# First AR.. kinda



## AbdullahD (6 Jun 2018)

Soo the wife spent some cash.. so I spent a little and bought a Stag stripped Lower.

I'm on a wee bit of a spree here, yes.. but what's life without fun?

So I'll be going .223, budget is roughly $2,500-$3,000 for the build glass included. The range around here is 200 yards.. tops (I think). I'll be using that as a top end for range I'm building for. Thinking about getting a nice timney trigger, enhanced lower parts kit, debating getting wood furniture or going straight for the "scary black lol", probably do Daniel defence for my upper stuff.. buddy recommends em highly... 

But another debate I'm having is.. that this will be a "fun gun" I have a number of friends who are either a) antis or b) hunting firearms only.. so I want to build something I can, my wife can and everyone can enjoy.. I'm tempted for my sights to go with a reflex sight or possibly a fixed power scope in the 2x or 3x multiples... something that has very quick target acquisition so it is easy/fun to shoot (this also appeals to me, I enjoy plinking these types of set ups.)

Any rate.. I'm just curious if anyone has any opinions on what the best bang for buck will be for me.. it is my first AR build and I've been counselled to get a complete upper and spend most my budget there.. but I'm tempted to do 100% custom too.. I'm also tempted to put a muzzle break on it too.. purely for the giggles and to let my wife creakote it or whatever that paint stuff is... 

Any rate input is appreciated 
Abdullah

Ps reliability is big for me too, I want something I can trust for a long time.


----------



## Lerch (13 Jun 2018)

Welcome to the slippery slope of building your first AR :rofl:

Lots of good suppliers for parts; True North Arms, CTC Supplies, Rampart and Red Deer Shooting Centre are my go to for new parts. Basic parts to get work done are a reaction rod or upper vice block, the proper barrel wrench for whatever you're putting on and a good torque wrench, a castle nut wrench (if you get an armourers tool it'll cover a few pieces), and then a punch set and hammer.

Seeing as this is your first, a good generic setup would be 16" mid-length barrel with a freefloat handguard and collapsible stock. You can probably pickup a complete Daniel Defence upper if you want. You can always do up a second upper if you want something shorter or longer.

Optics, well I'd recommend a Vortex PST 1-6x, that way you can shoot a wider range of distances and not need to change the glass.

Trigger, there's Timney as you mentioned, and they're a good package, but I've been using Geissele triggers and aside from milspec on a few clones, won't use anything else (highly recommend the SSA or SSA-E for your first).

Oh, and hell yes to a muzzle brake. My buddy uses a Lantac Dragon and I've got a couple Surefire brakes, but really whatever tickles your fancy.

Let 'er buck!


----------



## klatham (13 Jun 2018)

If your goal is to keep costs down, a complete rifle or upper is likely the better way to go.  There were a few retailers selling the S&W M&P-15 Sport for a reasonable price.  

I have built two complete ARs from parts that I picked up, but even watching for deals on used components, it ended up costing me more in the long run.  The up side was I got to know my rifles pretty well, as I had put them together.  

There are lots of optics available.  I have a bunch of different optics on my various ARs, Leupold Mark AR 1.5-4, EOTech EXPS-2, Elcan C79, A1 irons, Busnell AR/223 3-9 scope.  The Bushnell AR optics are a pretty good deal, inexpensive, relatively rugged and they have target turrets as well as side focus(parallax).  I have one on my long range .22 as well (300m+).

I run milspec triggers in all of my ARs, but a friend of mine runs trigger tech triggers and he always places very high at NSCC.  He even used his AR out to 800m in the DMR class for PR.

For brakes, there are a bunch of options, but a few of them also have a blast diffuser that can be screwed onto the brake to tame it down at the range when you have people beside you.  Matador Arms makes the Stinger, which is a pretty good setup.

If you want to get new people out to the range, you can also look at a dedicated .22LR upper, so you can start them on that and work up to the .223.

Cheers,

-Kevin


----------



## Fishbone Jones (14 Jun 2018)

Don't spend a lot of money on your first build. A good start is the Norinco AR from Marstar. They got some combo deals going on right now. http://www.marstar.ca/dynamic/category.jsp?catid=75212 For entry level, these guns are cheap and reasonably robust. Save your cash for when you really know what you want to do. Unless someone reads the engraving on the receiver, no one will be the wiser. Less than $1000, same gun. Buy ammo with your extra cash  ;D


----------



## Colin Parkinson (14 Jun 2018)

I am insanely happy with my DPMS, I keep my Nork AR fitted with a .22cal sub kit to do various drills with. A number of DPMS for sale on CGN, both new and used. Mine was a Iraqi Contractor gun, a bit beat up on the outside, but brand new on the inside, plus comes with a story.


----------



## AbdullahD (14 Jun 2018)

Wow! Thanks for all the input guys. Having a .22 Ar makes a lot of sense, may need to have a separate firearm for that.. a lot cheaper plinking with a 22 haha got a few of them and really enjoy working on fundamentals using 22's.. so likely translates over to AR as well.

I'll need to take a look at those trigger and muzzle brake manufacturers always good to keep an open mind.

I have no delusions I'll probably build it, run it for a while then build another or tinker this one. But I want to do a very nice solid build and not cheap out on to much if I can. I know $2,500-3,000 wont build the nicest rig at the range, but i believe it will be decent enough... and hey who knows maybe they will re schedule the AR to non restricted and it can be my Deer gun 😂😂 I'm to funny lol

Anyways thanks again off to google to look at the different parts and retailers. I've only really used cabelas and Ctc supplies so shopping the prices will be nicer lol

Abdullah


----------



## Mister Donut (20 Jul 2018)

Lerch said:
			
		

> Welcome to the *slippery slope* of building your first AR :rofl:
> 
> Lots of good suppliers for parts; True North Arms, CTC Supplies, Rampart and Red Deer Shooting Centre are my go to for new parts. Basic parts to get work done are a reaction rod or upper vice block, the proper barrel wrench for whatever you're putting on and a good torque wrench, a castle nut wrench (if you get an armourers tool it'll cover a few pieces), and then a punch set and hammer.
> 
> ...



I told myself I would only ever need one AR.....


----------



## Colin Parkinson (28 Jan 2019)

The AR market is over saturated, I expect that several small companies will fold over the coming year. Interesting enough that Norinco cannot produce an AR as cheaply as you can buy them from the US.


----------



## 6point5screedmoor (18 Feb 2020)

Colin P said:
			
		

> The AR market is over saturated, I expect that several small companies will fold over the coming year. Interesting enough that Norinco cannot produce an AR as cheaply as you can buy them from the US.



Interestingly a few manufacturers have folded now, specifically bushmaster is folding and manufacturing will be picked up by Remington (freedom group). In terms of the AR market being 'oversaturated' I don't believe this to be true, the platform is incredibly popular and with Canadian companies creating non restricted AR parts compatible firearms (Troy 102, Stag 10, BCL 102, ATRS Modern Varmint et. Al) I would say the supply meets the demand fairly well. In fact it was proven to us during the liberals re-election scare that supply can not keep up with demand during these spikes as many AR parts (specifically lowers) were gobbled up in days and not seen again on shelves for months. Just my 2¢, cheers,

Sixfive


----------

