Bargain Basement Budget AR-15 Build - Documenting my progress

[etrain16]

I'd love to say so far so good, but I do learn more when things don't work out lol.

I believe that I have the gas block misaligned. It won't cycle the bolt unless I manualy cycle it with the charging handle - so no simi auto yet .

I also had a light primer hit on the 5th of the 5 shots I took with it.

After I look into the gas issue I'll take it apart and lube it really well; question, do AR's like to run wet or dry? Not sure if she will want more lube then a bolt gun or less like a .22lr.

Might play with it today and take it back out to the range tomorrow.

I'm making some leather strops today so maybe if I get those done I'll dig into this.

Bummer it wasn't 100% out of the chute, but you're right, it's a great way to learn more about them.

I'm no AR expert, but mine can run with average lube, same as I put on my other guns. But it's a piston AR, not a DI - and as I understand DI types will get dirtier, require more frequent cleaning, and may need a bit more lube. That's just what I've read and heard, I'm sure some others with much more experience like @IronMonster and others can give a better answer.

Glad you got it out though. Cool project

 

[IronMonster]

You need all the parts in the upper to be a combo of wet/damp. Anyone who tells you to run an AR dry is full of it.

As far as light primer strikes go make sure you have the hammer spring on correctly. It will go on and work backwards but will give light strikes. If that is not the case get a Wolff XP spring and it will likely solve it.

As far as gas block alinement.... What I do is put a little pencil mark on the barrel that lines up with the port and make a pencil mark on the gas block and then line them up best I can.

 

[Flopsweat]

AR lubrication points: http://www.ar15.com/mobile/topic.html?b=3&f=7&t=548967

I run mine a little wet while I break them in. After a few hundred rounds I'll start using just enough to get a "satiny" look. Way too much and it'll spray the lube around for a few shots, a little too much and it can trap the carbon and get dirty faster. Too little and it can start to malfunction. Hope that helps.