I really like that analogy! I am of the same mindset! I have never done it, but am very interested in starting as kind of a hobby. I love going shooting and love to deer hunt (I just started last year, and killed my first 8 pt. buck this year!)
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Is building your own AR-15 really worth building?
- Thread starter GAAREDSTATE
- Start date
I really like that analogy! I am of the same mindset! I have never done it, but am very interested in starting as kind of a hobby. I love going shooting and love to deer hunt (I just started last year, and killed my first 8 pt. buck this year!)
You need headspace gauges . . . a go and no-go are fine but you have a range and its nice to know EXACTLY what the chamber is not just that its within 1.078-1.085 or whatever.
I set mine up with a chamber reamer in a vertical mill (or you could use a drill press). I measured the go gauge I have in a known good barrel with a depth micrometer to get the distance the gauge is into the chamber below the extension and cut down with the reamer until I get the same dimension with the new barrel.
I've personally owned 5 ARs . . . I've built all of them. The 1st one did take awhile though
do you measure you headspace with a reamer? I may of misunderstood your postYou need headspace gauges . . . a go and no-go are fine but you have a range and its nice to know EXACTLY what the chamber is not just that its within 1.078-1.085 or whatever.
I set mine up with a chamber reamer in a vertical mill (or you could use a drill press). I measured the go gauge I have in a known good barrel with a depth micrometer to get the distance the gauge is into the chamber below the extension and cut down with the reamer until I get the same dimension with the new barrel.
I've personally owned 5 ARs . . . I've built all of them. The 1st one did take awhile though
...or i have been shooting a 7.62x39 AR lately that has been a LOT of fun and not too pricey to feed.
No, you measure headspace with a go/no-go gauge and a bolt. You essentially drop the gauge down in the chamber (looks like a little pistol round) and try to lock the bolt behind the lugs in the barrel extension. You can twist the bolt under the lugs with the "go" gauge and the "no-go" is taller meaning you should not be able to twist the bolt under the lugs when you have the no-go in the chamber. It's easier if you take the extractor off the bolt as well. You set headspace by how deep you take the reamer.
Don't get all worked up over headspace. It's pretty much set by the factory. Headspace is set when the barrel extension is put on the barrel and then pinned in place. Some people get worried about the wrong things, headspace in an AR is one of them.
I build (assemble) all of the time and have built over 35, and everything usually fits till you get around to different handguards, some fit only with Delta rings, some on barrel nuts and some have proprietary nuts and tools that you have to buy and use. But I love being to make an AR, exactly as I want.
Big boy Lego's. fun and very addictive. Worth every dollar and every second.
Love it!!!
Love it!!!
I've noticed that the delta ring compress tool is really not necessary if you have either strong hands or an assistant to help change fore grips.
To build or not to build...
It really depends on what you want in an upper. If you are wanting a plinker and low cost is your primary objective, then you can cobble an AR together for very little money. However, if you want top shelf parts throughout, you'll probably spend more than buying a complete gun. The exception to this would be if you're trying to build something that isn't readily available from a manufacturer. For example, I built a precision upper based on a limited run Noveske barrel that isn't part of their normal inventory. I also wanted to use a specific rail, so a build was my only option.
It really depends on what you want in an upper. If you are wanting a plinker and low cost is your primary objective, then you can cobble an AR together for very little money. However, if you want top shelf parts throughout, you'll probably spend more than buying a complete gun. The exception to this would be if you're trying to build something that isn't readily available from a manufacturer. For example, I built a precision upper based on a limited run Noveske barrel that isn't part of their normal inventory. I also wanted to use a specific rail, so a build was my only option.
