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RoyGBiv wrote:Looks like I found a "test fired only" CMMG upper (complete with BCG/CH, all CMMG parts, 1:7, Chromed, 16" Gov't) including a Hahn Precision BUIS for a great price... Just need to wait for the post man.

I'm considering an all-polymer lower from New Frontier to make it a "Glock AR"
My one worry about the polymer lower is how it might affect the balance of the finished rifle.

Still have my eye out for a forged or milled receiver..

Thanks for all the advice in this thread... Much appreciated.

Lowers back in stock at PSA(no guarantees of when you'll get the lower - took me two weeks?). Rainier Arms also has the Seekins Lower in stock. I think the Seekins will be my next lower.

RoyGBiv wrote:Anyone care to recommend a good quality, reasonably priced, AVAILABLE (in-stock), BCG?
I'm thinking about one of those PSA uppers mentioned earlier in this thread, but PSA is out of stock on BCG's?

TIA

ETA: Well... Checked again and found this at PSA
http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.ph ... group.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Any other recommendations??

That one is not the PSA-branded BCG. Not sure where they source it from. I bought mine from Bravo Co about three weeks ago, arrived on my door step inside of a week. Great looking BCG fwiw....

1s1k52 wrote:

cyphur wrote:

1s1k52 wrote:All good to know man. Any reason someone would not get a chrome lined barrel? I priced some 1 in 8 twist barrels which alone seem to run 200+

1in7 barrels can run 55gr and up, below 55gr you may run into issues with spinning the projectile too fast and run into issues with projectible wobble/disintegration and very poor accuracy results.


1in8 tries to combine best of both worlds, but most folks either settle on one or the other, hence why 1in7 and 1in9 barrels are cheaper - they are mass produced and sold in quantity. Economy of scale.....

Sounds to me like 1 in 7 will do just fine. So far I have not got a call back from SWAT FIREARMS and i called Saturday. Seems like every avenue I am pointed in online everyone is out of stock....

Lauer was the lower with the safety I liked at Cabelas. I saw a M&P lower that had pretty much the same feel yet a different M&P lower did not. So something has those safetys kind of "spongy" best way I can explain it. Stiff enough not to get thrown accidentally but lose enough to activate/deactivate with ease.

I need to get one and start learning im itching! I understand the free float but no clue when "mid length gas blocks" are done.

I strongly recommend you start doing some reading, before you buy one. You should know all of the parts of the rifle, what they do, how it functions, etc before you operate it.

Nothing beats hands on experience, but you should not embark on that learning ignorantly without a basic understanding of the rifle. Not knowing the function of the gas block leads me to believe you still have some reading to do. If I am wrong and you simply misunderstood me, forgive me, but I'd rather err on the side of safety and not assume you know things you do not.

Sputz wrote:I don't run chromlined. Mine are melonited like glocks, i really like my melonited barrels they wipe down clean easily and pretty accurate. Chromlined is mil-spec and that's all I'll say about that.

Sputz

And the problem with mil-spec is?? Mine always worked fine for me when I was in uniform. Last time I checked the SOF components still run chrome lined in many applications as well.....

Mil-spec is for combat, not shooting matches. If you are shooting matches, I could see why you may not espouse mil-spec.

1s1k52 wrote:All good to know man. Any reason someone would not get a chrome lined barrel? I priced some 1 in 8 twist barrels which alone seem to run 200+

Well, at which point you are putting together a custom rifle, budget goes out the window. 1in8 barrels are a custom run typically as most folks either go for 1in9 or 1in7.

1in9 runs 40gr to 62gr well, some can push to 69gr depending on quality, 75-77gr may be doable but many run into stabilization issues.

1in7 barrels can run 55gr and up, below 55gr you may run into issues with spinning the projectile too fast and run into issues with projectible wobble/disintegration and very poor accuracy results.


1in8 tries to combine best of both worlds, but most folks either settle on one or the other, hence why 1in7 and 1in9 barrels are cheaper - they are mass produced and sold in quantity. Economy of scale.....



Whatever you can justify, up to you. At which point you buy stripped barrels, you may as well free float it with a low profile gas block because you'll lose accuracy potential without the free float. JMHO....

1s1k52 wrote:

cyphur wrote:

A BCG right now tends to run about $140-$160 when you find them in stock. I ordered a full 5.56MM BCG for my PSA 6.8 build, I'll just grab a 6.8SPC bolt and swap it out.


As far as a budget AR build - Hammer Forged does not exactly fall under "budget" IMHO. You can get uppers for $120 less from PSA that will suit you just fine. Such as these:

16" Mid-length A2 Profile CMV CL

16" Mid-Length Heavy Profile CMV CL


$280 upper, $150 BCG, $99 PSA lower(or wait for the lower to go on sale for $59 blem), grab a basic PSA lower build kit for $80, and you have yourself a roughly $600 AR.

You could go with the $130 complete NFA lower and shaved some coin off of the cost, not sure what your application for the rifle is or your comfort zone with a composite lower is. The jury is out for me, haven't used one yet. Will not recommend them until I do.

I have not seen lowers that cheap and no I do not what a poly lower. What are the differences between those uppers? I must be missing something?

PSA is currently out stock on their lowers, but they normally run $99. They have been running sales on what they call "blemished lowers" which means the anodized finish did not come out perfect. The two I have.....tough to find any blems. I see the anodizing came out a bit thin in a few spots....but I'll likely be cerakoting them anyhow so it will not matter much.

You do not need a hammer forged barrel, it's a neat thing to have, and if you *NEED* sub-MOA, maybe it's something you should look into. For a plinker, the common Chrome-Moly Vanadium Chrome-Lined (see CMV CL in my other posts) should work just fine. You'll still get an excellent life span out of the barrel and most folks will not miss the accuracy gain(as their gun outshoots them regardless).

Other than the CHF vs CMV CL, and the barrel profiles, the uppers are the same. Well, except a few that are on sale are $120 cheaper Between a $99 PSA lower and a $280 PSA upper, you can get a pretty inexpensive rifle built that still is built on a sound quality foundation.

RoyGBiv wrote:

cyphur wrote: 16" Mid-length A2 Profile CMV CL

16" Mid-Length Heavy Profile CMV CL

$280 upper, $150 BCG, $99 PSA lower(or wait for the lower to go on sale for $59 blem), grab a basic PSA lower build kit for $80, and you have yourself a roughly $600 AR.

Great suggestions cyphur... Thanks.!

One question... Buried in the comments for the M4 version is the following... Can someone tell me what exactly is the impact of this issue regarding handguards? Thanks againg.

The only thing I don't get is the front hanger on the front sight for the handguard is triangular. None of my rail systems will fit on it unless I pop the front sight and change it or run a floating 2 piece handguard.

The handguard cap is what the handguards snap into at the front sight post - the standard is circular I do believe.

1s1k52 wrote:http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.ph ... -2274.html

PLUS

a new frontier arms lower unless I find one cheaper than 230.00 shipped to me thats including FFL fees and shipping cost.

judging on PSA I can get a 6.8 from them for about half the price as others makes me wonder why, but I will still most likely go with them if this works out

You should keep in mind that you also need a Bolt Carrier Group to accompany that PSA upper. PSA is out of stock on BCGs so currently none of their offerings ship with them unless they specifically state that they do - such as their complete rifle.

A BCG right now tends to run about $140-$160 when you find them in stock. I ordered a full 5.56MM BCG for my PSA 6.8 build, I'll just grab a 6.8SPC bolt and swap it out.


As far as a budget AR build - Hammer Forged does not exactly fall under "budget" IMHO. You can get uppers for $120 less from PSA that will suit you just fine. Such as these:

16" Mid-length A2 Profile CMV CL

16" Mid-Length Heavy Profile CMV CL


It will be tens of thousands of rounds before you wear out either of those, and you gain nothing from hammer forging that you will notice for a plinker. Keep in mind that many of those technologies may benefit those in harms way, or those that may run through a barrel or two a year, for most folks, the typical barrel will last most of their ownership of the rifle.

$280 upper, $150 BCG, $99 PSA lower(or wait for the lower to go on sale for $59 blem), grab a basic PSA lower build kit for $80, and you have yourself a roughly $600 AR.

You could go with the $130 complete NFA lower and shaved some coin off of the cost, not sure what your application for the rifle is or your comfort zone with a composite lower is. The jury is out for me, haven't used one yet. Will not recommend them until I do.

RoyGBiv wrote:If anyone with experience building AR's would consider putting on a class, or perhaps we could try a group buy on uppers and lowers and have a "put it together" class... I'd be in for the group buy and would be happy to chip in to make it worth someone's time to instruct and provide tools (if necessary)...

I like the idea of buying a separate upper and lower, and have been poking around online to find a good deal... A group buy might allow us to create our own deal...

That said, I know form some experience that doing a group buy is a huge headache for the person who raises their hand to coordinate it... I wish I could take that on, but, no way I can make the time...

Anyhow... just food for thought.. and my indication of interest in a decent DIY build for sub-$600...

Best bet would be creating a list of parts, get a list of 4-8 people together, and when everyone gets their parts, schedule a class.

No vendor has an incentive to do group buys with demand so high right now - they have trouble maintaining stock as it is.

OldCannon wrote: Remember, if you "Do It Yourself" assemble a lower and upper together, you bypass the mandatory 11% Federal Excise Tax that's built in to all complete rifles.

I will not say "never", but I will unlikely ever buy a complete AR15 for this reason. I haven't yet.


You can buy a complete AR15 upper, and then a complete AR15 lower, and have a complete rifle. OR, do what most people do - buy a complete upper(which negates most of the more detailed, complicated work - and complicated is relative since it's an AR15), and then buy a lower receiver and a lower parts kit. This way you've still done some of the "building" but nothing you cannot do with common hand tools. Assembling an upper - the right way - typically involves some tools some folks may not have, like a receiver block, receiver nut wrench, a strap wrench(if you're installing a free float upper), etc.

Just food for thought....

1s1k52 wrote:I had to google PSA AR to find what yall were talking about. That is good to know about the 1:9 barrel not eating 77 grain very well. Most guns I see only come with 1:9. Does that apply to just 5.56? Asking because eventually I am getting a 6.8 upper.

WASP vs Chrome seems to be up for debate...

Palmetto shows to be out of stock so??

the 14.5 route is just me trying to get as short of a carbine as possible. So unless I just have something backwards or wrong please let me know.

Different calibers will require different twists. My .308 bolt runs 1in12, the 6.8 I have coming is 1in11. 1in9 is too fast for 6.8......

1s1k52 wrote:I don't think I am going to get a chance to hunt this year so I am shifting some efforts to getting into AR's. This has always been something I have WANTED to do but always felt it was really out of my price range. I am learning a little more and more everyday. Had a few people from work giving me some ideas. One of them recommended Model 1 Sales. I googled them and immediately saw nothing but bad things.

To start I think I just want a A3 upper. Just something basic. Durability and functionality are really key because it will be my a problem arises SD gun. All opinions welcome. I was going to try and buy a colt stripped lower and do a slow build. Buddy said recommended buying something cheap and complete JIC and swapping parts out later. I am trying to get gun in hand for 700 or under preferably

Check out PSA - they have lots of deals often, as long as you are OK with the wait times. Could be a few weeks before you get your stuff.