So I've decided that since I have the money (before school starts, cause after I'll be broke) I want to build an AR-15.

So I've talked to a few friends and for my first I'm going to get a kit (complete upper and LPK) so all I need is the stripped lower.

A few of my friends have said as long as I stick with the big 4 for lowers I'm pretty safe. I've heard that spike arms lowers are cheap and of decent quality. So since I've pretty much got the lower figured out, I need to figure out what upper/kit I want to go with.

A friend of mine has a Stag arms which he loves, but I've been hearing a bunch of good things about Del-Ton (and the price is right!)

For my first AR I'm hoping to go relatively cheap because it will be for plinking and short range stuff. I want this to be my beater AR.

So my thought so far is:
Del-ton M4 kit with a 1x9 16" chrome lined barrel, flattop m4 upper with standard innards and sights (dirt cheap at $540!!)
and a spike arms lower $98 shipped

any input?

 

i just built one, mine is a cmmg lower with a dpms upper assembly

 

I've heard good things about both. I was reading that 1x9 barrels can be chambered for both .223 and 5.56, but a ccording to the DPMS website they can only be either or? They don't have much info on the barrels in their kit either. Is it chrome lined?

 

just buy a complete STAG or S&W AR ready to go...

look for one chambered for .223.

contact IRVINGTON ARMS in fremont and see what they have ready to go.

or a little longer drive (and to try out a GOLDEN CORRAL restaurant), TRACY GUN AND PISTOL... they have stuff ready to go too.

in the end, you can be like PACKY (ok, he had a franken-AR that shot AK rounds)...

 

I kinda want to put it together for 3 reasons, to be completely comfortable with the assembly, I can customize the grips/optics mounts and it conserves funds.

This being said I found a decent deal on gas piston fully assembled and under warranty for $800 and I'm thinking of jumping on it

 

Go gas piston if you can, the nice part about assembling it yourself is you can cut out a lot of parts that will be tossed out or stored in your closet. If you can get a AR chambered in 5.56 so yu can run 5.56 and .223 ammo. Assembling a lower is easy, a gas piston AR for 800 or so with a warranty is hard to beat. Which manufacture is/was it?

 

I'm doing pretty much the same thing. I built my lower using the rra parts kit with the 2 stage trigger paired to a stripped cmmg lower. For never having done anything like this before, I thought the lower assembly was super easy and fun as well. Gonna buy the complete upper, just don't know which as of yet.

 

yes mine is chrome lined i ordered it from midwayusa.com, they have a lot to choose from depending on your budget

 

Any upper and lower chambered for 5.56 can shoot both 5.56 AND .223. However, bad things will happen if
you try to shoot 5.56 rounds thru a .223 ar because of it being such a "hotter" load.

 

Sorry all This is going to sound sill but I would go for the 5.56 Heres my silly reason why.

A rifle chambered for 5.56 can fire 223 but a rifle chambered for 223 cannot fire 5.56 ammo. WHEN the zombie apocolypse happens the us army fires 5.56 so you can get ammo from them if chambered for it.

I told you its silly but go 5.56

 

i think you mean Spike's Tactical, not spike's arms.

here's a Lower Receiver FAQ.
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...ad.php?t=50947

here is a spreadsheet of definitions you will want to know if you don't already. on the last tab there is a comparison of the different upper receiver companies.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...TA&hl=en#gid=2

happy learning.

 

er I meant spikes tactical, sorry was thinking RRA cause that was my original choice. If I can, I'm probably going to get this cmmg gas piston with the warranty! Its a bit more than I originally wanted.

I've read the FAQ which is why I mentioned "the big 4". I just want a local spin on stuff, and I'm also wondering what others run.

http://cmmginc.secure-mall.com/item/M4-LEP-II-1379 this is what I'm looking at now.

 

that looks pretty nice.
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=210206

here's a review on it i think. and oh yeah, always get stuff chambered in 5.56 over .223. it allows you the option of using both types of ammo safely versus one type of ammo.

 

080904-AR15-Chart-FEATURES.jpg?1280135077

 

Hit me up if you need help trying to figure out what upper and parts to get

-Gio