Pre-made vs building an AR

[BREATHER]

I'm looking all over and I just cannot figure the benefits of building your own rifle vs buying a premade. I have built muzzleloaders before and it was to save money. I just ain't seein' it here. I saw, what I thought, were pretty good deals at the last gun show...

[tmckay2]

build, build, build. you can do it cheaper, you just have to be patient and smart, shop around. its fun. you learn lots of ins and outs about not only ar15's but about your particular rifle. you can customize it from day one to exactly what you want. ive always built mine from the very first one, and ive never regretted it. to make it easier you could buy a completed upper, say from bravocompanyusa, and then build everything else. anyone can do that with no special tools or knowledge. all you need is typical tools, youtube.com, and some common sense.

the upper would require tools and is a bit more of a pain

[Byte Stryke]

DO NOT Allow the lack of tools or equipment keep you from building one if that is what you want.
we have too many Gunsmiths and shops here to keep you from that.

benefits of building.

I want this lower with this upper and a hard-chrome BCG with all Magpul furniture and a Number # charging handle. Buy once, build it.


Benefits of a pre-built

Buy, Shoot

Granted with a prebuilt you are shooting what someone else put together, So if you change ANYTHING you are essentially buying that part twice.
even if its Furniture. you bought the cheap furniture, now you are buying the Nice stuff.

Honestly there are pros and cons on both sides that only you can decide about.

[Jackal]

What do you want? A plain jane A2 rifle? You can do it for under $600- maybe significantly less if you buy used parts. Hard to find a new complete rifle for that. Ohterwise, as all the other posters stated, you can build a rifle exactly the way you want it configured.

[patrick0685]

plus if you build you have a much better understanding of the workings of the AR and its super easy

[BigMat]

I built my first AR and have built all my lowers and don't regret it at all. I have bought a couple of uppers finished, just due to them being more work to finish.

I think the big difference cost wise comes in between upper and lower, put together. If a lower is in spec, its a relatively unimportant part, so you can save some pennies there. A full Colt/Noveske/etc. rifle costs a lot, but all the advantages are in the upper half, but the lower half still costs a premium. Put that upper on a lower you built for less than half their cost and you can shave a few bucks on your build, without much, if any lose is quality.

[SideShow Bob]

Build an AR = Frankingun. Buy a factory AR = at least some sort of warranty.
And with me being easily frustrated, I would very quickly end up taking a 5# single jack to it. [Mad]
Besides, BP Tactical would go belly up if I started building and repairing my own ARs.

[spleify]

build, build, build. you can do it cheaper, you just have to be patient and smart, shop around. its fun. you learn lots of ins and outs about not only ar15's but about your particular rifle. you can customize it from day one to exactly what you want. ive always built mine from the very first one, and ive never regretted it. to make it easier you could buy a completed upper, say from bravocompanyusa, and then build everything else. anyone can do that with no special tools or knowledge. all you need is typical tools, youtube.com, and some common sense.

the upper would require tools and is a bit more of a pain

This is almost exactly what I was going to type. Great advise here.

I built my last one for about $600 and she runs like a top!

Good luck and have fun!

[82ndShooter]

It does require a lot of patience building your own, both looking for good deals on parts and coming up with the proper tools to build it. I built mine for $1300, but had I bought it retail it would have cost more than twice what I paid overall.

[mcantar18c]

If you can find a company that sells my dream AR with all the Spike Tactical, VLTOR, Magpul, Daniel Defnese, etc. parts I want, and sells it for just the cost of the parts without any markups for profit or to cover labor, then I'll buy my AR. Otherwise, I'll build my AR.

[jerrymrc]

Build an AR = Frankingun. Buy a factory AR = at least some sort of warranty.
And with me being easily frustrated, I would very quickly end up taking a 5# single jack to it. [Mad]
Besides, BP Tactical would go belly up if I started building and repairing my own ARs.

And for some of us the building of a gun is the prize. I am going to catch some flak here but for the most part you do not "build" an AR you just put the pieces together. Try that with a bunch of 1911 parts. :)

[leatherneck448]

BUILD ONE

I did, and finished mine up for just a tad over 900 dollars.
(910-915 I think)

As others have said, shop around for deals and you will get away with a steal of a rifle that will blow any stock AR out of the water.

Look for sales, guys selling parts cheap on here, and prowl the arfcom equipment exchange as much as possible.

AND, on top of anything else, its a ton of fun to build on your own.
If you have a basic set of hand tools
(set of punches and a hammer, chan-nel-locs, duct tape, and a paper clip to keep the detents from flying across the room are all you really need) and an understanding of how to use them, you will be done in no time.

build one yourself, and you will make off with twice the quality of a storebought gun (if you pick your parts right), an understanding of how the gun works, and you'll have the satisfaction of saying, "I built that"[Beer]

hope this helps,
Kenny

[BPTactical]

Probably the biggest advantage to building is you can build that special, one off rifle that no manufacturer offers.
You can take your time and accrue the best components but also take the time and research it and make sure of compatability between those components.
This is also one of the chief causes of problems. People will just toss parts together with no consideration to making sure they work together correctly.
There is a good bit to be said for a factory warranty.
If this is your first AR I would go with a complete factory rifle. It will be ready to roll out of the box and theoretically run hassle free. Cut your teeth on this one, learn the platform and what you want out of a build. Try different accessories and components and figure out what you want out of your ultimate rifle.
Then go hog wild and build the rifle of your dreams.

[2008f450]

My first AR was a complete factory gun purchase. Every one since (12 total) has been built by me or me and friends. I like to tinker and when I get an idea I want to try it out. I would say if you feel comfortable with it build it. Then you know its yours.[Beer]

[sniper7]

I like to build them myself unless I can get exactly what I want put on it like a larue upper.

[gnihcraes]

I did it!

Bought some pieces yesterday at Tanner and built up a Basic Flattop and added a carry handle.

$701 total. ($647 without carry handle)

Surplus Guns Ammo Lower: $70
Bushmaster LPK: $52
Delton Complete Upper, with BCG, 1:9, Chrome Lined, Flattop, Front sight: $485
New Take off Adujstable Stock/Tube/Buffer: $40
A2 Carry Handle and sight (5280 Armory): $54

Might have been able to go cheaper, but just didn't find a good deal on a complete upper new or used.

[UZI]