Should I? Can I?

[Pappy1600]

I have been reading a lot on these boards and I am learning alot from some very knowledgeble individuals who post here. I have never built a rifle from scratch, other than adding some accessories and doing some trigger work and doing alot of shooting that is my experience with AR's. I always thought it was just easier to drop the cash and buy complete from a manufacturer, my biggest fear is building something and having it blow up in my face, I have a mechanical background so that is not an issue of being able to do it.

  Seeing what you folks turn out and the pure love of what you guys do is making me question my choice of buying vs building. To be able to build something and say "Hey I built this" has to be so much more gratifing than saying "Hey look what I bought", I would love to be able to build something and hand down to my kids so they can say "My Pop built this rifle"

My questions to you guys are;

1) What am I looking at to invest in specialized tools in order to be able to do a build? I have some basic Gunsmith tools, but nothing specific for AR's besides a few punches and a brass hammer, what kind of cost is it to get set up?

2) Expense? to build a kick ass rifle how much will it cost me to do this build? I don't want to go crazy but I want a nice shooter.

3) Caliber? I tend to lean towards military calibers, but open to ideas of something out of the box.

4) Reliability? How reliable are your builds? I don't want to build something and have constant issues.

5) Performance? I want something I can say when I shoot it "Oh poop,what a nice shooting weapon"

6) Have you ever did a build and said; "WTF did I do this for? I should have just went out and bought a rifle?"

I don't want to be there, as I am sure you guys did not either if this did happen to you.

Your opinions and knowledge will greatly assist in me considering this venture.

Terry

[mrraley]

A couple things I tell people when it comes to deciding on building or complete is this...

You build it, you have the satisfaction of saying "yes" I built that. On that same note, if something goes wrong, you need to know how to diagnose and repair it too.

You buy a complete rifle, it comes with a life time warranty. If something goes wrong, you can always call up and send it in.

So theres a little bit on both sides. If you want to build though, ArmaLite has a kit that is almost complete. All you have to do is decide what barrel, furniture, and style of buttstock you want on it.

ArmaLite gunsmith kits

[Pappy1600]

A brother Squire! thanks for the info, will check it out, I understand what you're saying , I don't want to drop a ton of cash and have issues, that would aggrivate the hell out of me and I have enough aggrivation in my life don't need the added stress  <laughs>

[Robocop1051]

There's a third option, have the custom rifle built for you. Companies like GAP, JP and Proof Research build rifles exactly how you order them.

I was all set to finish my 308 build when I ordered my barrel. Then the barrel company offered to assemble the upper with the guarantee of sub 1/2 MOA. I couldn't pass that up.

Building a rifle has the satisfaction of building something that isn't sold on a shelf... Or building something special for a lot less. Example: you can build a replica M110 for a LOT less than what it costs to buy one.

The 308 rifles are not "plug and play" like their smaller AR15 counter parts. Some fitting may be required. A few examples on mine; the hammer didn't have enough clearance inside the lower. I had to relieve some metal with a rotary tool. Also, the BADASS ambi safety whacked a corner on the outside of my rifle when it was used. I have to relieve a portion of the safety selector for proper clearance.

The build will not be without stress. While your rifle won't have the same guarantee as a mass produced one, all the individual parts generally do. You will have to diagnose the issue, then send the individual part out for repair.

I'm not going to lie and say its easy work, but it's no more difficult than working on a car.

[washguy]

Hi Pappy  Im a firm believer in building it yourself.

this next week will be my 5th 308 build...its for a good friend of mine.

they are all great shooters and go bang everytime you pull the trigger...no ftf's fte's ever.

Im a mega ma10 fan.. excellent workmanship...billet upper/lower..the front pivotpin already done at the factory...the roll pin for the bolt catch release replaced by a tiny screw so no prob there either. you need the dpms bearclaw to hold the upper in a vise ..45 bucks. then you need a barrel nut wrench too another 30/45...prolly the hardest thing to do is the roll pin for the gas bolck...I use a roll pin starter for that...easy peasy.If you have a gunsmith punch set nice..if not ar 15 punch sets dont cost much.Although with the Mega you're down to putting in the fire control group is all...headspace gauge is handy.Lets say you had all the parts and goodies that you need stacked up on your table.Its a Saturday project...thats all...maybe even just an afternoon...go for it! We are here to help if you have questions :)  Wash

[Tripledeuce]

When you cut the threads for the barrel extinsion and chamber the bbl, or mill an 80% lower, your building something,,,,,,,everything else is parts assembly

  Just my two cents

  Terry

[blwn99x]

I just finished my rifle on Sat. If I had all the parts at one time it could have easily been assembled in about an hour. The armorers wrench is the only ar specific tool I have currently(also have punches,files, and other misc gun tools). The longest part was definitely putting in the gas block roll pin. >:( As Terry said, it is just assembly. I purchased everything I wanted for it and would not have been able to purchase a rifle from a factory with the exact same parts and specs, which makes it special and mine. The best part today was showing a lady friend of mine my new rifle, she asked did you buy it, I said " no I built it." She then proceeded to give me the "man you are freakin sexy" look and smiled :bj: <hump>

[Jgun]

As stated above, an AR will be one of the easiest guns you will ever put together. That said, as with all things mechanical there is always that bolt that is out of spec that doesn't want to thread on, or the roll pin bore that is not drilled straight. If you select brand name parts, and have a reasonable level of mechanical ability, it won't be too much work to put one together. If you stick with a standard cal (.308), select the proper buffer/spring to match your stock, and buy a matched barrel and bolt from a reputable company, (Rainier?), I think, that as stated above, You will be able to build a gun of better quality than you can buy for the same money. Figure around $2K. Now you can buy a quality factory built gun from Armalite or DPMS for a few hundred less, but then you'll end up taking parts off to put on those parts that you will eventually decide you'd rather have on it. As far as having function problems, that should not be an issue as long as you don't go with inferior parts or try to build/assemble something that hasn't been done before(is that even possible?)

[NoFail]

The best part today was showing a lady friend of mine my new rifle, she asked did you buy it, I said " no I built it." She then proceeded to give me the "man you are freakin sexy" look and smiled :bj: <hump>

<lmao> <laughs> <munch> <thumbsup>