AR-15 Build

Any good resources on building an AR? Bought a lower receiver from Anderson Mfg. Looking into building one over the course of this spring and summer. Use it for a predator gun and also "just to have." Anyone build some AR's before who might let me bend their ear or point me towards a GOOD forum for AR builds?

Following...
I was going to start a build but the way people are buying right now I decided to wait.
Half the sites are out of stock for so much stuff. They just don’t have the selection and or good prices compared to a month ago.
Not to change the topic though I want to hear what advice people have.

Here are a few on here much more knowledgeable than I am, bit simply putting one together is fairly straightforward, especially if you get an upper that's already assembled. I out one together last summer on an Amderson stripped lower with a build kit from Palmetto State Armory. Lots of good videos on the process of assembly on YouTube.

I can't remember who they are, but there are users on here who can probably assemble one with their eyes closed and give you plenty of tips on what to look for. Like Forest said, some things might be hard to come by right now. Like ammo. When I out mine together, I had my stripped lower for 4-6 months while I waited for the right build kit to go on sale, and that was a year ago.

I have bought a lot of parts from palmetto state armory. Barrels from red x arms. Optics planet is a good place to check out too. I'm afraid right now would be a terrible time to be trying to buy AR parts, but just search around. There's a ton of places to buy from. Decide what direction you want to go with it, and start looking. Be careful though, it gets addictive.....

Upper and trigger are the things you want to pay attention to IMO the rest is just garnish really.

You can use palmetto state parts for about all of it. 2 things i dont use from them is triggers and barrels. I get my triggers from rock river, the 2 stage national match varmint version. Great trigger for about 100 shipped. I like ballistic advantage hansen series premium barrels. I would also look into white oak armament barrels. Its not absolutely necessary but I have had good luck with Failzero nickel boron bolt carriers groups. Freefloat handguard is the only way to go. I also prefer the BCM mod 4 (medium) charging handle.

I like the Bushmaster patrolman uppers 2 of mine have Chip McCormick triggers.

So from doing research and what you guys are saying, the parts are not manufacturer specific? Like I can use Palmetto parts with an Anderson lower?

Mil-spec all the build parts are the same some buffer tubes can be mil-spec or commercial size.

Right, you can mix and match parts from different manufacturers. Makes it really easy to customize them, to the point of being something of a money pit or addiction.

I like this video

If you notice the lower parts are all different the 2 springs that do match do the same job just in 2 different places they are tough to install wrong.

AR-15 parts are not manufacturer specific if you are building a Mil-spec AR if your doing a side charger or non 223/5.56 then changes apply but most are still the same

one place where there is a variation is buffer tube there is commercial and mil whatever you but stock is order the appropriate tube or vise versa. if you bought a kit with both in it you should be good

mill spec parts means anyone can make them and when they get to the armorer they all fit the specifications to run

AR-9 and AR-10 do not share this interchangeability because neither was a US military standard at any point

Good info, thanks and thanks for clarifying "mill spec parts." Was going to ask. Been around guns all my life. But the AR is a new one for me. Shot an M16 in the Marines. So this is just another hobby to get into that's gonna cost me money but be a lot of fun.

Anderson also sells a lower parts kit. Has a special trigger. Best trigger I've felt I think. AR Performance is a respected barrel maker. Check out their website.
mt

Thank you. That's the one I've been looking at on their website. My buddy also recommended that kit due to the trigger.

And thanks for the video, GREENCOUNTYPETE, much appreciated.

Just built one tonight. I used anderson lower parts kit, buffer tube and spring kit and a bcg. Armspec charging handle, psa lower, cmc complete upper. The trigger that came with the Anderson is smooth. I think I'm at $600 for a 223 wylde all said and done.

I'm waiting for the stock and red dot.

Rainer arms also make some excellent barrels.

The thing about building your own is it’s everything you wanted when your done with fewer extra parts remaining. If you have to many extra parts you will just want to build another one. LOL

Wild_Idaho, think of them as Legos for us big kids, you can build and change them all you want. The Anderson trigger and also the Palmetto enhanced are stainless so if you take a dremel tool with a little buffing wheel on it and some stainless compound in a few seconds you can polish the sear face of the trigger and also where it engages the hammer on the hammer. It will look like a mirror. You can do this on any mill spec trigger just use a regular metal polish.
Then get a JP spring kit from Brownells and use the yellow hammer and trigger springs and the little JP spring for the disconnector and then put a good grease on the sear and hammer like Lucas gun grease and you will have a great 3 to 3 1/2 pound trigger for a 11.99 spring kit and a few minutes time.

JP spring kit

Just looked on gunbroker it looks like part prices are creeping up now I’d say about 25%.

Yep. Palmetto sent me my daily email. Said they had some uppers and other things back in stock, but the prices sure looked different lol

You are screwed. They are so much fun to build that you'll want to build another one. I always build one, use it for awhile, then get an idea for a new build, so I sell the one I have, make a little extra money, and build a new one. YouTube is the best for how to build, and theres many forums with advise. But if you want ideas on cool builds, use Instagram. Tons of awesome ideas. I've been toying with color ideas for my AR-15 Pistol. I think I decided on what I'm going to do. It's my tribute to the man and women in blue.

Now I just need to decide on what stock, I mean “stabilizer”, I’m going to put on it. The accent pieces are just rattle canned for now. I do that to see what I like then remove the paint and cerekote them.

Nice!

I have a pile of AR stuff to unload from the last panic run, just waiting for the price to go up some more.

Here are some more questions for you guys...
What size barrel for coyote hunting?
I am in wooded areas with shorter range. So I figured 18 inch would do me fine. Someone like the OP in Idaho might want to go with 22. Or doesn’t it matter that much.

I have been told you have to match you buffer tube with your barrel if you go for a longer barrel. Buffer tube needs to be longer to accommodate a longer gas tube?

Has anyone used the 6.5 Grendel for deer? Any recommendations on that?
I understand you only need a new mag, BCG, and barrel and you can run grendel through the same lower?

Your buffer needs to match your gas system. Barrel length doesn't necessarily affect the gas system length. The buffer tube is the same, the buffer is different weight for the different gas systems. What caliber are you thinking of using?

Was thinking .223 Wylde

18 inch barrel would be fine for that, in my opinion

Forest, in my opinion a light 16 inch barrel is perfect for mostly shorter 100 to 150 yards or less. The 300 Blackout has impressed me with quick kills and no pelt damage. We have been shooting sub-sonic at 100 yards and it gives a tiny hole going in and very small going out and hammers the coyotes. Same mags for .300 BO as .223/5.56

A couple of AR's I built this week.

Black is 6.5 Grendal 10.5 inch barrel

Tan is 223 7.5 inch barrel

I put the Shockwave blade brace on both of them. You can legally shoulder them.

Nice looking firearms 1lessdog. Flipper I'm interested more about the .300 blackout. I intend on using it for a bit of predator calling. Wolves and coyotes mostly. Was thinking .223 wylde or possibly 6.5 grendel. The .300 blackout intrigues me.

My girls and I have shot several deer and a few antelope with the Grendel and it works great. The girls would rather shoot it than the 243 and the adjustable stock makes it alot easier to fit it to them. My Grendel will be the only gun I have if I ever only have one gun.

The 300 blackout is great with 110 grain and 125 grain bullets too, but with 225 grain subsonics and a suppressor it's movie quiet. I guess maybe that is why the military uses it.

It Takes way more time looking through the catalogues and making your mind up what you should get than actually putting one of those things together. If you want a challenge , build an IKEA night stand instead of an AR15. Get a good barrel and a decent trigger. The rest is just fluff

Youtube removed your video.

Unless you want to go sub sonic, the Grendel is heads and shoulders above the 300 BO for pretty much every application. I like my Grendel a lot. If I want to go quiet sub sonic, I would break out the 458 SOCOM with heavy bullets 550 + grains and put a can on it.

When the 30 round mags hit $20 each I have about 200 to move then, with the new bills they are pushing it could be the Barry days all over again soon.

Yup Law Dog. The dems are trying to sneak in all sorts of crap during these times while folks are concentrating on the virus.

This makes me laugh. “Dems are sneaking stuff in bills”. None of us know what most bills say even when there is nothing distracting us. Yes there are Dems putting stuff in bills, but there’s also republicans reading these bills. That new gun bill is a campaign bill. Any bill that bans a gun is a bill that they wrote to fail. Now even magazine restrictions are put in bills so they fail. California Supreme Court ruled magazine restrictions to be unconstitutional. When you have a pro-gun controlled Supreme Court, and ban will be deemed unconstitutional. If they really wanted the tax money they would leave the ban out. The writers of the bill know it won’t pass but now when they start their campaign they can say “we need to ban military style AR-14s with double barrel magazines and heat seeking bullets, I even wrote and supported a bill that would protect our children and ban these killers”. It’s just another campaign bill. It has a slim chance to make it through the house, and won’t make it pass the senate. And if it did, the president would veto it and there is no way it could get 3/4ths vote from the house or senate.

Just look up how the National Firearm Act got passes and you might understand why we should keep a eye on it.

Well yes we need to keep an eye on it. It’s our responsibility as citizens to watch what our elected officials do. But look at the demographics of congress in 1934. Not only majority Democrat’s, it was heavily controlled by the democrats. You also have to look at the wordage in the NFA. It doesn’t ban any gun. It is nearly impossible for the Supreme Court to rule it unconstitutional because it doesn’t ban our right to own an SBR or fully automatic weapon. It does make it more difficult to get one, which I personal think infringes on our rights, but it doesn’t ban them. That’s why I said when a bill says it’s going to ban a type of firearm, they k ow it won’t pass or will get ruled unconstitutional.

This is why I believe even the anti-gun politicians don’t want AR style guns banned. They understand all this bill stuff. If they wanted to make it so there was less AR style weapons then they would copy the way the NFA got passed and just make it difficult to acquire one. But they haven’t even tried that. Everything has been a ban bill. They like ARs being out there, and they like gun crime, and love mass shootings. It’s an emotional tool they can use to get elected. You remove guns which wouldn’t stop gun crime anyways, but if it did then they would have one less emotional tool to use to get elected. Liberals use fear and emotion to win. They don’t want to lose those campaign tools.

If you want to talk politics start another thread. This is strictly about me wanting info on building an AR and I kindly thank those of you who have given some really good info.

I apologize. But to answer your question about the buffer tube. The tube it self doesn’t need to match your gas system. The springs are all the same length so they stop the bolt the same. So they are stopped the same. You’ll feel the recoil more with the shorter tubes, but it’s still minimal. What needs to be matched is the buffer itself. The shorter they had system, the more pressure you have on the blowback, and the heavier buffer you need. The longer the gas system the lighter the buffer needs to be. To heavy of a buffer can give you some misfeeds. But even with this, it doesn’t need to be over thought. The only time it really matters is with a pistol length gas system. A lot of manufacture will label there heavier buffers as a buffer made for pistol style. Any standard buffer tube would work for carbine-rifle length. With an 18” barrel you’ll have a mid length gas system, which is becoming the most popular gas system length even for 16” barrels.

It actually wasn't me who asked that, but that is some good info to know about it. I was glad that Forest asked though. So thanks for the info. Sorry, don't mean to come off like a Richard but I don't come on this site for the politics whatsoever.

How is the .458 SOCOM on fur, regarding entry/exit hole. A lot of what I do with this AR will be some calling coyotes and wolves in the spring and early fall. Other than that just some occasional target shooting.

6.5 Grendel has low recoil and high accuracy, but the level of barrel erosion is quite high and its bore can burn out quickly. Meanwhile, 300 Blackout is very easy to use, all you need is a new barrel. However, 300 Blackout only works well in the close ranges. He asked about something for close in. I like the fact that I can shoot 110 grain and 220 subsonic with a 7.62 suppressor and not have hardly any damage to the pelt. Way less than a close shot with the 6.5 Grendel. The 458 requires a different suppressor and would be way over kill for a close coyote. I shot one with a Valkyrie and an 88 grain bullet and destroyed the coyote. I have different guns for different senarios. I guess if you just want one gun, figure out where most of your shots will be and what your target is and go from there.

Buffers come in different sizes for several reasons the M4 Type is shorter, the full length ones come in different weights to regulate the rate of fire on the M16 types

He did ask about how it performed on deer not Coyotes. So I stand by what I said that a 458 SOCOM would be what I would use if I planned to go sub sonic. Mine is loaded with super sonic rounds in 350 grain and is my designated truck gun. Because ya never know when one could encounter a rogue truck with bad intentions.

Oh, when I read it it says how is the 458 on fur? Mainly calling wolves and mostly coyotes. Everyone has their own opinion and can buy or build what they like. I like a .300 WSM suppressed for deer, makes no difference, works for me. No two people in different parts of the country are going to have the same likes or needs. He was asking for opinions, that is all I gave.

Alright thanks guys. Your input here has helped a lot. I'm sure I'll still have more questions. After shooting a .300 blackout with a friend today I decided to go with that. That was a real fun firearm and sounds like that will make a good predator gun. Ordered an Anderson lower yesterday. BCA upper today with side charging handle to avoid complications with a scope.

I have a BCA upper in 458 socom. I dont think i would have recommended them. It functions but accuracy sucks. The ejection port cover came broken and needs replaced. Price was right though for a toy.

First part of the process came today. Almost as good as getting a box of traps from MTP.

That should keep you busy for 20 minutes

I agree

I got to of the Anderson lower kits in the mail today. Will buy two stripped lowers tomorrow and get them put together.

Not happy with my anderson parts. I took the new AR out yesterday, several issues happened.

Every other round would fire. The buffer retainer cracked in half which sent the buffer spring over and the buffer tube is chipped in the middle. The rear take down pin chipped when the buffer spring went over the retainer. All of this was within 12 rounds. I had to email Anderson since they aren't answering phones due to Corona Virus.

Gas system and buffer are carbine length.

Got it built today, now just need some optics and a bipod.

I have a Nikon 3 x 12 x 40 on mine with the " I think its called the BCD reticle " where you can dial in the distance in yards ...... Its pretty close with my 62grain hand loads and makes life dead easy. And it don't beak the bank either.

BDC bullet drop compensating

unfortunately Nikon got out of the firearms optics business at the end of 2019 anything still for sale is new old stock as I understand it

I replaced the Anderson trigger spring and hammer spring with a JP spring kit and that made it a nice consistent and smooth trigger for about $11. I'm really liking the 300 blackout and planning on putting a couple of magazines through it here soon at various distances, both with subsonic and supersonic.

I also ordered a Palmetto stripped lower and a Spike's LPK to slowly start my next build, which I am going to do in .223 wylde.

Stay away from the jp spring kits, Ive tried both the yellow and red versions. Both eventually turned into random light primer strikes.

Hmmm, I've never heard that from anyone about them

I use the yellow springs and have had them in one rifle for 3 years now and as it is my 223 plinking tool I have no idea how many rounds it has through it but it is a lot. Using Br4 CCI 400 Remington 7 1/2 primers and some other I can't think of off the top of my head at the moment and have no problems with light strikes.

What ammunition were you using when this happened to you Possum Man ??

Never ever had an issue with them.

CCI #41 primers. Which are mil spec and have a hard primer cup so you dont get slam fires ( i know not likely) from any free floating firing pins like an AR. I also run my rifles suppressed which will get a bit of carbon all the way down into the trigger assy. What i found was if i didnt clean in between every time i fired it and the rifle sat for a day or two the first round would go snap. I could clear that round and then it would fire no problem until i let it sit for a while again between shots, then goes snap on the first round. You could rechamber that same round and it would fire and you could just see the firing pin just didnt hit hard enough when inspecting that round. I believe the culprit is the extra carbon the suppressor puts into the system, once it sits in the BCG or trigger group it kind of mucks up the works especially in humid climates like in the south. That is also not a lot of rounds to cause this...just one or two shots is enough.
I was doing some load workups on a buddies 458 and he had the jp springs in and we started getting a whole lot of light strikes. We swapped out the springs back to the regular ones and the problem went away. Again those are magnum pistol primers in 458 but i dont know the specs on those primer cups.
I also tried to make the springs work by bobbing the hammer on one trigger group. It lightens the hammer so it has more velocity when hitting the primer from the underpowered springs, which is exactly what the jp trigger groups are that they used to sell with their spring kits in them. I do believe they even had a disclaimer on their site to not use those spring kits in anything but competition or target guns, not to use them for duty or home protection.

While the jp springs do work most of the time and will do a good job of lightening a milspec trigger I would never use them in any gun I might even have a chance at needing to defend myself or even hunt with. Your mileage may vary, but they are not for me. I would advise spending the money on a better trigger that is designed to be lighter pull. I have not had any problems with the RRA national match triggers, I even run the varmint version which is even lighter.

i had an issue using the JP spring with a 22lr bcg adapter

it was not consistent hitting hard enough to set off the 22lr a switch to mill spec trigger group and it was running very reliable

You could always just put the red spring on the hammer and leave the yellow on the trigger if you had an issue.

Tried the red springs too. They are still not full power springs.

I run Winchester Large magnum pistol primers in my 458 with no issues using JP springs and thats my truck gun or sits on the 4 wheeler so its not exactly a safe queen or septs that clean. I do run all of them pretty "wet" with a good squirt of ballistic after cleaning .

Lots of people I know hunt with guns like this and never heard of a problem. I have not seen a problem with FMJ military stuff either. Could it be a friction problem with the hammer dragging. Got me, I like the lighter trigger pull.

60 rounds through it today at the house both sub and super. 100 rounds tomorrow at the range.

Looks good!

what stock is that and can you get 14 1/2 inches LOP?

It's from Advanced Tactical. Yes you can get to over 15"

Decided my 300blk rifle was lonely so built her a little brother, a 300blk pistol. This one will eventually get a suppressor and be the home defense gun. This is a really fun caliber to shoot, although my next build is headed towards a 6.5 grendel.

You are latest case of BRD-19...........Black Rifle Disease. There is no cure but it is rarely deadly. You might be able to kick it with counseling.

Why in the heck would I want to kick it? I mean, who needs to pay bills or things like that when you can build rifles?