Building a Budget AR-15

 I could have written this post a few years ago, and probably should have.

When I got back into shooting, collecting and refinishing firearms, a person could acquire an AK-47 (most were WASR Century rifles) in the $400-$500 range. You could also build one from a parts kit for less than $250, this while AR-15s were still over $1000.

Everything has now flip-flopped. Nearly every gun maker produces an AR-15 along with dozens of independent shops, this has brought the price of the AR-15 down. You can now build an AR-15 for less than $500 (I built a simple 16" A-2 clone for just under $400), meanwhile the AK-47 is now being produced domestically and priced in the $1000+ range, as the parts kits dried up years ago.

I thought I would remind everyone how lucky we are regarding the AR-15.....maybe other manufacturers will get on the AK bandwagon and bring the price of those down as well.

Here is a recent sale at Palmetto State Armory for a blemished upper along with a lower parts kit, just $319.99

Some prices have been increasing, caused by many factors which I will not go into.

This is not my 1st AR-15 build and will probably not be my last. I hesitated to author this post as there probably hundreds out there showing you not just how to do it, but what options are available. As I write this I am still waiting for my shop to be completed, so I have not gotten started on my rather large back log of refinishing projects, so I decided to author this post.

My local gun forum had a member (Black Hammer Arms) who signed up to be a SOTA Arms dealer and was able to get us a really good deal on stripped upper and lower receivers, $35 each, I should have bought 10 of them......

I bought just one, they were the "Patriot" lower with a US flag engraved on the mag well.

These receivers are cut from an aluminum billet and include an "enhanced" trigger guard for using gloves, this is a nice option as the trigger guard is one of the trickiest parts to install and often the ears get broken by novice builders. The mag well is flared, and the ribs are extra thick.

There is debate as to which is stronger, billet or forged, I think the debate is a waste of time as neither one has ever had a history of failing.

They also located the rear takedown pin detent under the grip, rather than behind the stock collar/lock plate.

I decided to buy a completed upper, rather than build the stripped upper. This makes it easier and faster.

I made a purchase from Palmetto State Armory, if you have never heard of these guys, you must have been living in a cave in Afghanistan. These guys started as a wholesaler for parts and accessories and are now a full-fledged manufacturer. Their quality has always been decent and their prices even better. One of my friends had a morning routine of checking PSA's website for their "daily deals" often picking up lots of 10 Pmags or cases of ammo.

Anyway, I chose a daily deal for a completed upper that was chambered in 223 Wylde.

This upper includes a US made forged 7075-T6 received with M4 feed ramp cuts. The barrel is 18" long, cut from 416R stainless steel and chambered in .223 Wylde, the twist rate is 1:7.

Many argue that a 1:8 or 1:9 is a better twist rate because most 5.56 bullets are lighter, reports say this barrel will work great with both heavier bullets and the lighter 55 & 62 grain bullets. The upper also came with Magpul's original MBUS flip up sights which will mount to the picatinny rail atop the15" Mlock free-floating handguard. A standard M16 style bolt carrier group is included as well.

The kit also includes a complete lower parts kit, called the "PSA MOE EPT kit", which comes with a stainless hammer and polished stainless trigger (that is what the EPT stands for, "Enhanced Polished Trigger).

The MOE part comes from the Magpul MOE stock set including adjustable butt stock, grip and trigger guard.

On to the assembly......

When assembling the lower there is an order that things have to be installed, do it wrong and you will have to do it over.

I usually install the magazine release first; you need to do this before the bolt release as the bolt release blocks the swing of the mag release.

Also make sure you install the safety before the trigger, the trigger needs to go under the safety (so it can block the trigger movement, rendering the gun "safe").

The take down pin detents and springs are the most often lost parts, due to their ability to fly, the kit came with an extra set, you know just in case....

Everyone has a secret for getting the front take down spring and detent installed, I use a clevis pin and a punch, line it up, insert spring and detent, push in with punch, turn 90 degrees, then insert take down pin while pushing on the clevis pin, to maintain contact.

I installed some anti-walk keepers on the trigger and hammer pins as well as a dual hook end plate for attaching slings.

Here is the lower completed

and married to the upper

There are a couple of things that still need to be done, 1st is a vertical or angled fore grip, second is the stainless barrel, it needs to be black.....a little flat black paint will solve that. The last thing is a scope, I don't normally scope my AR rifles, but I figure one could be....

Costs:

SOTA Arms stripped Patriot lower: $38.50

PSA assembled upper and lower parts kit: $517.33

Sling end plate: $12.00

AR Stoner Sling: $0 (Midway USA promotion)

Anti-rotate/walk pin kit: $6.00

Total Spent: $573.83

I could have spent a lot less, had I bought the $320 kit shown at the top of this post I could have built it for $376.50