds are with quality parts, especially the barrels!