building ar15

[albert]

To build an ar15, if u buy a complete upper and complete lower do u have all you need to put it together? I clean all my guns regularly, so I am familiar with assembling and disassembling guns, but not particularly with ar's n I have never built 1

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[cyclesarge]

Sounds like you'd have a complete gun. I've built three stripped lowers, and they are pretty easy if you have decent instructions. The uppers are a little more tricky and require more specialized tools. I think there is a little money to be saved by building a stripped lower, but with the cost of tools offsets the savings of building your own upper.

 

[Texfisher33]

I am by no means an expert, in fact i'm awful at building things, but I built a complete upper and lower myself recently. It was far easier than I thought. AR15.com has pretty good instructions on putting a lower together and all you really need are some punches and a hammer. The upper was simple too and really all you need is a torque wrench, and a vice. You may also need an AR wrench depending on what foregrip you are installing (mine came with a wrench meant to be used with it). Hopefully you know someone who has a torque wrench you could borrow, harbor freight for a set of punches, and you'd be set. I sadly don't own a vice and used a large set of pliers (I don't recommend this). Took me about an hour to build the lower and literally 15 minutes for the upper. I was quite surprised the upper went together as simply as it did. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

[theflyguy]

Just don't try mixing a Colt upper/lower with non-Colt upper/lower. The pins/holes use for connecting the upper/lower are not the same size. As far as I know only Colt has the different sized pins/holes.

 

[Mr. Ben]

Just don't try mixing a Colt upper/lower with non-Colt upper/lower. The pins/holes use for connecting the upper/lower are not the same size. As far as I know only Colt has the different sized pins/holes.

I've seen adapters, but it's always best to use the correct part the first time.

 

[The B]

Just don't try mixing a Colt upper/lower with non-Colt upper/lower. The pins/holes use for connecting the upper/lower are not the same size. As far as I know only Colt has the different sized pins/holes.

colt, fortunately, ended this practice entirely about a year ago. they stopped using "big hole" uppers a few years ago, and finally dropped the over-sized FCG holes a year or two ago.

but, obviously, the parts are still floating around out there.. just gotta pay attention to what you're buying, if you're not ordering new parts from an authorized colt dealer.

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as to the OP- if you buy a "complete" lower and a "complete" upper- including bolt-carrier group and charging handle, you'll have a weapon that will cycle and fire- however you'll still need to buy sight(s), and possible a front sling mount, depending on what kind of upper you buy.. as well as any number of other components usually considered essential nowadays.

also, remember that AR assemblies are NOT created equal.. some are, truly, junk, despite what some guys around the 'net will tell you. i won't list any names, because i don't want your thread to turn into a sword fight, but i strongly suggest you do some reading at M4Carbine.net before you buy anything.

 

[Trlsmn]

Moved to firearms discussions