The idiot's guide to the AR-15 rifle (or an idiot building one)

StagLefty said:
One thing I'd add to building a lower is to have a large box to actually hold the lower inside when you put in some of the springs. If they go boing on you they'll be inside the box (I have no idea how I came to this conclusion !!) I think it was the front pivot spring that educated me. Good Luck-it is great to do your own build,you learn a lot about the workin's. :thumbup:
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Doesn't work. The springs just bounce off the side and go on a journey in a different direction. My advise: buy extra springs and detents from Brownell's, they come in 5- packs for the springs, and you'll be glad they do!

texastonydobbs said:
I just tossed my ESEE lower in the Safe until stash cash becomes free flowing again... no rush after getting lower in hand :D
have yet to decide if I want a SBR (10.5"-11.5" or 14.5") barrel or a varmint gun or just a plain ole' M4 type carbine.....
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Yeah, sure good luck with that. I was going to put mine away and build it as cash came in. It's been a never ending, sleepless, twitching shopping event since then.

texastonydobbs said:
Paperwork & $200 no biggie if I take my time...I think the SBR would be Freaking Sweet...I know it has a limited role if I go SBR but man o man ESEE SBR with a 100 Delta drum & a SF LED with vertical grip would be a cool home defense gun right ?
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Not to discourage what you may want, but I wouldn't go the SBR route. They may look sweet, but they aren't.

1.) A 20" rifle is f-ing loud. An SBR makes that seem quiet.
2.) An SBR is a flamethrower -- sure you want to set your house on fire? (It'll surely make the intruder leave).
3.) SBRs have to have wide open gas holes, and as such recoil hard, need heavy buffers and still have reliability issues.
4.) You lose a LOT, ballistically speaking, dropping below 16". The military chose the 14.5" because they wanted something easier for troops to ride in armored vehicles and helicopters with. The 14.5" was as short as they could go and still mount a bayonet.
5.) Consider that a 20" A2 (who's buttstock is as long as, or longer than, a typical carbine stock fully extended) is exactly 1" longer than an 18.5" HD shotgun. It's shorter than a 20" HD shotgun like a Mossy 590. A 16" will, of course be 4" shorter than that, plus however far you collapse the stock.
6.) To get a 14.5" barrel, you are sacrificing about 40 meters of effective range (fragmentary range) of the ammunition and $200 to get something 1.5" shorter than a 16".

If you want a home defense gun, I'd recommend a 16" midlength (so as to not have that stupid m203 cutout on the barrel, plus you have longer handguards to add lights and such to, and still have room for big mitts.

A good general purpose rifle with a 20" Government profile barrel, like BCM and CMMG offer will be very accurate (plenty to hit a man at 500 meters), and yet still be small enough to use indoors if needed. Also gives about 50 meters more effective range over a 16".

For a varmint rig, then go with a nice, fluted 24" barrel, bipod and the Beta-C mag (since you won't be trying to hold the monstrosity up while shooting it).

If you absolutely must have an SBR, I'd strongly recommend you pay another $200, plus $1100 or so for a good suppressor. Also keep in mind that the rifle will be registered as an SBR by the serial number on the LOWER, meaning you can never sell it to anyone but a class III dealer, or through a Class III dealer once it's registered.

Nice thing about ARs, is start with the one you'll use most, and you can build the other uppers as you want and wallet allow.
 
Thanks CP ,I have research the SBR for 2 months... and right now it is only one option of many with the AR lower.... Class III is no issue for me
I am also considering a 20"-24" fluted Bull barrel
your item 3.) SBRs have to have wide open gas holes, and as such recoil hard, need heavy buffers and still have reliability issues.That is what my Mini 14 is for ;) Solid performer under 150yds. for me (later Mini14 580serial range)
or the AK47 :D but the AK is my son's B day gift :thumbup:
 
hell!

started putting the lower together, and found out the bolt catch buffer was missing from my parts kit... got the magazine catch installed, at least.
 
Yeah I finally got lucky enough to have a guy open a Tac shop locally and he carries a good parts stock. When I lost that spring in previous post it was not cost effective to internet it and I was full speed ahead to finish the build after much delay.
 
so, what type of sling do you folks prefer? i'm leaning toward a single point system, but don't know whether its a good idea or not
 
I'm leaning towards the Magpul MS2 or MS3 if it comes out by the time im ready to buy. I will not be using the ASAP plate though. I will be using QD swivels (since my DDXV came with the rear one attached). I heard the ASAP ring makes a lot of racket.
 
I have a 2 point Gear Sector sling on my carbine. I don't care for 1 point because the gun swings around too much.I feel the 2 point gives me more control. JMHO
 
Jake Bauer said:
I'm leaning towards the Magpul MS2 or MS3 if it comes out by the time im ready to buy. I will not be using the ASAP plate though. I will be using QD swivels (since my DDXV came with the rear one attached). I heard the ASAP ring makes a lot of racket.
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Yes, the Magpul mount makes alot of noise when a sling isn't mounted. I tied a peice of paracord around it and the problem is solved.

Its a fantastic sling and mount system though, I love it.
 
Mr. S, can you post a picture of how you did the paracord or give a little more detail please and thank you.
 
wintermute said:
Has anyone tried a variety of BUISes? Eventually, when I get together enough scratch, my carbine's going to be sporting an Aimpoint. I finished zeroing my carry handle (using the Improved Battlesight Zero), so it's going to go in the box. I'm torn between a Troy or a Daniel Defense - concerned that the DD might get in the way once I have a holo installed.
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i've got a carry handle on a Colt, the factory BUIS which is like the LMT style on my S&W 15-22, a KAC-300 on a lightweight flattop with a compact ACOG (which is currently AWOL), some Daniel Defense A1.5s on a few other rifles and some Larue BUIS. whups, and something from GG&G, plus two Diemaco fixed BUIS (which are plastic)

i'll probably get some Troy BUIS for the two 20" uppers i have waiting to go together. they'll get magnified optics and that's the only thing i want a flip up on.

i don't currently have any red dots, other than my Elbit Falcon.

but froom what i hear... the current SOP is to leave ALL sights UP at all times, so if the red dot dies (Eotech) you don't have to fumble with flipping the BUIS *UP*.

so, most of my sights are FIXED. when mounting a red dot, you can mount it so the irons are in the lower 1/3.

but it's personal preference. you can still use a red dot with the irons there/up.

but on a 16" carbine i DO NOT like A2 style sights with the knobs. i like the A1/C7 style old-school uppers on some of my guns, and on the newer stuff, flattops with FIXED BUIS from either DD, Larue, or now Troy has a new fixed sight. A2 is fine on a 20", but i have 20" guns with A1/C7 uppers too.

the DD is reasonably priced. the Larue is beefier and QD... not that you'd ever need QD. i *think* the Troy needs an allen wrench, while the DD uses a standard screwdriver blade. some of the knobs on some sights are either in the wrong place, and/or hard to tighten. the knob on the front sight on my 15-22 is in the way of where i wanted to mount the light at 10:00, so i had to mount it at 9:00. might have to change the front sight to a DD so i can move the light to 10:00 and run it ambi.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Why is it that you don't like A2 sights on a 16"?
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knobs that can be easily adjusted can also become easily mis-adjusted.

at <300M for a "man sized target" with a good battle zero, you just forget about fiddling with the sights, focus on the front sight and press the trigger.

at the range (known distance range), i've seen too many people f***ing with the A2s. dialing them up and down. sometimes forgetting to put them back where they were.

but the point of aim and point of impact should only vary by two or three inches from everything from muzzle contact out to &#8776;300M that's good enough for goblins and zombies... and probably good enough for bambi.

now, when i say i "don't like the A2" i mean the dials. i'm not talking about the front sight post or the rear aperture. the A1 round front sight post sucks, because different lighting conditions cam make the post look different. and on the aperture, i usually leave it on the large "ghost ring" and not the tiny long distance peep. ao on my rifles with A1/C7 uppers, i swap the aperture to an A2.

all the elevation gets dialed in at the front sight. the rear is just for windage..


now, i'm NOT a combat vet, i'm just a shooter who loves the platform. but on what's essentially a "short range carbine" you don't need "dial a distance" sights then the trajectory of the projectile over the rifles reasonable/practical range is so flat.

yes, the rifle will work at extended ranges. you either need to hold over with the irons, or he red dot, or whatever optic you're running.

while i'm on the topic, the A2 stock is also "too long" IMHO, the A1 is better, and i really like the "Sully Stock" which is the length of a CAR stock one notch out. oddly enough, i don't have a Sully on any of my rifles tho. the 20"s have A1s and the 16"s have the M4 "waffle sided" stocks, and one now has a MOE.

i don't expect anyone is gonna be shooting DCM with a 16" carbine... so there's just simply no need for the A2 features. i'll take something simpler, cleaner and more rugged.

this is just my opinion. if someone doesn't agree with it, i'm not going to get bent out of shape over it... but i like to try and keep the hardware simple. the A2 stock and sights were the products of "feature creep" and trying to make it a better target rifle on the KD range.
 
That's interesting.

I've never had problems with the A2 dials "self-adjusting". The detents on all the ones I've used were very firm. Some were worried about it, particularly on the windage, and put a white line going from dial to the side of the sight so they could tell at a glance that it had moved. It never did.

Furthermore, is IS nice to have the option to dial in elevation on the fly, rather than go with "Kentucky elevation" when shooting at 500 meters, or when engaging area targets at 7-800 meters.

For civilian use, I wouldn't even bother too much with adjustable rear sights. I'd just get a BUIS, set it for a 300 meter battlesight and leave it there. I seriously doubt anyone will be able to justify shooting at bad guy outside where they can identify them as such, and with irons, you're talking 50 meters or so, max.

No skin off my back either way, just wondering why you were OK with them on 20 inchers, but not 16 inchers.
 
Here is something some of you AR buffs may be interested in...

I have been using a new Low Profile Scout Mount from Danger Close Consulting for the last several weeks and I am really impressed with it so far. It is something that was really needed for the Surefire M600 Scout. I reviewed it here: http://jerkingthetrigger.wordpress....-danger-close-consulting-low-pro-scout-mount/

I liked it so much that I asked Jon at Danger Close Consulting to answer a few questions. He agreed to an interview and I was able to find out just a bit more about him and what sets his products apart. You will be seriously impressed with Jon. He is a true hero and someone you can trust to make a great product. His interview is here: http://jerkingthetrigger.wordpress....-guy-sessions-jon-at-danger-close-consulting/

I have absolutely no affiliation with Jon or Danger Close Consulting and I paid for my mount with my own money. I just think this is the kind of company that you ESEE lovers could appreciate.

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