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In a recent post the topic of AR addiction was brought up... so I thought it would be fun to share what I consider the Stages of AR addiction and how I fell down the rabbit hole.
Please share yours too.
I'll break it up into 6 stages:
Stage 1. the first taste...
I bought my first one several years ago during the firearmageddon of the early 2010's, It was the only AR in town for sale at the time so I way overpaid for it and it was a finicky beast of a franken DMR with every component from a different manufacturer...
There wasn't near as much in the way of customization readily available but I still had to change out the standard GI furniture with Magpul MOE to make it my own.
I sold it less than a year later at a minimal loss to fix my car, and had been wanting another one ever since.
Stage 2. THE ITCH
Fast forward to last summer... After watching way to many Nutnfancy vids, and seeing the direction things were headed world wide... I felt a sense of urgency to get my preps together. I'm not the only one... Many people that I highly respect, that maintain a close relationship with God out of nowhere had begun stocking up... even my father now in his mid 70's started buying guns for the first time in his life. An Ar was at the top of my list. I got the idea that I could buy a lower, and add a few pieces a month along with a box or two of ammo, and have it finished before the election. I figured 5 months $100-$150 a month and I'll be set, just in case Hillary gets in and/or SHTF. So next time I was in a gun shop I picked up an Anderson lower, and so it began. I got it home and took it out of the package, and learned my first lesson as an AR builder... Do your research and inspect your parts carefully before you buy. Turns out I paid $90 for an Anderson blemished lower, and the shop refused to take it back or exchange it because it was a consignment and some legal BS. Last piece I bought at that shop...
Stage 3. Into the Rabbit Hole
I couldn't wait a full month to get going so I went to Gators and bought a Rock River Arms lower parts kit that came with an ergo grip, and a PMag... and spent another $90. Then I remembered my cousin had an extra carbine butt stock and buffer assembly and was able to trade him for a few boxes of .22 ammo. So all in my lower cost me $180 and some .22 ammo.
Stage 4. Finding the best dealers(the first tee shirt is always free!)
It's at this point that I learned AR building was an addiction and I was on a very slippery slope. You can only fondle a complete lower for so long before you start to scheme and plot how to get the next fix. I had to wait till the next month, and thankfully my wife was on board(she gets it.. good wife!) and let me go to Limitless in Washougel, Wa where he had a deal at the time for an upper, barrel, and bolt carrier group (all Anderson) and a free Ammend2 Mag all for just over $200. Unfortunately while I was there I saw all the cool accessories he had at great prices, and he gave me a Hillary for Prison 2016 t-shirt free with my purchase. Needless to say I've spent a lot of money there since and keep going back...
Stage 5. What ever it takes for the next fix!
At this point I have most of a rifle and need a little over $100 worth of parts to get it shootable. Thank goodness for gun shows. I had no $, but the term "shot glass" comes from the old west when you could trade a bullet(1 shot) for a mouthful of whiskey. Bullets = Currency, And I did have a good amount of 9mm and 22lr ammo to trade. That weekend I was able to trade said ammo and a scope(i also procured by trading ammo) for most of the parts I needed to make it go bang. Instead of buying a barrel wrench I bribed the boys a gators with a box of tacos to attach the barrel and check the headspace. I was lucky enough to find a magpul mbus2 rear sight on ebay... my winning bid was only $11 and I spent another 20 on a UTG front sight that would work with the DPMS gas block I got at the gun show.
All in I had a serviceable AR for a little over $400 cash, about $100 worth of ammo and other trades, and a box of tacos... I put the whole thing together with a tiny hammer, an eyeglass repair kit, and a buffer tube tool.
Stage 6. ROCK BOTTOM
So I started in June and took the first shots in late July... A little quicker than the 4-5 months I had planned and budgeted for. The gun functioned flawlessly through 3 full mags, but as I was wiping it down to put it away, I noticed the gas block had come loose. It was a take off from a DPMS and made of aluminum. I probably could have dimpled the barrel and locktighted the crap out of it to make it work, but at this point I was entering the final stages of complete AR addiction... The point when you start rationalizing "upgrades" and accumulating a box full of extra parts that you may or may not use on the next build. And you start thinking about "the next build".
I already had my eye on the Matrix Charlie free floating handrail at Limitless for only $99 and was able to rationalize getting it because a steel low pro gas block was cheaper, easier to install, and much more secure... and you can't use a delta ring with a lo-pro so $500 becomes over 6
then the addiction really takes hold and Rationalization prevails...
YHM Comp/Brake(for quicker follow up shots, and it looks way cooler than a bird cage)
Ergo never quit grip (to hide the mentioned "blemishes" on the magwell)
Strike Fang trigger guard(in case i'm wearing gloves, and easier mag changes)
Strike Polymer Flag dust cover(cause 'Merica)
60 rd drum mag (in case they are banned)
450 pum Fenix light and pressure switch(rule 4: be sure of your target and all that)
MFT folding FG (to hold extra batteries and attach pressure switch)
Keymod rail sections (to attach light, and FG)
ahhh what the hell who am I kidding....
Sweet deal on a vortex red dot(because I wanted it)
Strike extended charging handle(because I wanted it)
An ambi safety would be nice. (because I wanted it)
Oh my mil spec trigger could be better (because I wanted it)
So much for a budget build...
It is now rock solid, accurate, and extremely reliable, without so much as a hiccup through several hundred rounds. I'd trust it to GTW.
I think I'm almost done with this one, I'd like a magnifier, and a better sling and QD endplate, But my second build,though quite nice as is, is gnawing at my OCD for some "upgrading"...and the one after that is basically stripped receivers waiting to be a 300bo pistol. Later a 6.5 or 6.8 upper for hunting. And I still "need" an AR10 6.5 cree or .308? both?. I've since bought all the tools needed, watched countless youtube vids and read everything I can get my hands on so I can competently build and maintain all my firearms. With all that time and money invested, it would be a shame not to use said tools, skills, and knowledge to continue to build and upgrade AR15s... maybe AKs next, or Milsurp kits,1911s... I do have a stock g17 that could use some love.
Please share yours too.
I'll break it up into 6 stages:
Stage 1. the first taste...
I bought my first one several years ago during the firearmageddon of the early 2010's, It was the only AR in town for sale at the time so I way overpaid for it and it was a finicky beast of a franken DMR with every component from a different manufacturer...
There wasn't near as much in the way of customization readily available but I still had to change out the standard GI furniture with Magpul MOE to make it my own.
I sold it less than a year later at a minimal loss to fix my car, and had been wanting another one ever since.
Stage 2. THE ITCH
Fast forward to last summer... After watching way to many Nutnfancy vids, and seeing the direction things were headed world wide... I felt a sense of urgency to get my preps together. I'm not the only one... Many people that I highly respect, that maintain a close relationship with God out of nowhere had begun stocking up... even my father now in his mid 70's started buying guns for the first time in his life. An Ar was at the top of my list. I got the idea that I could buy a lower, and add a few pieces a month along with a box or two of ammo, and have it finished before the election. I figured 5 months $100-$150 a month and I'll be set, just in case Hillary gets in and/or SHTF. So next time I was in a gun shop I picked up an Anderson lower, and so it began. I got it home and took it out of the package, and learned my first lesson as an AR builder... Do your research and inspect your parts carefully before you buy. Turns out I paid $90 for an Anderson blemished lower, and the shop refused to take it back or exchange it because it was a consignment and some legal BS. Last piece I bought at that shop...
Stage 3. Into the Rabbit Hole
I couldn't wait a full month to get going so I went to Gators and bought a Rock River Arms lower parts kit that came with an ergo grip, and a PMag... and spent another $90. Then I remembered my cousin had an extra carbine butt stock and buffer assembly and was able to trade him for a few boxes of .22 ammo. So all in my lower cost me $180 and some .22 ammo.
Stage 4. Finding the best dealers(the first tee shirt is always free!)
It's at this point that I learned AR building was an addiction and I was on a very slippery slope. You can only fondle a complete lower for so long before you start to scheme and plot how to get the next fix. I had to wait till the next month, and thankfully my wife was on board(she gets it.. good wife!) and let me go to Limitless in Washougel, Wa where he had a deal at the time for an upper, barrel, and bolt carrier group (all Anderson) and a free Ammend2 Mag all for just over $200. Unfortunately while I was there I saw all the cool accessories he had at great prices, and he gave me a Hillary for Prison 2016 t-shirt free with my purchase. Needless to say I've spent a lot of money there since and keep going back...
Stage 5. What ever it takes for the next fix!
At this point I have most of a rifle and need a little over $100 worth of parts to get it shootable. Thank goodness for gun shows. I had no $, but the term "shot glass" comes from the old west when you could trade a bullet(1 shot) for a mouthful of whiskey. Bullets = Currency, And I did have a good amount of 9mm and 22lr ammo to trade. That weekend I was able to trade said ammo and a scope(i also procured by trading ammo) for most of the parts I needed to make it go bang. Instead of buying a barrel wrench I bribed the boys a gators with a box of tacos to attach the barrel and check the headspace. I was lucky enough to find a magpul mbus2 rear sight on ebay... my winning bid was only $11 and I spent another 20 on a UTG front sight that would work with the DPMS gas block I got at the gun show.
All in I had a serviceable AR for a little over $400 cash, about $100 worth of ammo and other trades, and a box of tacos... I put the whole thing together with a tiny hammer, an eyeglass repair kit, and a buffer tube tool.
Stage 6. ROCK BOTTOM
So I started in June and took the first shots in late July... A little quicker than the 4-5 months I had planned and budgeted for. The gun functioned flawlessly through 3 full mags, but as I was wiping it down to put it away, I noticed the gas block had come loose. It was a take off from a DPMS and made of aluminum. I probably could have dimpled the barrel and locktighted the crap out of it to make it work, but at this point I was entering the final stages of complete AR addiction... The point when you start rationalizing "upgrades" and accumulating a box full of extra parts that you may or may not use on the next build. And you start thinking about "the next build".
I already had my eye on the Matrix Charlie free floating handrail at Limitless for only $99 and was able to rationalize getting it because a steel low pro gas block was cheaper, easier to install, and much more secure... and you can't use a delta ring with a lo-pro so $500 becomes over 6
then the addiction really takes hold and Rationalization prevails...
YHM Comp/Brake(for quicker follow up shots, and it looks way cooler than a bird cage)
Ergo never quit grip (to hide the mentioned "blemishes" on the magwell)
Strike Fang trigger guard(in case i'm wearing gloves, and easier mag changes)
Strike Polymer Flag dust cover(cause 'Merica)
60 rd drum mag (in case they are banned)
450 pum Fenix light and pressure switch(rule 4: be sure of your target and all that)
MFT folding FG (to hold extra batteries and attach pressure switch)
Keymod rail sections (to attach light, and FG)
ahhh what the hell who am I kidding....
Sweet deal on a vortex red dot(because I wanted it)
Strike extended charging handle(because I wanted it)
An ambi safety would be nice. (because I wanted it)
Oh my mil spec trigger could be better (because I wanted it)
So much for a budget build...
It is now rock solid, accurate, and extremely reliable, without so much as a hiccup through several hundred rounds. I'd trust it to GTW.
I think I'm almost done with this one, I'd like a magnifier, and a better sling and QD endplate, But my second build,though quite nice as is, is gnawing at my OCD for some "upgrading"...and the one after that is basically stripped receivers waiting to be a 300bo pistol. Later a 6.5 or 6.8 upper for hunting. And I still "need" an AR10 6.5 cree or .308? both?. I've since bought all the tools needed, watched countless youtube vids and read everything I can get my hands on so I can competently build and maintain all my firearms. With all that time and money invested, it would be a shame not to use said tools, skills, and knowledge to continue to build and upgrade AR15s... maybe AKs next, or Milsurp kits,1911s... I do have a stock g17 that could use some love.
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