Rusty 0 Posted November 19, 2005 Report Share Posted November 19, 2005 So I just happened to drive 50 miles south today and wound up at a gun show (I hate when that happens ). Small town gun show, not many vendors, still somehow managed to blow $135 on a Rock River Arms lower receiver. I've seen better pricing at other shows and online, but this guy was cool enough to talk to me and help me understand the differences between his wares. So I chatted with him for 10 minutes, then bought the lower. Nothing real special, just a RRA forged lower. Now... the rest of it. What to get? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pistonring8 1 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Back before the ban, I had a few AR variants in .223. I think one was outfitted with a Norinco .223 upper. I made the mistake of purchasing only the absolute cheapest upper and lower components for assembling my ARs. Doing so left me with a deep hatered for the AR. From what Ive heard, Rock River Arms makes a quality firearm, but I dont know from experiance. My mismatched components were consistantly prone to failure and dissapointment. I would stay away from bargain basement AR parts. Mismatching is said to be ok, but only between well made products. If your lower assembly already has the FCG installed, I would assume that you just need a good buttstock, a couple of mags and a complete upper assembly. Or you could assemble the upper components from different sorces.....Be carefull there. AR variants are not "built" as much as they are "assembled". When different brand pieces dont quite match up correctly, the problems are numerous and disasterous. Well.....They were for me anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty 0 Posted November 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 I have no intention of cheaping out on this thing. I went with a Rock River because of what everybody I've asked has said about them. Currently I'm tracking down a Rock River lower parts kit and A2 fixed buttstock. After that (and a few paychecks) I'll go looking for a stripped Rock River A4 flattop upper, wilson stainless steel heavy barrel, and the other little things I'll need to finish it out. I have no illusions that I'll spend over $750 quite easily, but in the end I'll have a quality rifle I know inside and out, and I'll know how to build an AR, which may come in handy when/if I let my friends shoot it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IndyArms 10,186 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 I wont even TELL you what you can find for an AR on the TROMIX website.... ( Just dont be afraid to see lots of zeroes after the numbers... but then again.. you GET what you PAY FOR! ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AegisDei 2 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 ARs are fun! You'll be thrilled to have one and it will become your new "go to" weapon. Congrats on starting the process. You don't have to completely match all parts as Piston said, but it never hurts and since you have your heart set on RRA, you're in good shape. It's a good company that a bunch of gov't agencies trust including DEA, which says something positive for RRA. Only advice would be to take it slow and do it right from the start. Have your goal in mind and don't settle for less. Be sure each part you get corresponds with the goal. This means matching barrel length and material with goal, matching twist rate with barrel length and goal, matching design and materials with goal, etc. But have fun and rock it out! Also, DO NOT SKIP ON BARREL BREAK-IN. After dropping $750-1000 into a gun, the excitement and suspense builds and you just want to shoot the shit out of it, but remember the gun is not complete until after it's broken in and cleaned a final time. Have fun! Safe shooting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty 0 Posted November 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Roger that Aegis. What I'm going for is a nice long range rifle that is capable of killing paper, varments, and the occational wild beer can that happens to cross my path in the 100 to 300 yard range. Beyond that, and for actual hunting, I've got bolt action rifles. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pistonring8 1 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Hey! Indy.....That reminds me. Isn't Tromix (Tony Rumore) the guy who also built the black powder AR15 ? Damn, I cant find a picture of it right now, but the guys over on DIYguns forum were very impressed with it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grau_Tek 0 Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Rusty, dont forget to check out AR15.com very informative gunsite be careful - youll spend way too much time there oh yeah forgot to add - stay away from the equipment exchange your wallet will hate you forever!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty 0 Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Nabbed a RRA lower parts kit and a A2 Buttstock kit for $120 shipped to my door from the same guy that sold me the lower receiver. If the guy would sell upper parts, I might end up buying the whole damn thing from him, but alas he only sells completed uppers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
okie shooter 0 Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Nabbed a RRA lower parts kit and a A2 Buttstock kit for $120 shipped to my door from the same guy that sold me the lower receiver. If the guy would sell upper parts, I might end up buying the whole damn thing from him, but alas he only sells completed uppers. After you assemble the lower on a ar, an upper is not really a build in the sense of a ak, fal or g-3. So buying a assmbled upper, bolt and bolt carrier is not missing much on a ar build. From what a friend told me all you do is take the barrel nut to a torque and then index it enough to get the gas tube thru one of the slots in the nut. The head space is all between the barrel and the bolt. It seems harder to get kits that the upper is not assembled now adays. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty 0 Posted December 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 (edited) I've now got the lower almost assembled. I somehow managed to launch a detent across the room and lost it while trying to install the front pivot pin . I'm probably not the first person to do that, so I don't feel so bad . Anyway, gun show is in town this weekend, and I'm gonna see if I can find the assembled upper I want (and a couple of spare detents). If not, I've got a line on the upper for about $450 + flip up irons. I'm thinking about nabbing a set of those Yankee Hill flip up irons to start with. ($70 for "starter sights" .... I need a better paying job ). Anyway, hopefully in a couple of days I can start breaking this thing in. Thanks for all the advise guys. I'll post some targets once I get this thing set. Edited December 15, 2005 by Rusty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AegisDei 2 Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 For a KICKASS upper at a great price check the upper listed Here. I'm really close to forking up the money for it, but I would prefer a bolt action 30-cal (308 or 338) instead. Might be a good idea for you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty 0 Posted December 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 Not looking for something that long. 20 inches is about the maximum I want to go for now. I've got a line on a RRA 20" stainless 1x8 complete upper in the $450 range if I don't find something at the show on Saturday. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty 0 Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 The show was disappointing, but I still managed to walk out with a set of Yankee Hill flip up rear irons. Mags and uppers were scarce... Ordered the upper when I got home. RRA A4 flat top, Wilson 20" 1x8 stainless barrel, etc, ad nauseum. Should be here after the 1st. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Onepoint 0 Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 (edited) I have been bargain building AR uppers lately. The last one was a CMT upper, Firsh quad rail free float tube with a 18" Douglas barrel and a PRI flip up front sight block. I probably went about as cheap as you could get and it still ran over 500 when said and done. I wanted a White Oak Armament 1/8 Wilson barrel from ADCO, but found a deal too good to pass up on the Douglas 1/7. Still not quite done. I will probably paint more parts like the riser and need some rail panels. Dang things are adicting, like Saigas Have fun with your new one. Edited December 22, 2005 by Onepoint Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AegisDei 2 Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 That cost only $500? I "bargain built" mine and it ran me about $750 and it has no quad-rail. Where'd you get the rail for that affordable? Usually they run like $200. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Onepoint 0 Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 It was over $500, about $540 or something like that, maybe a little more with shipping involved. The 2 bargain quad rail free floats forearms are Yankee hill machine and Olympic FIRSH. On AR15.com in the EE forum is a seller named Bright flashlights, he has the YHM forearms for about $130. The FIRSH are $130 from Olympic and about $130 shipped from http://www.the-armory.com/shopsite_sc/stor...ar15access.html I went with the FIRSH over the YHM because they are a little sturdier, though the YHM look a little better, plus I happened into finding one used but like new for $100 even. There are a few places with some reasonable barrels depending on what you are looking for. http://www.adcofirearms.com/ has some really decent White Oak Armory barrels off Wilson stainless barrels, in lengths of 16.18 & 20in, in different profiles and twists for $255 - $350. http://www.cmmginc.com/ has several chrome lined ones for around that too. Flat top upper receivers are available for about $95 shipped from a few places usually, I happened to be on a email list for Del-Ton and they had a sale on them for $75+shipping a while back. It's still not what I would call cheap, but its definitely better bang for the buck using less popular parts. An upper like what I built using a Daniel Defence tube and White Oak or Pac-Nor Barrel would be $800 or more with the goodies on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty 0 Posted January 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Giggity! All put together, mags purchased, and ready to go. Now it just needs to rain for a week straight so I don't set my friend's farm on fire while shooting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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