Putting together a cheap AR-15 thread

[Flopsweat]

$50 Bushmaster lowers!

http://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/receiver-parts/receivers/lower-receivers/stripped-lower-receiver-sku100003638-70749-52257.aspx?sku=100-003-638&cm_mmc=Em&aid=10078&source=ir&cm_mmc=affiliate-_-Itwine-_-IR-_-60594

I seem to remember the Bushmaster lower having a slightly higher shelf which made replacing the trigger kind of a pain. Had to remove the safety lever to get the trigger in or out, I think it was. Or that may have been their AR10 receiver. Still pretty darn good price if you can get your local FFL to do a bunch of them for one transfer fee.

 

[Oklahomie]

<broken link removed>

I bought one of these (mine had a Magpul forearm on it and was $224) And am really impressed. I think for the extra $50 over the cost of the PTAC cheapie upper you get quite a bit more gun. Since this has a mid length low profile gas block and the front sight is just "fake" pinned to the barrel with no gas port if you wanted you could pull the sight and mount a long rail system and be into a pretty skookum set up for real small bucks.

What's the deal with the dissipator style? I, in my novice thinking, assumed they just drilled a port all the way out yonder for some functional purpose. Then I found out its just a low pro gas block with a standard fsb.

 

[IronMonster]

Originally the Dissapator was a 20" barrel rifle length gas system cut down to 16". It gave you a long sight radius which for open sights is a big deal.

The problem with that configuration was that with the gas port way out on the end of the barrel and almost no barrel after the gas port you had a very short bolt dwell time and typically a under gassed system.

I found the next two paragraphs on "Ask Foghorn"

In order for there to be enough force to cycle the action, the bullet needs to still be in the barrel when the gas hits the bolt carrier, like a cork in the champagne bottle keeping the pressure up. This is also referred to as "dwell time," the measure of how long the bullet is in the barrel.

And since the bullet is constantly moving, there needs to be a sufficient length of barrel left so that the bullet leaves the muzzle only after there has been enough gas transferred to the bolt carrier to make the whole thing work. Too much barrel and the bolt is "over gassed," leaking all over the place making a mess and possibly damaging the system by applying too much force. Too little barrel and there isn't enough force to unlock the bolt and fully cycle the action.

I am not sure who first commercially marketed the "Dissapator" but I remember Bushmaster was pushing them in the early 90's It improved the sight radius and gave you more to grab onto but at the cost of function and reliability. Back then it was uncommon to see free float forearms. They where around but maybe 5% of rifles had them, and they where expensive. Most everything had either a carbine or Rifle A2 handguards. So fast forward to today and we have mid-length gas systems, common low profile gas blocks so you can solve the performance problems and still have a long sight radius with common inexpensive parts.

 

[Oklahomie]

Ooohhhhh ok that's sums it up perfectly thank you.

 

[Pandaz3]

I built a sort of cheapie. A Palmento lower parts kit on a $49 Delton lower. I did get a complete Armalite upper including the Bolt carrier group. I replace the charging handle with a BCM as I had one, and I used a Magpul MOE grip as I already had it and liked it better. I spent money on a CMC straight trigger drop in module which I loved.

On shooting I discovered I needed to tighten the grip screw, tighten the butt stock and most important, I lost a pin out of the trigger module. Luckily I found it. I replaced the pins with a KNS Precision set of anti-rotational pins and feel all is good now.

Oh around $900 for me, trigger and upper being the priciest.

 

[Flopsweat]

I built a sort of cheapie. A Palmento lower parts kit on a $49 Delton lower. I did get a complete Armalite upper including the Bolt carrier group. I replace the charging handle with a BCM as I had one, and I used a Magpul MOE grip as I already had it and liked it better. I spent money on a CMC straight trigger drop in module which I loved.

On shooting I discovered I needed to tighten the grip screw, tighten the butt stock and most important, I lost a pin out of the trigger module. Luckily I found it. I replaced the pins with a KNS Precision set of anti-rotational pins and feel all is good now.

Oh around $900 for me, trigger and upper being the priciest.

Pretty much any build I do anymore is going to include at least $200 for the trigger. A high end trigger turns any AR that runs properly into a really nice gun. Combine that with a decent grip and forend and folks start asking where you got that rifle. "Wow, the next AR that I buy is going to be a Stag!"

 

[IronMonster]

I just bought my first "real" trigger and am excited to see how that works out. I dont want anything to fancy for a trigger. A nice clean, crisp break yes, but I am ok with a 5-6 lb single stage pull

What are you running for a trigger?

 

[Doc In UPlace]

Geissele SSA trigger. In case this ^ means the generic "you".

 

[Flopsweat]

I just bought my first "real" trigger and am excited to see how that works out. I dont want anything to fancy for a trigger. A nice clean, crisp break yes, but I am ok with a 5-6 lb single stage pull

What are you running for a trigger?

My favorite is the Geissele SSA or SSA-E. I have each. Both are two-stage triggers. The SSA is 2.5lb first stage, 2lb on the second. Either is really easy to shoot well. The SSA-E requires that you pay attention since the second stage is really light - either 1.5 or 1 lb, I forget. I really wanted an adjustable two-stage but a friend talked me into trying one of these. They don't need to be adjusted because they are perfect the way they are.

 

[Pandaz3]

My CMC module is supposed to be a 4.5 pound trigger, but it measured 4.0 with a very short reset. you have to reset deliberately or you might get a way faster second shot than you bargained for. Part of the learning curve. I had always accepted that grainy gritty stock trigger. No more. You have a wide open market of good choices available to you, Geissele is a pioneer in AR triggers, but there are other great choices out there like <broken link removed> (I really like my straight one at 4 pounds but you can get heavier ones), Timney is a renowned name and you can get them cheaper than the company website, Some like the <broken link removed>called AR-Gold, and there are others like Tac Con That are pricier but offer easier multiples to be fired. I paid the higher price for one and it will be in my more expensive build. Just a ton out there. I would recommend a Geissele for a 'Bare' trigger and CMC for a "module" trigger.

Anyway a plethora of choices, (I love using Five dollar words in a post, it gives me extra points right?)

Good luck getting what you want and try Amazon and E-bay, Curt's in Portland, Rapid Fire in Sandy, MK Tactical in Hillsboro

 

[Flopsweat]

Also, forgot to mention this earlier, Geissele has a great video on trigger installation. No matter what you buy, if you watch this 20 minute video it should take you under 10 minutes to do a swap:

 

[IronMonster]

http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/17498/category/4220/

I bought one of these and was really impressed for the $224 A big step up over the the PTAC $199 upper in the original post.

They also have $199 PSA uppers on the "black Friday" preview

 

[IronMonster]

They have a whole bunch of good deals lined up over at PSA. I just sprung for another upper, PSA mid length stainless for a buck ninety nine. Topped it off with a can of M855 for $149 Tough to go wrong!


If you wanna go ultra cheap here is a full rifle kit less lower for $349

<broken link removed>

 

[drewp]

Ares armor has a nice COMPLETE upper for $400 right now. Includes a free float tube and a nickle boron bolt carrier group...dont waste your money on a psa. Unless you are broke...

 

[IronMonster]

There is nothing wrong with any of the PSA stuff I have bought, and I have bought quite a few (8 uppers maybe?). The PTAC stuff is bottom of the barrel but it's also about the cheapest thing you can buy ($179 for a M4gery upper? Dirt cheap). I have a couple Ares BCG and seem about like any of the others at that pice point. I personally doubt you are gaining anything on a actual PSA upper (not PTAC) for the exta dough.

 

[drewp]

Ya but the advantage for the price from a psa upper that has a normal bcg and lame non floating hand guard...for just a few more bucks you can get the upgraded bolt and nice handguard. Now if you are looking for something with classic looks and not scared to scratch then go with the psa. I just dont dig the plastic handguard as much as the latter

 

[drewp]

I say all that but I think I might buy one of the black friday psa deals for a beater. I sold both my psa uppers but think I should have one handy

 

[drewp]

<broken link removed>

 

[Flopsweat]

Or you could pick up the $224 PSA "dissipater" upper and their $100 BCG and charging handle deal, and have a for real complete upper for $350 including shipping...

 

[Flopsweat]

<broken link removed>

Nice. That Wylde chamber is something to check out, although I would personally be looking for it in a longer barrel. If I hadn't already spent all of my "Merry Christmas to Me" money.