Starting down the AR-15 Platform Slippery Slope!

[seagiant]

Hi,
I have always been a Garand,M-14,FAL kind of guy with battle rifles. I've always shunned the AR platform not being impressed with the .223/5.56 round. Then not long ago I noticed the guys at Heckler and Kock had gone to the rotary bolt system in the new G36 rifle and being a fan of weapons made by the Master Race, I had to do some research. I was basically floored by what was going on and jumped on the train!

My first foray was to put together a rifle in the 7.62/308,as that is what I prefered to shoot. I bought a DPMS lower and then a lower kit and put that together and when some more funds arrived after looking at options verses money ordered an upper from DPMS and was told to expect 8 months for delivery! Luckily that turned into 2 months and I had my upper. Added a Magpul PRS stock,handguard and grip and the rifle was built! Compared to building a FAL or M-14 the AR's are a piece of cake and a tribute to Eugene Stoner's genius. I am now gathering parts for a 223 AR carbine build that will sport a Aimpoint M2 optic for CQB situations. Here are some pics of the 7.62 rifle. If anyone else is putting these together I would love to hear about your builds!

[buyobuyo]

Nice looking rifle. An AR-10 is on my wishlist for someday.

Right now, I have an AR-15 that I use for shooting NRA Hi Power matches. I built the lower and bought the upper. The lower is a Firebird Precision lower, RRA NM lower parts kit (minus the trigger/hammer group), Hogue grip, Geissele Hi-Speed National Match Service Rifle trigger, and generic A2 stock. The upper was built by White Oak Armament. It's an A2 style upper with 1/4" adjustable rear sight and 20" heavy weight 1:7 twist barrel.

I'm also collecting parts to build an SBR in 300 BLK. So far, I have the following parts:

Spike's Tactical Lower
Magpul MOE Trigger Guard (Black)
Hogue Grip (Black)
Rest of the lower parts ordered from WOA
Magpul ACS-L Mil-Spec (Foliage Green)
ATI Mil-Spec Carbine Buffer Tube
Bravo Company Upper Receiver, Demo/Scratch, Complete Unassembled


I still need to order or decide on the trigger, barrel, forend, bcg, optics, and suppressor. I also need to get the paperwork for the SBR and suppressor started and sent in.

[seagiant]

Hi BB,
Thanks for taking the time to list your parts! I now have an Spike Tactical upper and lower(that I literally begged a friend to sale me!) and got a Daniel Defense CHF chrome lined middy barrel and a DD chrome BCG to match. This is a better barrel and bolt than I was originally thinking to get but after looking, the middy barrels aren't available in a cheap barrel!

I just ordered $600 worth of small parts and tools from Brownell's including a Magpul PRS stock. This will probably be the only carbine set up with this stock,but being tall I have LOP issues and it seems as light as a Magpul UBR stock anyway. I will probably take some pics and post when I start putting it together hopefully next week! I was able to find an older Aimpoint M2 red dot the same one the military uses with the Aimpoint QPR mount for $350 from a friend so I hope to have a pretty decent rifle when the dust clears!

[buyobuyo]

Sounds like a nice rifle you have coming together. I'll keep an eye out for the pictures.

I'm waiting to start assembly on mine until I get the SBR paperwork sent off and get the lower laser engraved. My Google-fu has failed in finding a lawyer that does NFA trusts in NM, so I need to call the state bar association referral service to see if there is anyone that does them. What I have planned for the parts I haven't bought yet is 8-10.5" barrel (starting to lean more toward 8-9"), Geissele trigger (either Super Semi-Automatic or Hi-Speed National Match - Service Rifle), full-auto BCG (no brand decided yet), free-float handgaurd (probably around 10"), Weaver Tactical 1-5x24 (maybe 2-10x36 instead) for optics, and no suppressor picked out yet. I may end up deciding to build it myself.

[williamwaco]

Hi,
I have always been a Garand,M-14,FAL kind of guy with battle rifles. I've always shunned the AR platform not being impressed with the .223/5.56 round. Then not long ago I noticed the guys at Heckler and Kock had gone to the rotary bolt system in the new G36 rifle and being a fan of weapons made by the Master Race, I had to do some research. I was basically floored by what was going on and jumped on the train!

My first foray was to put together a rifle in the 7.62/308,as that is what I prefered to shoot. I bought a DPMS lower and then a lower kit and put that together and when some more funds arrived after looking at options verses money ordered an upper from DPMS and was told to expect 8 months for delivery! Luckily that turned into 2 months and I had my upper. Added a Magpul PRS stock,handguard and grip and the rifle was built! Compared to building a FAL or M-14 the AR's are a piece of cake and a tribute to Eugene Stoner's genius. I am now gathering parts for a 223 AR carbine build that will sport a Aimpoint M2 optic for CQB situations. Here are some pics of the 7.62 rifle. If anyone else is putting these together I would love to hear about your builds!

What was going on that changed your mind?

[seagiant]

Hi BB,
Well...You are way out there,far beyond me in building these things! I'd like to shoot yours when you get it put together. Hope you build it yourself and post pics as you go along!!! I have been using Spike Tactical combat triggers because I'm to cheap to buy a $250 trigger,but might try one before it is over with? Heard the Giessel (sp) is pretty nice!

Hi Will,
One thing that got my attention is the rotary bolt system which is basically a 7 lug lock-up. A M-14 is a 2 or some would say a 3 lug system and a FAL is really a 1 lug lock-up. The other thing is the straight line of the AR-15 platform which helps with accuracy. The modular make up of the parts make it a relative easy rifle to put together and or change parts on. The ease of being able to open the rifle to replace the bolt or clear any debris or jam is another. Everyone and their brother are making parts on this platform and it has a Mil-Spec standard! This does not apply to the 7.62/308 rifles. DPMS and Armalite are of different specs and will not work together like people do with parts from different manufacturers with the .223!

As a side note I heard that soldiers using M4 carbines and red dot sight systems were coming out on top in close quarters combat situations in Iraq as their shot placement was more accurate and quicker against foes armed with plain AK-47's! I guess a second is a long time in some situations and a miss is as good as a mile! I have to admit that I still prefer the 7.62 round for anything over 75 yds,but for close in yardage the AR-15 set up right seems hard to beat and a lot more deadly than a pistol!

[buyobuyo]

sg: You're more than welcome to give my gun a try whenever I get it finished if we're ever in the same place. I really need to get moving on the trust and paperwork because the wait time for SBR and suppressor approval is running around 6 months from the time it's sent to the ATF. I would like to have this done before August next year, so it's ready to go for my birthday.