Well I'm making the plunge. First AR-15 build. A couple questions.

[phathom]

Well I upgraded a couple things on it, such as the M4 barrel and upper, chrome lining, trigger group and whatnot. I don't have an exact total yet, but it should be costing me right around $800 or so with a good $50+ of that in shipping.

 

[Gunner3456]

Well I upgraded a couple things on it, such as the M4 barrel and upper, chrome lining, trigger group and whatnot. I don't have an exact total yet, but it should be costing me right around $800 or so with a good $50+ of that in shipping.

That's very good, and you're getting the features the way you want them.

If you haven't ordered your barrel yet, you might go chrome moly. They are cheaper, should be more accurate, and I've already proven that a chrome moly can last for at least 5,000 rounds. (I have one with 4,000 that's still going strong.) IMHO chrome lined is needed for lots of rapid fire or fully auto, or if you believe you put lots and lots of rounds through to actually wear it out.

My choice would be to go chrome moly and replace it later for the accuracy.

$.02

 

[phathom]

Already ordered the barrel. Talked to a rep at Del-Ton yesterday, they said they got a shipment in yesterday and it should be all set to ship out by Friday. With 3 day shipping, I should be getting it by Wednesday of next week.
Also by ordering everything in parts and assembling here, I don't have to wait for all the parts to get in and wait the 3-4+ weeks for a rifle kit or complete upper like a lot of people have been doing.
I played around with the idea of getting non chrome lined for a while, but ultimately I decided I'd rather have the longevity of chrome lined as the accuracy wasn't affected that much up to 100 yards. I don't think I'll be doing too long of range shooting anytime soon, so I'd rather go for the longer life of it.

 

[Gunner3456]

Already ordered the barrel. Talked to a rep at Del-Ton yesterday, they said they got a shipment in yesterday and it should be all set to ship out by Friday. With 3 day shipping, I should be getting it by Wednesday of next week.
Also by ordering everything in parts and assembling here, I don't have to wait for all the parts to get in and wait the 3-4+ weeks for a rifle kit or complete upper like a lot of people have been doing.
I played around with the idea of getting non chrome lined for a while, but ultimately I decided I'd rather have the longevity of chrome lined as the accuracy wasn't affected that much up to 100 yards. I don't think I'll be doing too long of range shooting anytime soon, so I'd rather go for the longer life of it.

Fair enough.

That's the best thing about the build. You get exactly what you want. You also get the satisfaction of building it.

Keep us posted.

 

[phathom]

Exactly, was originally looking at a factory dpms rifle already put together for closer to $900, asked around and people said it was a good rifle, but for the money, if I put some TLC into it I can get something better and exactly what I want.

I definitely want to put optics on it later (that's why I got a flattop) but that will wait til another day as the wife is already getting a little irritated with me spending so much money on it, so I'll just wait a while.

That and I want to pick up a .22 conversion kit for it (which will pay for itself in the first box of 500) so I can shoot it a lot more without breaking the bank, also wouldn't be bad to stockpile a bunch of .22 for when SHTF and be able to fire it out of this as well. I'm also waiting for prices to come out on the Crimson Trace VFG with light and laser on it. That just looks hot.

 

[Gunner3456]

Exactly, was originally looking at a factory dpms rifle already put together for closer to $900, asked around and people said it was a good rifle, but for the money, if I put some TLC into it I can get something better and exactly what I want.

I definitely want to put optics on it later (that's why I got a flattop) but that will wait til another day as the wife is already getting a little irritated with me spending so much money on it, so I'll just wait a while.

That and I want to pick up a .22 conversion kit for it (which will pay for itself in the first box of 500) so I can shoot it a lot more without breaking the bank, also wouldn't be bad to stockpile a bunch of .22 for when SHTF and be able to fire it out of this as well. I'm also waiting for prices to come out on the Crimson Trace VFG with light and laser on it. That just looks hot.

I have to agree on the .22. I burn a lot of it even with pistol practice. I have more than my share on hand.

As for optics, I really like mine with iron sights, but again that's a very personal choice and doesn't make me right. I have some of each, so I'm not stuck on that opinion. It's just a thought for you if money is an issue.

In training the military uses iron sights to 500 yards for qualifying although I realize they put optics on the weapons in the field. I see good used or even unused iron sights for sale regularly. As you know, iron sights are often called BUIS (backup iron sights) if you're doing a search.

Just talkin'. Don't pay any attention to me.

 

[phathom]

I'm pretty good with iron sights. Haven't used optics very much, just a red dot on my brother-in-laws AR and a scope on an old pellet gun I had when I was younger. But with just iron sights I'm able to hit a 1"x1" target all day long at 50 yards with my old .22 with iron sights using bulk ammo. I'm pretty sure with my AR I'll be able to do that as well, if not better using some good ammo. Just that I tend to start not being able to see the target I'm shooting after so long ya know.

 

[phathom]

Well I'm finished. Thought I'd share the end result with you guys who have been so helpful to me.

View attachment 209657

Roggio Lower Receiver, DPMS Lower Parts Kit, M4 6 Position Stock, Del-Ton M4 upper, bolt, and 16" chrome lined 1/9 twist M4 barrel with A2 flash hider, A2 front sight, Car Handguards with lower rail, UTG detachable carry handle and vertical foregrip, Magpul 30rd P-Mag with window.

 

[safehaven]

Great looking carbine. You're going to love the AR platform. They are very addicting. I currently have 2 and want a third.

Now its time for an optic!

 

[Gunner3456]

Nice job!!

 

[phathom]

Thanks, not sure what I'm going to do for optics, but the wife wants me to slow down on my gun purchases as I've spent the better part of a grand in the last month putting this together.
Going to keep it as is for a while to make her happy, maybe buy her some stuff to bide me some time and money to spend more on it. First thing will probably be a .22 conversion kit, but I've been eye-ing the new crimson trace vertical foregrip with laser and light though.