AR build parts recommendations?

[Beerman]

Thinking about building an AR in 5.56/.224, 16” barrel, fixed mag. Budget: mid-priced. No junk, but first build doesn’t need to be top of the line. Just looking to build a fun range rig. Parts suppliers, uppers, barrels, lowers, lower parts kits, etc? There’s so much stuff out there, and I’ll admit to my AR ignorance right up front. Building just looks fun. Thanks for any help.

 

[dwa12479]

Your best bet then as a first build, budget, simple etc... would be a complete rifle kit. They come with everything you'll need minus the stripped lower. There's tons of options at many suppliers. Palmetto State Armory and Primary Arms are both places that have readily available, reasonably priced kits.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/ar-15/rifle-kits.html

AR 15 Rifle Build Kits For Sale | Primary Arms

AR 15 Kits have the most important parts needed to build an AR rifle. If you're an expert AR 15 Builder or a novice, shop today at Primary Arms to start your build!

www.primaryarms.com

 

[Egret-II]

Your best bet then as a first build, budget, simple etc... would be a complete rifle kit. They come with everything you'll need minus the stripped lower. There's tons of options at many suppliers. Palmetto State Armory and Primary Arms are both places that have readily available, reasonably priced kits.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/ar-15/rifle-kits.html

AR 15 Rifle Build Kits For Sale | Primary Arms

AR 15 Kits have the most important parts needed to build an AR rifle. If you're an expert AR 15 Builder or a novice, shop today at Primary Arms to start your build!

www.primaryarms.com

I never owned an AR before. But I'm thinking about building one (before they ban assault weapons like biden said last night) I have a question. Can those parts be shipped to my house in NYS? Or do they need to be shipped to an FFL?

 

[Depick]

I guess the things that stand out to me are ambidextrous controls.

 

[fnfalguy]

I'll differ a bit in opinion. I would go with one of these for the upper. https://www.larue.com/products/larue-ultimate-ar-15-upper/

Then you know it's a quality upper. I'm far less picky about lowers. But Aero isn't a bad way to go either.

 

[Beerman]

Thanks for the info so far. I have some research to do. Keep the ideas coming.

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

An entry level AR is great. In fact I think every American who is comfortable with guns should have an AR. a Gucci AR is great but not everyone can afford them so an entry level might suit your needs. And it will give you time to practice and decide what you would do differently for your next build or purchase.

In NY you have 2 main routes. "featureless" or "fixed mag". There's lots of debate on which is better or why. Personally I chose fixed mag because I want a rifle that looks, feels and handles like a normal rifle. And when I move to a free state (or if hypothetically for entertainment sake of discussion the gov suddenly disappeared) I would know what to do and that is the better choice. I don't like the ergonomics of featureless rifles they are very awkward and have bad ergonomics. My .02 cents.
I'm planning to move to a free state and when I do I can convert my rifle to it's new surroundings very easily.

If you had the money a BCM or Daniel defense are great. But you can start off cheaper.

Palmetto state, aero precision, SW M&P etc. Just buy or build any rifle you like, get a 10 round mag and attach a mag lock.

Then you can start to decide what you want next. Maybe you will start with another caliber upper you can swap like a .300blk upper. Just swap the 5.56 and .300 uppers and you have a new rifle..

Maybe you'll get a 14.5" rifle with a pinned and welded flash hider to 16" length with a red dot and have another upper with a rifle Length barrel and variable power scope.

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.


Oh don't forget to paint them too .

 

[Beerman]

Yeah, I don’t wanna spend more $ than I need to building my first AR, but I don’t want junk, either. Looking at this PSA kit as a starter. Get an I nexpensive lower, build, pin/weld the threads, ammo, run it. Thoughts?

 

[FP1201]

Your best bet then as a first build, budget, simple etc... would be a complete rifle kit. They come with everything you'll need minus the stripped lower. There's tons of options at many suppliers. Palmetto State Armory and Primary Arms are both places that have readily available, reasonably priced kits.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/ar-15/rifle-kits.html

AR 15 Rifle Build Kits For Sale | Primary Arms

AR 15 Kits have the most important parts needed to build an AR rifle. If you're an expert AR 15 Builder or a novice, shop today at Primary Arms to start your build!

www.primaryarms.com

^^^ is what I would recommend as well.
Bear Creek Arsenal prices out pretty well, but there is the risk of quality over price, and therefor reviews will vary.
None of it's complicated, even though there are those that try their best to complicate things in the name of accuracy and reliability.

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

Yeah, I don’t wanna spend more $ than I need to building my first AR, but I don’t want junk, either. Looking at this PSA kit as a starter. Get an I nexpensive lower, build, pin/weld the threads, ammo, run it. Thoughts?

If you go fixed mag I don't believe you need to pin/weld although my memory is s little hazy. That's mainly to get the overall barrel length to 16" permanent if it's a 14.5" barrel the flash hider will get it to 16".

The 13.5" in the description should be the length of the handguard rail

PSA won't be the softest shooting out there many are slightly over gased but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are lots of torture tests on YouTube and they handle the abuse really well.

Military arms channel just recently toured their production facility and he was pretty impressed at their improvements.

 

[dwa12479]

Yeah, I don’t wanna spend more $ than I need to building my first AR, but I don’t want junk, either. Looking at this PSA kit as a starter. Get an I nexpensive lower, build, pin/weld the threads, ammo, run it. Thoughts?

If you're going with fixed magazine yoy don't need to pin/weld anything as its already a 16" barrel. The pin/weld would only come into play if you're getting a barrel shorter than 16" and using the muzzle device to bring the length up to 16. Thats an ATF reg though, not a NY specific law.

 

[dwa12479]

I never owned an AR before. But I'm thinking about building one (before they ban assault weapons like biden said last night) I have a question. Can those parts be shipped to my house in NYS? Or do they need to be shipped to an FFL?

Yes, nothing in any of these kits are serialized or require a NICS, it can all be dropped right on your doorstep.

 

[Egret-II]

Yes, nothing in any of these kits are serialized or require a NICS, it can all be dropped right on your doorstep.

Great. Soon I'll put something together. I'll keep an eye on this thread. Good info.

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

The lower is the only serialized part. The lower is the nics background check part.

 

[Beerman]

Alright- I ordered the kit I linked to in post #8. Now I need to order a stripped lower.

 

[togmaster]

Here is a relevant lower that would go well with the kit you just bought.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-ar-15-lower-receiver-noflyzone-15.html

 

[Beerman]

Here is a relevant lower that would go well with the kit you just bought.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-ar-15-lower-receiver-noflyzone-15.html

I saw that. I think I’ll just go with the Stealth version of that lower, though.

PSA won’t allow me to buy a stripped lower and have it shipped to an FFL. That sucks.

 

[dwa12479]

Here is a relevant lower that would go well with the kit you just bought.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-ar-15-lower-receiver-noflyzone-15.html

PSA won't ship stripped lowers to NY anymore. Not even to FFL since our lovely CCIA passed after Bruen.

 

[Beerman]

I think a couple shops within an hour of home have some reasonably priced lowers in stock. Anderson, Aero Precision, ATI. $60 - $105 depending on specifics. All are 7075 aluminum. Those all pretty equal mfgs? Go with Aero, probably.

 

[Saltwater60]

I think a couple shops within an hour of home have some reasonably priced lowers in stock. Anderson, Aero Precision, ATI. $60 - $105 depending on specifics. All are 7075 aluminum. Those all pretty equal mfgs? Go with Aero, probably.

I like aero IMO. The PSA kits are nice. I ordered one for my dad and I was pleased with it. Check right to bear they have a nice two stage light trigger for like $80.00.
You’ll have fun.

 

[dwa12479]

Lowers are lowers. They're really one of the least important parts of the build. I personally avoid the polymers though. I like the aluminums.

 

[Xae289]

Aero is good. Receivers are receivers is true as long as you don't totally cheap out. The real cheapos are when you can run into quality issues like pin hole misalignments, fit, finish, etc.

I definitely recommend a LaRue Tactical trigger, as long as you're ok with a 2-stage. They're not as cheap as a mil-spec, but they're substantially better. And as far as upgraded triggers go, from the ones I've tried, you'd have to spend much, much more to get a better one.

https://www.larue.com/category/parts-accessories/lower-parts/triggers/

 

[Beerman]

For my fixed mag build, what mag lock(s) and which magazine(s) are recommended? I know Compmags are trash, but is a P-mag a good permanent solution or do I want something else? Cross Armory for a mag lock?

 

[Saltwater60]

For my fixed mag build, what mag lock(s) and which magazine(s) are recommended? I know Compmags are trash, but is a P-mag a good permanent solution or do I want something else? Cross Armory for a mag lock?

Go with P mag and stick with the 10/10 and don’t get one that looks like a 30 round mag. If you get a double feed you’ll thank me. The P mag has a removable base plate and they are good quality. Buy a few even though it’s a fixed mag.
As for the mag lock I like DDs ranch fixed mag lock. It’s cheap, simple, and the Allen screw is beady enough that if you can remove it after all these lawsuits you’ll be able to get on it even with some epoxy in there. If you epoxy it put a small cap of plumbers putty in there then top it off with epoxy. It will make removal much easier.

 

[Tisto]

Go with P mag and stick with the 10/10 and don’t get one that looks like a 30 round mag. If you get a double feed you’ll thank me. The P mag has a removable base plate and they are good quality. Buy a few even though it’s a fixed mag.
As for the mag lock I like DDs ranch fixed mag lock. It’s cheap, simple, and the Allen screw is beady enough that if you can remove it after all these lawsuits you’ll be able to get on it even with some epoxy in there. If you epoxy it put a small cap of plumbers putty in there then top it off with epoxy. It will make removal much easier.

Not plumber's putty - put a tiny piece of foam earplug in there, then put your JB Weld on top. You'll be able to dig out the JB Weld and then the earplug and the socket for the allen wrench will be easy to work with. You'll be able to reuse all the parts again too.

 

[Saltwater60]

Not plumber's putty - put a tiny piece of foam earplug in there, then put your JB Weld on top. You'll be able to dig out the JB Weld and then the earplug and the socket for the allen wrench will be easy to work with. You'll be able to reuse all the parts again too.

Same will happen with the plumbers putty because no airs in there but yes your idea will work as well as long as the ear plug seals out the epoxy and it doesn’t flow past the ear plug. My method has served me well.

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

Not to be snarky, but there is no law or part of the safe act nor CCIA BS that says you have to put epoxy in the Allen hole. It's just based on your comfort level.

To me a mag lock is a mag lock. It's fulfilling the task of affixing a magazine to my rifle. Adding epoxy doesn't do anything additional. That doesnt make it more permanent because it can still be removed. The only way to fulfill the definition of a permenantly attached magazine would be to get an aluminum mag and literally weld it into the magazine well.


No DA is going to dare open up the can of worms to prosecute a rifle that has a mag lock and 10 round mag they do not want any part of touching that electric fence because it would likely lead to the end of the safe act for being completely absurd.

 

[dwa12479]

Not to be snarky, but there is no law or part of the safe act nor CCIA BS that says you have to put epoxy in the Allen hole. It's just based on your comfort level.

To me a mag lock is a mag lock. It's fulfilling the task of affixing a magazine to my rifle. Adding epoxy doesn't do anything additional. That doesnt make it more permanent because it can still be removed. The only way to fulfill the definition of a permenantly attached magazine would be to get an aluminum mag and literally weld it into the magazine well.


No DA is going to dare open up the can of worms to prosecute a rifle that has a mag lock and 10 round mag they do not want any part of touching that electric fence because it would likely lead to the end of the safe act for being completely absurd.

Was going to say the same, beat me too it.

The Prince 50 is a good low profile mag lock.

Prince 50 Designs Patriot Mag Release Assembly AR-15

The Prince 50 Designs Patriot Magazine Release Assembly allows your rifle to be reloaded only when disassembled. The assembly allows use of standard or...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

If you go the fixed mag route this will be appreciated. It makes breaking the gun apart to top load the mag much easier

DD'S RANCH AR-15 EXTENDED REAR TAKEDOWN PIN

AR-15 extended rear take down pin allows you to easily pull the rear take down pin, a must for fixed magazine/top loader models!!!

ddsranch.com

And this mag lock works well. There are cheaper options but it's simple and works.

AR-15 MAGAZINE LOCK

AR-15 MAGAZINE LOCK NEW YORK SAFE ACT LEGAL

ddsranch.com

 

[Vapor]

I actually like Anderson lowers better than psa. Aluminum lowers are fine. You can go Anderson to Lmt, the named stamped on it is about all the difference. I find the fit on Andersons to be a little better than psa, but the function is all the same.


For an upper, I've come to prefer nitrided barrels. I think Aero makes a nice upper for the money.


Ambi safety and charging handle are a must if you go the detachable mag route. I bcm or giessle for charging handles.


Sights, I like Troy or Sig.


Triggers, larue, psa 3 lbs cassette type