Home AR-15 Ep. 176 | Building an AR – Where to Spend Your Money...

Ep. 176 | Building an AR – Where to Spend Your Money and Where to Save

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AR component and accessory options abound. Wading through them is part of the fun, but can be daunting at the same time. How can two seemingly identical parts have such an extreme price discrepancy? Jimmy and Mark bring in AR-Gurus Adam Maxwell and Reuben Aleckson to dissect the anatomy of an AR, and where to consider dropping coin like brass on a hot range, or where to save money like cartridges during an ammo crisis (that would never happen). Mark even brings in his plaid-lined wicker basket of AR parts as visual-aid. You can rest easy knowing they have been assembled. Let us know in the comments if you want to see the complete rifles before they are mysteriously lost to the ocean in a tragic, undocumented, boating accident.

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34 COMMENTS

  1. I go with POF, only company I know with a genius designer who went over every part of the firearm and looked into what it did and why and made it better for the purpose it was needed amd tested it beyond anything you can put it through, p415 most reliable robust accurate feature rich rifle ever made, roller cam, e squared extractor, barrel nutt for heat dispersion, simplicylf gas piston system realibility longevity of it, barrel fluted and 5r rifling, sub moa and better, BCG materials and coating lasts longer with less oil, one piece rail system, most robust rigid long lasting. Drop in trigger top tier single and double stages, flat curved double curved choices. Muzzle device makes very low recoil, very loud and powerful blast thou. Only thing might change is the MFT grip and stock, lightest weight but no storage if you want, or different grip angel.

  2. Slim rail slim barrel, light weight everything, how often are you dumping mag after mag until its to hot to he accurate, and mine has a fore grip, you only have so many mags on you anyways, 99.9% of tine you havr a rifle with you during war time or hunting, your walking with it. 20 round mag for walking with it and 30s in bag and vest. Maybe even 10 round in gun for walking, especially a ar10, ill use those 10 and change mags.

  3. What has happened to the USA when the men are speaking and scared of the government, the constitution says we are not to follow unjust laws, it says any law that goes against the Constitution is unjust making it null amd void. This is pathetic, men scared of the government they oay for and voted into office to represent them, this is not what the founding fathers invisioned when they made the USA, the constitution was written to make sure this didn't happen.

  4. The constitution is to be followed, 100% we live in a constitutional Republic one Nation under God. We need to read the constitution and the Bible like our founding Fathers, Live like Jesus Christ and protect our way of life. No satanic agendas, everything of the world is satanic, all the music, media, laws, everything.

  5. The PSA setups are more accurate and reliable than anyone whos buying them needs them to be, they are moa or better and always reliable, My PSA dagger is one hole accurate at 15 yards and hit a 2×4 at 100 yards with one hand, my POF revolution is 1/4 moa or better also and both been 100% reliable so far, i had a double feed twice with me trying to release mag and rack it with one already in chamber, it fell right out when i pulled mag out and pulled charging handle back, but neither have failed to feed or jammed or missed what I aimed at. I think you can get a top tier trigger for 70-140 dollars. POF makes top tier drop in triggers, you can get them for 140 on sale on some sites.

  6. Question:

    A quality made expensive upper receiver like a DD, what is so much better on them than a budget Anderson upper receiver?
    Is a budget Anderson upper receiver as good as like a PSA upper receiver, and if not what not?
    Is the PSA on par with like an Aero Precision, If not why not?

  7. Two questions:

    On a budget Anderson Am-15 is their trigger mil spec or should I look for an upgrade? I like the weight so it’s not that I don’t like it, I just want a trigger that is not going to brake.
    Number 2 question:
    If the budget Anderson came with an aluminum gas block, should I change it out for a steel gas block if I only shoot 200 to 400 rounds a month? I did buy a steel block but I thought to wait till the aluminum block degrades first before I change it out. Bad idea?

  8. Question:

    Can I use any BCG on a budget AR? I feel the Anderson’s bolt that came with my rifle is not a good quality bolt due to the materials used to make it…It’s made of the same steel as the carrier, 8620. I’m thinking about maybe just buying a bolt, just a single bolt from Faxon that is made from 9310 steel. It’s a solid quality bolt but the question is, can I use it in my budget carrier? I don’t think the gas key looks poorly staked on this budget BCG, but what do I know, I’m new to the AR platform.
    Would it be better then to just buy a brand new whole BCG to replace this Anderson budget 8620 bolt or just buy the Faxon 9310 bolt. It’s like $75 for just their bolt, where the Faxon BCG is like $200, I can’t remember .

  9. Question:

    Regarding 5.56 barrels, if it’s not chrome lined or maybe nitride treated, if it’s just a plain button rifled barrel like a budget Anderson AM-15 if I were to shoot like 200 rounds a month how many rounds will that barrel be able to keep up with before it loses accuracy?

  10. Had to comment on “you can get anything but a lower shipped to your door.. .”
    Depends on seller and what state you live in. Some sellers like OpticsPlanet wouldn’t send me flipping UPPER saying it was restricted item 🙁

  11. I have several AR's and I bought one from Tombstone about 3-4 years ago for 500 and it was a 300 blackout caliber with a great setup for the money and I was planning on changing out the trigger, but I just could not do it! The trigger is so good for this rifle it falls into the if it's not broke don't fix it. I just tested it again with my Lyman gauge and it is between 3-4 lbs. which is perfectly fine for a range/hunting/home protection type rifle. I don't know if I got lucky or if they were standard issue from Bushmaster but being a competitive shooter from the Army way back in the 80's I know what to look for when shooting an AR rifle or M-16 which I shot competitive for 2 years in the Army. It was the only AR that I did not change the trigger on and it is now part of a 6MM ARC AR that I just had to the range and it shot very good at both 100 and 200 yds. Love the AR rifles and every time an idiot goes on a shooting rampage I cringe because the anti-gun fanatics will keep trying to find justification to take away our rights to shoot and enjoy our hobby of target shooting and hunting.

  12. I've never experienced a 4 foot fire ball with any build. Not a one. What are we talking about here. Green builders or what. These guys are talking about builds like it's getting your drivers permit, or your first girlfriend.

  13. Your build should start, where it starts. The organic build just means more, and suites me well. Stop all the fancy talk, and relate to the guy that has to budget, barter, grind, and build around his vision. I'll take that build any day.

  14. I'm in IT and always say the same thing about building your own computer, at the end of the day you can't match the resources of a factory that produces 1000s of this one model and there will always be things you miss, like optimal airflow, combination of parts, drivers, etc

  15. I ordered every part I needed from classic firearms and Optics Planet they came all everything came to my house within 2 days for classic firearms and a week for Optics Planet I have every part required to build the AR I am currently in another state as soon as I get home I'm building it

  16. First don't buy an ultra light rifle and add 100lbs but buy an AK if you have problems you can take the dust cover of cycling it to find the problem with the ejecter or feed and if in a bad spot yoy still have a rifle that is single shot but functional with out have to break apart a lower and upper and then you can't cycle it to even find the problem is it the buffer or spring in the butt tube is it the double feed system that dents the casing when hit the peice of metal instead of a smooth bore but you don't know because you can't even cycle it when broke in 2 pieces but the ak take the dust cover off all the parts visible and able to cycle it to even locate the problem the spring all right there visible and fairly easy to fix and have back in action. Could be as simple as the grains of powder in the ammo not pushing the buffer back and throwing the casing just kicking it out the side a not ejecting that is in some sidearms when the casing is hanging out the side not getting the full spring break or proper recoil but still both fun for target shooting. Then you get into the little gas tube on the ar after use power residue built up know you don't get the full gas recoil because of build up in the gas tube itself

  17. Experts?? Go to the School of the American Rifle if you want to watch an expert..Even expensive high end AR rifles will not even meet TDP tolerances..SOLGW, Colt, BCM, DD are better than most, but poor QC can escape any manufacturer..

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