Page 4 of 5 FirstFirst ... 2345 LastLast
Results 31 to 40 of 44

Thread: buy or build my first AR?

  1. #31
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    FLORIDA!
    Posts
    15
    Feedback Score
    24 (100%)

    Build, build, build!

    I say build. OP, if you're anything like me, you don't have enough money to buy straight out. I personally only make a dollar more than minimum wage. No shit. So if i wanted a Noveske (for which i do now), i had to build it myself. Yes, i said build. Nothing was assembled. I did it all by myself, with a little help from Bob Dunlap. I purchased parts, one by one (some two by two!), and along the way, the correct tools. One of the main things i purchased, was in fact, a DVD from AGI featuring Bob (we're on a first name basis now). After fondling my parts for some time, and watching this video, i took the plunge. Mind you, i did NOT start with my prized possessions. I started with an AnvilArms stripped lower and stripped upper. Once i had that down pat, i started a Spikes Tactical (again, i make about minimum wage). Now i may be one of the lucky ones, as i haven't had a single mishap yet. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Now i have 7 AR platforms. Ranging in different calibers. I just recently purchased a stripped Noveske set. I am proud to say, i'll soon, be shooting this bad bear this hunting season. (hopefully my attachment worked, as this is where i'm at in the build)

    So i say, buy the right tools for the job, buy the parts as can be afforded, and build that dream gun you've always wanted!
    "I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle." -Sitting Bull; Hunkpapa Lakota.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Canon city Co. at the moment
    Posts
    3,076
    Feedback Score
    5 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by 0reo View Post
    There are a lot of bubba-Smith videos. There are also some very good videos.

    Mechanically inclined = experience. Not with any particular thing but with many different things enough that you're able to figure chit out for yourself.

    <--- Had no trouble at all figuring out the AR platform all by myself.

    "Know thyself." That's all I'm saying.
    I got ya man. I know exactly what youre sayin. Im the same way. Anything I try I pick up pretty quick. Alot of people arent like that though. I agree that there are ALOT of good videos. But there are also alot of dumbasses stuck in their ways and people that believe the first thing they read
    Last edited by BCmJUnKie; 08-29-11 at 00:58.
    Quote Originally Posted by Split66 View Post
    I wouldnt listen to BCMjunkie. His brown camo clashes like hell with his surroundings. His surroundings are obviously pinkish and lacey and have big hooties.

    Instagram Dangertastic
    Danger@Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/m41979/

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    40
    Feedback Score
    0
    I'm putting together my first AR, well by putting together I mean slapping a BCM upper on a BCM blem lower and furniture. I thought about taking the building route but I figure I'd do it this way first, shoot a few thousand over the next few months and then try my hand at building on my next rifle.

    It's really up to how mechanically savvy you are and how much you trust your own skills and knowledge of the AR platform. Being your first and in a very similar boat as most I would say buy a full rifle, or a complete upper and lower.

    An aside, But hey I built my first personal computer from scratch, oc'ed the piss out of it and that mofo ran 24/7 for a few years.

    That's just my $.02, take it for what it is worth, there are plenty of much more knowledgeable folk on this board than I.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Midwest
    Posts
    2,842
    Feedback Score
    18 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Long Tom Coffin View Post
    You guys need to get out more. "Douche Nozzle" has been the en vogue replacement for "douche bag" for at least the last year now.
    really!?

    Quote Originally Posted by fixit69 View Post
    ETA: markm, dammit, that's the second time in two days you've made me spit beer. That's alcohol abuse. Doushe nozzle?, really funny shit.
    seriously man...unfortunately I wasn't having beer, but an energy drink. Still..you owe me at least one

    Quote Originally Posted by Thomas M-4 View Post
    Any grease monkey that can do a proper brake job should be able to comprehend how to assemble one.
    But response to this has not that it is to hard [ its not assembling a M-1 match Grade Garand] to assemble its its more less all bolt together. The problem arises in picking quality parts , being able to diagnose problems and assessing improvements if any. It is not like you can not rebuild you factory rifle at a later date. If you feel after you have experience with it and what might work best for you.
    I think you hit the nail on the head. Anyone can piece one together with the combination of a 5IQ and Youtube videos. You'd be hard pressed to find the idiot that couldn't figure it out, sitting there smashing parts together, drooling on himself, and screaming "SQUARE PEG...ROUND HOLE"

    But, as you said, I believe one of the most difficult aspects of a first timer 'building' is troubleshooting. If a factory weapon has problems you have a large pool of resources to pull from and assist in diagnosis. Reputable manufacturers will even send you replacement parts if you narrow down the problems to a given part. You also have a 'constant' - that being the assembled weapon, put together by the manufacturer with spec parts. That said, you slowly learn of the typical malfunctions and issues with the platform and how to diagnose and fix properly. If you try and diagnose a home build without 100% comprehension of what each part does/how it will affect the rifle's operation if messed with...well then you end up trying to fix 1 problem and creating 4 more. So 'building' is for the seasoned users for the reasons mentioned above.
    Last edited by munch520; 08-29-11 at 09:47.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Cleveland, OH
    Posts
    263
    Feedback Score
    0
    Any grease monkey that can do a proper brake job should be able to comprehend how to assemble one.
    With the way some newer brake systems are designed I've honestly had an easier time assembling an AR than working on those. Just my experience though, or lack thereof.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Saint Louis
    Posts
    95
    Feedback Score
    4 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Dutchy556 View Post
    As someone who has built both rifles and computers I really like this analogy (though to be fair, computers are a little more complicated than rifles). In both cases I started off with off the shelf units then built my own stuff when I really knew what I was doing and what I needed/wanted if it wasn't available off the shelf or I could have significant cost savings.

    I am definitely in the buy your first rifle complete camp, that or push the pins on an upper/lower combo you like. Change things if/when you identify a need to. Once you really know your shit regarding the platform then maybe go down the build your own path.

    Then to be fair, the first actual personal computer (as in my own and no one else's) that I ever owned I built from the ground up by buying single parts off of ebay my freshman year of highschool. It ran great and I kept frankensteining it with new components off an on for about 5 years until the technology progressed to the point where the old platform was no longer supportable. To give you an idea of how much I jerry rigged it, the unit I originally bought to house it (this was before tower units went vogue) was a combined monitor display/drive that I bought for hella cheap off this business that was selling them as a surplus from their commercial section. The unit was actually meant to be a "register computer", but I was just interested in the housing unit and the motherboard. Everything else went to the junk box. After the screen finally broke several years later, I discovered that the specific screen size that this unit used hadn't been in production for about 3 years. Instead of just ditching it (why toss it when you can fix it?) I just opened up the back of the unit, plugged in a new, bigger monitor into the internal monitor jack (again, bought for cheap on ebay), and fixed my problem. The whole set up looked absolutely retarded, but hey, it worked.
    Last edited by Long Tom Coffin; 08-29-11 at 14:15. Reason: grammar correction
    Let me tell you about the first rule of holes:

    "When you find yourself in one, stop digging."

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Saint Louis
    Posts
    95
    Feedback Score
    4 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by munch520 View Post
    really!?
    Yup. I hear it all the time with some of the younger employees and when I semi occasionally play online on my 360. It seems to be popular with the younger set.
    Let me tell you about the first rule of holes:

    "When you find yourself in one, stop digging."

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Alabama
    Posts
    2,770
    Feedback Score
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by turdbocharged View Post
    With the way some newer brake systems are designed I've honestly had an easier time assembling an AR than working on those. Just my experience though, or lack thereof.
    Yea tell me about it I recently had to do a Honda captive rotor system. It was absolute pain in the ass.

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    5,795
    Feedback Score
    0
    No contest...Buy.

    Prices on quality ARs have never been lower.
    For God and the soldier we adore, In time of danger, not before! The danger passed, and all things righted, God is forgotten and the soldier slighted." - Rudyard Kipling

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    181
    Feedback Score
    19 (100%)
    Because this is your first one, I'd recommend buying one... especially since you already think you know what you want.

    Once you've had it for a while, you will critique the hell out of it and decide that you want something slightly different. (ie rail size/type, fsp vs folding buis) Now it's time to build. By this time you'll have a better feel for what you truly like.

    As for building one... really it's not that hard for a mechanically inclined person. But not having the right tools, can/will make it difficult.

    los

Page 4 of 5 FirstFirst ... 2345 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •