AR rifle build

Stogies

Stogies

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I have never built anything before and I don't know much about it so sorry if this is dumb question. So ARs have an upper and a lower and I sometimes see these 2 main components sell pretty cheap at places like PSA. Is it really as simple as taking a complete upper and a complete lower and slapping them together and presto done?
 
Bigdave0924 said:
Yes it’s that easy
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So as long as both parts are "complete" there is nothing else needed? That is simple indeed and you can get something for less than 500$ if you buy stuff on sale. I guess you have to make sure you don't pick a combination that is not compatible if there is such a thing?
 
I won’t say every combination is 100% compatible but you shouldn’t run into any issues.
 
Yep. Just the two pins (takedown and pivot).

Other than ammo, the only thing you don’t get is a magazine…and optics/sight depending on which upper you buy. (And make sure upper comes with BCG/CH, or you’ll need those items).
 
So since the lower ships to a FFL dealer and is serialized is there any other legality?


plus:


That would come to 475 taxed and shipped which is not bad for a basic AR these days.

I guess if you really want to get into it you buy the 2 main components stripped and then you can pick and choose each sub component from the approximately 16 million choices that are out there and build you something that has 100% the components of your liking OR buy said components whenever they are on sales and save even more. Interesting.
 
Nothing else since the upper comes with BCG and sights. No more legal stuff other than transferring the lower. Go for it. I kinda want one now as well.
 
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Stogies said:
I guess if you really want to get into it you buy the 2 main components stripped and then you can pick and choose each sub component…
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You could, but if you go ahead and get a complete upper and lower, you can still pick/choose/order the specific components you want and after installing them, put the original components back for spare parts.
 
Stogies said:
I have never built anything before and I don't know much about it so sorry if this is dumb question. So ARs have an upper and a lower and I sometimes see these 2 main components sell pretty cheap at places like PSA. Is it really as simple as taking a complete upper and a complete lower and slapping them together and presto done?
Click to expand...
Yes, but that's NOT a build. That's a, "mating of halves."

I would refrain from a build, until you're MUCH more familiar with the rifle. I'd owned & shot AR's for 20 years, before I built my first lower. And BUILDING your upper, requires some MORE tools - not the least of which, is a heavy vise clamp, and the right blocks to hold the upper, so as not to mangle it.
 
I’ve never built an upper. But the first AR I ever touched was an SBR where I built the lower and bought an upper. I had no idea how any of it worked, but followed the guides on Brownell’s site. I’ve assembled the lower of every AR I own. (Still haven’t done an upper).

I mention this because an option other than buying the two halves is to buy a lower and a rifle build kit, which lots of places (including PSA) sell. You’ll get an assembled upper and then a lower build kit. Plenty of people around to help, and not that difficult if you wanted to attempt it yourself.
 
first AR i ever owned i built the lower....and the second....and so on and so forth....:) and of course once you put one together you are gonna wanna upgrade parts so its good to know how they go together so you can take them apart
 
uppers are easier than lowers unless you're drilling a gas block for taper pins. I haven't done that yet...
 
pigpen said:
first AR i ever owned i built the lower....and the second....and so on and so forth....:) and of course once you put one together you are gonna wanna upgrade parts so its good to know how they go together so you can take them apart
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and then once you upgrade, you have spare parts for your next build... and then once you upgrade that...
 
yeah, that's a pretty good deal for everything but the magazine. blems still work. they just may not win the beauty contest.
 
The War Wagon said:
Yes, but that's NOT a build. That's a, "mating of halves."

I would refrain from a build, until you're MUCH more familiar with the rifle. I'd owned & shot AR's for 20 years, before I built my first lower. And BUILDING your upper, requires some MORE tools - not the least of which, is a heavy vise clamp, and the right blocks to hold the upper, so as not to mangle it.
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Let's just say I used that term in the loosest of fashions. I don't think I have the inclination into getting really deep into that rabbit hole.
 
Op's question was answered in the first post. It is that "easy" at the most basic level.

My first was a complete upper and I put together the lower. It requires no special/specific tools. If you have a hammer, punch set and sometimes an Allen wrench set. Things found in every toolbox already. It's so simple I can do it.

The upper contains the kaboom side of the tool. So it is a smidge more advanced as far as big screwups may be bad.

But in it's basic form. A way to hold an upper securely, a go/no go gauge and a way to properly tighten the chosen barrel nut is the only thing that makes an upper any more difficult.
 
I built my first one 6 months ago. With no info but Google and pics. Finished my second one, First for the wife. A few weeks agowith no special tools. Except the castle and barrel nut tool. They are easy. Not sure how to link threads but look for the thread "my wife's first AR".
 
heavydoc said:
I built my first one 6 months ago. With no info but Google and pics. Finished my second one, First for the wife. A few weeks agowith no special tools. Except the castle and barrel nut tool. They are easy. Not sure how to link threads but look for the thread "my wife's first AR".
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Dude, your user name is “heavydoc”. You could probably take apart an M1 Abrams and put it back together. 😄
 
I've always bought complete uppers, then built the lowers in order to have the furniture & trigger I wanted without paying for & having to find a place to stash the extra pieces-parts.
 
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frakncylons said:
Dude, your user name is “heavydoc”. You could probably take apart an M1 Abrams and put it back together. 😄
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You do have a very valid point there.🤣
 
@Stogies

in case you’ve never seen this thread, it’ll give you somewhat of an idea of what’s involved in assembling a lower…in case you opted for a rifle build kit instead

From rifle build kit and stripped lower to functioning AR-15

This is not a step-by-step guide on how to build an AR-15. But there have been several people recently asking about building their own, and lots of suggestions on how to to do it. So this afternoon I had my 12yo son attempt to assemble one with my guidance. Spoiler alert: what he didn’t know...
carolinafirearmsforum.com
 
Have not checked on the Delton M4 rifle kit (390.00} availability, they are very decent. Everything but the lower and it can be picked up anywhere. HAVE FUN
 
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The AR is a mans Barbie Doll, dress’em up any way you want. As long as they are the same ‘caliber’. Yes you can put a pistol upper on a rifle lower but that’s not going to work. Built my first forward charger sbr’ed AR seven years ago. I am mechanical so it wasn’t hard. I’m up to 3 lowers and 5 uppers, all in .45acp. I can definitely mix and match.
 
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Stogies said:
So since the lower ships to a FFL dealer and is serialized is there any other legality?


plus:


That would come to 475 taxed and shipped which is not bad for a basic AR these days.

I guess if you really want to get into it you buy the 2 main components stripped and then you can pick and choose each sub component from the approximately 16 million choices that are out there and build you something that has 100% the components of your liking OR buy said components whenever they are on sales and save even more. Interesting.
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since you asked, I will tell you that the cost savings for a apple to apple comparison is in TTB tax. For long guns its 11% of sale price from the manufacture.

a example,

the assembled lower is $119.99
the assembled upper is $299.99

The cost of parts is a total of $419.88

If you bought these SAME two assembled parts together from PSA they would have to include 11% TTB. That would drive the cost to $466.07

Now, TTB is a great thing, and its the same fund that NFA items pay into.

So thats why you feel the deal you found is so good.
 
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Damn, today I saw another sale on a different site and that was even cheaper, combined just 409$.
 
Built my first from stripped upper and lower, and before I’d ever fired one. Not sure why I went that path but I did. Not really that much to figure out once you get past the silly names and acronyms. Someone from an earlier forum helped me with the barrel nut, I don’t own a torque wrench.

You will launch a small spring or detent across the room, it’s like shooting your chronograph, we all do it.

It is good to have a solid vise.

If I was doing it again I’d buy a basic rifle and figure that out first. Buying a set from one company to save a few bucks you shouldn’t have any issues.
 
I bought a couple of bbl nut wrenches over the years but the big thing is the 2 piece plastic upper block to hold it safely in your bench vice without crushing or breaking it. I’ve never broken anything but all of my uppers are dpms slickside uppers which are thicker than a regular upper. Couldnt find one so my last pcc build used a midwayusa stoner upper. Worked out for the best as the stoner has a bigger ejection port which was needed for the cmmg .45 pcc.
 
My first AR was an M&P Sport I, it was a great learning experience, then I decided to fix it up and take off all that junk hanging on the barrel. I got a basic AR armorer's wrench, an upper/lower plastic vice block kit, and some soft punches and went at it (with some help from a knowledgeable buddy, thanks @NKD). I knocked out the original sight/gasblock pins, took everything off, mounted the new free float handguard and gasblock, upgraded the furniture and put a Vortex 1 - 6 scope on it. Now it is a decent 2 & 3 gun tool out to 500 yds (but it is a tiny bit heavy). My second AR is a 9mm PCC and I built it from parts (starting with a Spike's lower). It's super accurate out to 100 yds and is a joy to shoot.

If you have basic skills, and get a few basic tools, take your time and work carefully, ARs are pretty straightforward.
 
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Would also point out that the buffer tube is on the lower and the buffer and buffer spring needs to be correct for the bcg and caliber which is determined by the upper.
 
Stogies said:
I have never built anything before and I don't know much about it so sorry if this is dumb question. So ARs have an upper and a lower and I sometimes see these 2 main components sell pretty cheap at places like PSA. Is it really as simple as taking a complete upper and a complete lower and slapping them together and presto done?
Click to expand...
I know the subject of this is 'AR Rifle build', but when talking about mating upper and lower halves, it's possible to end up with something other than a rifle, and that's probably worth discussing.

As others have noted, it is, indeed, that easy to mate two complete halves (upper and lower) with the result of an AR15 that then needs some accessories added to it (magazines, for example). However, as @BigWaylon and others in the NFA world can attest, there are some rules to be aware of, including but not limited to:
  • When creating a rifle (i.e. AR-15 with a shoulder stock), the barrel length must be at least 16" and the overall length must be at least 26" -- any shorter in either case and you're creating a SBR which falls under NFA regulation and taxation.
  • Thanks to ATF idiocy, when creating a pistol (i.e. AR-15 with just a buffer tube or with a brace), when using a brace, you may want/need to keep LOP from flat of trigger to end of brace to 13.5" or less or risk it being considered a 'redesign' of the brace to a stock AND keep the OAL under 26" for the same sort of reason. (We didn't really have such worries until relatively recent ATF actions.) You have no such length worries if you just run unbraced with a buffer tube pistol build, but you're left with a sling as the primary option for stabilizing it. Vertical foregrips are not [legally] permitted on pistols, but angled ones have traditionally been fine ... though the ATF is now trying to walk that back, too. I seem to recall in 2017 or so that braced AR's with an OAL over 26" were no longer classed as pistols but were, instead, firearms (not rifles) ... meaning they couldn't be legally concealed in this state but COULD have a vertical foregrip (since they were no longer pistols) ... but I'm a bit fuzzy on that since it's been a while.
  • A factory fresh lower that has never been part of a firearm can be used to build a pistol or rifle. [Moot in your connecting a complete upper and lower to make a 'build', but worth mentioning.]
  • If a lower is built into or bought as a pistol (i.e. no shoulder stock) first, it can be stripped down and converted into a rifle in the future.
  • If a lower is built into a rifle (i.e. shoulder stock) first, it is supposed to remain a rifle and not ever be used to revert back into a pistol.
  • For the 3 above this bullet, it helps to take your guidance from the stamp (typically "pistol", "rifle" or "firearm") on the lower, but the bullet right above this one means it's only ever a rough guide.
I'm sure I missed, forgot, unintentionally misrepresented, or poorly presented something, as it's very late and I'm tired from a long day, so I encourage others to correct, fix, or augment what's above, as I'm merely human.

The long and short of it is: be careful you don't inadvertently construct something that's NFA-regulated by just slapping together parts (such as a 10.5" barreled complete upper onto a complete lower that has a stock ... unless of course you've done the requisite paperwork, paid the requisite tax, AND received ATF approval to move forward). Bad things can happen if the wrong person or persons become(s) aware of it ... and ignorance is no excuse. Also, braces are a murky gray area right now because the ATF wants to make them into one, so know that's what you're getting into if you're dealing with a braced lower, and educate/prepare accordingly.
 
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surrealone said:
•A factory fresh lower that has never been part of a firearm can be used to build a pistol or rifle. [Moot in your connecting a complete upper and lower to make a 'build', but worth mentioning.]
•If a lower is built into or bought as a pistol (i.e. no shoulder stock) first, it can be stripped down and converted into a rifle in the future.
•If a lower is built into a rifle (i.e. shoulder stock) first, it is supposed to remain a rifle and not ever be used to revert back into a pistol.
•For the 3 above this bullet, it helps to take your guidance from the stamp (typically "pistol", "rifle" or "firearm") on the lower, but the bullet right above this one means it's only ever a rough guide.
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Clarifying one point above…as I’m not 100% clear if you’re saying it’s allowed or not.

It’s perfectly legal to buy a complete short upper, and a complete stocked lower…and then remove the stock (before attaching upper), and you initially end up with a pistol.

That’s because they’re not “rifle lowers” and “pistol lowers”. They’re all “other firearms” when fresh. Buying a complete lower, with a stock installed, doesn’t limit you to building a rifle.
 
surrealone said:
  • A factory fresh lower that has never been part of a firearm can be used to build a pistol or rifle. [Moot in your connecting a complete upper and lower to make a 'build', but worth mentioning.]
  • If a lower is built into or bought as a pistol (i.e. no shoulder stock) first, it can be stripped down and converted into a rifle in the future.
  • If a lower is built into a rifle (i.e. shoulder stock) first, it is supposed to remain a rifle and not ever be used to revert back into a pistol.
I'm sure I missed, forgot, unintentionally misrepresented, or poorly presented something, as it's very late and I'm tired from a long day, so I encourage others to correct, fix, or augment what's above, as I'm merely human.

The long and short of it is: be careful you don't inadvertently construct something that's NFA-regulated by just slapping together parts (such as a 10.5" barreled complete upper onto a complete lower that has a stock ... unless of course you've done the requisite paperwork, paid the requisite tax, AND received ATF approval to move forward). Bad things can happen if the wrong person or persons become(s) aware of it ... and ignorance is no excuse. Also, braces are a murky gray area right now because the ATF wants to make them into one, so know that's what you're getting into if you're dealing with a braced lower, and educate/prepare accordingly.
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A factory fresh lower with a brace/stock/tube is neither a pistol nor a rifle until you build it as one. The dealer should transfer it to somebody over the age of 21 as an "other firearm" and not a handgun or long gun.
If you build it first as a pistol, you can put any length barreled upper on it without stripping it down first. You just can't build it to a rifle, then put the pistol upper back on without first taking off the stock.
Correct about the restrictions if you build as a rifle first. That's why you should always first make sure there's no stock on your new lower, then slap on a pistol upper, admire it as the newest pistol in your collection, then decide it would look better as a rifle and slap a rifle upper on and then put a stock on.
 
Then there’s what I’ve done and made a nfa sbr .45 pcc out of a rifle which I can put any of my .45 uppers on. 9360DE91-AEED-41C0-8061-9ABAB9BEB617.jpeg
 
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