I am looking at building an AR, I don't know much about them though. But I want to build one just to learn everything I can. And maybe build one cheaper than buying one. But not sure on what caliber I want or where to start.
Not really. I guess I would have to say that Anderson would be my preference in lowers, mainly because of the cost of them. Magpul is the furniture of choice, most of the time, mainly because it just look good. On the rest of the internal parts, it just doesn't matter because they are all the same, basically.
I have eleven AR's made with parts from probably 25 different manufacturers. I have uppers from Colt, CMMG, PSA, SOTA, Anderson, DPMS, and Del-ton. I have lowers from Anderson, Colt, DPMS, New Frontier, and Rock River Arms.
I can swap uppers and lowers on every one of those and every upper will fit every lower with the exception of one. The exception is an early Colt SP-1 upper that takes a large pin for the front "take down hole" but a small adapter makes it work with any of the lowers.
What I am trying to say with all this is that they are all mil-spec and will all work together.
Most of the .223/5.56 shoot about the same size group. Two are Wylde's, one of those (so far) looks like a shotgun pattern but I haven't been able to finish the ladder test on it.
Check out On Target TDS. It's a pretty effective program for closer examinations of groups. The one weak part of the program is the calculating feature using the scanner of your target w/ the bullet holes. Unless you have "THE" scanner, that part won't work. There is a work around that is done w/ a ruler on the paper you take a picture of then the program shines. I have two separate all in one printers and the program doesn't like either of my scanners for calculating off the scanner. They scan, but won't calculate which is a nice feature for those that have a scanner that works w/ the program I imagine.
New edit: I just checked the TDS home page and they have a new release. My old release was 3.89 and the new release is 6.05. May be my new upgrade will work once I get mailed the code to upgrade at no charge. The price is now cheaper. It's $35 now.
So I was looking at PSA for lower parts. Why is there such a difference between so e of the kits? Then I look at brownells and they sell an 80% polymer lower kit, with all the parts and the jig and the bits for just over $100. Sounds like too good of deal
Maybe you want a little challenge or you are trying to fly under the radar with a 80% lower build. But, you can get Anderson 100% forged 7075-T6 Alum. lowers for $40 - 50 + transfer fee.
And catch it at the right time and you can get them for less, I got an email from someone the other day who had them on sale for $34.95 (and I refrained from getting another one)!
I figure since it's a poly frame not a steel one it wouldn't be as hard to mill out. I would be leery of a poly frame AR but I'm not going to put 1000's of rounds through it.
So why do some of the kits cost a ton more than other that look like the same amount of parts
You can build an inexpensive AR if you take the time and shop for your parts. Prices have dropped to the basement since obozzo left and killery didn't get in.
I built my AR, and dont let them fool you, if your willing to shop around it is cheaper to build then to buy. Especially if you can find a friend with an FFL whos willing to order in a stripped lower without adding the shipping fee, I have a local gunsmith who will sell me anderson lowers at his cost, which is like $15-20 bucks, you can build a basic AR (no frills) for like 3-400 dollars. With that said, performance wise, you still save money. Sure you can pick up a DPMS for like 5-600 dollars easy, but your still only going to get a basic AR.
I got about 1200 into my custom AR, (Anderson lower, Aero Precision upper, 18" fluted barrel chambered in .223 wylde and several other features) which, to get a similarly performing gun from ruger, would be in the 1800-2000 dollar range.
In the end though, the best reason to build an AR, isnt to save money, at least not to me, but to have the satisfaction and challenge of having a gun you built and designed yourself, custom fit to your needs. My recomendation is if all your wanting is a "basic" gun to plink with, save yourself the hassle and buy pre-built. But if your wanting something special out of it, do a lot of research, put some work and creativity into it, and make it yours. I included a photo of mine, just because.
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