Questions for AR guys

gangsta965084

gangsta965084

Joined
Jul 27, 2009
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Im building my first ar, I have a new froniters plastic lower and a 16" del-ton midHBar, What things do i need to make it a precision rifle? I already ordered another lower(spikes). How do i remove the front sight post without messing up the gas system? Also what scope should i get? I have about $400 to this right away and more funds in the future. Thanks for the help in advance.
 
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1. Post this in "Gadgets and Gear" ;)

2. It's "Precision" :rolleyes:

3. Form your question in the form of a question. :rolleyes:

4. Admit that you now know what failure is....:p

In before the move....:D
 
Unless you don't like the looks of your front sight post, I'd just leave it on at the moment so you wouldn't sepend money on a new gas block.

If you get a scope that is over 3.5-4 power, you won't see the post anyway, the focal point is in front of it so it'll appear invisable.

If you have $400 right now for a scope, Nikon Monarchs are a good bang for the buck right now and they make an AR scope next to their standard production Monarchs. Leupold is also putting better glass in their VX-1s this year so that is another option.

And by precision, what do you mean? A good long range rifle or a short range tack driver?
 
M67 said:
Unless you don't like the looks of your front sight post, I'd just leave it on at the moment so you wouldn't sepend money on a new gas block.

If you get a scope that is over 3.5-4 power, you won't see the post anyway, the focal point is in front of it so it'll appear invisable.

If you have $400 right now for a scope, Nikon Monarchs are a good bang for the buck right now and they make an AR scope next to their standard production Monarchs. Leupold is also putting better glass in their VX-1s this year so that is another option.

And by precision, what do you mean? A good long range rifle or a short range tack driver?
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Thanks for the informantion i was looking at the Nikon Coyote, it comes with bullet drop comp for a 55gr .223. also its in camo! As for a precision rifle, I want it to be good from 300yds to 600yds. I might get the dpms carbon fiber freefloat handguards aswell.
 
gangsta965084 said:
Thanks for the informantion i was looking at the Nikon Coyote, it comes with bullet drop comp for a 55gr .223. also its in camo! As for a precision rifle, I want it to be good from 300yds to 600yds. I might get the dpms carbon fiber freefloat handguards aswell.
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300 to 600 yards? my advice would be a longer barrel, maybe a 20. i like a 1 in 9 twist myself, but if you want something that will hit at 600 a 1 in 7 twist so you can move up to over 69 grain bullets would be a good idea.

will a 55 grain bullet hit at 600, yes, but not as well as 69s and over. 600 yards is a long way for a 5.56/.223 especially with a 55 grain bullet.
 
standard front sight towers with tapered pins drive from left to right... remove the muzzle brake/flash hider....support the right side of the sight tower with a hard wood block, and use a good pin punch... a couple of taps with a plastic mallet should allow the tower to slide off once the pins are removed, gas tube with it... when you replace, check inside the receiver that the gas tube is centered in the upper...

you will want a good trigger....I use RockRiver NM in my game guns, but you might want something a little better, like a JP , Giselle, etc
 
You might shoot the thing first to see what it will do with good ammo, don't try for accuracy with anything FMJ. AR's have a reputation for being easy to make accurate. A chrome lined bore might or might not be accurate, but a good chrome moly or stainless barrel should be plenty accurate enough. You can always get a heavy barrel but that might not be necessary. A freefloat handguard will help, that way the point of impact isn't changed if you have a sling or with different types of rests. This happens mostly in competition with tight slings and 20" barrels but can happen with the shorter barrels too. If you were going to switch barrels, sights, handguard then you could just get a new flattop upper completely setup that way.

If you are shooting past 300 or 400 yards you will want bullets heavier than 55 grains, probably 68 or 69 grains at least. Most people that shoot AR's in competition out to 600 yards use 75 grain bullets or heavier, and these require at least an 8" twist barrel. There are lots of ranges that won't even allow 55 grain bullets on their 600 yard line because the bullets don't maintain stability for the entire distance.
 
heresthedeal said:
300 to 600 yards? my advice would be a longer barrel, maybe a 20. i like a 1 in 9 twist myself, but if you want something that will hit at 600 a 1 in 7 twist so you can move up to over 69 grain bullets would be a good idea.

will a 55 grain bullet hit at 600, yes, but not as well as 69s and over. 600 yards is a long way for a 5.56/.223 especially with a 55 grain bullet.
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I did not know that, thanks. Im going to build another rifle for that then. Its super fun building these...
 
Les Snyder said:
standard front sight towers with tapered pins drive from left to right... remove the muzzle brake/flash hider....support the right side of the sight tower with a hard wood block, and use a good pin punch... a couple of taps with a plastic mallet should allow the tower to slide off once the pins are removed, gas tube with it... when you replace, check inside the receiver that the gas tube is centered in the upper...

you will want a good trigger....I use RockRiver NM in my game guns, but you might want something a little better, like a JP , Giselle, etc
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Ive heard nothing but good things about the Giselle triggers, id get a flat trigger ie thier super dynamic.
 
There's no reason you can't cut the sight off of the front sight base. Hacksaw it off (at the bottom of the legs) grind it flat and touch up with BBQ grill paint. You can take it off first like Les described but I've never had one come off as easy as he makes it sound. It won't be the prettiest gas block ever but you can cover it up with a long free float handguard and you'll never see it.

Turning it into a precision rifle is a little more difficult. Easiest and cheapest thing to do would be to replace it with a Remington SPS. Are you planning on reloading for it? Because if your barrel is a 16" chrome lined barrel chambered for 5.56 with 1/9 twist then you're probably never going to get better than 2 MOA shooting factory .223 and your choices for 5.56 are pretty limited.

There's a lot of decent glass out there for $300-400... ...Weaver Grand Slam, Bushnell Elite 3200 or 4200, Nikon, etc. If it were me I'd throw an EoTech on it and forget trying to make it into a sniper rifle. A 1-4 scope would be okay too without trying to make the rifle into something it's not.
 
ElConquistador said:
If it were me I'd throw an EoTech on it and forget trying to make it into a sniper rifle. A 1-4 scope would be okay too without trying to make the rifle into something it's not.
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10-4 im thinking that this is the way im headed with this project...because it is a 16in carbine.
 
Might wanna up your caliber if you want sniper distances. Not saying you can't do it with 556 but would be easier to achieve with 308 or something similar.

Steve
 
Revenuer said:
Might wanna up your caliber if you want sniper distances. Not saying you can't do it with 556 but would be easier to achieve with 308 or something similar.

Steve
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I know thanks for all the input on this thread. Ive come to the conclusion that i need another rifle for what im looking for but, untill then my first ar will be nice to plink with at the range. BTW i got my upper 2 days ago and that this is heavier than i imagined.
 
Couldn't you build a different upper for when you want to reach out and touch things, while keeping the lower you have?

I'm sorry for both the thread jack and the nearly complete lack of AR knowledge, there are only so many places one can search/find answers to complete noob questions while the AR guys are looking. :)
 
EricV....the .223/5.56 case has a limited capacity, so even full of modern triple base propellant there is only so much room... a good ballistic coefficient (how efficiently it moves through the air) of the shape of the bullet helps, but when you get above 69grain bullets the projectiles must be seated deeper in the case to fit in the magazine, and that reduces case capacity... the lethality of a 5.56 round decreases when the bullet velocity drops below 2700fps...above that velocity the projectile yaws as it enters soft tissue, breaks apart at the cannelure, and shreads up the tissue temporarily stretched by the hydrostatic shock...below that it typically exits the tissue intact and base forward
 
An AR-10 would be best best for long range and still has power. But there are 2 size of AR lowers, a 5.56 lower which you can make a 5.56, 300 Blackout, 30 AR (if that cartridge still exists), 450 Buchmaster, 50 Beowolf, 7.62x39, 458 Socom, 6.5 Grendal, and about 10 other calibers. Then you have a 7.62 lower, which is bigger since the 308 is massive compared to a .223, in a 7.62 lower you can make a 260 Remington, 243, 6.5 Creedmoor, and a few others. Olympic does make a .22-250 on a 223 lower (not quite sure how that would work. But in short, with a small frame AR, you can't make a 308 that would be best to launch out at 800+ yards. Out of a 5.56 lower, best caliber to push out long range could be a 6.5 Grendal, but I'm not sure.
 
EricV said:
Couldn't you build a different upper for when you want to reach out and touch things, while keeping the lower you have?

I'm sorry for both the thread jack and the nearly complete lack of AR knowledge, there are only so many places one can search/find answers to complete noob questions while the AR guys are looking. :)
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ill change the lower also if its crap, Its made of Polymer.
 
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