A coworker recently bought a Radical midlength ar for $400. All it needed were sights. I didn’t play with it much when I did the transfer but it seemed fine. He took it to a class and didn’t have any issues.

I personally just bought my first actual AR recently, after looking around I bought a M400 Sig SDI X and couldnt be happier. It shoots well and has been flawless.

once the AR bug bites, you will do both,

I did a transfer for a guy today for 2 of the Radical AR's
they looked fine,


however it goes without saying that once you get that infection, you will buy more, and build more,



resistance is futile

I’m sorry but you

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
shot friend with a .22LR conversion.

Lots of good advise here but both buy & build have their advantages and the big question is;
What’s your intended use? Just casual occasional plunking or are you thinking about competing?

Next, do you enjoy doing research?

Knowing what I know now I would only build. I’d try to avoid my impulses and have a clear & solid idea of what I want and its purpose, then build. Several times I’ve bought complete rifles, then replaced/upgraded the stock, the trigger, hand-guard muzzle device etc.
Building can be buying a complete upper & complete lower and push the pins through for a complete weapon … or you can buy every individual pin, spring and actually build it yourself.

Now, with the advent of Youporn … I mean YouTube, you can do almost anything.

I build my own lowers and purchase complete uppers. Compared to a complete rifle it's been cheaper this way and I get to choose what trigger, safety lever, etc rather than having to swap them out anyway.
BCM is having a sale where you get a free bcg with purchase of an upper. I just picked up a new 14.5" mk2.

I have no idea where to go to compete. Purpose will be paper puncher, and peace of mind the next time Colorado tries a gun grab.

I've managed to avoid doing transfers to get an AR15. Picked up an M&P15 Sport 2 in 2019 at a local store. Later I bought a stripped lower at another store. A week or so later, I went back and bought the 2 remaining PSA lowers they had.

The PSA rifle kits are easy peasy and YouTube is your friend. Of course, a few simple tools and punches are needed but it's not that hard.

Prices may be coming down and the Springs has lots of stores to check out. Of course it's a long drive to Wyoming for mags.

I used to build automatic transmissions for a living so take this with a grain of salt.

The lowers are super easy and fun to assemble. Having a mag block to hold it in a vise and a spanner wrench for the buffer tube are the only things I had to get special. The rest can basically be done with a pair of channel locks (taped off to prevent scratching) for pressing pins and a pocket screwdriver.

I bought a handful of good quality lowers a few years back as I found them on sale and have quite a few full rifles and completed lowers waiting for uppers.

I love the modularity and being able to reconfigure the whole style and purpose of a rifle with only two pins.

The interesting thing about the photo that Ryan posted was an observation my boss made a while back.

We were talking about our agencies patrol rifle fleet, and the age that some of them are getting to. Many agencies replace rifles after 15-20 years or sooner. The boss made a comment about SF guys overseas and pointed out that most of them had camo’d up, scratched up, horrible looking lowers, and flavor of the time period (SOPMOD block 1, 2, or “3”) uppers that were relatively new. He made the point that the guns are so easy to work on, and that the lowers rarely totally wear out, that they is really no reason to buy new rifles.

Very valid point.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
I have no idea where to go to compete. Purpose will be paper puncher, and peace of mind the next time Colorado tries a gun grab.

Set up a free account on practiscore.com and you can find matches that are local to you.

I highly encourage people to compete in the shooting sports. Nothing will make you better, faster.

I see some of the garbage that passes for 'training' courses that some people share online and it is laughable garbage. 20 guys standing 25 yards from 20 full size IPSC target just dumping rounds into it for hours.

There are of course some great and competent trainers out there, but there is a lot of chaff to separate from the wheat.


Get to a PRS (if you are into long range precision) or a 3-gun or practical rifle match if you are more into practical competency at close to moderate distances, and you will see people do things with rifles that will leave your mouth hanging open.

I think that's really good advice. Not only do you get to shoot the course in competitions but you'll also meet a bunch of great folks who all love to work together to get better. The sportsmanship and comradery are second to none in shooting sports.

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
I used to build automatic transmissions for a living so take this with a grain of salt.

The lowers are super easy and fun to assemble. Having a mag block to hold it in a vise and a spanner wrench for the buffer tube are the only things I had to get special. The rest can basically be done with a pair of channel locks (taped off to prevent scratching) for pressing pins and a pocket screwdriver.

I bought a handful of good quality lowers a few years back as I found them on sale and have quite a few full rifles and completed lowers waiting for uppers.

I love the modularity and being able to reconfigure the whole style and purpose of a rifle with only two pins.

I also press in roll pins with channel locks or vice grips, with some tape wrapped around the jaws to prevent scratching things up. Although I care about that less and less as time goes on, my rifles mostly look like hell after a few years of matches.

I did break down and buy a Geissele reaction rod a few years ago so I can barrel my own uppers. That and a spanner wrench is really the only specialized tools I have for working on ARs. Well, I take that back. I bought a fixture for holding the bolt so I can tap out the pin that holds the ejector captive, so I can replace worn ejector springs.

I’ve built lowers with punches and channel lock pliers taped up, but over the course of years and many builds gathering small specialized tools makes it more enjoyable. Vice block, roll pin starter punches, magpul wrench, and go/no go gauges while not needed have helped the whole process. For the first one, I’d buy one of the rifles already mentioned.

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaBoy:


There are of course some great and competent trainers out there, but there is a lot of chaff to separate from the wheat.

The worst are the ones that tell you competing will get you killed. When the truth of the matter is the polar opposite. I use matches to identify weak spots in technique. If I screw a stage up, I’ll break it down and figure out the why. Then plug the fix into dry fire to correct the issue. It’s particularly helpful (to me) to in working on the stuff that I suck at.

Which is movement and getting in and out of position proactively. (Which is probably the most glaring thing I suck at).

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaBoy:


There are of course some great and competent trainers out there, but there is a lot of chaff to separate from the wheat.

The worst are the ones that tell you competing will get you killed. When the truth of the matter is the polar opposite. I use matches to identify weak spots in technique. If I screw a stage up, I’ll break it down and figure out the why. Then plug the fix into dry fire to correct the issue. It’s particularly helpful (to me) to in working on the stuff that I suck at.

Which is movement and getting in and out of position proactively. (Which is probably the most glaring thing I suck at).

Indeed. I had done YEARS of matches before I took my first class. Basically ended up smoking everyone in the class, much to the instructors surprise. Also had very good "cover" discipline as a procedural penalty is assessed for breaking a shot without being behind cover.

Like Jones, I used USPSA to add to my training and skills for my police job. Standing on a rectangular range and shooting targets against the clock is nothing like running, shooting and having the clock against you, like shooting sports does.

First time I’d say buy complete. I miss the days of “go buy a colt LE6920 and be happy”.

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
First time I’d say buy complete. I miss the days of “go buy a colt LE6920 and be happy”.

I don't miss those days at all.

While the 6920 is a perfectly fine utilitarian rifle, they were always overpriced at $1200. You can get a better rifle now for $7-800 inflated dollars compared to $1200 ten to fifteen years ago.

I don't think there is anything wrong with either building or buying a complete rifle. It is literally the golden age of inexpensive and good quality AR rifles. Also plenty of very high end rifles if you want to go that route.


As far as buy or build. Which do you want to do? If you aren't intrigued by building. Just buy.

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaBoy:

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
First time I’d say buy complete. I miss the days of “go buy a colt LE6920 and be happy”.

I don't miss those days at all.

While the 6920 is a perfectly fine utilitarian rifle, they were always overpriced at $1200. You can get a better rifle now for $7-800 inflated dollars compared to $1200 ten to fifteen years ago.

Yep. Colt rifles work, but not at a price premium.

I never bought into "The Chart" nor the name "Colt", and the corresponding angelic chorus when these words were spoken. Never considered "mil spec" to equate with "blessed by the Pope". Colt rested on its military laurels for too long, while others looked for ways to improve the AR15. With things like stainless steel barrels, 1:8 twists, free floated barrels, mid-length gas systems on 16" barrels, rail systems, crisp triggers, barrel profiles that make sense for civilians.

****
goose5 -- any ideas on your direction? Any models that catch your eye so far?

For a range and competition, consider Pueblo West Sportsmans Club. I've shot there a few years ago -- 22lr matches and AR15 matches.